January 5

January 5 in recent years

2024 (Friday)

2023 (Thursday)

2022 (Wednesday)

2021 (Tuesday)

2020 (Sunday)

2019 (Saturday)

2018 (Friday)

2017 (Thursday)

2016 (Tuesday)

2015 (Monday)

January 5 is the fifth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 360 days remain until the end of the year (361 in leap years).

Events

• 1066 – Edward the Confessor dies childless, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England.
• 1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France.
• 1500 – Duke Ludovico Sforza conquers Milan.
• 1527 – Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, Switzerland, is executed by drowning.
• 1554 – A great fire occurs in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
• 1664 – Maratha forces under Chhatrapati Shivaji defeat the Mughals in the Battle of Surat.
• 1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French army beats Brandenburg.
• 1757 – Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.
• 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.
• 1846 – The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
• 1875 – The Palais Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, is inaugurated in Paris.
• 1882 – Charles J. Guiteau is found guilty of assassinating US President James A. Garfield, and is sentenced to death by hanging.
• 1895 – Dreyfus affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.
• 1911 – Kappa Alpha Psi, the world's third oldest and largest black fraternity, is founded at Indiana University.
• 1912 – The Prague Party Conference takes place.
• 1913 – First Balkan War: During the Battle of Lemnos, Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war.
• 1914 – The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and minimum daily wage of $5 in salary plus bonuses subject to restrictions and imposed "character standards."
• 1919 – The German Workers' Party, which would become the Nazi Party, is founded.
• 1925 – Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female governor in the United States.
• 1933 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
• 1944 – The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper.
• 1945 – The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland.
• 1949 – United States President Harry S. Truman unveils his Fair Deal program.
• 1950 – In the Sverdlovsk air disaster, all 19 of those on board were killed, including almost the entire national ice hockey team (VVS Moscow) of the Soviet Air Force – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur.
• 1953 – The play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is first performed.
• 1957 – In a speech given to the United States Congress, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces the establishment of what will later be called the Eisenhower Doctrine.
• 1968 – Alexander Dubček comes to power; "Prague Spring" begins in Czechoslovakia.
• 1970 – The 7.1 M_w  Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 10,000–15,621 were killed and 26,783 were injured.
• 1972 – United States President Richard Nixon orders the development of a Space Shuttle program.
• 1974 – Warmest reliably measured temperature below the Antarctic Circle of +59 °F (+15 °C) recorded at Vanda Station
• 1975 – The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
• 1976 – The Khmer Rouge proclaim the Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea.
• 1976 – The Troubles: Gunmen shoot dead ten Protestant civilians after stopping their minibus at Kingsmill in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, UK, allegedly as retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before.
• 1991 – Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, Georgia, opening the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.
• 1991 – The United States Embassy to Somalia in Mogadishu is evacuated by helicopter airlift days after violence enveloped Mogadishu during the Somali Civil War
• 1993 – The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.
• 2000 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politician Kumar Ponnambalam is shot dead in Colombo.
• 2005 – Eris, the most massive and second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System, is discovered by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz using images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the Palomar Observatory.
• 2014 – A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV MK.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic engine.

Births

• 1209 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English-German king (d. 1272)
• 1425 – Henry IV of Castile (d. 1474)
• 1530 – Gaspar de Bono, monk of the Order of the Minims (d. 1571)
• 1548 – Francisco Suárez, Spanish priest, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1617)
• 1576 – Anne Turner, English murderer (d. 1615)
• 1587 – Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer and explorer (d. 1641)
• 1592 – Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor (d. 1666)
• 1614 – Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (d. 1662)
• 1620 – Miklós Zrínyi, Croatian military commander (d. 1664)
• 1640 – Paolo Lorenzani, Italian composer (d. 1713)
• 1679 – Pietro Filippo Scarlatti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1750)
• 1717 – William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1793)
• 1735 – Claude Martin, French-English general and explorer (d. 1800)
• 1767 – Jean-Baptiste Say, French economist and academic (d. 1832)
• 1779 – Stephen Decatur, American commander (d. 1820)
• 1779 – Zebulon Pike, American general and explorer (d. 1813)
• 1793 – Harvey Putnam, American lawyer and politician (d. 1855)
• 1808 – Anton Füster, Austrian priest and activist (d. 1881)
• 1834 – William John Wills, English surgeon and explorer (d. 1861)
• 1838 – Camille Jordan, French mathematician and academic (d. 1922)
• 1846 – Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
• 1846 – Mariam Baouardy, Syrian Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1878)
• 1855 – King Camp Gillette, American businessman, founded the Gillette Company (d. 1932)
• 1864 – Bob Caruthers, American baseball player and manager (d. 1911)
• 1865 – Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1920)
• 1865 – Ban Johnson, American businessman, founded the American League (d. 1931)
• 1867 – Dimitrios Gounaris, Greek lawyer and politician, 94th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1922)
• 1871 – Frederick Converse, American composer and academic (d. 1940)
• 1874 – Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
• 1876 – Konrad Adenauer, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of West Germany (d. 1967)
• 1879 – Hans Eppinger, Austrian physician and academic (d. 1946)
• 1879 – Marcel Tournier, French harp player and composer (d. 1951)
• 1880 – Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1951)
• 1881 – Pablo Gargallo, Spanish sculptor and painter (d. 1934)
• 1882 – Herbert Bayard Swope, American journalist (d. 1958)
• 1882 – Dorothy Levitt, English racing driver and journalist (d. 1922)
• 1885 – Humbert Wolfe, Italian-English poet and civil servant (d. 1940)
• 1886 – Markus Reiner, Israeli physicist and engineer (d. 1976)
• 1892 – Agnes von Kurowsky, American nurse (d. 1984)
• 1893 – Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian-American guru and philosopher (d. 1952)
• 1895 – Alberto Massimino, Italian automotive engineer (d. 1975)
• 1897 – Kiyoshi Miki, Japanese philosopher and author (d. 1945)
• 1900 – Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (d. 1955)
• 1902 – Hubert Beuve-Méry, French journalist (d. 1989)
• 1902 – Stella Gibbons, English journalist and author (d. 1989)
• 1903 – Harold Gatty, Australian pilot and navigator (d. 1957)
• 1904 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer and psychic (d. 1997)
• 1904 – Erika Morini, Austrian violinist (d. 1995)
• 1906 – Kathleen Kenyon, English archaeologist and academic (d. 1978)
• 1908 – George Dolenz, Italian-American actor (d. 1963)
• 1909 – Lucienne Bloch, Swiss-American sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1995)
• 1909 – Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 1994)
• 1910 – Hugh Brannum, American actor and singer (d. 1987)
• 1910 – Jack Lovelock, New Zealand runner and journalist (d. 1949)
• 1911 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2001)
• 1913 – Nejat Eczacıbaşı, Turkish-American chemist, businessman, and philanthropist, founded Eczacıbaşı (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Nicolas de Staël, Russian-French painter and illustrator (d. 1955)
• 1914 – George Reeves, American actor and director (d. 1959)
• 1915 – Arthur H. Robinson, Canadian geographer and cartographer (d. 2004)
• 1917 – Lucienne Day, English textile designer (d. 2010)
• 1917 – Francis L. Kellogg, American businessman and diplomat (d. 2006)
• 1917 – Wieland Wagner, German director and producer (d. 1966)
• 1917 – Jane Wyman, American actress (d. 2007)
• 1919 – Hector Abhayavardhana, Sri Lankan theorist and politician (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Severino Gazzelloni, Italian flute player (d. 1992)
• 1919 – Herb Peterson, American businessman (d. 2008)
• 1920 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist and educator (d. 1995)
• 1921 – Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1990)
• 1921 – Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Luxembourgish soldier and aristocrat
• 1921 – John H. Reed, American politician and diplomat, 67th Governor of Maine (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Anthony Synnot, Australian admiral (d. 2001)
• 1923 – Sam Phillips, American radio host and producer, founded Sun Records (d. 2003)
• 1926 – Veikko Karvonen, Finnish runner (d. 2007)
• 1926 – W. D. Snodgrass, American poet (d. 2009)
• 1926 – Hosea Williams, American businessman and activist (d. 2000)
• 1927 – Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, American guru and author, founded Iraivan Temple (d. 2001)
• 1928 – Imtiaz Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2016)
• 1928 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th President of Pakistan (d. 1979)
• 1928 – Walter Mondale, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 42nd Vice President of the United States
• 1929 – Wilbert Harrison, American R&B singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player (d. 1994)
• 1929 – Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Al Masini, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2010)
• 1931 – Alvin Ailey, American dancer and choreographer, founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (d. 1989)
• 1931 – Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist, poet, and author
• 1931 – Robert Duvall, American actor and director
• 1932 – Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (d. 2016)
• 1932 – Chuck Noll, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
• 1934 – Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (d. 2013)
• 1934 – Murli Manohar Joshi, Indian Politician, One of the founder leader of the BJP, Education Minister of India
• 1936 – Florence King, American journalist and memoirist (d. 2016)
• 1936 – Terry Lineen, New Zealand rugby player
• 1938 – Juan Carlos I of Spain
• 1938 – Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenyan author and playwright
• 1939 – M. E. H. Maharoof, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1997)
• 1940 – Athol Guy, Australian singer-songwriter and bassist
• 1941 – Bob Cunis, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2008)
• 1941 – Chuck McKinley, American tennis player (d. 1986)
• 1941 – Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
• 1941 – Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian cricketer and coach (d. 2011)
• 1942 – Jan Leeming, English TV presenter and newsreader
• 1942 – Maurizio Pollini, Italian pianist and conductor
• 1942 – Charlie Rose, American journalist and talk show host
• 1943 – Mary Gaudron, Australian lawyer and judge
• 1943 – Murtaz Khurtsilava, Georgian footballer and manager
• 1944 – Ed Rendell, American lieutenant and politician, 45th Governor of Pennsylvania
• 1945 – Roger Spottiswoode, Canadian-English director and producer
• 1945 – Sam Wyche, American football player and coach
• 1946 – Diane Keaton, American actress, director, and businesswoman
• 1947 – Mike DeWine, American lawyer and politician, 59th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
• 1948 – Ted Lange, American actor
• 1950 – Ioan P. Culianu, Romanian historian, philosopher, and author (d. 1991)
• 1950 – Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales
• 1950 – John Manley, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
• 1950 – Charlie Richmond, Canadian sound designer and engineer
• 1950 – Chris Stein, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1950 – Krzysztof Wielicki, Polish mountaineer
• 1952 – Uli Hoeneß, German footballer and manager
• 1953 – Pamela Sue Martin, American actress
• 1953 – Mike Rann, English-Australian journalist and politician, 44th Premier of South Australia
• 1953 – George Tenet, American civil servant and academic, 18th Director of Central Intelligence
• 1953 – Tony Tan Caktiong, Chinese Filipino Entrepreneur & CEO of Jollibee
• 1954 – Alex English, American basketball player and coach
• 1954 – László Krasznahorkai, Hungarian author and screenwriter
• 1955 – Mamata Banerjee, Indian lawyer and politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal
• 1955 – Jacob Hård, Swedish journalist
• 1955 – Mohsen Sazegara, Iranian journalist and politician
• 1956 – Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German academic and politician, 14th Vice-Chancellor of Germany
• 1957 – Kevin Hastings, Australian rugby league player and trainer
• 1958 – Ron Kittle, American baseball player and manager
• 1959 – Clancy Brown, American actor
• 1959 – Nancy Delahunt, Canadian curler
• 1960 – Steve Jones, English captain and pilot
• 1960 – Glenn Strömberg, Swedish footballer and sportscaster
• 1961 – Iris DeMent, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1961 – Rachel Hardiman, Irish cricketer
• 1962 – Suzy Amis, American actress and model
• 1962 – Danny Jackson, American baseball player and manager
• 1962 – Andrew Rawnsley, English journalist and author
• 1963 – Jeff Fassero, American baseball player and coach
• 1964 – Grant Young, American drummer
• 1965 – Ricky Paull Goldin, American actor and producer
• 1965 – Vinnie Jones, English footballer and actor
• 1965 – Patrik Sjöberg, Swedish high jumper
• 1966 – Kate Schellenbach, American drummer
• 1966 – Steve Tuttle, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – Joe Flanigan, American actor
• 1968 – Carrie Ann Inaba, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
• 1968 – Joé Juneau, Canadian ice hockey player and engineer
• 1969 – Marilyn Manson (Brian Hugh Warner), American singer-songwriter, actor, and director
• 1969 – Shaun Micheel, American golfer
• 1970 – Nigel Gaffey, Australian rugby league player
• 1971 – Stian Carstensen, Norwegian multi-instrumentalist and composer
• 1972 – Philip Davies, English politician
• 1972 – Sakis Rouvas, Greek singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1973 – Uday Chopra, Bollywood actor, producer, screenwriter and assistant director
• 1974 – Iwan Thomas, Welsh sprinter and coach
• 1975 – Bradley Cooper, American actor and producer
• 1975 – Warrick Dunn, American football player
• 1975 – Mike Grier, American ice hockey player and scout
• 1976 – Diego Tristán, Spanish footballer
• 1976 – Matt Wachter, American bass player
• 1977 – Gavin Lester, Australian rugby league player
• 1978 – January Jones, American actress
• 1978 – Franck Montagny, French race car driver
• 1979 – Kyle Calder, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Giuseppe Gibilisco, Italian pole vaulter
• 1980 – Luke Bailey, Australian rugby league player
• 1980 – Brad Meyers, Australian rugby league player
• 1980 – Sebastian Deisler, German footballer
• 1981 – Deadmau5 (Joel Thomas Zimmerman), Canadian musician
• 1982 – Takashi Aizawa, Japanese footballer
• 1982 – Janica Kostelić, Croatian skier
• 1982 – Benoît Vaugrenard, French cyclist
• 1984 – Derrick Atkins, Bahamian sprinter
• 1984 – Diego Gómez, Argentine-French footballer
• 1984 – Matt Ballin, Australian rugby league player
• 1985 – Diego Vera, Uruguayan footballer
• 1986 – Deepika Padukone, Indian actress
• 1987 – Dexter Bean, NASCAR driver
• 1988 – Azizulhasni Awang, Malaysian track cyclist
• 1988 – Luke Daniels, English footballer
• 1988 – Mario de Luna, Mexican footballer
• 1989 – Krisztián Németh, Hungarian footballer
• 1990 – José Iglesias, Cuban baseball player
• 1990 – Miroslava Montemayor, Mexican television presenter and model
• 1990 – Mark Nicholls, Australian rugby league player
• 1991 – Denis Alibec, Romanian footballer
• 1991 – Soner Aydoğdu, Turkish footballer
• 1991 – Eric Fisher, American football player
• 1991 – Daniel Pacheco, Spanish footballer
• 1993 – Stefan Rzadzinski, Canadian racing driver
• 1994 – Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Australian rugby league player
• 1994 – Tyrone Phillips, Australian rugby league player

Deaths

• 842 – Al-Mu'tasim, Abbasid caliph (b. 796)
• 941 – Zhang Yanhan, Chinese chancellor (b. 884)
• 1066 – Edward the Confessor, English king (b. 1004)
• 1113 – Ulrich I, Duke of Brno, Moravian ruler
• 1173 – Bolesław IV the Curly, High Duke of Poland (b. 1120)
• 1382 – Philippa Plantagenet, Countess of Ulster (b. 1355)
• 1400 – John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English politician (b. 1350)
• 1448 – Christopher of Bavaria (b. 1416)
• 1465 – Charles, Duke of Orléans (b. 1394)
• 1477 – Charles, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1433)
• 1524 – Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (b. 1450)
• 1527 – Felix Manz, Swiss martyr (b. 1498)
• 1578 – Giulio Clovio, Dalmatian painter (b. 1498)
• 1580 – Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (b. 1542)
• 1589 – Catherine de' Medici, queen of Henry II of France (b. 1519)
• 1625 – Simon Marius, German astronomer (b. 1573)
• 1713 – Jean Chardin, French explorer and author (b. 1643)
• 1740 – Antonio Lotti, Italian composer and educator (b. 1667)
• 1762 – Elizabeth of Russia (b. 1709)
• 1771 – John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1710)
• 1796 – Samuel Huntington, American jurist and politician, 18th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1731)
• 1823 – George Johnston, Scottish-Australian colonel and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales (b. 1764)
• 1845 – Robert Smirke, English painter and illustrator (b. 1753)
• 1846 – Alfred Thomas Agate, American painter and illustrator (b. 1812)
• 1858 – Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Austrian field marshal (b. 1766)
• 1860 – John Neumann, Czech-American bishop and saint (b. 1811)
• 1883 – Charles Tompson, Australian poet and public servant (b. 1806)
• 1888 – Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1803)
• 1899 – Ezra Otis Kendall, American professor, astronomer and mathematician (b. 1818)
• 1904 – Karl Alfred von Zittel, German paleontologist and geologist (b. 1839)
• 1910 – Léon Walras, French-Swiss economist and academic (b. 1834)
• 1917 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (b. 1865)
• 1922 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish sailor and explorer (b. 1874)
• 1933 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (b. 1872)
• 1941 – Amy Johnson, English pilot (b. 1903)
• 1942 – Tina Modotti, Italian photographer, model, actress, and activist (b. 1896)
• 1943 – George Washington Carver, American botanist, educator, and inventor (b. 1864)
• 1947 – Charles Schlee, Danish-American cyclist (b. 1873)
• 1951 – Soh Jaipil, South Korean-American journalist and activist (b. 1864)
• 1951 – Andrei Platonov, Russian journalist and author (b. 1899)
• 1952 – Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, Scottish colonel and politician, 46th Governor-General of India (b. 1887)
• 1952 – Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian-Italian physician and activist (b. 1869)
• 1954 – Rabbit Maranville, American baseball player and manager (b. 1891)
• 1956 – Mistinguett, French actress and singer (b. 1875)
• 1963 – Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1896)
• 1970 – Max Born, German physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
• 1970 – Roberto Gerhard, Catalan composer and scholar (b. 1896)
• 1971 – Douglas Shearer, Canadian-American sound designer and engineer (b. 1899)
• 1972 – Tevfik Rüştü Aras, Turkish physician and politician, 6th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
• 1974 – Lev Oborin, Russian pianist and educator (b. 1907)
• 1976 – John A. Costello, Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1891)
• 1978 – Wyatt Emory Cooper, American author and screenwriter (b. 1927)
• 1979 – Billy Bletcher, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
• 1979 – Charles Mingus, American bassist, composer, bandleader (b. 1922)
• 1981 – Harold Urey, American chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1893)
• 1981 – Lanza del Vasto, Italian poet and philosopher (b. 1901)
• 1982 – Hans Conried, American actor (b. 1917)
• 1982 – Edmund Herring, Australian general and politician, 7th Chief Justice of Victoria (b. 1892)
• 1985 – Robert L. Surtees, American cinematographer (b. 1906)
• 1987 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (b. 1926)
• 1987 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian skier (b. 1875)
• 1988 – Pete Maravich, American basketball player (b. 1947)
• 1990 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (b. 1914)
• 1991 – Vasko Popa, Serbian poet and academic (b. 1922)
• 1994 – Elmar Lipping, Estonian commander and politician, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs in exile (b. 1906)
• 1994 – Tip O'Neill, American lawyer and politician, 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1912)
• 1997 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1924)
• 1997 – Burton Lane, American composer and songwriter (b. 1912)
• 1998 – Sonny Bono, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician (b. 1935)
• 2000 – Kumar Ponnambalam, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1938)
• 2003 – Roy Jenkins, Welsh politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1920)
• 2004 – Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist, co-developed penicillin (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Danny Sugerman, American talent manager and author (b. 1954)
• 2006 – Merlyn Rees, Welsh educator and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (b. 1920)
• 2007 – Momofuku Ando, Taiwanese-Japanese businessman, founded Nissin Foods (b. 1910)
• 2009 – Griffin Bell, American lawyer and politician, 72nd United States Attorney General (b. 1918)
• 2010 – Willie Mitchell, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer (b. 1928)
• 2010 – Kenneth Noland, American painter (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Isaac Díaz Pardo, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Frederica Sagor Maas, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
• 2014 – Eusébio, Mozambican-Portuguese footballer and manager (b. 1942)
• 2014 – Philippe Boiry, French journalist (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Carmen Zapata, American actress (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French race car driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1937)
• 2015 – Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, American bishop (b. 1912)
• 2016 – Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1925)
• 2016 – Jean-Paul L'Allier, Canadian journalist and politician, 38th Mayor of Quebec City (b. 1938)
• 2017 – Jill Saward, English rape victim and activist (b. 1965)
• 2018 – Asghar Khan, Pakistani three star general and politician (b. 1921)
• 2018 – John Young, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
• 2018 – Thomas Bopp, American astronomer best known as the co-discoverer of comet Hale–Bopp (b. 1949)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast day:
  • Charles of Mount Argus
  • John Neumann (Catholic Church)
  • Pope Telesphorus
  • Simeon Stylites (Latin Church)
  • January 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• National Bird Day (United States)
• Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day (Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane)
• The Twelfth day of Christmas and the Twelfth Night of Christmas. (Western Christianity)
• Tucindan (Serbia, Montenegro)

Events

• Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (Harbin, China)
• Joma Shinji at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū (Kamakura, Japan)

External links

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