January 19

Events

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, was mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund.
1607 - San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is currently the oldest church in the Philippines
1764 - John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
1788 - Second group of ships of the First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay.
1795 - Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands. End of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
1806 - The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope.
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 Part 1 premieres.
1839 - The British East India Company captures Aden.
1840 - Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
1853 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore premieres in Rome.
1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs - The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
1871 - Franco-Prussian War: Battle of St. Quentin is fought, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory.
1883 - The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
1893 - Henrik Ibsen's play The Master Builder premieres in Berlin.
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 cities of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the United Kingdom killing more than 20, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
1917 - German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann sends the Zimmermann Telegram to Mexico, proposing a German-Mexican alliance against the United States.
1917 - Silvertown explosion: 73 are killed and 400 injured in an explosion in a munitions plant in London.
1918 - Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
1920 - The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
1935 - Coopers Inc. sells the world's first briefs.
1937 - Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
1941 - World War II: British troops attack Italian-held Eritrea.
1942 - World War II: Japanese forces invade Burma.
1945 - World War II: Soviet forces liberate the ghetto of Łódź. Out of 230,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived Nazi occupation.
1946 - General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
1949 - Cuba recognises Israel.
1953 - 68% of all television sets in the United States are tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
1966 - Indira Gandhi is elected Prime Minister of India.
1969 - Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire 3 days earlier in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turned into another major protest.
1971 - The revival of No, No, Nanette premieres at the 46th Street Theatre, in New York City.
1975 - Triple J begins broadcasting in Sydney, Australia.
1977 - President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (a.k.a. "Tokyo Rose").
1977 - Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snowfall has occurred. It also fell in the Bahamas.
1978 - The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America would continue 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.
1993 - IBM announces a $4.97 billion loss for 1992, the largest single-year corporate loss in United States history.
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.
2006 - Terrorist blows himself up in Tel Aviv, killing only himself but injuring 20 people, one of them seriously.
2006 - A Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crashes in Hungary.
2006 - The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto.
2007 - Armenian Journalist Hrant Dink assassinated in front of his newspaper's office by 17 year old Turkish ultranationalist Ogün Samast.

Births

399 - Pulcheria, Byzantine empress (d. 453)
1544 - King Francis II of France (d. 1560)
1736 - James Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1819)
1739 - Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (d. 1808)
1752 - James Morris III, American army officer (d. 1820)
1757 - Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf, German Princess (d. 1831)
1807 - Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general (d. 1870)
1808 - Lysander Spooner, American philosopher (d. 1887)
1809 - Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet (d. 1849)
1813 - Sir Henry Bessemer, English inventor (d. 1898)
1832 - Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist (d. 1875)
1833 - Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician (d. 1872)
1839 - Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
1848 - John F. Stairs, Canadian businessman (d. 1904)
1851 - Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer (d. 1922)
1863 - Werner Sombart, German sociologist (d. 1941)
1878 - Herbert Chapman, English football player and manager (d. 1934)
1879 - Boris Savinkov, Russian writer (d. 1925)
1887 - Alexander Woollcott, American intellectual (d. 1943)
1892 - Ólafur Thors, Icelandic politician (d. 1964)
1905 - Stanley Hawes, British-born Australian film producer, director and administrator (d. 1991)
1908 - Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician (d. 1971)
1909 - Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (d. 2003)
1912 - Leonid Kantorovich, Russian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
1913 - Rex Ingamells, Australian poet (d. 1955)
1913 - "Minnesota Fats", American billiards player (d. 1996)
1914 - Bob Gerard, British racing driver (d. 1990)
1917 - John Raitt, American singer and actor (d. 2005)
1918 - John H. Johnson, American publisher (d. 2005)
1920 - Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian United Nations Secretary General
1921 - "Billy Batts" Devino, American gangster (d. 1970)
1921 - Patricia Highsmith, American author (d. 1995)
1922 - Guy Madison, American actor (d. 1996)
1923 - Markus Wolf, German spy (d. 2006)
1923 - Jean Stapleton, American actress
1924 - Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (d. 1985)
1924 - Jean-François Revel, French author (d. 2006)
1925 - Nina Bawden, English author
1926 - Fritz Weaver, American actor
1930 - Tippi Hedren, American actress
1931 - Robert MacNeil, Canadian journalist
1932 - Richard Lester, British director
1935 - Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer (d. 1978)
1936 - Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
1939 - Phil Everly, American musician
1940 - Paolo Borsellino, Italian magistrate (d. 1992)
1940 - Mike Reid, English comedian (d. 2007)
1941 - Tony Anholt, British actor (d. 2002)
1941 - Colin Gunton, British theologian (d. 2003)
1941 - Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler
1942 - Michael Crawford, British singer and actor
1943 - Janis Joplin, American singer (d. 1970)
1943 - Petchara Chaowarat, Thai film actress
1943 - Larry Clark, American film director
1943 - Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
1944 - Shelley Fabares, American actress
1944 - Laurie London, English singer
1944 - Peter Lynch, American investor
1944 - Dan Reeves, American football coach
1946 - Julian Barnes, English author
1946 - Dolly Parton, American singer and actress
1947 - Ann Compton, American news reporter
1947 - Paula Deen, American chef and restaurateur
1947 - Rod Evans, British musician (Deep Purple)
1948 - Frank McKenna, Canadian politician
1949 - Robert Palmer, English singer and guitarist (d. 2003)
1949 - Dennis Taylor, Northern Irish snooker player
1950 - Sébastien Dhavernas, Quebec actor
1950 - Grant Nordman, Canadian politician
1951 - Dewey Bunnell, American singer and songwriter (America)
1953 - Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor
1953 - Linda Hayden, English actress
1953 - Richard Legendre, Canadian politician
1954 - Katey Sagal, American actress
1954 - Cindy Sherman, American artist
1954 - Katharina Thalbach, German actress and film director
1955 - Simon Rattle, English conductor
1955 - Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-born actor and comedian
1956 - Carman Licciardello, American Christian singer
1957 - Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican politician
1962 - Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist
1963 - Michael Adams, American basketball player
1963 - Martin Bashir, Pakistani-born reporter
1963 - Caron Wheeler, British singer (Soul II Soul)
1964 - Janine Antoni, Bahamian artist
1964 - Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer
1966 - Floris Jan Bovelander, Dutch field hockey player
1966 - Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
1966 - Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player
1966 - Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer
1967 - Javier Cámara, Spanish actor
1969 - Edwidge Danticat, Haitian-born American author
1969 - Predrag Mijatović, Yugoslavian footballer
1969 - Junior Seau, American football player
1969 - Steve Staunton, Irish footballer
1969 - Luc Longley, Australian basketball player
1970 - Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete
1970 - Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian
1971 - Shawn Wayans, American actor and producer
1971 - John Wozniak, American singer and songwriter (Marcy Playground)
1972 - Joana Benedek, Mexican actress
1972 - Elena Kaliská, Slovak slalom canoer
1972 - Ron Killings, American professional wrestler
1972 - Princess Kalina of Bulgaria, titular Bulgarian royal family
1972 - Troy Wilson, Australian racing driver and AFL player
1972 - Angham, Egyptian singer, record producer and actress
1973 - Drea de Matteo, American actress
1973 - Antero Manninen, Finnish Cellist
1973 - Aaron Yonda, YouTube celebrity
1974 - Frank Caliendo, American comedian
1974 - Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player
1974 - Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer
1975 - Noah Georgeson, American Musician and Producer
1976 - Tarso Marques, Brazilian racing driver
1977 - Lauren Etame Mayer, Cameroonian footballer
1977 - Nicole, Chilean singer
1977 - Cocco, Ryukyuan singer
1979 - Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast
1979 - Josu Sarriegi, Spanish/Basque footballer
1979 - Wiley, English Rapper (Grime)
1980 - Luke Macfarlane, Canadian actor
1980 - Jenson Button, English Formula One driver
1980 - Kotoko, Japanese Singer
1981 - Asier Del Horno, Spanish footballer
1981 - Lucho González, Argentine footballer
1982 - Angela Chang, Taiwanese singer and actress
1982 - Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player
1982 - Jodie Sweetin, American child actress
1983 - Hikaru Utada, American-born Japanese singer and songwriter
1984 - Euan Blair, Eldest son of Tony Blair
1984 - Karun Chandhok, Indian racing driver
1984 - Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player
1985 - Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
1985 - Esteban Guerrieri, Argentine racing driver
1985 - Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
1987 - Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer
1991 - Erin Sanders, American child actress
1992 - Logan Lerman, American child actor
1992 - Shawn Johnson, American Gymnastics Champion

Deaths

639 - Dagobert I, King of the Franks (c. 603)
1526 - Isabella of Burgundy, wife of Christian II of Denmark (b. 1501)
1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1517)
1576 - Hans Sachs, German Meistersinger (b. 1494)
1661 - Thomas Venner, Fifth Monarchist (executed) (b. 1799)
1729 - William Congreve, English playwright (b. 1670)
1757 - Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish classical scholar (b. 1674)
1766 - Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni, Italian-born French architect and painter (b. 1695)
1785 - Jonathan Toup, English classical scholar and critic (b. 1713)
1833 - Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold, French composer (b. 1791)
1847 - Charles Bent, New Mexico pioneer (assassinated)
1851 - Esteban Echeverría, Argentine writer (b. 1805)
1865 - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and anarchist (b. 1809)
1869 - Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (b. 1788)
1874 - August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (b. 1798)
1878 - Henri Victor Regnault French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)
1905 - Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (b. 1817)
1927 - Empress Carlotta of Mexico (b. 1840)
1929 - Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar (b. 1873)
1939 - Cliff Heathcote, American baseball player (b. 1898)
1948 - Tony Garnier, French architect (b. 1869)
1954 - Theodor Kaluza, German scientist (b. 1885)
1957 - József Dudás, Romanian/Hungarian resistance fighter (b. 1912)
1964 - Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (b. 1886)
1968 - Ray Harroun, American race car driver (b. 1879)
1969 - Jan Palach, Czech student and political activist (suicide) (b. 1948)
1971 - Harry Shields, American musician (b. 1899)
1972 - Michael Rabin, American violinist (b. 1936)
1973 - Max Adrian, Northern Irish actor (b. 1903)
1975 - Thomas Hart Benton, American painter (b. 1889)
1976 - Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese electrical engineer (b. 1886)
1980 - William O. Douglas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1898)
1982 - Elis Regina, Brazilian singer (b. 1945)
1983 - Ham the Chimp, First hominid launched into outer space (b. 1956)
1984 - Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1920)
1990 - Rajneesh, Indian religious leader (b. 1931)
1990 - Semprini, English musician (b. 1908)
1990 - Herbert Wehner, German politician (b. 1906)
1991 - John Russell, American actor (b. 1921)
1991 - Marcel Chaput, Quebec politician (b. 1918)
1995 - Gene MacLellan, Canadian composer and singer (b. 1938)
1996 - Don Simpson, American film producer (b. 1943)
1997 - James Dickey, American writer (b. 1923)
1997 - Adriana Caselotti, American actress (b 1916)
1998 - Carl Perkins, American guitarist (b. 1932)
1999 - Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby union footballer (b. 1967)
2000 - Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
2000 - Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born actress (b. 1913)
2001 - Dario Vittori, Argentine actor (b. 1921)
2003 - Françoise Giroud, French writer and journalist (b. 1916)
2004 - Harry E. Claiborne, American judge (suicide) (b. 1917)
2004 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
2005 - Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player (b. 1976)
2005 - Bill Andersen, New Zealand communist and trade union leader (b. 1924)
2005 - K. Sello Duiker, South African novelist (b. 1974)
2006 - Anthony Franciosa, American actor (b. 1928)
2006 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (b. 1941)
2006 - Aoun Al-Sharif Qasim, Sudanese writer and Islamic scholar (b. 1933)
2006 - Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricket player (b. 1921)
2007 - Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow, American professional wrestler (b. 1961)
2007 - Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor (b. 1954)
2007 - Denny Doherty, Canadian singer (The Mamas and the Papas) (b. 1940)
2007 - Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer and composer (b. 1969)
2008 - Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
2008 - John Stewart, American musician (The Kingston Trio) (b. 1939)
2008 - Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster for CBC (b. 1936)