January 24

Events
Up to 1900
41 - Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar (Caligula), known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, was assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards.
1438 - Pope Eugenius IV was suspended by the Council of Basel.
1458 - Matthias I Corvinus becomes king of Hungary.
1521 - Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Puka-Puka Islands in the Tuamotu Archipelago, Polynesia, South Pacific Ocean.
1624 - Alfonso Mendez, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa.
1679 - King Charles II of England disbands Parliament.
1742 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
1758 - Seven Years' War: The leading burghers of Konigsberg (now Kaliningrad) submit to Elizabeth of Russia, forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).
1772 - France takes control of the Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean.
1817 - Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured in the Action Pichenta.
1835 - Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
1848 - California gold rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.
1857 - The University of Calcutta is founded.
1862 - Bucharest becomes the capital city of Romania.
1888 - Jacob L. Wortman patents the typewriter ribbon.
1901 2000
1908 - Robert Baden-Powell begins the Boy Scout movement.
1916 - In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
1918 - A decree of the Council of People's Commissars, introducing the Gregorian calendar in Russia from February 1, issued
1922 - Christian K. Nelson patents the Eskimo Pie.
1924 - St. Petersburg, Russia is renamed Leningrad.
1927 - Young director Alfred Hitchcock releases his first movie, The Pleasure Garden, in England.
1936 - Albert Sarraut becomes Prime Minister of France.
1939 - Chillan, in Chile, is hit by a deadly earthquake.
1942 - World War II: The Allies bomb Bangkok, leading to Thailand declaring war on the United Kingdom and United States.
1943 - World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
1945 - Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland is liberated by Soviet troops.
1946 - The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
1947 - Dimitrios Maximos becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
1952 - Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada.
1960 - Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
1961 - A bomber carrying two hydrogen bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina.
1962 - Brian Epstein signs to manage The Beatles.
1962 - 28 people manage to escape from East Berlin to West Berlin through a tunnel.
1966 - An Air India Boeing 707 jet crashes on Mont Blanc, on the border between France and Italy, killing 117
1972 - Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese soldier, is discovered on Guam, where he was hiding in a cave since 1944.
1976 - An earthquake kills 3,850 people in Turkey.
1977 - Massacre of Atochi in Madrid.
1978 - Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, with nuclear weapons on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories.
1982 - Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21 in the first Super Bowl played north of the Mason-Dixon line
1984 - The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
1986 - Voyager 2 passes within 50,679 miles of Uranus.
1987 - In Lebanon, gunmen kidnap Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh.
1989 - Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed in Florida's electric chair.
1990 - Japan launches Hiten, its first lunar probe.
1993 - Turkish journalist and writer Ugur Mumcu is killed by a car bomb in Ankara.
1995 - The prosecution delivers its opening statement in the O. J. Simpson murder trial.
1996 - Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigns amid charges he spied for Moscow.
From 2001
2001 - The last two of the Texas 7 are taken into custody in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
2002 - Enron congressional hearings begin.
2002 - Terrorist suspect John Walker Lindh's hearing begins.
2002 - The United States Department of Justice indicts Robert Nicholas Angleton for conspiring to murder his wife, Doris Angleton, along with his brother Roger.
2003 - The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
2009 - The storm Klaus makes landfall in Bordeaux, France, on the way to causing large destruction and 26 deaths.
2011 - A bombing at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow kills 35 people.
2015 - An attack by Russian-backed rebels in Mariupol, Eastern Ukraine, kills at least 20 people.
2018 - Scientists in the People's Republic of China report in the journal "Cell" that the first monkey clones have been created.
Births
Up to 1900
76 - Hadrian, Roman Emperor (d. 138)
1444 - Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)
1540 - Edmund Campion, English priest and martyr (d. 1581)
1679 - Christian Wolff, German philosopher (d. 1754)
1705 - Farinelli, Italian singer (d. 1782)
1712 - Frederick II of Prussia (d. 1786)
1724 - Frances Brooke, English writer (d. 1789)
1732 - Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, French playwright (d. 1799)
1742 - Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn (d. 1808)
1746 - King Gustav III of Sweden (d. 1792)
1749 - Charles James Fox, British politician (d. 1806)
1752 - Muzio Clementi, Italian composer (d. 1832)
1776 - E. T. A. Hoffmann, German writer (d. 1822)
1778 - Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, French Prince (d. 1820)
1779 - Tsarina Elizabeth Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1826)
1792 - Friedrich Wilhelm, Count Brandenburg, Prussian statesman (d. 1850)
1816 - Coles Bashford, Governor of Wisconsin (d. 1878)
1828 - Ferdinand Cohn, German botanist and microbiologist (d. 1898)
1848 - Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)
1850 - Hermann Ebbinghaus, German psychologist (d. 1909)
1862 - Edith Wharton, American writer (d. 1937)
1864 - Marguerite Durand, French Women's rights activist (d. 1936)
1866 - Jaan Poskal, Estonian lawyer, diplomat and politician (d. 1920)
1872 - Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (d. 1943)
1872 - Ethel Turner, Australian writer (d. 1958)
1872 - Morris William Travers, English chemist (d. 1961)
1886 - Henry King, American movie director (d. 1982)
1888 - Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer (d. 1958)
1888 - Vicki Baum, Austrian writer (d. 1960)
1891 - Walter Model, German field marshal (d. 1945)
1895 - Eugen Roth, German writer (d. 1976)
1900 - Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian-born American geneticist and biologist (d. 1975)
1901 1950
1901 - A. M. Cassandre, Ukrainian-born French artist (d. 1968)
1901 - Mikhail Romm, Soviet-Russian film director (d. 1971)
1907 - Maurice Couve de Murville, Prime Minister of France (d. 1999)
1910 - Doris Haddock (Granny D), American political activist (d. 2010)
1913 - Norman Dello Joio, American composer (d. 2008)
1915 - Robert Motherwell, American painter (d. 1991)
1916 - Arnoldo Foa, Italian actor and director (d. 2014)
1916 - Rafael Caldera, President of Venezuela (d. 2009)
1916 - Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player (d. 2013)
1917 - Ernest Borgnine, American actor (d. 2012)
1918 - Oral Roberts, American evangelist (d. 2009)
1920 - Jerry Maren, American actor
1922 - Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2014)
1925 - Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
1925 - Maria Tallchief, American ballerina (d. 2013)
1926 - Georges Lautner, French movie director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1928 - Desmond Morris, British zoologist, publicist and artist
1928 - Michel Serrault, French actor (d. 2007)
1931 - Lars Hormander, Swedish mathematician (d. 2012)
1935 - Bamber Gascoigne, British actor and broadcaster
1940 - Joachim Gauck, German pastor, activist, publicist and former President of Germany
1941 - Neil Diamond, American singer and songwriter
1941 - Dan Shechtman, Israeli scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
1941 - Aaron Neville, American musician
1942 - Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (d. 2008)
1943 - Subhash Ghai, Indian director, screenwriter and politician
1943 - Peter Struck, German politician (d. 2012)
1943 - Sharon Tate, American actress (d. 1969)
1944 - Klaus Nomi, German singer (d. 1983)
1945 - John Garamendi, American politician
1947 - Masashi Ozaki, Japanese golfer
1947 - Michio Kaku, American theoretical physicist
1947 - Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
1948 - Michael Des Barres, British actor and singer
1949 - John Belushi, American actor (d. 1982)
1950 - Gennifer Flowers, American actress
1951 1975
1951 - Mike Thompson, American politician
1952 - Raymond Domenech, French football coach
1953 - Moon Jae-in, South Korean lawyer and President of South Korea
1953 - Matthew Wilder, American singer-songwriter
1955 - Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
1957 - Mark Eaton, American basketball player
1957 - Adrian Edmondson, English comedian
1958 - Jools Holland, English pianist, bandleader and television presenter
1959 - Vic Reeves, English comedian
1959 - Michel Preud'Homme, Belgian footballer
1961 - Guido Buchwald, German footballer
1961 - Natassja Kinski, German-born actress
1965 - Andreu Buenafuerte, Spanish humorist
1966 - Shaun Donovan, American politician
1966 - Julie Dreyfus, French actress
1968 - Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
1971 - Cory Bailey, American baseball player
From 1976
1976 - Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer
1976 - Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
1977 - Kensuke Kita, Japanese guitarist
1977 - Michelle Hunziker, Swiss television presenter, singer and model
1978 - Kristen Schaal, American actress
1979 - Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
1979 - Nik Wallenda, American acrobat and daredevil
1979 - Leandro Desabato, Argentine footballer
1980 - Rebecca Romero, English track cyclist and rower
1980 - Nicole Marie Lenz, American actress
1981 - Michael Wolf, German ice hockey player
1981 - Travis Hanson, American baseball player
1982 - Claudia Heill, Austrian judoka (d. 2011)
1983 - Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
1983 - Scott Speed, American racing driver
1983 - Diane Birch, American singer-songwriter and pianist
1983 - Davide Blondini, Italian footballer
1984 - Scott Kazmir, American baseball player
1984 - Wietold Kieltyka, Polish drummer (d. 2007)
1986 - Mischa Barton, English-born actress
1986 - Michael Kightly, English footballer
1987 - Wayne Hennessey, Welsh footballer
1987 - Luis Suarez, Uruguayan footballer
1988 - DaJuan Summers, American basketball player
1988 - Jade Ewen, English singer
1989 - Ki Sung-Yueng, South Korean footballer
1989 - Samba Diakite, Malian footballer
1989 - Calvin Goldspink, English actor and singer
1989 - Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
1990 - Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter
1992 - Becky Downie, British gymnast
1993 - Tanja Frank, Austrian sailor
1995 - Callan McAuliffe, Australian actor
1997 - Dylan Riley Snyder, American actor, singer and dancer
2012 - Princess Athena of Denmark
Deaths
Up to 1900
41 - Caligula, Roman Emperor (b. 12)
772 - Pope Stephen III (b. 721)
817 - Pope Stephen IV (b. 770)
863 - Charles of Provence (b. 845)
1002 - Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)
1125 - King David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)
1349 - Luchino Visconti, Regent of Milan (b. 1287)
1366 - Alfonso IV of Aragon (b. 1299)
1595 - Ferdinand II of Austria (b. 1529)
1813 - Theodore Sedgwick, American politician (b. 1746)
1861 - Robert P. Letcher, American politician, Governor of Kentucky (b. 1788)
1877 - Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (b. 1796)
1879 - Heinrich Geissler, inventor (b. 1815)
1882 - Levi Boone, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1808)
1895 - Lord Randolph Churchill, British politician (b. 1849)
1901 2000
1911 - David Graham Phillips, American journalist and novelist (b. 1867)
1918 - George Arthur Crump, American architect (b. 1871)
1919 - Ismail Qemali, 1st Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1844)
1920 - Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1884)
1924 - Marie-Adelaide, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1894)
1924 - Anna Bayerova, Czech physician (b. 1853)
1930 - Rebecca Latimer Felton, American politician (b. 1835)
1937 - Andrew J. Montague, Governor of Virginia (b. 1862)
1939 - Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician (b. 1867)
1948 - Maria Mandl, Austrian concentration camp overseer and convicted Nazi war criminal (b. 1912)
1955 - Henry Potter, American golfer (b. 1881)
1955 - Ira Hayes, American marine (b. 1923)
1960 - Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1886)
1961 - Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and inventor (b. 1884)
1962 - Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, Turkish writer (b. 1901)
1965 - Winston Churchill, British statesman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1874)
1969 - King Saud of Saudi Arabia (b. 1902)
1971 - Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)
1980 - Lil Dagover, Dutch-German actress (b. 1887)
1982 - Alfredo Ovando Candia, 56th President of Bolivia (b. 1918)
1986 - Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (b. 1921)
1986 - L. Ron Hubbard, American writer and founder of Scientology (b. 1911)
1988 - Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)
1989 - Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)
1992 - Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (b. 1909)
1993 - Thurgood Marshall, United States Supreme Court Justice (b. 1908)
1993 - Ugur Mumcu, Turkish journalist and writer (b. 1942)
From 2001
2003 - Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman and auto executive (b. 1921)
2004 - Leonidas da Silva, Brazilian footballer (b. 1913)
2006 - Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)
2007 - Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican supercentenarian (b. 1891)
2009 - Kay Yow, American basketball coach (b. 1942)
2011 - Bhimsen Joshi, Indian musician (b. 1922)
2011 - Bernd Eichinger, German movie director and producer (b. 1949)
2012 - Theodoros Angelopoulos, Greek movie director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
2012 - James Farentino, American actor (b. 1938)
2012 - J. Joseph Garrahy, Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1930)
2014 - Shulamit Aloni, Israeli politician (b. 1928)
2015 - Otto Carius, German World War II tank commander (b. 1922)
2015 - Johan Ferner, Norwegian sailor (b. 1927)
2015 - Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater (b. 1949)
2015 - Link Byfield, Canadian conservative columnist, politician and publisher (b. 1951)
2015 - Joe Franklin, American television and radio host (b. 1926)
2015 - Julio Canessa, Chilean diplomat and general (b. 1925)
2015 - Frances Lennon, British artist (b. 1912)
2016 - Jimmy Bain, Scottish musician (b. 1947)
2016 - Fredrik Barth, Norwegian social anthropologist (b. 1928)
2016 - Forouzan, Iranian actress (b. 1937)
2016 - Marvin Minsky, American scientist (b. 1927)
2016 - Henry Worsley, English adventurer (b. 1960)
2017 - Fred Andre, Dutch footballer (b. 1941)
2017 - Chuck Canfield, American businessman and politician (b. 1932)
2017 - Carlos Verdejo, Chilean footballer (b. 1934)
2017 - Chuck Weyant, American racing driver (b. 1923)
2017 - Butch Trucks, American drummer (b. 1947)
2017 - Robert Folsom, American politician (b. 1927)
2017 - Gil Ray, American drummer (b. 1956)
2018 - Marcos Carvajal, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1984)
2018 - Gonzalo Facio Segreda, Costa Rican politician (b. 1918)
2018 - Renaud Gagneux, French composer (b. 1947)
2018 - Jack Ketchum, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1946)
2018 - Mark E. Smith, English singer-songwriter (b. 1957)
Observances
Feast Day of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholicism)
Unification Day (Romania)
Days of the year