January 15

January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 350 days remaining until the end of the year (351 in leap years).

Events

• 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but rules for only three months before committing suicide.
• 1493 – Christopher Columbus sets sail for Spain from Hispaniola, ending his first voyage to the New World.
• 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the "Holy Catholic faith".
• 1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London, England.
• 1582 – Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
• 1759 – The British Museum opens.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
• 1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
• 1815 – War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
• 1822 – Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.
• 1844 – University of Notre Dame receives its charter from the state of Indiana.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
• 1870 – A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly).
• 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.
• 1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
• 1908 – The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
• 1910 – Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 325 ft (99 m).
• 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.
• 1919 – Boston Molasses Disaster: A large molasses tank in Boston, Massachusetts, bursts and a wave of molasses rushes through the streets, killing 21 people and injuring 150 others.
• 1933 – A twelve-year-old girl experiences the first Marian apparition of Our Lady of Banneux in Banneux, Belgium.
• 1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
• 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
• 1943 – World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
• 1943 – The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
• 1947 – The brutalized corpse of Elizabeth Short (The "Black Dahlia") is found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles.
• 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
• 1951 – Ilse Koch, "The Witch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in West Germany.
• 1962 – The Derveni papyrus, Europe's oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.
• 1966 – The Nigerian First Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d'état.
• 1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles, California. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.
• 1969 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
• 1970 – Nigerian Civil War: After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafra surrenders.
• 1970 – Moammar Gadhafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
• 1973 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
• 1974 – Dennis Rader aka the BTK Killer kills his first victims by binding, torturing and murdering Joseph, Joseph II, Josephine and Julie Otero in their house.
• 1975 – The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.
• 1976 – Gerald Ford's would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
• 1981 – John Paul II receives a delegation from Solidarity at the Vatican led by Lech Walesa.
• 1991 – The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
• 1991 – Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth Realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.
• 1992 – The international community recognizes the independence of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
• 1993 – Salvatore Riina, the Mafia boss known as "The Beast", is arrested in Sicily, Italy after three decades as a fugitive.
• 2001 – Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
• 2005 – ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon.
• 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
• 2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York, New York. All passengers and crew members survive.

Births

• 1432 – Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
• 1481 – Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shogun (d. 1511)
• 1538 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
• 1622 – Molière, French playwright and actor (d. 1673)
• 1671 – Abraham de la Pryme, English antiquarian (d. 1704)
• 1674 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet (d. 1762)
• 1716 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence (d. 1778)
• 1747 – John Aikin, English doctor (d. 1822)
• 1754 – Richard Martin, Irish politician and activist (d. 1834)
• 1791 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright (d. 1872)
• 1795 – Alexandr Griboyedov, Russian playwright (d. 1829)
• 1803 – Marjorie Fleming, Scottish poet (d. 1811)
• 1809 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French politician, philosopher, and economist (d. 1865)
• 1812 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (d. 1885)
• 1815 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, 3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ (d. 1905)
• 1816 – Marie Lafarge, French murderer (d. 1852)
• 1824 – Marie Duplessis, French courtier (d. 1847)
• 1834 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American politician (d. 1911)
• 1841 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, English politician, 6th Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
• 1842 – Josef Breuer, Austrian psychiatrist (d. 1925)
• 1842 – Mary MacKillop, Australian saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (d. 1909)
• 1850 – Leonard Darwin, English soldier and politician (d. 1943)
• 1850 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (d. 1889)
• 1850 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician (d. 1891)
• 1855 – Jacques Damala, Greek military officer and actor (d. 1889)
• 1859 – Archibald Peake, Australian politician, 25th Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
• 1863 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
• 1866 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
• 1869 – Ruby Laffoon, American politician, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)
• 1869 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish playwright (d. 1907)
• 1870 – Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman (d. 1954)
• 1872 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author (d. 1944)
• 1872 – Hugo Rüster, German rower
• 1875 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter (d. 1929)
• 1877 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist (d. 1956)
• 1878 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
• 1879 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author (d. 1961)
• 1882 – Princess Margaret of Connaught (d. 1920)
• 1885 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (d. 1973)
• 1885 – Miles Burke, American boxer (d. 1928)
• 1885 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
• 1885 – Huang Yuanyong, Chinese journalist and author (d. 1915)
• 1890 – Tommy Fleming, American soccer player (d. 1965)
• 1891 – Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
• 1891 – Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet (d. 1938)
• 1892 – Rex Ingram, Irish actor, producer, and director (d. 1950)
• 1893 – Ivor Novello, Welsh singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1951)
• 1894 – Ecaterina Teodoroiu, Romanian soldier (d. 1917)
• 1895 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
• 1897 – Xu Zhimo, Chinese poet (d. 1931)
• 1899 – Goodman Ace, American actor (d. 1982)
• 1900 – William Heinesen, Faroese poet and author (d. 1991)
• 1902 – Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
• 1903 – Paul A. Dever, American politician, 58th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
• 1905 – Kamatari Fujiwara, Japanese actor (d. 1985)
• 1905 – Torin Thatcher, English actor (d. 1981)
• 1908 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist (d. 2003)
• 1909 – Jean Bugatti, German-Italian engineer (d. 1939)
• 1909 – Gene Krupa, American drummer and composer (d. 1973)
• 1912 – Michel Debré, French politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1996)
• 1913 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (d. 2002)
• 1913 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
• 1913 – Miriam Hyde, Australian composer and pianist (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Alexander Marinesko, Soviet navy officer (d. 1963)
• 1914 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian (d. 2003)
• 1918 – João Figueiredo, Brazilian military leader and politician, 30th President of Brazil (d. 1999)
• 1918 – Édouard Gagnon, Canadian cardinal (d. 2007)
• 1918 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian army officer and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (d. 1970)
• 1919 – Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer (d. 2012)
• 1920 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
• 1920 – John Joseph O'Connor, American cardinal (d. 2000)
• 1921 – Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2007)
• 1921 – Frank Thornton, English actor (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Eric Willis, Australian politician, 34th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet (d. 2006)
• 1923 – Arthur Quinlan, Irish journalist (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese-Chinese politician, 4th President of the Republic of China
• 1924 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Ruth Slenczynska, American pianist
• 1926 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Phyllis Coates, American actress
• 1929 – Earl Hooker, American guitarist (d. 1970)
• 1929 – Queen Ida, American accordion player
• 1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American minster and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
• 1930 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler (d. 1985)
• 1931 – Lee Bontecou, American sculptor
• 1933 – Ernest J. Gaines, American author
• 1934 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (d. 2013)
• 1935 – Malcolm Frager, American pianist (d. 1991)
• 1936 – Obo Addy, Ghanaian drummer and dancer (d. 2012)
• 1937 – Margaret O'Brien, American actress
• 1938 – Ashraf Aman, Pakistani engineer and mountaineer
• 1938 – Estrella Blanca, Mexican wrestler
• 1938 – Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
• 1941 – Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1942 – Frank Joseph Polozola, American judge (d. 2013)
• 1942 – Barbara Tarbuck, American actress
• 1943 – Stuart E. Eizenstat, American lawyer
• 1943 – Mike Marshall, American baseball player
• 1944 – Jenny Nimmo, English author
• 1945 – Vince Foster, American lawyer (d. 1993)
• 1945 – William R. Higgins, American colonel (d. 1990)
• 1945 – Princess Michael of Kent
• 1947 – Andrea Martin, American-Canadian actress
• 1948 – Aldo Zadrima, Albanian Chess player
• 1948 – Ronnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
• 1949 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2001)
• 1949 – Alasdair Liddell, English businessman (d. 2012)
• 1949 – Panos Mihalopoulos, Greek actor
• 1950 – Marius Trésor, French footballer
• 1952 – Andrzej Fischer, Polish footballer
• 1953 – Kent Hovind, American evangelist
• 1953 – Ta-Tanisha, American actress
• 1953 – Randy White, American football player
• 1954 – Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino poet, author, and scriptwriter
• 1954 – Nikos Sarganis, Greek footballer
• 1955 – Nigel Benson, English author
• 1956 – Mayawati, Indian politician, 23rd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
• 1956 – Miki Fujimura, Japanese singer (Candies)
• 1956 – Vitaly Kaloyev, Russian architect
• 1956 – Marc Trestman, American football player and coach
• 1957 – Marty Lyons, American football player
• 1957 – Mario Van Peebles, American actor
• 1958 – Boris Tadić, Serbian politician, 16th President of Serbia
• 1959 – Sister Carol, Jamaican singer
• 1959 – Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer and photographer (d. 2008)
• 1959 – Pete Trewavas, English bass player (Kino, Marillion, Transatlantic, and Edison's Children)
• 1960 – Kelly Asbury, American actor and director
• 1960 – Aaron Jay Kernis, American composer
• 1961 – Yves Pelletier, Canadian actor and director
• 1963 – Conrad Lant, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Venom and Cronos)
• 1963 – Bruce Schneier, American cryptographer and author
• 1964 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
• 1965 – Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
• 1965 – Bernard Hopkins, American boxer
• 1965 – Adam Jones, American guitarist and songwriter (Tool and Electric Sheep)
• 1965 – James Nesbitt, Irish actor
• 1966 – Lisa Lisa, American singer (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam)
• 1968 – Barry Buchanan, American wrestler
• 1968 – Chad Lowe, American actor, director, and producer
• 1968 – Iñaki Urdangarin, Duke of Palma de Mallorca
• 1969 – Meret Becker, German actress and singer
• 1969 – Delino DeShields, American baseball player
• 1969 – Huck Seed, American poker player
• 1970 – Shane McMahon, American wrestler and businessman
• 1971 – Regina King, American actress
• 1972 – Christos Kostis, Greek footballer
• 1972 – Ernie Reyes, Jr. American actor, stuntman, and martial artist
• 1972 – Kobe Tai, Taiwanese-American porn actress
• 1972 – Claudia Winkleman, English journalist
• 1973 – Essam El-Hadary, Egyptian footballer
• 1974 – Edith Bowman, Scottish television and radio host
• 1974 – Ray King, American baseball player
• 1974 – Tim Shaw, English radio and television host
• 1975 – Marc Cartwright, American photographer
• 1975 – Mary Pierce, French tennis player
• 1975 – 9th Wonder, American rapper and producer (Little Brother)
• 1976 – Corey Chavous, American football player
• 1976 – Doug Gottlieb, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1976 – Scott Murray, Scottish rugby player
• 1976 – Florentin Petre, Romanian footballer
• 1978 – Eddie Cahill, American actor
• 1978 – Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
• 1978 – Ryan Sidebottom, English cricketer
• 1979 – 3Krazy, American rapper and producer
• 1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
• 1979 – Ken Chu, Taiwanese singer and actor (F4)
• 1979 – Michalis Morfis, Cypriot footballer
• 1979 – Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
• 1980 – Matt Holliday, American baseball player
• 1981 – Pitbull, American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1981 – Howie Day, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1981 – El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer
• 1981 – Vanessa Henke, German tennis player
• 1981 – Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby player
• 1982 – Benjamin Agosto, American skater
• 1982 – Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia
• 1982 – Emina Jahović, Serbian-Turkish singer-songwriter and actress
• 1982 – Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1982 – Brett Lebda, Americanice hockey player
• 1982 – Neil Nitin Mukesh, Indian actor
• 1982 – Prince Philip of Yugoslavia
• 1982 – Ari Pulkkinen, Finnish composer
• 1982 – Francis Zé, Cameroonian footballer
• 1983 – Matic Kralj, Slovenian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
• 1983 – Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
• 1984 – Megan Jendrick, American swimmer
• 1984 – Victor Rasuk, American actor
• 1985 – René Adler, German footballer
• 1985 – Enrico Patrizio, Italian rugby player
• 1985 – Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
• 1986 – Fred Davis, American football player
• 1986 – Jessy Schram, American actress
• 1986 – Isaia Toeava, New Zealand rugby player
• 1987 – Greg Inglis, Australian rugby player
• 1987 – Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian runner
• 1987 – Kelly Kelly, American wrestler and model
• 1987 – David Knight, English footballer
• 1987 – Nicole Matthews, Canadian wrestler
• 1987 – Michael Seater, Canadian actor
• 1988 – Skrillex, American singer-songwriter, DJ, and producer (From First to Last and Dog Blood)
• 1988 – Daniel Caligiuri, German footballer
• 1988 – Jun. K, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor (2PM)
• 1989 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
• 1989 – Keiffer Hubbell, American ice dancer
• 1990 – Paul Blake, English sprinter
• 1990 – Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Konstantinos Sloukas, Greek basketball player
• 1990 – Sophie Sumner, English model
• 1990 – Catherine Thomas, English model
• 1990 – Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer
• 1991 – Marc Bartra, Spanish footballer
• 1991 – Jahangir Wasim, Pakistani businessman
• 1991 – Nicolai Jørgensen, Danish footballer
• 1992 – Joshua King, Norwegian footballer
• 1994 – Jordy Croux, Belgian footballer

Deaths

• 69 – Galba, Roman emperor (b. 3 BC)
• 570 – Íte of Killeedy, Irish nun and saint (b. 475)
• 849 – Theophylact (b. 793)
• 936 – Rudolph of France (b. 880)
• 1345 – Martino Zaccaria, Greek ruler
• 1568 – Nicolaus Olahus, Romanian archbishop (b. 1493)
• 1595 – Murat III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1546)
• 1623 – Paolo Sarpi, Italian scientist and scholar (b. 1552)
• 1672 – John Cosin, English clergyman (b. 1594)
• 1683 – Philip Warwick, English politician (b. 1609)
• 1775 – Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1700)
• 1781 – Mariana Victoria of Spain (b. 1718)
• 1790 – John Landen, English mathematician (b. 1719)
• 1804 – Dru Drury, English entomologist (b. 1725)
• 1813 – Anton Bernolák, Slovak linguist and priest (b. 1762)
• 1815 – Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (b. 1761)
• 1855 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (b. 1780)
• 1864 – Isaac Nathan, English-Australian composer and journalist (b. 1792)
• 1876 – Eliza McCardle Johnson, American wife of Andrew Johnson, 18th First Lady of the United States (b. 1810)
• 1885 – Leopold Damrosch, German-American conductor (b. 1832)
• 1893 – Fanny Kemble, English-American actress and author (b. 1809)
• 1896 – Mathew Brady, American photographer (b. 1822)
• 1909 – Arnold Janssen, German priest and missionary (b. 1837)
• 1916 – Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian playwright (b. 1850)
• 1919 – Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
• 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg, German theorist, philosopher, and economist (b. 1871)
• 1926 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1883)
• 1936 – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, English politician, 7th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
• 1937 – Anton Holban, Romanian author (b. 1902)
• 1944 – Robert J. Kirby, American police officer (b. 1890)
• 1945 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian mathematician (b. 1865)
• 1946 – Karl Nabersberg, German youth leader (b. 1908)
• 1947 – Black Dahlia, American murder victim (b. 1924)
• 1948 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and diplomat, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1862)
• 1950 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (b. 1886)
• 1952 – Ned Hanlon, Australian politician, 26th Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
• 1955 – Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)
• 1964 – Jack Teagarden, American singer-songwriter and trombone player (b. 1905)
• 1967 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (b. 1882)
• 1968 – Bill Masterton, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
• 1970 – William T. Piper, American businessman, founded Piper Aircraft (b. 1881)
• 1972 – Daisy Ashford, English author (b. 1881)
• 1973 – Coleman Francis, American director (b. 1919)
• 1973 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
• 1983 – Meyer Lansky, Russian-American gangster (b. 1902)
• 1983 – Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
• 1987 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
• 1988 – Seán MacBride, French-Irish politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
• 1990 – Peggy van Praagh, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (b. 1910)
• 1992 – Dee Murray, English bass player (The Mirage, Procol Harum, and The Spencer Davis Group) (b. 1946)
• 1993 – Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
• 1994 – Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist (b. 1921)
• 1994 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
• 1994 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (b. 1916)
• 1995 – Vera Maxwell, American fashion designer (b. 1901)
• 1996 – Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
• 1996 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
• 1996 – Rudolf Wanderone, American billiards player (b. 1913)
• 1998 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian economist and politician, Prime Minister of India (b. 1898)
• 1998 – Junior Wells, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (The Aces) (b. 1934)
• 1999 – Betty Box, English film producer (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian-Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
• 2000 – Željko Ražnatović, Serbian criminal (b. 1952)
• 2000 – Fran Ryan, American actress (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Ted Mann, American businessman (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Leo Marks, English cryptographer and scriptwriter (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American politician, American politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
• 2002 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (b. 1913)
• 2002 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
• 2004 – Terje Bakken, Norwegian singer-songwriter (Windir) (b. 1978)
• 2004 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (b. 1949)
• 2005 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Catalan soprano (b. 1923)
• 2005 – Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
• 2005 – Elizabeth Janeway, American author (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Dan Lee, Canadian animator (b. 1969)
• 2005 – Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1915)
• 2006 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Saudi Arabian Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926)
• 2006 – El Texano, Mexican wrestler (b. 1958)
• 2007 – Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Iraqi judge (b. 1945)
• 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Iraqi intelligence officer (b. 1951)
• 2007 – James Hillier, Canadian-American scientist, inventor of electron microscope (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino diplomat (b. 1905)
• 2007 – David Vanole, American soccer player (b. 1963)
• 2007 – Bo Yibo, Chinese military leader and politician (b. 1908)
• 2008 – Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, English video game designer (b. 1964)
• 2008 – Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)
• 2009 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
• 2011 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Carlo Fruttero, Italian author and journalist (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish politician, 3rd President of the Xunta of Galicia (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Generous, Irish horse (b. 1988)
• 2013 – Eifan Saadoun Al Issawi, Iraqi politician (b. 1970)
• 2013 – Yang Baibing, Chinese general and politician (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Chucho Castillo, Mexican boxer (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Daniel Edelman, American publicist, founded Edelman (b. 1920)
• 2013 – George Gund III, American businessman (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Balthazar Korab, Hungarian-American photographer (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Princess Margarita of Baden (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Zurab Popkhadze, Georgian footballer (b. 1972)
• 2013 – Robert Gordon Robertson, Canadian civil servant (b. 1917)
• 2013 – John Thomas, American high jumper (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Yuli Turovsky, Russian-Canadian conductor and cellist (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances

• Armed Forces Day (Nigeria)
• Army Day (India)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abeluzius (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
  • Ita
  • Macarius of Egypt (Western Christianity)
  • Paul the Hermit
  • January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which International Fetish Day can fall, while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Friday in January.
• Earliest day on which Martin Luther King, Jr. Day can fall, while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in January. (United States)
• John Chilembwe Day (Malawi)
• Korean Alphabet Day (North Korea)
• One of the two Carmentalia, in honor of Carmenta. (Roman Empire)
• The second day of the sidereal winter solstice festivals in India (see January 14):
  • Maatu Pongal, celebrated by performing Jallikattu (Tamil)
• Tree Planting Day (Egypt)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On this day in Canada

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