January 22

Events
Up to 1900
565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus.
1462 - The Portuguese reach Sao Vicente, Cape Verde.
1506 - The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrive in Vatican City.
1517 - The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures the area that is now Egypt in the Battle of Ridaniya.
1521 - Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor opens the Diet of Worms.
1555 - The Ava Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in what is now present-day Burma.
1689 - The Convention Parliament convenes on whether James II of England/James VII of Scotland abandoned the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland when he fled to France in 1688.
1771 - Spain gives Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands to England.
1824 - The Ashantis defeat British forces in the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana.
1840 - British colonists reach New Zealand.
1849 - Second Anglo-Sikh War: The Siege of Multan ends after nine months when the last defenders of Multan, Punjab, surrender.
1863 - The January Uprising begins the Poland, Lithuania and Belarus against Russian rule.
1873 - The British clipper Northfleet collides with Spanish steamship Murillo off Kent, killing 293 people.
1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: In the Battle of Rorke's Drift, 139 British soldiers successfully defend their garrison against an onslaught by 3 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. On the same day, Zulu warriors defeat British troops at the Battle of Isandlwana.
1890 - The United Mine Workers of America trade union is founded in Columbus, Ohio.
1899 - Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss uniting.
1901 2000
1901 - Edward VII becomes King after Queen Victoria, dies. Her death ends the Victorian era, having reigned longer than any British monarch before her.
1905 - Bloody Sunday in Saint Petersburg: Start of the 1905 Revolution in Russia.
1906 - The ship SS Valencia runs aground on Vancouver Island, killing more than 130 people.
1915 - Over 600 people are killed in Guadalajara, Mexico, when their train plunges off the tracks into a canyon.
1917 - World War I: US President Woodrow Wilson calls for "peace without victory" in Europe.
1924 - Ramsay MacDonald becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He is the first Prime Minister from the Labour Party.
1927 - Teddy Wakelam gives his first live video commentary of a football match anywhere in the world, between Arsenal FC and Sheffield United.
1931 - Sir Isaac Isaacs sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
1941 - World War II: British and Commonwealth forces capture Tobruk in Libya from the Italians in Operation Bypass.
1944 - World War II: Allies begin Operation Shingle (an attack on Anzio, Italy).
1946 - The "Central Intelligence Group" is created. It is a forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.
1953 - The Crucible, a play by Arthur Miller, starts on Broadway.
1957 - Israel leaves the Sinai Peninsula.
1959 - The Knox Mine Disaster occurs in Patston City, Pennsylvania kills 12 people, as water breaches the mine.
1962 - The Organization of American States (OAS) makes Cuba no longer a member.
1963 - The Elysee Treaty of cooperation between France and the Federal Republic of Germany is signed by French President Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.
1968 - Apollo 5 lifts off, carrying the first lunar module into space.
1969 - A gunman attempts to kill Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
1970 - The world's first jumbo jet, a Boeing 747, enters commercial service for the first time, flying from New York City to London.
1971 - The Singapore Declaration, an important part of the treaty of the Commonwealth of Nations.
1973 - A Boeing 737 of the Royal Jordanian Airline explodes at Kano Airport in northern Nigeria, killing 176 people.
1973 - George Foreman defeats Joe Frazier to win the World Heavyweight Boxing champion.
1973 - The Supreme Court of the United States shows its decision in Roe vs. Wade, stopping laws that limit abortion during the first six months of being pregnant.
1980 - Andrei Sakharov is arrested in Moscow.
1984 - The Apple Macintosh computer is introduced.
1987 - Pennsylvania politician R. Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself during a live press conference.
1987 - Philippine Security forces open fire on a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 demonstrators in Manila, killing 13 people.
1991 - Gulf War: Three SCUDs and one patriot missile hit Ramat Gan, Israel, killing 96 people.
From 2001
2003 - The Netherlands vote for a new parliament after the one before had only been into power for 86 days.
2006 - Anibal Cavaco Silva is elected President of Portugal.
2006 - Evo Morales becomes President of Bolivia.
2006 - Russia uncovers that the UK spied through a device disguised as a rock.
2007 - More than 88 people are killed in two car bombings in Baghdad.
2015 - After Houthi rebels seize the Presidential palace in the capital, Sana'a, Yemen's President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi resigns following months of unrest.
2018 - Former footballer George Weah becomes President of Liberia.
Births
Up to 1900
826 - Emperor Montoku of Japan (d. 858)
1263 - Ibn Taymiyyah, Syrian scholar and theologian (d. 1328)
1440 - Ivan III of Russia (d. 1505)
1552 - Walter Raleigh, English poet, soldier, courtier, spy and explorer (d. 1618)
1561 - Sir Francis Bacon, English philosopher (d. 1626)
1592 - Pierre Gassendi, French philosopher (d. 1655)
1690 - Nicolas Lancret, French painter (d. 1743)
1729 - Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German writer and philosopher (d. 1781)
1733 - Philip Carteret, English navy captain, discovered Pitcairn Island (d. 1796)
1781 - Francois Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (d. 1849)
1788 - Lord Byron, English poet (d. 1824)
1796 - Karl Ernst Claus, Russian chemist (d. 1864)
1797 - Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress of Brazil (d. 1826)
1814 - Eduard Zeller, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1908)
1831 - Prince Christian III of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1917)
1840 - Ernest Roland Wilberforce, English bishop (d. 1907)
1843 - Friedrich Blass, German classical scholar (d. 1907)
1849 - August Strindberg, Swedish novelist and playwright (d. 1912)
1855 - Albert Ludwig Sigesmund Neisser, German physician (d. 1916)
1858 - Beatrice Webb, American sociologist and economist (d. 1943)
1865 - Wilbur Scoville, American pharmacologist and chemist (d. 1942)
1869 - Jose Vicente de Freitas, 97th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1952)
1874 - Vincenzo Lapuma, Italian cardinal (d. 1943)
1875 - D. W. Griffith, American actor, movie director and movie producer (d. 1948)
1877 - Hjalmar Schacht, German banker and politician (d. 1970)
1879 - Francis Picabia, French-born painter and poet (d. 1953)
1880 - Frigyes Riesz, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1956)
1882 - Theodore Kosloff, Russian-American actor, ballet dancer and choreographer (d. 1958)
1885 - Eugene Christophe, French cyclist (d. 1970)
1890 - Fred M. Vinson, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1953)
1891 - Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher and political theorist (d. 1937)
1892 - Marcel Dassault, French businessman (d. 1986)
1893 - Conrad Veidt, German actor (d. 1943)
1897 - Blind Willie Johnson, American blues and gospel musician (d. 1945)
1897 - Rosa Ponselle, American soprano (d. 1981)
1898 - Ross Barnett, American politician, 52nd Governor of Mississippi (d. 1987)
1898 - Sergei Eisenstein, Russian movie director (d. 1948)
1900 - Ernst Busch, German actor and singer (d. 1980)
1901 1950
1901 - Walther Sommerlath, German businessman, father of Queen Silvia of Sweden (d. 1990)
1901 - Ken G. Hall, Australian movie producer, director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1904 - George Balanchine, Georgian-born choreographer (d. 1983)
1904 - Arkady Gaidar, Russian writer (d. 1941)
1907 - Dixie Dean, English footballer (d. 1980)
1908 - Lev Davidovich Landau, Soviet physicist (d. 1968)
1909 - U Thant, Burmese diplomat and United Nations Secretary-General (d. 1974)
1909 - Ann Sothern, American actress (d. 2004)
1911 - Bruno Kreisky, Chancellor of Austria (d. 1990)
1913 - Henry Bauchau, Belgian psychoanalyst (d. 2012)
1913 - William Conway, Irish cardinal (d. 1977)
1915 - Heinrich Albertz, Mayor of Berlin (d. 1993)
1916 - Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1972)
1916 - Henri Dutilleux, French composer (d. 2013)
1918 - Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
1918 - Bruno Zevi, Italian architect, historian and professor (d. 2000)
1920 - Irving Kristol, American political commentator (d. 2009)
1920 - Chiara Lubich, Italian religious leader (d. 2008)
1920 - Alf Ramsey, English football manager (d. 1999)
1922 - Howard Moss, American poet, playwright and critic (d. 1987)
1923 - Diana Douglas, Bermudan-American actress (d. 2015)
1924 - Ortvin Sarapu, New Zealand chess player (d. 1999)
1925 - Bobby George, American baseball player (d. 1985)
1929 - Petr Eben, Czech composer, organist and choirmaster (d. 2007)
1931 - Galina Zybina, Russian shot putter and javelin thrower
1932 - Piper Laurie, American actress
1934 - Vijay Anand, Indian actor, director, screenwriter and producer (d. 2004)
1934 - Bill Bixby, American actor (d. 1993)
1935 - Seymour Cassel, American actor
1936 - Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore (d. 2002)
1936 - Alan J. Heeger, American chemist
1936 - Valerio Zanone, Italian politician (d. 2016)
1938 - Altair Gomes de Figueiredo, Brazilian footballer
1939 - J. C. Trembley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1994)
1939 - Alfredo Palacio, former President of Ecuador
1940 - John Hurt, British actor (d. 2017)
1940 - Gillian Shepherd, British educator and politician
1941 - Jaan Kaplinski, Estonian writer and philosopher
1942 - Mimis Domazos, Greek footballer
1945 - Jean-Pierre Nicolas, French rally driver
1945 - Alojz Uran, former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ljubljana
1945 - Christoph Schonborn, Austrian cardinal
1946 - Malcolm McLaren, British music manager (d. 2010)
1946 - Serge Savard, Canadian ice hockey player
1948 - Gilbert Levine, American conductor
1949 - Steve Perry, American singer, composer and musician
1951 1975
1951 - Ondrej Nepela, Slovakian figure skater (d. 1989)
1953 - Myung-whun Chung, South Korean pianist and conductor
1954 - Chris Lemmon, American actor
1955 - Keiko Takahashi, Japanese actress
1955 - Thomas David Jones, American astronaut
1955 - Neil Bush, American businessman, brother of George W. Bush
1957 - Francis Wheen, English writer and journalist
1958 - Nikos Anastopoulos, Greek footballer
1959 - Linda Blair, American actress
1959 - Urs Meier, Swiss football referee
1960 - Michael Hutchence, Australian musician (d. 1997)
1962 - Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu, Malaysian Head of State
1963 - Neeraj Vora, Indian actor (d. 2017)
1964 - Nigel Benn, English boxer
1965 - Steven Adler, American drummer (Guns N' Roses)
1965 - Diane Lane, American actress
1968 - Guy Fieri, American television host, chef and restaurateur
1968 - Heath, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
1968 - Mauricio Serna, Colombian footballer
1970 - Abraham Olano, Spanish cyclist
1971 - Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Australian musician (d. 2017)
1971 - Stan Collymore, English footballer
1971 - Sergei Zamorski, Russian-Estonian footballer
1972 - Namrata Shirodkar, Indian actress
1973 - Rogerio Ceni, Brazilian footballer
1974 - Joseph Muscat, 13th Prime Minister of Malta
From 1976
1977 - Hidetoshi Nakata, Japanese footballer
1977 - Mario Domm, Mexican singer-songwriter, pianist and producer
1980 - Jonathan Woodgate, English footballer
1981 - Ben Moody, American musician
1981 - Beverley Mitchell, American actress
1981 - Ibrahima Sonko, French footballer
1982 - Fabricio Coloccini, Argentine footballer
1984 - Ben Eager, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 - Todor Slavov, Bulgarian rally driver (d. 2015)
1985 - Mohamed Sissoko, Malian footballer
1986 - Lee Pa-ni, South Korean model
1987 - Astrid Jacobsen, Norwegian skier
1987 - Shane Long, Irish footballer
1988 - Greg Oden, American basketball player
1990 - Alize Cornet, French tennis player
1991 - Elizabeth Simmonds, British swimmer
1993 - Rio Haryanto, Indonesian racing driver
1993 - Tommy Knight, English actor
1994 - Hendrik Bonmann, German footballer
Deaths
Up to 1900
239 - Cao Rui, Chinese Emperor (b. 205)
1341 - Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)
1531 - Andrea del Sarto, Italian painter (b. 1487)
1592 - Elisabeth of Austria, Queen of France (b. 1554)
1599 - Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1547)
1666 - Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor (b. 1592)
1767 - Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German scientist (b. 1719)
1779 - Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (b. 1733)
1840 - Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German anthropologist (b. 1752)
1892 - Joseph P. Bradley, American jurist (b. 1813)
1900 - David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist and inventor (b. 1831)
1901 2000
1901 - Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1819)
1919 - Carl Larsson, Swedish painter (b. 1853)
1922 - Fredrik Bajer, Danish politician and pacifist (b. 1837)
1922 - Pope Benedict XV (b. 1854)
1922 - Camille Jordan, French mathematician (b. 1838)
1929 - R. C. Lehmann, English journalist, author and politician (b. 1856)
1942 - Walter Sickert, German painter (b. 1860)
1945 - Else Lasker-Schuler, German poet (b. 1869)
1950 - Alan Hale, Sr., American actor (b. 1892)
1950 - Corinne Luchaire, French actress (b. 1921)
1951 - Karl Nessler, German-American hairdresser (b. 1872)
1951 - Lawson Robertson, Scottish-American high jumper (b. 1883)
1954 - Princess Margaret of Prussia (b. 1872)
1957 - Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher (b. 1876)
1959 - Mike Hawthorn, English racing driver (b. 1929)
1963 - William Godfrey, English cardinal (b. 1889)
1968 - Duke Kahanamoku, Hawaiian-American swimmer and surfer (b. 1890)
1971 - Harry Frank Guggenheim, American businessman and publisher (b. 1890)
1973 - Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States (b. 1908)
1978 - Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer (b. 1894)
1982 - Eduardo Frei Montalva, President of Chile (b. 1911)
1982 - Tommy Tucker, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1933)
1990 - Mariano Rumor, Italian politician (b. 1915)
1990 - Roman Vishniac, Russian-American photographer (b. 1897)
1991 - Kenas Aroi, Nauruan politician (b. 1942)
1994 - Telly Savalas, American entertainer (b. 1924)
1994 - Jean-Louis Barrault, French actor and director (b. 1910)
1995 - Jerry Blackwell, American professional wrestler (b. 1949)
1995 - Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother of John F. Kennedy (b. 1890)
1998 - C. Elmer Anderson, Governor of Minnesota (b. 1912)
From 2001
2002 - Stanley Marcus, American businessman (b. 1905)
2003 - Bill Mauldin, American cartoonist (b. 1921)
2005 - Carlo Orelli, Italian soldier and supercentenarian (b. 1894)
2007 - Abbe Pierre, French priest and monk (b. 1912)
2008 - Claude Piron, Swiss translator (b. 1931)
2008 - Heath Ledger, Australian actor (b. 1979)
2010 - Sultan Iskandar of Johor, Malaysian Head of State (b. 1932)
2010 - Jean Simmons, British actress (b. 1929)
2012 - Joe Paterno, American college football coach (b. 1926)
2014 - Carlo Mazzacurati, Italian movie director (b. 1956)
2015 - Wendell H. Ford, American politician, Governor of Kentucky (b. 1924)
2015 - Joan Hinde, English trumpeter and entertainer (b. 1933)
2015 - Dacia Valent, Somali-Italian politician (b. 1963)
2016 - Homayoun Behzadi, Iranian footballer (b. 1941)
2016 - Miloslav Ransdorf, Czech politician (b. 1953)
2016 - Rik Wilson, American ice hockey player (b. 1962)
2016 - Cecil Parkinson, English politician (b. 1931)
2016 - Kamer Genc, Turkish politician (b. 1940)
2017 - Dan Caspi, Romanian-Israeli media theorist and academic (b. 1945)
2017 - Chen Yu-mei, Taiwanese politician (b. 1966)
2017 - Moshe Gershuni, Israeli painter and sculptor (b. 1936)
2017 - Jaki Liebezeit, German musician (b. 1938)
2017 - Andy Marte, Dominican baseball player (b. 1983)
2017 - Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player (b. 1991)
2017 - Pete Overend Watts, English musician (b. 1947)
2018 - Jimmy Armfield, English footballer (b. 1935)
2018 - Billy Hancock, American singer and guitarist (b. 1946)
2018 - Reinier Kreijermaat, Dutch footballer (b. 1935)
2018 - Ursula K. Le Guin, American science fiction writer (b. 1929)
Holidays and observances
New Zealand - Wellington Anniversary
Ukraine - Reunion Day
Poland - Grandfather's Day
Days of the year