January 19

Events
Up to 1900
1419 - Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England in England's reconquest of Normandy.
1520 - Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden, is injured in the Battle of Bogesund, leading to his death on February 3.
1607 - The San Agustin Church in Manila is completed. It is the oldest church in the Philippines still standing.
1788 - A second group of the First Fleet of convicts from Great Britain arrives at Botany Bay, present-day Sydney, Australia.
1795 - The Batavian Republic is founded in the Netherlands.
1806 - The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope.
1812 - Peninsular War: After a ten-day siege, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington orders British soldiers of the Light and Third Divisions to storm Ciudad Rodrigo.
1817 - An army led by Jose de San Martin crosses the Andes from Argentina to Chile, having already liberated Argentina.
1829 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust Part 1 is performed for the first time.
1839 - The British East India Company captures Aden, Yemen.
1840 - Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica.
1853 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore is performed for the first time, in Rome.
1861 - Confederate States of America: Georgia leaves the Union, becoming the 5th state to do so.
1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs, the first important Confederate defeat of the war.
1871 - Franco-Prussian War: Prussia wins in the Battle of Saint Quentin.
1883 - German passenger steamer Cimbria sinks after a collision off the island of Borkum in the North Sea, killing 437 people.
1893 - Henrik Ibsen's play The Master Builder is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
1899 - Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
1901 2000
1915 - Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
1915 - World War I: German zeppelins bomb Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, killing over 20 people.
1917 - A Munitions Plant Explosion in London kills 73 people.
1920 - The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
1937 - Howard Hughes sets a new air record, by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
1942 - World War II: Japanese forces invade Burma.
1942 - Canadian passenger steamer RMS Lady Hawkins is sunk by a German U-boat off North Carolina, killing 251 people.
1945 - World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Lodz ghetto.
1946 - General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo.
1949 - Cuba recognises Israel as an independent country.
1953 - Almost 72% of US television sets are tuned in to I Love Lucy, to watch Lucy give birth.
1958 - An expedition led by Vivian Fuchs reaches the South Pole, the fourth expedition to do so.
1965 - The unmanned spacecraft Gemini 2 is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1966 - Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister of India.
1969 - Czechoslovakian student Jan Palach dies, three days after setting himself on fire in an act of protest.
1975 - A large earthquake strikes Himachal Pradesh, India.
1977 - Rare snowfalls occur in Miami, Florida and the Bahamas.
1977 - Gerald Ford pardons World War II propagandist Iva Toguri D'Aquino.
1978 - The last Volkswagen Beetle to be produced in Europe runs off the assembly line in Emden, Germany. They continue to be produced in Latin America until 2003.
1981 - Iran hostage crisis: US and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months in captivity.
1983 - The Apple Lisa commercial personal computer is announced by Apple Inc.
1983 - Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.
1991 - Gulf War: Iraq fires a second scud missile into Israel.
1993 - The Czech Republic and Slovakia join the UN.
1996 - The North Cape Oil Spill occurs off Rhode Island.
1997 - Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron, West Bank, after 30 years.
From 2001
2006 - NASA's New Horizons probe launches to Pluto.
2007 - Journalist Hrant Dink is murdered in front of his newspaper office.
2012 - Wikipedia's English language edition ends its blackout from the previous day, which was a protest action against the SOPA and PIPA laws proposed by the United States Congress.
2013 - Bulgarian politician Ahmed Dogan survives an attempt to kill him, when his attacker is stopped by security guards.
2013 - An EU-wide driving licence is introduced.
2014 - Anti-government protests escalate in Ukraine, as a new anti-protest law comes into force.
2014 - A bomb attack on an army convoy in the northern Pakistani city of Bannu kills 26 soldiers and injures 38 others.
Births
Up to 1900
399 - Pulcheria, Byzantine Empress (d. 453)
1544 - Francis II of France (d. 1560)
1676 - John Weldon, English musician and composer (d. 1736)
1736 - James Watt, Scottish engineer (d. 1819)
1737 - Giuseppe Millico, Italian singer, composer and music teacher (d. 1802)
1739 - Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (d. 1808)
1757 - Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf, German princess (d. 1831)
1788 - Pavel Kivelyov, Russian general and politician (d. 1874)
1798 - Auguste Comte, French philosopher (d. 1857)
1807 - Robert E. Lee, American Confederate General (d. 1870)
1808 - Lysander Spooner, American philosopher (d. 1887)
1809 - Edgar Allan Poe, American writer (d. 1849)
1813 - Henry Bessemer, English engineer and inventor (d. 1898)
1832 - Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist (d. 1875)
1833 - Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician (d. 1872)
1839 - Paul Cezanne, French painter (d. 1906)
1845 - Joseph M. Carey, Governor of Wyoming (d. 1924)
1848 - Matthew Webb, English swimmer and diver (d. 1883)
1851 - Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer (d. 1922)
1866 - Harry Davenport, American actor (d. 1949)
1871 - Dame Gruev, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1906)
1874 - Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1922)
1876 - Hakashima Gonshiri, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1943)
1876 - Dragotin Kette, Slovenian poet (d. 1899)
1878 - Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1934)
1880 - James G. Scrugham, 14th Governor of Nevada (d. 1945)
1889 - Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter, sculptor and designer (d. 1943)
1890 - Elmer Niklander, Finnish sportsman (d. 1942)
1892 - Olafur Thors, Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1964)
1893 - Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian classical pianist (d. 1986)
1901 1950
1901 - Hans Moser, Swiss equestrian (d. 1974)
1905 - Stanley Hawes, British-born Australian movie producer, director and administrator (d. 1991)
1908 - Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician (d. 1971)
1909 - Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (d. 2003)
1912 - Leonid Kantorovich, Russian economist (d. 1986)
1913 - Rudolph Wanderone, American pocket billiards player (d. 1996)
1917 - John Raitt, American singer and actor (d. 2005)
1920 - Javier Perez de Cuellar, Peruvian UN Secretary-General (d. 2020)
1920 - Aleksander Jackowski, Polish anthropologist (d. 2018)
1920 - Roberto M. Levingston, Argentine general and politician, 36th President of Argentina (d. 2015)
1920 - Bruce Sundlun, Governor of Rhode Island (d. 2011)
1921 - Patricia Highsmith, American writer (d. 1995)
1922 - Arthur Morris, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 2015)
1922 - Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Polish movie director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2007)
1922 - Guy Madison, American actor (d. 1996)
1923 - Jean Stapleton, American actress (d. 2013)
1925 - Nina Bawden, English writer (d. 2012)
1926 - Fritz Weaver, American actor
1930 - Tippi Hedren, American actress
1932 - Richard Lester, British movie director
1932 - Harry Lonsdale, American scientist and businessman (d. 2014)
1935 - Soumitra Chatterjee, Indian actor
1935 - Owsley Stanley, American sound engineer and LSD supplier (d. 2011)
1936 - Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
1937 - Giovanna Marini, Italian singer-songwriter
1937 - Princess Birgitta of Sweden
1939 - Phil Everly, American musician (Everly Brothers) (d. 2014)
1940 - Paolo Borsellino, Italian magistrate (d. 1992)
1940 - Mike Reid, English actor and comedian (d. 2007)
1941 - Tony Anholt, English actor (d. 2002)
1941 - Pat Patterson, Canadian professional wrestler
1942 - Michael Crawford, British singer and actor
1942 - Thom Mayne, American architect
1943 - Janis Joplin, American singer (d. 1970)
1943 - Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
1944 - Laurie London, British singer
1944 - Dan Reeves, American football coach
1945 - Dragan Holcer, Croatian footballer (d. 2015)
1945 - C. B. Forgotston, American political blogger (d. 2016)
1945 - Trevor Williams, British musician
1946 - Julian Barnes, British writer
1946 - Dolly Parton, American country music singer
1947 - Rod Evans, British musician (Deep Purple)
1948 - Frank McKenna, Canadian politician and diplomat, 27th Premier of New Brunswick
1948 - Amanda Holden, English playwright and composer
1949 - Dennis Taylor, Northern Irish snooker player
1949 - Robert Palmer, English singer (d. 2003)
1949 - Lindsay Roy, Scottish politician
1951 1975
1951 - Gerald Tinker, American athlete
1953 - Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor
1954 - Cindy Sherman, American photographer
1954 - Katharina Thalbach, German actress and movie director
1954 - Katey Sagal, American actress
1955 - Simon Rattle, British conductor
1957 - Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican politician
1958 - Thomas Kinkade, American painter (d. 2012)
1960 - Mauro Tassotti, Italian footballer
1960 - Al Joyner, American athlete
1961 - Wayne Hemingway, English fashion designer
1963 - Martin Bashir, English journalist
1963 - John Bercow, English politician, Speaker of the House of Commons
1963 - Michael Adams, American basketball player
1964 - Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer-songwriter and basketball player
1966 - Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player
1966 - Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer
1969 - Steve Staunton, Irish footballer
1969 - Junior Seau, American football player (d. 2012)
1969 - Luc Longley, Australian basketball player
1971 - Shawn Wayans, American actor
1972 - Angham, Egyptian singer, record producer and actress
1972 - Princess Kalina of Bulgaria
1973 - Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist
1973 - Frank Caliendo, American comedian, actor and screenwriter
1974 - Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer
From 1976
1979 - Wiley, British rapper
1979 - Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast
1980 - Pasha Kovalev, Russian-born dancer
1980 - Jenson Button, British racing driver
1981 - Asier del Horno, Spanish footballer
1982 - Jodie Sweetin, American actress
1985 - Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
1985 - Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
1985 - Pascal Behrenbruch, German decathlete
1986 - Claudio Marchisio, Italian footballer
1986 - Loren Geller-Rabinowitz, American ice dancer
1987 - Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer
1988 - Alexey Vorobyov, Russian singer and actor
1991 - Erin Sanders, American actress
1992 - Shawn Johnson, American gymnast
1992 - Mac Miller, American rapper, producer and actor
1992 - Logan Lerman, American actor
Deaths
Up to 1900
520 - John of Cappadocia, Patriarch of Constantinople
639 - Dagobert I, king of the Franks
1526 - Isabella of Burgundy, queen of Christian II of Denmark (b. 1501)
1576 - Hans Sacher, German meistersinger (b. 1494)
1661 - Thomas Venner, English Fifth monarchist (b. 1599)
1729 - William Congreve, English playwright (b. 1670)
1799 - Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1718)
1833 - Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold, French composer (b. 1791)
1847 - Charles Bent, New Mexico pioneer (b. 1799)
1851 - Esteban Echeverria, Argentine writer (b. 1805)
1865 - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and anarchist (b. 1809)
1869 - Carl Reichenbach, German philosopher and chemist (b. 1788)
1874 - August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (b. 1798)
1878 - Henri Victor Regnault, French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)
1883 - Richard England, British general (b. 1793)
1901 2000
1905 - Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (b. 1817)
1906 - Bartolome Mitre, President of Argentina (b. 1821)
1925 - Maria Sophia of the Two Sicilies (b. 1841)
1927 - Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1840)
1930 - Frank Plumpton Ramsey, British philosopher (b. 1903)
1948 - Tony Garnier, French architect (b. 1869)
1954 - Mohamed Amin Didi, President of the Maldives (b. 1910)
1957 - Jozsef Dudas, Hungarian-Romanian Resistance fighter (b. 1912)
1968 - Ray Harroun, first winner of the Indianapolis 500 (b. 1879)
1969 - Jan Palach, Czech student, political activist (b. 1948)
1971 - Harry Shields, jazz musician (b. 1899)
1972 - Michael Rabin, concert violinist (b. 1936)
1975 - Thomas Hart Benton, painter (b. 1889)
1979 - Tuffy Leemans, American football player (b. 1912)
1980 - William O. Douglas, United States Supreme Court Associate Justice (b. 1898)
1982 - Elis Regina, Brazilian soprano (b. 1945)
1984 - Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1920)
1990 - Herbert Wehner, German politician (b. 1906)
1990 - Rajneesh, religious leader (b. 1931)
1991 - John Russell, American actor (b. 1921)
1996 - Don Simpson, American movie producer (b. 1943)
1997 - James Dickey, poet, novelist (b. 1923)
1998 - Carl Perkins, guitarist (b. 1932)
2000 - Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
2000 - Hedy Lamarr, actress (b. 1914)
2001 2015
2003 - Francoise Giroud, French journalist, screenwriter and politician (b. 1916)
2003 - Milton Flores, Honduran footballer (b. 1974)
2004 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
2005 - Bill Andersen, New Zealand communist and trade union leader (b. 1924)
2005 - Donald Beardslee, United States murderer, executed in California (b. 1943)
2005 - K. Sello Duiker, South African novelist (b. 1974)
2005 - Ricardo Surinach, Catholic Bishop of Ponce, Puerto Rico (2000-2003) (b. 1928)
2006 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (b. 1941)
2007 - Scott Bigelow, American professional wrestler (b. 1961).
2007 - Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian journalist (b. 1954)
2007 - Denny Doherty, Canadian singer (b. 1940)
2008 - Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
2009 - Beatrice Farve, American supercentenarian (b. 1895)
2010 - Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby commentator (b. 1923)
2010 - Panajot Pano, Albanian footballer (b. 1939)
2012 - Sarah Burke, Canadian freestyle skier (b. 1982)
2013 - Stan Musial, American baseball player (b. 1920)
2013 - Earl Weaver, American baseball manager (b. 1930)
2013 - Taiho Koki, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1940)
2014 - Christopher Chataway, English athlete, broadcaster, politician and businessman (b. 1931)
2014 - Bert Williams, English footballer (b. 1920)
2014 - Azaria Alon, Israeli environmentalist (b. 1918)
2014 - Steven Fromholz, American entertainer, singer and songwriter (b. 1945)
2015 - Michel Guimond, Canadian politician (b. 1953)
2015 - Vladimir Kesarev, Russian footballer (b. 1930)
2015 - Anne Kirkbride, English actress (Coronation Street) (b. 1954)
2015 - Arthit Kamlang-ek, Thai general (b. 1925)
2015 - Bob Symes, English inventor and television presenter (b. 1924)
2015 - Karl H. Pribram, American neuroscientist and educator (b. 1919)
2015 - Adam Yahiye Gadahn, American Al-Qaeda operative (b. 1978)
From 2016
2016 - Yasutaro Koide, Japanese supercentenarian, oldest-living man (b. 1903)
2016 - Ettore Scola, Italian movie director (b. 1931)
2016 - M. K. A. D. S. Gunawardana, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1947)
2016 - Robert M. Carter, English paleontologist (b. 1942)
2016 - Sheila Sim, English actress (b. 1922)
2016 - Frank Sullivan, American baseball player (b. 1930)
2016 - Richard Levins, American mathematical ecologist and population geneticist (b. 1930)
2016 - William Y. Smith, American air force general (b. 1925)
2017 - Jalal Allakhverdiyev, Azerbaijani mathematician (b. 1929)
2017 - Wayne Barrett, American journalist (b. 1945)
2017 - Loalwa Braz, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1953)
2017 - Miguel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1955)
2017 - Eddie Filgate, Irish politician (b. 1915)
2017 - Jan Kruis, Dutch cartoonist (b. 1933)
2017 - Ger van Mourik, Dutch footballer (b. 1931)
2017 - Edwin Pope, American journalist (b. 1928)
2017 - Walt Streuli, American baseball player (b. 1935)
2017 - James S. Vlasto, American public servant (b. 1934)
2017 - H. Boyd Woodruff, American microbiologist (b. 1917)
2017 - Teori Zavascki, Brazilian judge (b. 1948)
2018 - Ute Bock, Austrian educator and humanitarian (b. 1942)
2018 - Anna Campori, Italian actress (b. 1917)
2018 - Saqi Farooqi, Pakistani poet (b. 1926)
2018 - Red Fisher, Canadian sports journalist (b. 1926)
2018 - Dorothy Malone, American actress (b. 1924)
2018 - Fredo Santana, American rapper (b. 1990)
2018 - Allison Shearmur, American film producer (b. 1963)
Observances
Epiphany in the Eastern Orthodox Church
Southern US States commemorate Robert E. Lee on this date.
Days of the year