January 27

January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 338 days remaining until the end of the year (339 in leap years).

Events

• 98 – Trajan succeeded his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire would reach its maximum extent.
• 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate ends with the death of Ali.
• 1142 – Song Dynasty General Yue Fei is executed.
• 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
• 1302 – Dante Alighieri, the poet and politician is exiled from Florence, Italy, where he served as one of six priors governing the city.
• 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences. Nearly 200 years later, Martin Luther would protest this.
• 1593 – The Vatican opens the seven-year trial of scholar Giordano Bruno.
• 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
• 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox's "noble train of artillery" arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
• 1825 – The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears".
• 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Toba-Fushimi between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions begins, which will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
• 1869 – Boshin War: Tokugawa rebels establish the Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō.
• 1870 – The Kappa Alpha Theta fraternity is founded at DePauw University.
• 1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.
• 1909 – The Young Left is founded in Norway.
• 1927 – Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.
• 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
• 1943 – World War II: The VIII Bomber Command dispatched ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-Boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany of the war.
• 1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
• 1945 – World War II: The Red Army liberates the remained inmates of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp built by the Nazi Germans on the territory of Poland.
• 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat.
• 1961 – Soviet submarine S-80 sinks with all hands lost.
• 1967 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
• 1967 – The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
• 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict's last recorded American combat casualty.
• 1974 – The Brisbane River breaches its banks causing the largest flood to affect the city of Brisbane in the 20th century.
• 1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.
• 1983 – The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
• 1984 – Pop singer Michael Jackson suffers second degree burns to his scalp during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in the Shrine Auditorium.
• 1993 – American-born sumo wrestler Akebono Tarō becomes the first foreigner to be promoted to the sport's highest rank of yokozuna.
• 1996 – In a military coup Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
• 1996 – Germany first observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
• 2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
• 2003 – The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
• 2006 – Western Union discontinues its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services.
• 2010 – The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.
• 2011 – Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sana'a.
• 2013 – 242 people die in a nightclub fire in the city of Santa Maria, Brazil.

Births

• 1443 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
• 1546 – Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
• 1571 – Abbas I of Persia, Shah of Persia (d. 1629)
• 1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
• 1603 – Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet, English lawyer and politician (d. 1685)
• 1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician (d. 1675)
• 1662 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (d. 1742)
• 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, German engineer and architect, designed Würzburg Residence and Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (d. 1753)
• 1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian (d. 1790)
• 1708 – Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
• 1720 – Samuel Foote, English playwright (d. 1777)
• 1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh author (d. 1821)
• 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1791)
• 1775 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German philosopher (d. 1854)
• 1795 – Eli Whitney Blake, American engineer, invented the Mortise lock (d. 1886)
• 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria (d. 1877)
• 1805 – Princess Sophie of Bavaria (d. 1872)
• 1805 – Samuel Palmer, English painter (d. 1881)
• 1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (d. 1826)
• 1807 – David Strauss, German theologian and author (d. 1874)
• 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect, designed the Lausanne Cathedral (d. 1879)
• 1821 – John Chivington, American colonel and pastor (d. 1892)
• 1823 – Édouard Lalo, French composer (d. 1892)
• 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1889)
• 1826 – Richard Taylor, American general (d. 1879)
• 1827 – Nakahama Manjirō, Japanese translator (d. 1898)
• 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English mathematician, photographer, and author (d. 1898)
• 1832 – Carl Friedrich Schmidt, Estonian-Russian geologist and botanist (d. 1908)
• 1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1895)
• 1841 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Russian painter (d. 1910)
• 1848 – Togo Heihachiro, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
• 1850 – John Collier, English painter and author (d. 1934)
• 1850 – Samuel Gompers, English-American labor leader (d. 1924)
• 1850 – Edward Smith, English captain (d. 1912)
• 1858 – Neel Doff, Dutch author (d. 1942)
• 1859 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (d. 1941)
• 1862 – Eustaquio de Escandón, Mexican polo player (d. 1933)
• 1869 – Will Marion Cook, American violinist and composer (d. 1944)
• 1875 – Elizabeth Israel, Dominican super-centenarian (d. 2003)
• 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer (d. 1945)
• 1885 – Eduard Künneke, German composer (d. 1953)
• 1885 – Maeda Seison, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
• 1886 – Radhabinod Pal, Indian jurist (d. 1967)
• 1886 – Balthasar van der Pol, Dutch physicist (d. 1959)
• 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian journalist and author (d. 1967)
• 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese politician (d. 1981)
• 1895 – Joseph Rosenstock, Polish conductor (d. 1985)
• 1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1974)
• 1900 – Hyman Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
• 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
• 1901 – Art Rooney, American football player and coach, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers (d. 1988)
• 1902 – Carl Berner, German-American super-centenarian (d. 2013)
• 1903 – John Carew Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
• 1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American general (d. 1979)
• 1904 – James J. Gibson, American psychologist (d. 1979)
• 1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
• 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (d. 1993)
• 1908 – Hot Lips Page, American trumpet player, singer, and bandleader (d. 1954)
• 1910 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general, economist, and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1979)
• 1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher (d. 2009)
• 1912 – Francis Rogallo, American engineer, invented the Rogallo wing (d. 2009)
• 1915 – Jules Archer, American historian and author (d. 2008)
• 1915 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1985)
• 1918 – Skitch Henderson, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2005)
• 1918 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
• 1918 – William Seawell, American general (d. 2005)
• 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor (Alvin and the Chipmunks) (d. 1972)
• 1920 – John Box, English production designer and art director (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
• 1924 – Sabu Dastagir, Indian actor (d. 1963)
• 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Brian Rix, English actor, producer, and academic
• 1924 – Harvey Shapiro, American poet and academic (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian journalist (d. 2003)
• 1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
• 1927 – Billy Barnes, American composer (d. 2012)
• 1927 – Jerry Haynes, American actor (d. 2011)
• 1928 – Michael Craig, Indian-English actor and screenwriter
• 1928 – Hans Modrow, German politician, 5th Prime Minister of East Germany
• 1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian author (d. 1984)
• 1930 – Bobby Bland, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Red Bastien, American wrestler (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
• 1931 – Nigel Vinson, Baron Vinson, English Lieutenant and businessman
• 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Russian gymnast (d. 2008)
• 1933 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-Monacan businessman
• 1933 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (d. 2013)
• 1934 – Édith Cresson, French politician
• 1934 – George Follmer, American race car driver
• 1935 – Gillian Beer, English academic and critic
• 1935 – Steve Demeter, American baseball player (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
• 1936 – Florin Piersic, Romanian actor
• 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1937 – Fred Åkerström, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1985)
• 1937 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (d. 1989)
• 1939 – Julius Lester, American author and academic
• 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
• 1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1940 – Petru Lucinschi, Romanian politician, 2nd President of Moldova
• 1941 – Bobby Hutcherson, American vibraphone player and composer
• 1941 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1981)
• 1942 – Stewart Raffill, American director and screenwriter
• 1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor
• 1942 – Kate Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1986)
• 1943 – Julia Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege, English businesswoman and politician
• 1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian archbishop
• 1944 – Mairead Maguire, Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (Pink Floyd)
• 1945 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian politician (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Christopher Hum, English academic and diplomat
• 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer (Ronettes)
• 1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Hoola Bandoola Band) (d. 1999)
• 1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek politician
• 1947 – Cal Schenkel, American illustrator
• 1947 – Philip Sugden, English historian (d. 2014)
• 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian dancer, choreographer, and actor
• 1948 – Valeri Brainin, Russian-German composer and poet
• 1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
• 1948 – Gordon Henderson, English politician
• 1949 – Ethan Mordden, American author
• 1950 – Derek Acorah, English medium and television host
• 1950 – Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-American gynecologist
• 1950 – Alex Norton, Scottish actor
• 1951 – Brian Downey, Irish drummer and songwriter (Thin Lizzy)
• 1951 – Seth Justman, American keyboard player and songwriter (The J. Geils Band)
• 1951 – Ken Timbs, American wrestler (d. 2004)
• 1951 – Cees van der Knaap, Dutch politician
• 1952 – Billy Johnson, American football player
• 1952 – Tam O'Shaughnessy, American tennis player, psychologist, and academic
• 1954 – Peter Laird, American author and illustrator
• 1954 – Jōkō Ninomiya, Japanese martial artist
• 1954 – Stelios Papafloratos, Greek footballer
• 1954 – Ed Schultz, American talk show host
• 1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1955 – John Roberts, American jurist, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
• 1955 – Alexander Stuart, English-American author and screenwriter
• 1955 – Koji Ushikubo, Japanese race car driver
• 1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
• 1957 – Janick Gers, English guitarist and songwriter (Iron Maiden, White Spirit, Gogmagog, and Gillan)
• 1957 – Frank Miller, American illustrator, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1958 – James Grippando, American author
• 1958 – Kadri Mälk, Estonian jewelry designer
• 1958 – Alan Milburn, English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• 1958 – Susanna Thompson, American actress
• 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player
• 1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish politician
• 1959 – Keith Olbermann, American journalist and author
• 1960 – Fiona O'Donnell, Scottish politician
• 1960 – Bernd Stieler, German footballer
• 1961 – Zarganar, Burmese comedian, actor, and director
• 1961 – Dina Bonnevie, Filipino actress
• 1961 – Gillian Gilbert, English keyboard player and singer (New Order and The Other Two)
• 1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
• 1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer-songwriter (Cowboy Junkies)
• 1961 – Karen Velez, American model
• 1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
• 1963 – George Monbiot, English-Welsh author and activist
• 1963 – Mark Moraghan, English actor and singer
• 1964 – Patrick van Deurzen, Dutch composer
• 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
• 1964 – Jack Haley, American basketball player
• 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish-American actor, singer, director, and producer
• 1965 – Mike Newell, English footballer and manager
• 1965 – Ignacio Noé, Argentinian illustrator
• 1966 – Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese actress
• 1967 – Bobby Deol, Indian actor
• 1967 – Byron Mann, Hong Kong actor
• 1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1968 – Tricky, English rapper, producer, and actor (The Wild Bunch and Massive Attack)
• 1968 – Patrick Blondeau, French footballer
• 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk, and Lovage)
• 1968 – Matt Stover, American football player
• 1968 – Deb Talan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Weepies)
• 1969 – Cornelius, Japanese singer, guitarist, and producer (Flipper's Guitar and Plastic Ono Band)
• 1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (James)
• 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American comedian and actor
• 1970 – Dean Headley, English cricketer
• 1970 – Emmanuel Pahud, Swiss flute player
• 1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1971 – Toomas Kallaste, Estonian footballer
• 1971 – Fann Wong, Singaporean actress
• 1972 – Wynne Evans, Welsh tenor
• 1972 – Janine Ilitch, Australian netball player
• 1972 – Mark Owen, English singer-songwriter (Take That)
• 1972 – Josh Randall, American actor
• 1972 – Keith Wood, Irish rugby player
• 1973 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
• 1973 – Lucy Porter, English actress
• 1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian biathlete
• 1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player
• 1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1976 – Clint Ford, American voice actor
• 1976 – Ahn Jung-Hwan, South Korean footballer
• 1976 – Ruby Lin, Taiwanese actress, singer, and producer
• 1976 – Todd MacCulloch, American basketball player
• 1976 – Zoriah Miller, American photographer
• 1976 – Fred Taylor, American football player
• 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian baseball player
• 1978 – Jake Pavelka, American pilot
• 1979 – Mario Fatafehi, American football player
• 1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
• 1979 – Liesbet Van Breedam, Belgian volleyball player
• 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer
• 1980 – Jay Murphy, American basketball player
• 1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player
• 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
• 1981 – Yaniv Katan, Israeli footballer
• 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
• 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
• 1982 – Danko Bošković, German footballer
• 1983 – Deon Anderson, American football player
• 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
• 1983 – Tim Kasten, German rugby player
• 1983 – Mike Zagurski, American baseball player
• 1984 – Davetta Sherwood, American actress and singer
• 1985 – Gerard Aafjes, Dutch footballer
• 1985 – Andrei Antonov, Estonian football and futsal player
• 1985 – Dustley Mulder, Dutch footballer
• 1986 – Giorgi Loria, Georgian footballer
• 1987 – Lily Donaldson, English model
• 1987 – Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1987 – Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
• 1988 – Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
• 1988 – Toni Gänge, German footballer
• 1988 – Liu Wen, Chinese model
• 1989 – Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer
• 1989 – Daisy Lowe, English model
• 1989 – Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Dutch footballer
• 1990 – Maria-Elena Papasotiriou, American-Greek figure skater
• 1991 – Christian Bickel, German footballer
• 1991 – Juan Govea, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1992 – Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer
• 1993 – Yaya Sanogo, French footballer
• 1994 – Rani Khedira, German footballer
• 1995 – Raz Fresco, Canadian rapper and producer
• 1996 – Braeden Lemasters, American actor and singer
• 1998 – Rebeka Kim, South Korean ice dancer
• 1997 – Peyton Ernst, American gymnast
• 2000 – Pranav Sivakumar, National Spelling Bee runner-up

Deaths

• 98 – Nerva, Roman emperor (b. 35)
• 457 – Marcian, Byzantine emperor (b. 392)
• 661 – Ali, Saudi Arabian caliph (b. 607)
• 672 – Pope Vitalian
• 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (b. 1435)
• 1540 – Angela Merici, Italian religious leader and saint (b. 1474)
• 1596 – Francis Drake, English captain and explorer (b. 1540)
• 1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1560)
• 1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish author (b. 1585)
• 1651 – Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch painter (b. 1566)
• 1689 – Robert Aske, English merchant (b. 1619)
• 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the Piano (b. 1655)
• 1733 – Thomas Woolston, English theologian (b. 1669)
• 1740 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1692)
• 1794 – Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general (b. 1765)
• 1812 – John Perkins, Jamaican captain
• 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1762)
• 1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral (b. 1724)
• 1851 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (b. 1789)
• 1857 – Dorothea Lieven, Latvian wife of Christopher Lieven (b. 1785)
• 1860 – János Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1802)
• 1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect, co-designed the Halifax Town Hall and the Royal Opera House (b. 1830)
• 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
• 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber and businessman (b. 1836)
• 1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet (b. 1877)
• 1921 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant (b. 1891)
• 1922 – Nellie Bly, American journalist (b. 1864)
• 1927 – Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Lithuanian bishop (b. 1871)
• 1931 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna (b. 1880)
• 1940 – Isaak Babel, Russian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1894)
• 1942 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1888)
• 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish field marshal and politician, 6th President of Finland (b. 1867)
• 1956 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor (b. 1890)
• 1961 – Bernard Friedberg, Austrian scholar and author (b. 1876)
• 1963 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
• 1967 – Roger B. Chaffee, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1935)
• 1967 – Gus Grissom, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1926)
• 1967 – Alphonse Juin, Algerian-French general (b. 1888)
• 1967 – Edward Higgins White, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
• 1970 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (b. 1908)
• 1971 – Jacobo Árbenz, Guatemalan captain and politician, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
• 1972 – Richard Courant, German-American mathematician (b. 1888)
• 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
• 1973 – William Nolde, American colonel (b. 1929)
• 1974 – Georgios Grivas, Cypriot-Greek general (b. 1898)
• 1975 – Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1913)
• 1979 – Qalandar Baba Auliya, Indian mystic (b. 1898)
• 1983 – Louis de Funès, French actor (b. 1914)
• 1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (b. 1914)
• 1987 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator and director (b. 1914)
• 1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian author (b. 1938)
• 1989 – Bayani Casimiro, Filipino dancer and actor (b. 1918)
• 1989 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player and pilot (b. 1888)
• 1993 – André the Giant, French wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
• 1994 – Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
• 1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American politician (b. 1903)
• 1997 – Gerald Marks, American songwriter (b. 1900)
• 2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1930)
• 2003 – Louis Archambault, Canadian sculptor (b. 1915)
• 2003 – Henryk Jabłoński, Polish politician, President of Poland (b. 1909)
• 2004 – Salvador Laurel, Filipino politician, 10th Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Jack Paar, American talk show host and author (b. 1918)
• 2004 – Don Stansauk, American wrestler and actor (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Shah A M S Kibria, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1931)
• 2006 – Jean-Christophe Lafaille, French mountaineer (b. 1965)
• 2006 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (McFadden & Whitehead) (b. 1948)
• 2006 – Johannes Rau, German politician, 8th President of Germany (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Tige Andrews, American actor (b. 1920)
• 2007 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Alberta Davis, American super-centenarian ( b. 1881)
• 2008 – Suharto, Indonesian politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader and author, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1910)
• 2008 – Louie Welch, American politician, 54th Mayor of Houston (b. 1918)
• 2009 – Blair Lent, American author (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Mino Reitano, Italian singer and actor (b. 1944)
• 2009 – John Updike, American author (b. 1932)
• 2009 – R. Venkataraman, Indian politician, 8th President of India (b. 1910)
• 2010 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (b. 1933)
• 2010 – J. D. Salinger, American author (b. 1919)
• 2010 – Ajmer Singh, Indian sprinter (b. 1940)
• 2010 – Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (b. 1922)
• 2011 – Mārtiņš Freimanis, Latvian singer-songwriter and actor (F.L.Y.) (b. 1977)
• 2012 – Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi, Iraqi politician (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Ted Dicks, English composer and screenwriter (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Jeannette Hamby, American nurse and politician (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Todd Lynn, American comedian and actor (b. 1964)
• 2012 – Hermano Pablo, Puerto Rican-American evangelist (b. 1921)
• 2012 – István Rózsavölgyi, Hungarian runner (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Kevin White, American politician, 51st Mayor of Boston (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Ivan Bodiul, Ukrainian-Russian politician (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner, American singer, guitarist, and producer (Ohio Players) (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Harry L. Carrico, American lawyer and judge (b. 1916)
• 2013 – Éamon de Buitléar, Irish director and producer (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Phạm Duy, Vietnamese singer-songwriter (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Chuck Hinton, American baseball player (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Barney Mussill, American baseball player (b. 1919)
• 2013 – Sally Starr, American actress and television host (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Ann Carter, American actress (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Edmond Classen, Dutch actor (b. 1938)
• 2014 – Brian Gibbs, English footballer and manager (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Leen Jansen, Dutch boxer (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Ichirō Nagai, Japanese voice actor (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, banjoist, guitarist (The Weavers and Almanac Singers), music teacher and activist (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Epimaco Velasco, Japanese lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Paul Zorner, German soldier and pilot (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Saint Angela Merici
  • Devota (Monaco)
  • Sava (Serbia)
  • January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • John Chrysostom
• Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
  • Holocaust Memorial Day (United Kingdom)
  • International Holocaust Remembrance Day (International)
  • Memorial Day or Il Giorno della Memoria (Italy)

External links

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