January 21: On This Day

Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for January 21.

Events 49

763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz's mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
1535 – Following the Affair of the Placards, the French king leads an anti-Protestant procession through Paris.
1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
1749 – The Teatro Filarmonico in Verona is destroyed by fire, as a result of a torch being left behind in the box of a nobleman after a performance. It is rebuilt in 1754.
1774 – Abdul Hamid I becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston.
1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
1824 – The Ashantis defeat British forces in the Gold Coast during the First Anglo-Ashanti War.
1854 – The RMS Tayleur sinks off Lambay Island on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia with great loss of life.
1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.
1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.
1915 – Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit.
1919 – A revolutionary Irish parliament is founded and declares the independence of the Irish Republic. One of the first engagements of the Irish War of Independence takes place.
1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
1932 – Finland and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty.
1941 – Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania, the day before, members of the Iron Guard engage in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews.
1942 – The Jewish resistance organization, Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye, based in the Vilna Ghetto is established.
1945 – The Trade Union Council of Transcarpathian Ukraine is founded in Mukachevo.
1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Québec Flag Day.
1950 – American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
1951 – The catastrophic eruption of Mount Lamington in Papua New Guinea claims 2,942 lives.
1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia, with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey, on board.
1960 – Avianca Flight 671 crashes at Montego Bay, Jamaica airport, killing 37 people.
1960 – A coal mine collapses at Holly Country, South Africa, killing 435 miners.
1963 – The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad ends operation.
1968 – Vietnam War, Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
1980 – Iran Air Flight 291 crashes in the Alborz Mountains while on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 128 people.
1981 – Production of the DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
1985 – Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashes near Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, killing 70 people.
1986 – Conservative protestors attack a mock shanty town that had been erected on the Green at Dartmouth College as part of anti-apartheid protests.
1997 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
1999 – War on drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board.
2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
2004 – NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
2009 – Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, officially ending a three-week war it had with Hamas. However, intermittent fire by both sides continues in the weeks to follow.
2011 – Anti-government demonstrations take place in Tirana, Albania. Four people die from gunshots, allegedly fired from armed police protecting the Prime Minister's office.
2014 – Rojava conflict: The Jazira Canton declares its autonomy from the Syrian Arab Republic.
2017 – Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women's march, including in Portland, on Donald Trump's first full day as President of the United States.
2023 – Huu Can Tran, 72, opens fire in a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, killing eleven people and injuring nine others before later committing suicide. It is the worst mass shooting in Los Angeles County since the 2008 Covina massacre.
2025 – A fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in Bolu Province, Turkey, results in 78 people dead and 51 injured.

Births 441

1264 – Alexander, Prince of Scotland (died 1284)
1277 – Galeazzo I Visconti, lord of Milan (died 1328)
1338 – Charles V of France (died 1380)
1493 – Giovanni Poggio, Italian cardinal and diplomat (died 1556)
1598 – Matsudaira Tadamasa, Japanese samurai and daimyō (died 1645)
1612 – Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz, count of Nassau-Dietz (died 1640)
1636 – Melchiorre Cafà, Maltese Baroque sculptor (baptised; (died 1667)
1655 – Antonio Molinari, Italian painter (died 1704)
1659 – Adriaen van der Werff, Dutch painter (died 1722)
1675 – Duchess Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg, Margravine of Baden-Baden (died 1733)
1714 – Anna Morandi Manzolini, Italian anatomist (died 1774)
1717 – Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Spanish military officer and governor of Cuba (died 1779)
1721 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, Governor of Minorca (died 1794)
1732 – Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis (died 1797)
1738 – Ethan Allen, American general (died 1789)
1741 – Chaim of Volozhin, Orthodox rabbi (died 1821)
1763 – Augustin Robespierre, younger brother of French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre (died 1794)
1775 – Manuel Garcia, Spanish opera singer and composer (died 1832)
1784 – Peter De Wint, English painter (died 1849)
1788 – William Henry Smyth, Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist (died 1865)
1796 – Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel, consort of George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (died 1880)
1797 – Joseph Méry, French author and journalist (died 1866)
1800 – Theodor Fliedner, German Lutheran minister (died 1864)
1801 – John Batman, Australian entrepreneur and explorer (died 1839)
1804 – Moritz von Schwind, Austrian painter (died 1871)
1808 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, 16th President of Peru (died 1875)
1810 – Pierre Louis Charles de Failly, French general (died 1892)
1811 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, British statesman (died 1885)
1813 – John C. Frémont, American general, explorer, and politician, 5th Territorial Governor of Arizona (died 1890)
1813 – Giuseppe Montanelli, Italian statesman and author (died 1862)
1814 – Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, German bibliographer and historian (died 1885)
1815 – Horace Wells, American dentist (died 1848)
1820 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (died 1899)
1820 – Egide Walschaerts, Belgian mechanical engineer (died 1901)
1824 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (died 1863)
1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and theorist (died 1900)
1829 – Oscar II of Sweden (died 1907)
1831 – George Kerferd, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of Victoria (died 1889)
1839 – Caterina Volpicelli, Italian Roman Catholic nun (died 1894)
1840 – Sophia Jex-Blake, English physician and feminist (died 1912)
1841 – Édouard Schuré, French philosopher and author (died 1929)
1843 – Émile Levassor, French engineer (died 1897)
1845 – Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter (died 1932)
1846 – Pieter Hendrik Schoute, Dutch mathematician and academic (died 1923)
1846 – Albert Lavignac, French music scholar (died 1916)
1847 – Joseph Achille Le Bel, French chemist (died 1930)
1848 – Henri Duparc, French soldier and composer (died 1933)
1851 – Giuseppe Allamano, Italian Roman Catholic priest (died 1926)
1854 – Karl Julius Beloch, German classical and economic historian (died 1929)
1854 – Eusapia Palladino, Italian spiritualist (died 1918)
1855 – Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (died 1874)
1860 – Karl Staaff, Swedish lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Sweden (died 1915)
1864 – Israel Zangwill, British author (died 1926)
1865 – Heinrich Albers-Schonberg, German gynecologist and radiologist (died 1921)
1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German paramedic and author (died 1921)
1867 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (died 1965)
1868 – Felix Hoffmann, German chemist (died 1946)
1869 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic (died 1916)
1871 – Olga Preobrajenska, Russian ballerina (died 1962)
1873 – Arturo Labriola, Italian revolutionary syndicalist (died 1959)
1874 – René-Louis Baire, French mathematician (died 1932)
1875 – Paul E. Kahle, German orientalist (died 1964)
1877 – Baldassarre Negroni, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1948)
1878 – Vahan Tekeyan, Armenian poet and activist (died 1948)
1880 – George Van Biesbroeck, Belgian–American astronomer (died 1974)
1881 – Ernst Fast, Swedish runner (died 1959)
1881 – André Godard, French archaeologist, architect and historian (died 1965)
1881 – Ivan Ribar, Yugoslav politician (died 1968)
1882 – Pavel Florensky, Russian mathematician and theologian (died 1937)
1882 – Francis Gailey, Australian-American swimmer (died 1972)
1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet and educator (died 1929)
1883 – Oskar Baum, Bohemian writer (died 1941)
1883 – Mathias Hynes, British tug of war competitor (died 1926)
1885 – Duncan Grant, British painter and designer (died 1978)
1885 – Umberto Nobile, Italian engineer and explorer (died 1978)
1885 – Harold A. Wilson, English runner (died 1932)
1886 – John M. Stahl, American director and producer (died 1950)
1887 – Wolfgang Köhler, German psychologist and phenomenologist (died 1967)
1887 – Ernest Holmes, American New Thought writer (died 1960)
1887 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1926)
1889 – Pitirim Sorokin, American sociologist and political activist (died 1968)
1889 – Edith Tolkien, wife and muse of J. R. R. Tolkien (died 1971)
1891 – Albert Battel, German Army lieutenant and lawyer (died 1952)
1891 – Francisco Lázaro, Portuguese marathon runner (died 1912)
1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (died 1972)
1895 – Daniel Chalonge, French astrophysicist and astronomer (died 1977)
1895 – Noe Itō, Japanese anarchist, author and feminist (died 1923)
1896 – Guy Gilpatric, American pilot and journalist (died 1950)
1896 – Paula Hitler, younger sister of Adolf Hitler (died 1960)
1896 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (died 1973)
1896 – Masa Perttilä, Finnish wrestler (died 1968)
1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (died 1954)
1898 – Rudolph Maté, Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, producer and director (died 1964)
1898 – Ahmad Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia (died 1930)
1898 – Eduard Zintl, German chemist (died 1941)
1899 – John Bodkin Adams, British general practitioner and convict (died 1983)
1899 – Gyula Mándi, Hungarian footballer and manager (died 1969)
1899 – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian-American pianist and composer (died 1977)
1900 – Elof Ahrle, Swedish actor and director (died 1965)
1900 – Anselm Franz, Austrian engineer (died 1994)
1900 – Fernando Quiroga Palacios, Spanish Cardinal (died 1971)
1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer and manager (died 1978)
1903 – William Lyon, American film editor (died 1974)
1903 – Raymond Suvigny, French weightlifter (died 1945)
1904 – John Porter, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1997)
1904 – Puck van Heel, Dutch footballer (died 1984)
1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (died 1957)
1905 – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (died 1978)
1906 – Igor Moiseyev, Russian choreographer (died 2007)
1907 – Carlo Cavagnoli, Italian boxer (died 1991)
1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (died 2004)
1909 – Teofilo Spasojević, Serbian footballer (died 1970)
1910 – Rosa Kellner, German athlete (died 1984)
1910 – Albert Rosellini, American lawyer and politician, 15th Governor of Washington (died 2011)
1910 – Hideo Shinojima, Japanese footballer (died 1975)
1910 – Károly Takács, Hungarian shooter (died 1976)
1911 – Dick Garrard, Australian wrestler (died 2003)
1911 – Lee Yoo-hyung, Korean footballer and manager (died 2003)
1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2000)
1915 – André Lichnerowicz, French mathematician (died 1998)
1915 – Orazio Mariani, Italian sprinter (died 1981)
1916 – Pietro Rava, Italian footballer (died 2006)
1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish midwife; American and Yiddish-language actress; producer of the Yiddish stage (died 2002)
1917 – Erling Persson, H&M founder (died 2002)
1918 – Jimmy Hagan, English footballer (died 1998)
1918 – Antonio Janigro, Italian cellist and conductor (died 1989)
1918 – Richard Winters, American soldier (died 2011)
1919 – Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (died 2016)
1920 – Errol Barrow, first Prime Minister of Barbados (died 1987)
1922 – Lincoln Alexander, Canadian lawyer and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Labour (died 2012)
1922 – Telly Savalas, American actor (died 1994)
1922 – Paul Scofield, English actor (died 2008)
1922 – Predrag Vranicki, Croatian Marxist humanist (died 2002)
1923 – Alberto de Mendoza, Argentine actor (died 2011)
1923 – Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer, and actress (died 1995)
1923 – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (died 2012)
1924 – Shafiga Akhundova, Azerbaijani Composer, first professional female author of an opera in the East (died 2013)
1924 – Benny Hill, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (died 1992)
1925 – Charles Aidman, American actor (died 1993)
1925 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer (died 2014)
1925 – Eva Ibbotson, Austrian-English author (died 2010)
1925 – Arnold Skaaland, American wrestler and manager (died 2007)
1926 – Clive Donner, British director (died 2010)
1926 – Franco Evangelisti, Italian composer (died 1980)
1926 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder and actor (died 2000)
1926 – Roger Taillibert, French architect (died 2019)
1926 – Robert J. White, American neurosurgeon (died 2010)
1927 – Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1985)
1927 – Rudolf Kraus, German footballer (died 2003)
1928 – Reynaldo Bignone, Argentinian general and politician, 41st President of Argentina (died 2018)
1928 – Gene Sharp, American political scientist and academic, founded the Albert Einstein Institution (died 2018)
1929 – Radley Metzger, American filmmaker (died 2017)
1930 – Mainza Chona, Zambian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Zambia (died 2001)
1930 – Valentin Filatyev, Soviet cosmonaut (died 1990)
1931 – Yoshiko Kuga, Japanese actress (died 2024)
1933 – Tony Marchi, English footballer (died 2022)
1933 – Habib Thiam, Senegalese politician (died 2017)
1934 – Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
1934 – Antonio Karmany, Spanish cyclist
1934 – Alfonso Portugal, Mexican footballer (died 2016)
1934 – Ann Wedgeworth, American actress (died 2017)
1936 – Dick Davies, American basketball player (died 2012)
1937 – Judit Ágoston-Mendelényi, Hungarian fencer (died 2013)
1937 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, the youngest son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
1938 – Wolfman Jack, radio personality (died 1995)
1938 – Romano Fogli, Italian footballer (died 2021)
1939 – Paul Genevay, French sprinter (died 2022)
1939 – Friedel Lutz, German footballer (died 2023)
1939 – Steve Paxton, American dancer and choreographer (died 2024)
1939 – Viacheslav Platonov, Russian volleyball player and coach (died 2005)
1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer and sportscaster
1940 – Patrick Robinson, English novelist
1941 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (died 2013)
1941 – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor
1941 – Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2013)
1941 – Mike Medavoy, Chinese-born American film producer, co-founded Orion Pictures
1941 – Ivan Putski, Polish-American wrestler and bodybuilder
1941 – Elaine Showalter, American author and critic
1942 – Freddy Breck, German singer, producer, and news anchor (died 2008)
1942 – Eugène Camara, Prime Minister of Guinea (died 2019)
1942 – Mac Davis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 2020)
1942 – Han Pil-hwa, North Korean speed skater
1942 – Edwin Starr, American singer-songwriter (died 2003)
1942 – Michael G. Wilson, American producer and screenwriter
1943 – Zdravko Hebel, Croatian water polo player (died 2017)
1943 – Arnar Jónsson, Icelandic actor
1943 – Alfons Peeters, Belgian footballer (died 2015)
1943 – Kenzo Yokoyama, Japanese footballer
1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist
1945 – Arthur Beetson, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 2011)
1945 – Pete Kircher, English drummer
1945 – Martin Shaw, English actor and producer
1946 – Ichiro Hosotani, Japanese footballer
1946 – Nella Martinetti, Swiss singer (died 2011)
1946 – Tomás Pineda, El Salvadoran footballer
1946 – Miguel Reina, Spanish footballer
1947 – Andrzej Bachleda, Polish former alpine skier
1947 – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
1947 – Dorian M. Goldfeld, American mathematician
1947 – Pye Hastings, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1947 – Michel Jonasz, French singer-songwriter and actor
1947 – Joseph Nicolosi, American clinical psychologist (died 2017)
1947 – Giuseppe Savoldi, Italian footballer (died 2026)
1947 – Roberto Zywica, Argentine footballer (died 2025)
1948 – Zygmunt Kukla, Polish footballer (died 2016)
1948 – Hugo Tocalli, Argentine footballer
1949 – Clifford Ray, American basketball coach and player
1949 – Trương Tấn Sang, Vietnamese politician and 7th President of Vietnam
1950 – Marion Becker, German javelin thrower
1950 – Gary Locke, American politician and diplomat, 36th United States Secretary of Commerce
1950 – José Marín, Spanish racewalker
1950 – Billy Ocean, Trinidadian-English singer-songwriter
1950 – Agnes van Ardenne, Dutch politician and diplomat, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation
1951 – Eric Holder, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 82nd United States Attorney General
1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss activist and murderer
1952 – Werner Grissmann, Austrian alpine skier
1952 – Mikhail Umansky, Russian chess player (died 2010)
1953 – Paul Allen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft (died 2018)
1953 – Felipe Yáñez, Spanish cyclist
1954 – Thomas de Maizière, German politician of the Christian Democratic Union
1954 – Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkinabé director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2018)
1954 – Phil Thompson, English footballer and coach
1955 – Peter Fleming, American tennis player
1955 – Jeff Koons, American painter and sculptor
1955 – Nello Musumeci, Italian politician and President of Sicily
1956 – Robby Benson, American actor and director
1956 – Geena Davis, American actress and producer
1958 – Hussein Saeed, Iraqi footballer
1958 – Matt Salmon, American politician
1958 – Sergei Walter, Ukrainian politician (died 2015)
1958 – Michael Wincott, Canadian actor
1959 – Sergei Alifirenko, Russian pistol shooter
1959 – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
1960 – Sidney Lowe, American basketball player
1960 – Mike Terrana, American hard rock and heavy metal drummer
1961 – Kevin Cramer, American politician
1961 – Cornelia Pröll, Austrian alpine skier
1961 – Ivo Pukanić Croatian journalist (died 2008)
1961 – Gary Shaw, English footballer (died 2024)
1961 – Piotr Ugrumov, Russian cyclist
1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist and academic
1962 – Isabelle Nanty, French actress, director and screenwriter
1962 – Gabriele Pin, Italian footballer and coach
1962 – Zoran Thaler, Slovenian politician
1962 – Marie Trintignant, French actress (died 2003)
1962 – Erik Verlinde, Dutch theoretical physicist
1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball player
1963 – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player and coach
1964 – Andreas Bauer, German ski jumper
1964 – Tony Dolan, English musician and actor
1964 – Gérald Passi, French footballer
1964 – Ricardo Serna, Spanish footballer
1964 – Aleksandar Šoštar, Serbian water polo player
1964 – Danny Wallace, English footballer
1965 – Robert Del Naja, British artist, musician and singer
1965 – Jam Master Jay, American DJ, rapper, and producer (died 2002)
1965 – Masahiro Wada, Japanese footballer
1967 – Ulf Dahlén, Swedish ice hockey player
1967 – Alfred Jermaniš, Slovenian footballer
1967 – Artashes Minasian, Armenian chess player
1967 – Gorō Miyazaki, Japanese film director and landscaper
1968 – Artur Dmitriev, Russian ice skater
1968 – Dmitry Fomin, Russian volleyball player
1968 – Sébastien Lifshitz, French director
1968 – Steven Marshall, Australian politician, 46th Premier of South Australia
1968 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
1968 – Ilya Smirin, Israeli chess Grandmaster
1969 – John Ducey, American actor
1969 – Eduard Hämäläinen, Finnish-Belarusian decathlete
1969 – Karina Lombard, French-American actress and singer
1969 – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese comic artist
1970 – Alen Bokšić, former Croatian footballer
1970 – Marina Foïs, French actress
1970 – Ken Leung, American actor
1970 – Oren Peli, Israeli-American director, producer and screenwriter
1971 – Uni Arge, Faroese footballer and entertainer
1971 – Rafael Berges, Spanish footballer
1971 – Doug Edwards, American basketball player
1971 – Dmitri Khlestov, Russian footballer
1971 – Sergey Klevchenya, Russian speed skater
1971 – Dylan Kussman, American actor
1971 – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player and coach
1972 – Billel Dziri, Algerian footballer and manager
1972 – Rick Falkvinge, Swedish businessman and politician
1972 – Sead Kapetanović, Bosnian footballer
1972 – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer and producer
1972 – Cat Power, American singer, musician and actress
1972 – Shawn Rojeski, American curler
1972 – Sabina Valbusa, Italian cross-country skier
1973 – Rob Hayles, English cyclist
1973 – Chris Kilmore, American musician and DJ
1973 – Edvinas Krungolcas, Lithuanian modern pentathlete
1973 – Flavio Maestri, Peruvian footballer
1974 – Malena Alterio, Spanish actress
1974 – Maxwell Atoms, American animator, screenwriter and voice actor
1974 – Kim Dotcom, German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and political activist
1974 – Arthémon Hatungimana, Burundian middle-distance runner
1974 – Vincent Laresca, American actor
1974 – Ulrich Le Pen, French footballer
1974 – Marco Zanotti, Italian cyclist
1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer and coach
1975 – Thomas Castaignède, French rugby player
1975 – Casey FitzRandolph, American speedskater
1975 – Yuji Ide, Japanese race car driver
1975 – Ito, Spanish footballer and manager
1975 – Willem Korsten, Dutch footballer
1975 – Jason Moran, American jazz pianist, composer and educator
1975 – Florin Șerban, Romanian director
1975 – Alyaksandr Yermakovich, Belarusian footballer and manager
1976 – Aivaras Abromavičius, Lithuanian-Ukrainian banker and politician; 15th Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development
1976 – Raivis Belohvoščiks, Latvian cyclist
1976 – Emma Bunton, English singer
1976 – Lars Eidinger, German actor
1976 – Giorgio Frezzolini, Italian footballer
1976 – Igors Stepanovs, Latvian footballer
1977 – Hussein Abdulghani, Saudi Arabian footballer
1977 – Bradley Carnell, South African footballer
1977 – John DeSantis, Canadian actor
1977 – Kirsten Münchow, German hammer thrower
1977 – Denis Lunghi, Italian cyclist
1977 – Ulrike Maisch, German runner
1977 – Phil Neville, English footballer and manager
1977 – Michael Ruffin, American basketball player
1977 – Jerry Trainor, American actor, director, and producer
1977 – Loïc Lerouge, French sprinter
1978 – Faris Al-Sultan, German triathlete
1978 – Hernán Rodrigo López, Uruguayan footballer
1978 – Peter von Allmen, Swiss cross-country skier
1978 – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
1979 – Quinton Jacobs, Namibian footballer
1979 – Melendi, Spanish singer
1979 – Brian O'Driscoll, Irish rugby player
1980 – Karsten Forsterling, Australian rower
1980 – Lee Kyung-won, South Korean badminton player
1980 – Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
1980 – Xavier Pons, Spanish rally diver
1981 – Gillian Chung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
1981 – Wu Hanxiong, Chinese fencer
1981 – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Andy Lee, South Korean singer and actor
1981 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress, dancer, and producer
1981 – Jung Ryeo-won, South Korean actress
1981 – David F. Sandberg, Swedish filmmaker
1981 – Michel Teló, Brazilian singer-songwriter
1982 – Richard José Blanco, Venezuelan footballer
1982 – Nicolas Mahut, French tennis player
1982 – Adriano Ferreira Martins, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Sarah Ourahmoune, French boxer
1982 – Simon Rolfes, German footballer
1983 – Alex Acker, American-Italian basketball player
1983 – Svetlana Khodchenkova, Russian actress
1983 – Asael Lubotzky, Israeli physician, author and molecular biologist
1983 – Maryse Mizanin, Canadian-American wrestler
1983 – Álvaro Quirós, Spanish golfer
1983 – Francesca Segat, Italian swimmer
1983 – Marieke van den Ham, Dutch water polo player
1983 – Kelly VanderBeek, Canadian alpine skier
1983 – Moritz Volz, German footballer
1984 – Luke Grimes, American actor
1984 – Haloti Ngata, American football player
1985 – Artur Beterbiev, Russian boxer
1985 – Aura Dione, Danish singer and songwriter
1985 – Yumi Hara, Japanese voice actress and singer
1985 – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model and actress
1985 – Ri Se-gwang, North Korean artistic gymnast
1985 – Dmitri Sokolov, Russian basketball player
1985 – Ryan Suter, American ice hockey player
1986 – César Arzo, Spanish footballer
1986 – Edson Barboza, Brazilian mixed martial artist
1986 – Peyton Hillis, American football player
1986 – João Gomes Júnior, Brazilian swimmer
1986 – Javi López, Spanish footballer
1986 – Gina Mambrú, Dominican Republic volleyball player
1986 – Jonathan Quick, American ice hockey player
1986 – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor (died 2020)
1986 – Óscar Vílchez, Peruvian footballer
1987 – Oskars Bārtulis, Latvian ice hockey player
1987 – Brandon Crawford, American baseball player
1987 – Aida Hadzialic, Swedish politician
1987 – Darren Helm, Canadian ice hockey player
1987 – Shaun Keeling, South African rower
1987 – Augustine Kiprono Choge, Kenyan runner
1987 – Will Johnson, Canadian soccer player
1987 – Dominik Roels, German cyclist
1987 – Maša Zec Peškirič, Slovenian tennis player
1987 – Ikumi Yoshimatsu, Japanese actress
1988 – Glaiza de Castro, Filipino actress and singer
1988 – Ashton Eaton, American decathlete
1988 – Rolands Freimanis, Latvian basketball player
1988 – Vanessa Hessler, Italian-American model and actress
1988 – Aleksandar Lazevski, Macedonian footballer
1988 – Ángel Mena, Ecuadorian footballer
1988 – Valérie Tétreault, Canadian tennis player
1988 – Pieter Timmers, Belgian swimmer
1988 – Nemanja Tomić, Serbian footballer
1989 – Doğuş Balbay, Turkish basketball player
1989 – Kayla Banwarth, American indoor volleyball player
1989 – Férébory Doré, Congolese footballer
1989 – Sergey Fesikov, Russian swimmer
1989 – Justin Houston, American football player
1989 – Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian footballer
1989 – Zhang Shuai, Chinese tennis player
1990 – Knowledge Musona, Zimbabwean footballer
1990 – Kelly Rohrbach, American model and actress
1991 – Ali Al-Busaidi, Omani footballer
1991 – Jan Hirt, Czech cyclist
1991 – Brayden McNabb, Canadian ice hockey player
1991 – Marta Pagnini, Italian gymnast
1992 – Sven Erik Bystrøm, Norwegian cyclist
1992 – James Duckworth, Australian tennis player
1992 – Quinton Howden, Canadian ice hockey player
1992 – Kwame Karikari, Ghanaian footballer
1992 – Tom Kühnhackl, German ice hockey player
1992 – Nicolás Mezquida, Uruguayan footballer
1992 – Verónica Cepede Royg, Paraguayan tennis player
1992 – Roland Szolnoki, Hungarian footballer
1993 – Ronald Blair, former professional American football player
1993 – Muralha, Brazilian footballer
1994 – Amin Affane, Swedish footballer
1994 – Laura Robson, Australian-English tennis player
1994 – Booboo Stewart, American actor
1995 – Jake Elliott, American football player
1995 – Marine Johannès, French basketball player
1995 – Alanna Kennedy, Australian soccer player
1995 – Nguyễn Công Phượng, Vietnamese footballer
1995 – Yuliya Stupak, Russian cross-country skier
1996 – Marco Asensio, Spanish footballer
1996 – Cristian Pavón, Argentine footballer
1997 – Mamadi Diakite, Guinean basketball player
1997 – Jeremy Shada, American actor, musician and singer
1997 – Ilia Topuria, German-Georgian mixed martial artist
1998 – Pervis Estupiñán, Ecuadorian footballer
1999 – Rubina Ali, Indian actress
1999 – Fūju Kamio, Japanese actor
1999 – Alisha Lehmann, Swiss footballer
2001 – Baek Jong-bum, South Korean footballer
2002 – Moussa Diabaté, French basketball player
2003 – Hannibal Mejbri, Tunisian footballer
2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
2005 – IShowSpeed, American YouTuber and online streamer
2007 – Luke Littler, English darts player

Deaths 112

420 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empire
496 – Epiphanius of Pavia, Italian bishop and saint (born 438)
917 – Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (born 880)
918 – Liu Zhijun, Chinese general
939 – Yang Pu, Chinese emperor (born 900)
942 – An Chongrong, Chinese general (Five Dynasties)
945 – Yang Tan, Chinese general and governor
1118 – Pope Paschal II (born 1050)
1203 – Agnes II, Abbess of Quedlinburg (born 1139)
1320 – Árni Helgason, Icelandic bishop (born c. 1260)
1527 – Juan de Grijalva, Spanish explorer (born 1489)
1546 – Azai Sukemasa, Japanese daimyō (born 1491)
1609 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French historian and scholar (born 1540)
1638 – Ignazio Donati, Italian composer (born 1570)
1670 – Claude Duval, French highwayman (born 1643)
1683 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1621)
1699 – Obadiah Walker, English historian and academic (born 1616)
1706 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (born 1649)
1710 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic and critic (born 1638)
1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1661)
1731 – Ignjat Đurđević, Croatian poet and translator (born 1675)
1773 – Alexis Piron, French playwright and author (born 1689)
1774 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (born 1717)
1775 – Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel (born 1742)
1789 – Baron d'Holbach, French-German philosopher and author (born 1723)
1793 – Louis XVI of France (born 1754)
1795 – Samuel Wallis, English navigator and explorer (born 1728)
1805 – David Ker, Irish-American educator and judge
1809 – Josiah Hornblower, American engineer and politician (born 1729)
1814 – Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French botanist and author (born 1737)
1823 – Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentinian cleric, journalist, and poet (born 1761)
1831 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (born 1781)
1851 – Albert Lortzing, German actor and composer (born 1801)
1862 – Božena Němcová, Austrian-Czech author and poet (born 1820)
1870 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (born 1812)
1872 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright and poet (born 1791)
1881 – Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss lawyer and politician (born 1802)
1891 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (born 1842)
1901 – Elisha Gray, American engineer, co-founded Western Electric (born 1835)
1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter and illustrator (born 1857)
1918 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (born 1857)
1919 – Gojong of Korea (born 1852)
1919 – Ahmed Muhtar Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 277th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (born 1839)
1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (born 1870)
1926 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1843)
1928 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer (born 1858)
1931 – Felix Blumenfeld, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1863)
1932 – Lytton Strachey, English writer and critic (born 1880)
1933 – George Moore, Irish author, poet, and critic (born 1852)
1937 – Marie Prevost, Canadian-American actress and singer (born 1896)
1938 – Georges Méliès, French actor, director, and producer (born 1861)
1945 – Rash Behari Bose, founder of the Indian National Army (born 1886)
1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (born 1876)
1950 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (born 1903)
1955 – Archie Hahn, German-American runner and coach (born 1880)
1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1881)
1959 – Frances Gertrude McGill, pioneering Canadian forensic pathologist (born 1882)
1959 – Carl Switzer, American child actor and hunting guide (born 1927)
1961 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss author and poet (born 1887)
1963 – Acharya Shivpujan Sahay, Indian author, poet, and academic (born 1893)
1963 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (born 1881)
1967 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (born 1915)
1977 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet and journalist (born 1906)
1978 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (born 1898)
1983 – Lamar Williams, American bass player (born 1949)
1984 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek playwright and poet (born 1893)
1984 – Jackie Wilson, American singer (born 1934)
1985 – James Beard, American chef and author (born 1903)
1985 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (born 1930)
1987 – Charles Goodell, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (born 1926)
1988 – Vincent Lingiari, Australian Aboriginal rights activist (born 1919)
1989 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (born 1922)
1989 – Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (born 1914)
1992 – Eddie Mabo, Australian land rights activist (born 1936)
1993 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (born 1903)
1994 – Bassel al-Assad, Son of the former President of the Syrian Arab Republic Hafez al-Assad (born 1962)
1998 – Jack Lord, American actor, director, and producer (born 1920)
1999 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (born 1938)
2002 – Peggy Lee, American singer (born 1920)
2003 – Paul Haines, American-Canadian poet and songwriter (born 1933)
2003 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (born 1916)
2004 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian author and playwright (born 1929)
2005 – Theun de Vries, Dutch author and poet (born 1907)
2005 – John L. Hess, American journalist and critic (born 1917)
2005 – Kaljo Raid, Estonian cellist, composer, and pastor (born 1921)
2006 – Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (born 1944)
2009 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician and diplomat (born 1946)
2010 – Paul Quarrington, Canadian author, playwright, guitarist, and composer (born 1953)
2011 – Theoni V. Aldredge, Greek-American costume designer (born 1922)
2011 – Dennis Oppenheim, American sculptor and photographer (born 1938)
2011 – E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1958)
2012 – Jonathan Idema, American soldier, mercenary, con artist, vigilante, and criminal (born 1956)
2013 – Ahmet Mete Işıkara, Turkish geophysicist and academic (born 1941)
2013 – Chumpol Silpa-archa, Thai academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (born 1940)
2013 – Michael Winner, English director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1935)
2015 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian, and author (born 1942)
2015 – Leon Brittan, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (born 1939)
2015 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (born 1946)
2015 – Canek Sánchez Guevara, Cuban author and dissident (born 1974)
2016 – Bill Johnson, American skier (born 1960)
2016 – Mrinalini Sarabhai, a 1992-Padma Bhushan award winner Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. (born 1918)
2019 – Kaye Ballard, American actress (born 1925)
2019 – Henri, Count of Paris, Head of the House of Orléans (born 1933)
2019 – Emiliano Sala, Argentine footballer (born 1990)
2019 – Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (born 1926)
2020 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1942)
2020 – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (born 1931)
2022 – Louie Anderson, American actor and comedian (born 1953)
2022 – Leonor Oyarzún, Chilean socialite, First Lady of Chile (born 1919)
2025 – Mauricio Funes, Salvadoran politician, 79th President of El Salvador (born 1959)
2025 – Garth Hudson, Canadian keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (born 1937)
2026 – Virginia Oliver (born 1920), American lobster fisherwoman

Holidays and observances 15

Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia)
Christian feast day: Agnes Demiana (Coptic Church) Fructuosus John Yi Yun-il (one of The Korean Martyrs) Meinrad of Einsiedeln January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Agnes
Demiana (Coptic Church)
Fructuosus
John Yi Yun-il (one of The Korean Martyrs)
Meinrad of Einsiedeln
January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Errol Barrow Day (Barbados)
Flag Day (Quebec)
Grandmother's Day (Poland)
Lady of Altagracia Day (Dominican Republic)
Lincoln Alexander Day (Canada)
National Hugging Day (United States)
Squirrel Appreciation Day