January 18

January 18 is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 347 days remaining until the end of the year (348 in leap years).

Events

• 350 – General Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor.
• 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later.
• 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
• 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
• 1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.
• 1535 – Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founds Lima, the capital of Peru.
• 1562 – Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
• 1591 – King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Minchit Sra of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
• 1670 – Henry Morgan captures Panama.
• 1701 – Frederick I crowns himself King of Prussia in Königsberg.
• 1778 – James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands".
• 1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrive at Botany Bay.
• 1866 – Wesley College, Melbourne is established.
• 1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed the first German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles (France) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The empire is known as the Second Reich to Germans.
• 1884 – Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom.
• 1886 – Modern hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
• 1896 – An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H.L. Smith.
• 1903 – President Theodore Roosevelt sends a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.
• 1911 – Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco Bay, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
• 1913 – First Balkan War: A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
• 1915 – Japan issues the "Twenty-One Demands" to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
• 1916 – A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite strikes a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.
• 1919 – World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.
• 1919 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
• 1919 – Bentley Motors Limited is founded.
• 1941 – World War II: British troops launch a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa.
• 1943 – Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
• 1944 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
• 1944 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three-year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.
• 1945 – World War II: Liberation of the Budapest ghetto by the Red Army.
• 1945 – World War II: Liberation of Krakow, Poland by the Red Army.
• 1955 – Chinese Civil War: Battle of Yijiangshan is fought.
• 1958 – Willie O'Ree, the first African Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.
• 1960 – Capital Airlines Flight 20 crashes into a farm in Charles City County, Virginia, killing all 50 aboard, the third fatal Capital Airlines crash in as many years.
• 1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler", is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment.
• 1969 – United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members.
• 1974 – A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
• 1976 – Lebanese Christian militias overrun Karantina, Beirut, killing at least 1,000.
• 1977 – Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease.
• 1977 – Australia's worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
• 1977 – SFR Yugoslavia's Prime minister, Džemal Bijedić, his wife and 6 others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 1978 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
• 1978 – The roof structure of the Hartford Civic Center collapses after a significant snowfall.
• 1981 – Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
• 1983 – The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals to his family.
• 1990 – Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
• 1993 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 states.
• 1994 – The Cando event, a possible bolide impact in Cando, Spain. Witnesses claim to have seen a fireball in the sky lasting for almost one minute.
• 1997 – In northwest Rwanda, Hutu militia members kill 3 Spanish aid workers, 3 soldiers and seriously wound one other.
• 1997 – Børge Ousland of Norway becomes the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided.
• 2000 – The Tagish Lake meteorite impacts the Earth.
• 2002 – Sierra Leone Civil War is declared over.
• 2003 – A bushfire kills 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
• 2005 – The Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France
• 2007 – The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people and Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Hurricane Kyrill causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe.
• 2009 – Gaza War: Hamas announces they will accept Israeli Defense Forces's offer of a ceasefire, ending the assault.
• 2010 – Big Time Rush premiered on Nickelodeon
• 2012 – A series of coordinated actions take place in protest against Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act.

Births

• 885 – Emperor Daigo of Japan (d. 930)
• 1519 – Isabella Jagiellon, Polish wife of John Zápolya (d. 1559)
• 1543 – Alfonso Ferrabosco the elder, Italian composer (d. 1588)
• 1641 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French politician, Secretary of State for War (d. 1691)
• 1659 – Damaris Cudworth Masham, English philosopher (d. 1708)
• 1672 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French author (d. 1731)
• 1688 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, English politician (d. 1765)
• 1689 – Montesquieu, French philosopher (d. 1755)
• 1743 – Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, French philosopher (d. 1803)
• 1751 – Ferdinand Kauer, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1831)
• 1779 – Peter Mark Roget, English physician, lexicographer, and theologian (d. 1869)
• 1782 – Daniel Webster, American politician, 14th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
• 1795 – Anna Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1865)
• 1813 – Joseph Glidden, American farmer (d. 1906)
• 1815 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German scholar (d. 1874)
• 1840 – Henry Austin Dobson, English poet (d. 1921)
• 1841 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French pianist and composer (d. 1894)
• 1842 – A. A. Ames, American politician, Mayor of Minneapolis (d. 1911)
• 1848 – Ioan Slavici, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1925)
• 1849 – Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
• 1850 – Seth Low, American politician, 92nd Mayor of New York City (d. 1916)
• 1853 – Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, South African farmer, soldier, and gun-maker (d. 1900)
• 1854 – Thomas A. Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934)
• 1856 – Daniel Hale Williams, American surgeon (d. 1931)
• 1867 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat(d. 1916)
• 1868 – Kantarō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
• 1877 – Sam Zemurray, Russian-American businessman, founded the Cuyamel Fruit Company (d. 1961)
• 1879 – Henri Giraud, French general (d. 1949)
• 1879 – Tane Ikai, Japanese super-centenarian (d. 1995)
• 1880 – Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, Italian cardinal (d. 1954)
• 1880 – Paul Ehrenfest, Austrian physicist (d. 1933)
• 1881 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (d. 1975)
• 1882 – A. A. Milne, English author (d. 1956)
• 1883 – George Oliver, American golfer (d. 1965)
• 1884 – John Eisele, American athlete (d. 1933)
• 1886 – Clara Nordström, Swedish-German author (d. 1962)
• 1888 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player and pilot (d. 1989)
• 1891 – Nikolajs Švedrēvics, Latvian javelin thrower (d. 1937)
• 1892 – Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (d. 1957)
• 1892 – Bill Meanix, American hurdler (d. 1957)
• 1892 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon (d. 1956)
• 1894 – Toots Mondt, American wrestler (d. 1976)
• 1896 – C. M. Eddy, Jr., American author (d. 1967)
• 1896 – Ville Ritola, Finnish runner (d. 1982)
• 1898 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian writer and journalist (d. 1978)
• 1901 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1973)
• 1904 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (d. 2006)
• 1904 – Cary Grant, English-American actor (d. 1986)
• 1905 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-American gangster (d. 2002)
• 1908 – Jacob Bronowski, Polish-English mathematician, historian, and television host (d. 1974)
• 1908 – Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1972)
• 1910 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist (d. 1993)
• 1911 – José María Arguedas, Peruvian anthropologist, author, and poet (d. 1969)
• 1913 – Danny Kaye, American actor (d. 1987)
• 1913 – Giannis Papaioannou, Greek composer (d. 1972)
• 1914 – Arno Schmidt, German author (d. 1979)
• 1914 – Vitomil Zupan, Yugoslav author, poet, and playwright (d. 1987)
• 1915 – Syl Apps, Canadian pole vaulter, ice hockey player, and politician (d. 1998)
• 1915 – Santiago Carrillo, Spanish soldier and politician (d. 2012)
• 1915 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1984)
• 1917 – Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese businessman (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Gustave Gingras, Canadian physician (d. 1996)
• 1918 – Nicholas Oresko, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2013)
• 1919 – Toni Turek, German footballer (d. 1984)
• 1921 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1922 – Bob Bell, American clown (d. 1997)
• 1923 – John Graham, Welsh general (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Gilles Deleuze, French philosopher (d. 1995)
• 1925 – John V. Evans, American soldier and politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (d. 2014)
• 1925 – Sol Yurick, American author (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Randolph Bromery, American geologist and academic (d. 2013)
• 1927 – Sundaram Balachander, Indian veena player, actor, and singer (d. 1990)
• 1931 – Chun Doo-hwan, South Korean general and politician, 5th President of South Korea
• 1932 – Robert Anton Wilson, American author (d. 2007)
• 1933 – Emeka Anyaoku, Nigerian politician, 8th Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1933 – David Bellamy, English botanist, author and academic
• 1933 – John Boorman, English director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1933 – Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (d. 2013)
• 1933 – William Goodhart, Baron Goodhart, English lawyer and politician
• 1934 – Raymond Briggs, English author and illustrator
• 1935 – Albert Millaire, Canadian actor and director
• 1935 – Jon Stallworthy, English poet, critic, and academic (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Gad Yaacobi, Israeli diplomat, 10th Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2007)
• 1936 – David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, English journalist and politician
• 1937 – Dick Durock, American actor and stuntman (d. 2009)
• 1937 – John Hume, Irish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1938 – Curt Flood, American baseball player (d. 1997)
• 1938 – Werner Olk, German footballer and manager
• 1940 – Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican race car driver (d. 1971)
• 1941 – Denise Bombardier, Canadian journalist and author
• 1941 – Bobby Goldsboro, American singer-songwriter
• 1941 – David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991)
• 1943 – Paul Freeman, English actor
• 1943 – Kay Granger, American politician
• 1943 – Dave Greenslade, English keyboard player (Greenslade, Colosseum, and IF)
• 1943 – Charlie Wilson, American politician (d. 2013)
• 1944 – Paul Keating, Australian politician, 24th Prime Minister of Australia
• 1944 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (d. 1983)
• 1945 – Rocco Forte, English businessman
• 1945 – José Luis Perales, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1945 – Balagangadharanatha Swamiji, Indian religious leader (d. 2013)
• 1946 – Perro Aguayo, Mexican wrestler
• 1946 – Joseph Deiss, Swiss politician, 156th President of the Swiss Confederation
• 1946 – Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseball player
• 1947 – Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director
• 1949 – Bill Keller, American journalist
• 1949 – Philippe Starck, French interior designer
• 1950 – Gianfranco Brancatelli, Italian race car driver
• 1950 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
• 1951 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist (d. 1982)
• 1951 – Bob Latchford, English footballer
• 1951 – Alan Moody, English footballer
• 1952 – Michael Angelis, English actor
• 1952 – Michael Behe, American biochemist and author
• 1952 – R. Stevie Moore, American singer-songwriter
• 1953 – Patrick G. Halpin, American politician
• 1953 – Brett Hudson, American singer-songwriter and producer (Hudson Brothers)
• 1954 – Tom Bailey, English singer-songwriter (Thompson Twins, International Observer, and Bailey-Salgado Project)
• 1954 – Ted DiBiase, American wrestler and manager
• 1954 – Jagdish Mali, Indian photographer (d. 2013)
• 1955 – Kevin Costner, American actor, singer, director, and producer
• 1955 – Frankie Knuckles, American DJ and producer (d. 2014)
• 1955 – Fergus Martin, Irish painter
• 1956 – Paul Deighton, Baron Deighton, English banker and politician
• 1956 – Sharon Mitchell, American porn actress and director
• 1961 – Peter Beardsley, English footballer and manager
• 1961 – Bobby Hansen, American basketball player
• 1961 – Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1961 – Mark Rylance, English actor, director, and playwright
• 1961 – Jeff Yagher, American actor
• 1962 – Alison Arngrim, American actress
• 1962 – Mike Lynch, American cartoonist
• 1962 – David O'Connor, American horse rider
• 1963 – Maxime Bernier, Canadian politician, 7th Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada
• 1963 – Martin O'Malley, American politician, 61st Governor of Maryland
• 1963 – Yury Zakharevich, Russian weightlifter
• 1964 – Brady Anderson, American baseball player
• 1964 – Richard Dunwoody, Irish jockey
• 1964 – Jane Horrocks, English actress
• 1964 – Andrea Leand, American tennis player
• 1964 – Enrico Lo Verso, Italian actor
• 1965 – Dave Attell, American comedian and actor
• 1966 – Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player
• 1966 – André Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
• 1967 – Dean Bailey, Australian rules footballer (d. 2014)
• 1967 – Andrei Inešin, Estonian shooter
• 1967 – Kim Perrot, American basketball player (d. 1999)
• 1967 – Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer
• 1968 – Dragana Mirković, Serbian singer
• 1969 – Dave Batista, American wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
• 1969 – John Eder, American politician
• 1969 – Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer
• 1969 – Jim O'Rourke, American guitarist and producer (Sonic Youth, Loose Fur, and Gastr del Sol)
• 1970 – DJ Quik, American rapper, producer, and actor (The Fixxers and QDT)
• 1970 – Peter van Petegem, Belgian cyclist
• 1971 – Jonathan Davis, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Korn, Sexart, and Killbot)
• 1971 – Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
• 1971 – Pep Guardiola, Spanish footballer and coach
• 1971 – Seamus O'Regan, Canadian journalist
• 1971 – Fabian Ribauw, Nauruan politician
• 1972 – Vinod Kambli, Indian cricketer
• 1972 – Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player
• 1972 – Kjersti Plätzer, Norwegian race walker
• 1973 – Burnie Burns, American actor, director, and producer, co-founded Rooster Teeth Productions
• 1973 – Luther Dickinson, American singer and guitarist (North Mississippi Allstars, The Black Crowes, The Word, and Phil Lesh and Friends)
• 1973 – Benjamin Jealous, American political scientist
• 1973 – Anthony Koutoufides, Australian footballer
• 1973 – Guo Degang, Chinese actor
• 1973 – Crispian Mills, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director (The Jeevas and Kula Shaker)
• 1974 – Christian Burns, English singer-songwriter (BBMak)
• 1974 – Princess Claire of Belgium
• 1974 – Devon Odessa, American actress
• 1974 – Maulik Pancholy, American actor
• 1974 – Michael Tunn, Australian radio and television host
• 1976 – Laurence Courtois, Belgian tennis player
• 1976 – Damien Leith, Irish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1977 – Richard Archer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Hard-Fi)
• 1977 – Curtis Cregan, American actor and singer (Hi-5)
• 1977 – Alina Jidkova, Russian tennis player
• 1977 – Richard Wall, Irish actor
• 1978 – Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player
• 1978 – Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
• 1978 – Bogdan Lobonț, Romanian footballer
• 1979 – Jay Chou, Taiwanese singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
• 1979 – Ruslan Fedotenko, Ukrainian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
• 1979 – Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player
• 1979 – Anastasia Grebenkina, Russian ice dancer
• 1979 – Kenyatta Jones, American football player
• 1979 – Petra Yared, Lebanese-Australian actress
• 1980 – Estelle, English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1980 – Robert Green, English footballer
• 1980 – Kert Haavistu, Estonian footballer and manager
• 1980 – Julius Peppers, American football player
• 1980 – Jason Segel, American actor, singer, and screenwriter
• 1981 – Otgonbayar Ershuu, Mongolian painter
• 1981 – Kang Dong-won, South Korean actor
• 1981 – Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player
• 1981 – Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer
• 1982 – Quinn Allman, American guitarist and producer (The Used)
• 1982 – Tõnis Erm, Estonian orienteerer
• 1982 – Mary Jepkosgei Keitany, Kenyan long-distance runner
• 1982 – Joanna Newsom, American singer-songwriter and harp player (The Pleased)
• 1982 – Rolf Roosalu, Estonian singer and actor
• 1983 – Samantha Mumba, Irish singer-songwriter and actress
• 1983 – Amir Blumenfeld, Actor, Comedian (Jake and Amir)
• 1984 – Kristy Lee Cook, American singer
• 1984 – Ioannis Drymonakos, Greek swimmer
• 1984 – Makoto Hasebe, Japanese footballer
• 1984 – Michael Kearney, American academic
• 1984 – Benji Schwimmer, American dancer and choreographer
• 1984 – Viktoria Shklover, Estonian figure skater
• 1985 – Dale Begg-Smith, Australian skier
• 1985 – Minissha Lamba, Indian actress and model
• 1985 – Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer
• 1986 – Marya Roxx, Estonian-American singer-songwriter (Vanilla Ninja)
• 1986 – Becca Tobin, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1987 – Johan Djourou, Swiss footballer
• 1987 – Christopher Liebig, German rugby player
• 1987 – Grigoris Makos, Greek footballer
• 1988 – Ronnie Day, American singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Angelique Kerber, German tennis player
• 1988 – Anastasios Kissas, Greek footballer
• 1989 – Rubén Miño, Spanish footballer
• 1990 – Nacho, Spanish footballer
• 1990 – Hayle Ibrahimov, Ethiopian-Azerbaijani long-distance runner
• 1990 – Brett Lawrie, Canadian baseball player
• 1990 – Alex Pietrangelo, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1991 – Britt McKillip, Canadian singer and actress (One More Girl)
• 1991 – Diego Simões, Brazilian footballer
• 1992 – Kieran Tscherniawsky, English discus thrower
• 1992 – Francesco Bardi, Italian footballer
• 1993 – Morgan York, American actress
• 1994 – Minzy, South Korean singer and dancer (2NE1)
• 1994 – Kang Ji-young, South Korean singer (Kara)
• 1994 – Ilona Kremen, Belarusian tennis player
• 1996 – Alexandra Scott, American cancer patient, founded Alex's Lemonade Stand, (d. 2004)
• 1999 – Karan Brar, American actor

Deaths

• 52 BC – Publius Clodius Pulcher, Roman politician (b. 93 BC)
• 474 – Leo I the Thracian, Byzantine emperor (b. 401)
• 1213 – Tamar of Georgia (b. 1160)
• 1367 – Peter I of Portugal (b. 1320)
• 1425 – Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, English politician (b. 1391)
• 1471 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (b. 1419)
• 1586 – Margaret of Parma (b. 1522)
• 1677 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch administrator, founded Cape Town (b. 1619)
• 1803 – Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet (b. 1743)
• 1849 – Panoutsos Notaras, Greek politician (b. 1752)
• 1862 – John Tyler, American politician, 10th President of the United States (b. 1790)
• 1873 – Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English author (b. 1803)
• 1878 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist (b. 1788)
• 1886 – Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (b. 1819)
• 1892 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1819)
• 1896 – Charles Floquet, French politician, 55th Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
• 1923 – Wallace Reid, American actor (b. 1891)
• 1936 – Hermanus Brockmann, Dutch rower (b. 1871)
• 1936 – Rudyard Kipling, English author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
• 1940 – Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Polish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1865)
• 1945 – Hermann Braun, American-German actor (b. 1918)
• 1951 – Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary (b. 1867)
• 1952 – Curly Howard, American actor and singer (b. 1903)
• 1954 – Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (b. 1879)
• 1955 – Saadat Hassan Manto, Pakistani author (b. 1912)
• 1956 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian politician, 1st President of Estonia (b. 1874)
• 1963 – Hugh Gaitskell, English politician (b. 1906)
• 1966 – Kathleen Norris, American author (b. 1880)
• 1967 – Goose Tatum, American basketball player (b. 1921)
• 1969 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist (b. 1887)
• 1969 – Dada Lekhraj, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1884)
• 1970 – David O. McKay, American religious leader, 9th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1873)
• 1971 – Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (b. 1914)
• 1975 – Gertrude Olmstead, American actress (b. 1897)
• 1978 – Hasan Askari, Pakistani philosopher and author (b. 1919)
• 1978 – Carl Betz, American actor (b. 1921)
• 1978 – Walter H. Thompson, English bodyguard (b. 1890)
• 1980 – Cecil Beaton, English fashion designer (b. 1904)
• 1984 – Panteleimon Ponomarenko, Belarusian general and politician (b. 1902)
• 1984 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1915)
• 1985 – Wilfrid Brambell, Irish actor (b. 1912)
• 1989 – Bruce Chatwin, English author (b. 1940)
• 1990 – Rusty Hamer, American actor (b. 1947)
• 1993 – Eleanor Hibbert, English author (b. 1906)
• 1993 – Dionysios Zakythinos, Greek historian, academic, and politician (b. 1905)
• 1994 – Denis Henry Desty, English chromatographer (b. 1923)
• 1995 – Adolf Butenandt, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
• 1995 – Ron Luciano, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1937)
• 1996 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (b. 1923)
• 1997 – Paul Tsongas, American politician (b. 1941)
• 1997 – Adriana Caselotti, American voice actress and singer (b. 1916)
• 1998 – Dan Georgiadis, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1922)
• 2000 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (b. 1897)
• 2001 – Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Congolese politician, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939)
• 2001 – Al Waxman, Canadian actor (b. 1935)
• 2003 – Ed Farhat, American wrestler (b. 1924)
• 2003 – Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Indian poet (b. 1907)
• 2005 – Lamont Bentley, American actor (b. 1973)
• 2005 – Pez Whatley, American wrestler (b. 1951)
• 2006 – Jan Twardowski, Polish poet (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Brent Liles, American bass player (Agent Orange and Social Distortion) (b. 1963)
• 2008 – Georgia Frontiere, American businesswoman (b. 1927)
• 2008 – Frank Lewin, American composer and theorist (b. 1925)
• 2008 – John Stroger, American politician (b. 1929)
• 2009 – Tony Hart, English television host (b. 1925)
• 2009 – Nora Kovach, Hungarian-American ballerina (b. 1931)
• 2009 – Bob May, American actor (b. 1939)
• 2009 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer (b. 1913)
• 2009 – Grigore Vieru, Romanian poet (b. 1935)
• 2010 – Kate McGarrigle, Canadian singer-songwriter and accordion player (Mountain City Four and Kate and Anna McGarrigle) (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Robert B. Parker, American author (b. 1932)
• 2011 – Sargent Shriver, American politician and diplomat, 21st United States Ambassador to France (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Karen Brazell, American author and academic (b. 1938)
• 2012 – Tom Cowie, English businessman (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Ray Finch, English potter (b. 1914)
• 2012 – Mel Goldstein, American meteorologist (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Anthony Gonsalves, Indian composer (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Georg Lassen, German captain (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Yuri Rasovsky, American playwright and producer, founded The National Radio Theater of Chicago (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Peter Boyle, Scottish-Australian footballer and manager (b. 1951)
• 2013 – Walmor Chagas, Brazilian actor (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Sean Fallon, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Jim Horning, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Jon Mannah, Australian rugby player (b. 1989)
• 2013 – Lewis Marnell, Australian skateboarder (b. 1982)
• 2013 – Ron Nachman, Israeli politician (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Jacques Sadoul, French author (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Theodore Stern, American academic (b. 1912)
• 2013 – Morné van der Merwe, South African rugby player (b. 1973)
• 2014 – Kathryn Abbe, American photographer (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Robert A. Alberty, American chemist and academic (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Michael Botmang, Nigerian politician, 17th Governor of Plateau State (b. 1938)
• 2014 – Komla Dumor, Ghanaian-English journalist (b. 1972)
• 2014 – Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (Toto, Angel, and LeRoux) (b. 1951)
• 2014 – Andy Graver, English footballer (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Takao Iwami, Japanese journalist (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Sarah Marshall, English-American actress (b. 1933)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Athanasius of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • Cyril of Alexandria
  • Margaret of Hungary
  • Prisca
  • Volusianus of Tours
  • Deicolus
  • Amy Carmichael (Church of England)
  • January 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Confession of Peter (Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran Churches)
• Revolution Day (Tunisia)
• Royal Thai Armed Forces Day (Thailand)
• The beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Christianity)

External links

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