January 19

January 19 in recent years

2024 (Friday)

2023 (Thursday)

2022 (Wednesday)

2021 (Tuesday)

2020 (Sunday)

2019 (Saturday)

2018 (Friday)

2017 (Thursday)

2016 (Tuesday)

2015 (Monday)

January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 346 days remain until the end of the year (347 in leap years).

Events

• 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.
• 639 – Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, is crowned.
• 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrender after a forty-day siege led by Tang dynasty general Ashina She'er, establishing Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.
• 1419 – Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy.
• 1511 – Mirandola surrenders to the French.
• 1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund.
• 1607 – San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines.
• 1661 – Thomas Venner is hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
• 1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
• 1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrive at Botany Bay.
• 1795 – The Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands, bringing to an end the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
• 1806 – Britain occupies the Dutch Cape Colony after the Battle of Blaauwberg.
• 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 of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.
• 1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy receives its premiere performance.
• 1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden.
• 1853 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in declaring secession from the United States.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs: The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
• 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: In the Siege of Paris, Prussia wins the Battle of St. Quentin. Meanwhile, the French attempt to break the siege in the Battle of Buzenval will end unsuccessfully the following day.
• 1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
• 1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
• 1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
• 1915 – World War I: German zeppelins bomb the towns of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the United Kingdom killing at least 20 people, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
• 1917 – Seventy-three people are killed and 400 injured in an explosion in a munitions plant in London.
• 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 to New York City in seven hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
• 1940 – You Nazty Spy!, the very first Hollywood film of any kind to satirize Adolf Hitler and the Nazis premieres, starring The Three Stooges, with Moe Howard as the character "Moe Hailstone" satirizing Hitler.
• 1941 – World War II: The Greek Triton (Y-5) sinks the Italian submarine Neghelli in Otranto.
• 1942 – World War II: The Japanese conquest of Burma begins.
• 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Łódź Ghetto. Of more than 200,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived the Nazi occupation.
• 1946 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
• 1949 – Cuba recognizes Israel.
• 1953 – Almost 72% of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
• 1956 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 111 relating to UNTSO in Palestine is adopted.
• 1960 – Japan and the United States sign the US–Japan Mutual Security Treaty
• 1969 – Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire three days earlier in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest about the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turns into another major protest.
• 1974 – China gain control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of the People's Republic of China and Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
• 1977 – President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (a.k.a. "Tokyo Rose").
• 1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
• 1981 – Iran hostage crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
• 1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.
• 1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
• 1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus is released into the wild. A boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, it was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter unauthorized copying of the software they had written.
• 1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.
• 1993 – Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations.
• 1995 – After being struck by lightning the crew of Bristow Flight 56C are forced to ditch. All 18 aboard are later rescued.
• 1996 – The barge North Cape oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
• 1997 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
• 1999 – British Aerospace agrees to acquire the defence subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, forming BAE Systems in November 1999.
• 2007 – Turkish-Armenian Journalist Hrant Dink is assassinated in front of his newspaper's Istanbul office by 17-year-old Turkish ultra-nationalist Ogün Samast.
• 2012 – The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI.
• 2014 – A bomb attack on an army convoy in the city of Bannu kills at least 26 soldiers and injures 38 others.
• 2017 – Plasco Building collapses in Tehran.

Births

• 398 – Pulcheria, Byzantine empress and saint (d. 453)
• 840 – Michael III, Byzantine emperor (d. 867)
• 1200 – Dōgen Zenji, founder of Sōtō Zen (d. 1253)
• 1544 – Francis II of France (d. 1560)
• 1676 – John Weldon, English organist and composer (d. 1736)
• 1721 – Jean-Philippe Baratier, German scholar and author (d. 1740)
• 1736 – James Watt, Scottish-English chemist and engineer (d. 1819)
• 1737 – Giuseppe Millico, Italian soprano, composer, and educator (d. 1802)
• 1739 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect, designed Longford Hall and Barrells Hall (d. 1808)
• 1752 – James Morris III, American captain (d. 1820)
• 1757 – Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf (d. 1831)
• 1788 – Pavel Kiselyov, Russian general and politician (d. 1874)
• 1790 – Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet and academic (d. 1855)
• 1798 – Auguste Comte, French economist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1857)
• 1807 – Robert E. Lee, American general and academic (d. 1870)
• 1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher and author (d. 1887)
• 1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American short story witer, poet, and critic (d. 1849)
• 1810 – Talhaiarn, Welsh poet and architect (d.1869)
• 1813 – Henry Bessemer, English engineer and businessman (d. 1898)
• 1832 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1875)
• 1833 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician and academic (d. 1872)
• 1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
• 1848 – John Fitzwilliam Stairs, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1904)
• 1848 – Matthew Webb, English swimmer and diver (d. 1883)
• 1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1922)
• 1863 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (d. 1941)
• 1871 – Dame Gruev, Bulgarian educator and activist, co-founded the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (d. 1906)
• 1874 – Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 19th Yokozuna (d. 1922)
• 1876 – Wakashima Gonshirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 21st Yokozuna (d. 1943)
• 1876 – Dragotin Kette, Slovenian poet and author (d. 1899)
• 1878 – Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1934)
• 1879 – Boris Savinkov, Russian soldier and author (d. 1925)
• 1883 – Hermann Abendroth, German conductor (d. 1956)
• 1887 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (d. 1943)
• 1889 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
• 1892 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1964)
• 1893 – Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian pianist and educator (d. 1986)
• 1903 – Boris Blacher, German composer and playwright (d. 1975)
• 1905 – Stanley Hawes, English-Australian director and producer (d. 1991)
• 1907 – Briggs Cunningham, American race car driver, sailor, and businessman (d. 2003)
• 1908 – Ish Kabibble, American comedian and cornet player (d. 1994)
• 1908 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1971)
• 1911 – Choor Singh, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and judge (d. 2009)
• 1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
• 1913 – Rex Ingamells, Australian author and poet (d. 1955)
• 1913 – Rudolf Wanderone, American professional pocket billiards player (d. 1996)
• 1914 – Lester Flatt, American bluegrass singer-songwriter, guitarist, and mandolin player (d. 1979)
• 1918 – John H. Johnson, American publisher, founded the Johnson Publishing Company (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Bernard Dunstan, English painter and educator
• 1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat, 135th Prime Minister of Peru
• 1920 – Roberto M. Levingston, Argentinian general and politician, 36th President of Argentina (d. 2015)
• 1921 – Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1995)
• 1922 – Arthur Morris, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (d. 1985)
• 1924 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (d. 2006)
• 1925 – Nina Bawden, English author (d. 2012)
• 1926 – Hans Massaquoi, German-American journalist and author (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Fritz Weaver, American actor (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Tippi Hedren, American model, actress, and animal rights-welfare activist
• 1930 – John Waite, South African cricketer (d. 2011)
• 1931 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American journalist and author
• 1932 – Russ Hamilton, English singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
• 1932 – Richard Lester, American-English director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1932 – Harry Lonsdale, American chemist, businessman, and politician (d. 2014)
• 1933 – George Coyne, American priest, astronomer, and theologian
• 1935 – Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1978)
• 1936 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
• 1936 – Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, American singer, harmonica player, and drummer (d. 2011)
• 1936 – Fred J. Lincoln, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1937 – John Lions, Australian computer scientist and academic (d. 1998)
• 1939 – Phil Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Everly Brothers) (d. 2014)
• 1940 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
• 1940 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (d. 2007)
• 1941 – Colin Gunton, English theologian and academic (d. 2003)
• 1941 – Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler, trainer, and referee
• 1942 – Michael Crawford, English actor and singer
• 1942 – Paul-Eerik Rummo, Estonian poet and politician
• 1943 – Larry Clark, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1970)
• 1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
• 1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress and singer
• 1944 – Thom Mayne, American architect and academic, designed the San Francisco Federal Building and Phare Tower
• 1944 – Dan Reeves, American football player and coach
• 1945 – Trevor Williams, English singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1946 – Julian Barnes, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic
• 1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1947 – Frank Aarebrot, Norwegian political scientist and academic
• 1947 – Paula Deen, American chef and author
• 1947 – Rod Evans, English singer-songwriter
• 1948 – Nancy Lynch, American computer scientist and academic
• 1948 – Frank McKenna, Canadian politician and diplomat, 27th Premier of New Brunswick
• 1948 – Mal Reilly, English rugby league player and coach
• 1949 – Arend Langenberg, Dutch voice actor and radio host (d. 2012)
• 1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
• 1950 – Sébastien Dhavernas, Canadian actor
• 1950 – Jon Matlack, American baseball player and coach
• 1951 – Martha Davis, American singer
• 1952 – Dewey Bunnell, British-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1952 – Nadiuska, German television actress
• 1952 – Bruce Jay Nelson, American computer scientist (d. 1999)
• 1952 – Michel Plante, Canadian ice hockey left winger
• 1952 – Beau Weaver, American male voice actor
• 1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor and singer
• 1953 – Richard Legendre, Canadian tennis player and politician
• 1953 – Wayne Schimmelbusch, Australian footballer and coach
• 1954 – Katey Sagal, American actress and singer
• 1954 – Cindy Sherman, American photographer and director
• 1954 – Clifford Tabin, American geneticist and academic
• 1955 – Tony Mansfield, English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1955 – Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-American comedian and actor
• 1956 – Carman, American singer-songwriter, actor, and television host
• 1957 – Ottis Anderson, American football player and sportscaster
• 1957 – Roger Ashton-Griffiths, English actor, screenwriter and film director
• 1957 – Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican public servant and politician, 22nd Secretary of State of Puerto Rico
• 1958 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter (d. 2012)
• 1959 – Danese Cooper, American computer scientist and programmer
• 1959 – Jeff Pilson, American bass player, songwriter, and actor
• 1961 – William Ragsdale, American actor
• 1961 – Wayne Hemingway, English fashion designer, co-founded Red or Dead
• 1962 – Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist
• 1962 – Chris Sabo, American baseball player and coach
• 1962 – Jeff Van Gundy, American basketball player and coach
• 1963 – Michael Adams, American basketball player and coach
• 1963 – Martin Bashir, English journalist
• 1963 – John Bercow, English politician, Speaker of the House of Commons
• 1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian sculptor and photographer
• 1964 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer-songwriter and basketball player
• 1966 – Floris Jan Bovelander, Dutch field hockey player
• 1966 – Yukiko Duke, Swedish journalist and translator
• 1966 – Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player and coach
• 1966 – Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1968 – Whitfield Crane, American singer-songwriter
• 1969 – Edwidge Danticat, Haitian-American novelist and short story writer.
• 1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player and coach
• 1969 – Predrag Mijatović, Montenegrin footballer and manager
• 1969 – Junior Seau, American football player (d. 2012)
• 1969 – Casey Sherman, American journalist and author
• 1969 – Steve Staunton, Irish footballer and manager
• 1970 – Steffen Freund, German footballer and manager
• 1970 – Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete
• 1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian and singer
• 1971 – Shawn Wayans, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1971 – John Wozniak, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1972 – Jon Fisher, American businessman and author
• 1972 – Ron Killings, American wrestler and rapper
• 1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian footballer and race car driver
• 1972 – Sergei Zjukin, Estonian chess player and coach
• 1972 – Yoon Hae-young, South Korean actress
• 1972 – Tyrone Wheatley, American football player and college football coach
• 1973 – Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist
• 1973 – Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer and coach
• 1974 – Dainius Adomaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
• 1974 – Frank Caliendo, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1974 – Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1974 – Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer and manager
• 1975 – Natalie Cook, Australian volleyball player
• 1975 – Noah Georgeson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1975 – Zdeňka Málková, Czech tennis player
• 1976 – Natale Gonnella, Italian footballer
• 1976 – Tarso Marques, Brazilian race car driver
• 1977 – Benjamin Ayres, Canadian actor, director, and photographer
• 1979 – Wiley, English rapper and producer
• 1979 – Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast and sportscaster
• 1979 – Josu Sarriegi, Spanish footballer
• 1980 – Jenson Button, English race car driver
• 1980 – Pasha Kovalev, Russian-American dancer and choreographer
• 1980 – Luke Macfarlane, Canadian-American actor and singer
• 1980 – Arvydas Macijauskas, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1980 – Michael Vandort, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1981 – Paolo Bugia, Filipino basketball player
• 1981 – Asier del Horno, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Lucho González, Argentinian footballer
• 1982 – Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player
• 1982 – Shane Tronc, Australian rugby league player
• 1983 – Hikaru Utada, American-Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
• 1984 – Fabio Catacchini, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Karun Chandhok, Indian race car driver
• 1984 – Jimmy Kébé, Malian footballer
• 1984 – Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Jake Allen, American football player
• 1985 – Pascal Behrenbruch, German decathlete
• 1985 – Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
• 1985 – Esteban Guerrieri, Argentinian race car driver
• 1985 – Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer and actress
• 1985 – Elliott Ward, English footballer
• 1985 – Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Nikulin, Russian footballer
• 1986 – Claudio Marchisio, Italian footballer
• 1986 – Oleksandr Miroshnychenko, Ukrainian footballer
• 1986 – Moussa Sow, Senegalese footballer
• 1987 – Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer
• 1987 – Angus Monfries, Australian footballer
• 1988 – JaVale McGee, American basketball player
• 1988 – Tyler Breeze, Canadian wrestler
• 1990 – Tatiana Búa, Argentine tennis player
• 1990 – Kerry-Anne Tomlinson, New Zealand cricketer
• 1991 – Corinna Harrer, German runner
• 1991 – Petra Martić, Croatian tennis player
• 1992 – Shawn Johnson, American gymnast
• 1993 – Erick Torres Padilla, Mexican footballer
• 1994 – Matthias Ginter, German footballer

Deaths

• 520 – John of Cappadocia, Patriarch of Constantinople
• 639 – Dagobert I, Frankish king (b. 603)
• 1302 – Al-Hakim I, Caliph of Cairo
• 1526 – Isabella of Austria (b. 1501)
• 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1516)
• 1576 – Hans Sachs, German poet and playwright (b. 1494)
• 1636 – Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Flemish painter (b.1561)
• 1661 – Thomas Venner, English rebel leader (b. 1599)
• 1729 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (b. 1670)
• 1755 – Jean-Pierre Christin, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1683)
• 1757 – Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish scholar and academic (b. 1674)
• 1766 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French architect and painter (b. 1695)
• 1785 – Jonathan Toup, English scholar and critic (b. 1713)
• 1833 – Ferdinand Hérold, French pianist and composer (b. 1791)
• 1847 – Charles Bent, American soldier and politician, 1st Governor of New Mexico (b. 1799)
• 1847 – Athanasios Christopoulos, Greek poet (b. 1772)
• 1851 – Esteban Echeverría, Argentinian poet and author (b. 1805)
• 1853 – Karl Faber, German historian and academic (b. 1773)
• 1865 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and politician (b. 1809)
• 1869 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (b. 1788)
• 1874 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet and scholar (b. 1798)
• 1878 – Henri Victor Regnault French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)
• 1905 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (b. 1817)
• 1906 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentinian historian and politician, 6th President of Argentina (b. 1821)
• 1908 – Roberto Bompiani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1821)
• 1929 – Liang Qichao, Chinese journalist, philosopher, and scholar (b. 1873)
• 1930 – Frank P. Ramsey, British mathematician, philosopher and economist (b. 1903)
• 1938 – Branislav Nušić, Serbian author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1864)
• 1945 – Gustave Mesny, French general (b. 1886)
• 1948 – Tony Garnier, French architect and urban planner, designed the Stade de Gerland (b. 1869)
• 1954 – Theodor Kaluza, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1885)
• 1957 – József Dudás, Romanian-Hungarian activist and politician (b. 1912)
• 1963 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (b. 1884)
• 1964 – Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (b. 1886)
• 1965 – Arnold Luhaäär, Estonian weightlifter (b. 1905)
• 1968 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1879)
• 1972 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (b. 1936)
• 1973 – Max Adrian, Irish-English actor (b. 1903)
• 1975 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (b. 1889)
• 1976 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (b. 1886)
• 1979 – Moritz Jahn, German novelist and poet (b. 1884)
• 1980 – William O. Douglas, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1898)
• 1981 – Francesca Woodman, American photographer (b. 1958)
• 1982 – Elis Regina, Brazilian soprano (b. 1945)
• 1984 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1920)
• 1987 – Lawrence Kohlberg, American psychologist and academic (b. 1927)
• 1990 – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian guru and mystic (b. 1931)
• 1990 – Alberto Semprini, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1908)
• 1990 – Herbert Wehner, German politician, 6th Minister of Intra-German Relations (b. 1906)
• 1991 – Marcel Chaput, Canadian biochemist and journalist (b. 1918)
• 1995 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
• 1996 – Don Simpson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1943)
• 1997 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (b. 1923)
• 1998 – Carl Perkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1932)
• 1999 – Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby player (b. 1967)
• 2000 – Bettino Craxi, Italian lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
• 2000 – Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-American actress, singer, and mathematician (b. 1913)
• 2001 – Dario Vittori, Italian-Argentinian actor and producer (b. 1921)
• 2003 – Milton Flores, Honduran footballer (b. 1974)
• 2003 – Françoise Giroud, French journalist, screenwriter, and politician, French Minister of Culture (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Harry E. Claiborne, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
• 2004 – David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
• 2005 – K. Sello Duiker, South African author and screenwriter (b. 1974)
• 2006 – Anthony Franciosa, American actor (b. 1928)
• 2006 – Wilson Pickett, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
• 2006 – Awn Alsharif Qasim, Sudanese author and scholar (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricketer and pilot (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Hrant Dink, Turkish journalist and activist (b. 1954)
• 2007 – Denny Doherty, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1969)
• 2008 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
• 2008 – John Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1936)
• 2010 – Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Peter Åslin, Swedish ice hockey player (b. 1962)
• 2012 – Sarah Burke, Canadian skier (b. 1982)
• 2012 – Peter de Francia, French-English painter and illustrator (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Gene Methvin, American pilot and journalist (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Winston Riley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Rudi van Dantzig, Dutch ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Milt Bolling, American baseball player and scout (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (b. 1940)
• 2013 – Stan Musial, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Frank Pooler, American conductor and composer (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Earl Weaver, American baseball player and manager (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (b. 1944)
• 2014 – Azaria Alon, Ukrainian-Israeli environmentalist, co-founded the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Steven Fromholz, American singer-songwriter, producer, and poet (b. 1945)
• 2014 – Al Lerner, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Ben Starr, American playwright, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Sri Lankan-American anthropologist and academic (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Justin Capră, Romanian engineer and academic (b. 1933)
• 2015 – Michel Guimond, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1953)
• 2015 – Ward Swingle, American-French singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1927)
• 2016 – Robert M. Carter, English paleontologist and geologist (b. 1942)
• 2016 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (b. 1930)
• 2016 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
• 2016 – Sheila Sim, English actress (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

• Birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (commemorated by the Poe Toaster at his grave in Baltimore)
• Christian feast day:
  • Henry of Uppsala
  • Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum
  • Mark of Ephesus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • Pontianus of Spoleto
  • Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester
  • January 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which Husband's Day or Bóndadagur can fall, while January 25 is the latest; celebrated on Friday between 19 and 25 January (Iceland)
• Feast of Sultán (Sovereignty), first day of the 17th month of the Bahá'í calendar (Bahá'í Faith) (only if Nowruz falls on March 21, otherwise the dates shifts)
• Confederate Heroes Day (Texas), and its related observance:
  • Robert E. Lee Day (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi)
• Kokborok Day (Tripura, India)
• Theophany / Epiphany (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy), and its related observances:
  • Timkat, or 20 during Leap Year (Ethiopian Orthodox)
  • Vodici or Baptism of Jesus (Republic of Macedonia)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• This Day in Canadian History