Wikipedia / January 1
Wikipedia / January 1
January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in the Gregorian Calendar; 364 days remain until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year.
Events
Pre-1600
153 BC For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1.
45 BC The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Republic, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year.
42 BC The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.
193 The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emperor.
404 Saint Telemachus tries to stop a gladiatorial fight in a Roman amphitheatre, and is stoned to death by the crowd. This act impresses the Christian Emperor Honorius, who issues a historic ban on gladiatorial fights.
417 Emperor Honorius forces Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militum) (probable).
947 Emperor Taizong of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty captures Daliang, ending the dynasty and empire of the Later Jin.
1001 Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II (probable).
1068 Romanos IV Diogenes marries Eudokia Makrembolitissa and is crowned Byzantine Emperor.
1259 Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.
1438 Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.
1502 The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is first explored by the Portuguese under their commissioned Florentine explorer, Amerigo Vespucci. Vespucci begins his suspicion that there is a whole continent between Europe and Asia.
1515 Twenty-year-old Francis, Duke of Brittany, succeeds to the French throne following the death of his father-in-law, Louis XII.
1527 Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria as King of Croatia in the 1527 election in Cetin.
1600 Scotland recognises January 1 as the start of the year, instead of March 25.
1601–1900
1604 The Masque of Indian and China Knights is performed by courtiers of James VI and I at Hampton Court.
1651 Charles II is crowned King of Scotland at Scone Palace.
1700 Russia begins using the Anno Domini era instead of the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.
1707 John V is proclaimed King of Portugal and the Algarves in Lisbon.
1725 J. S. Bach leads the first performance of his chorale cantata Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41, which features the trumpet fanfares from the beginning also in the end.
1726 J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Herr Gott, dich loben wir, BWV 16, his church cantata for New Year's Day to a libretto by Georg Christian Lehms.
1739 Bouvet Island, the world's remotest island, is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
1772 The first traveler's cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, are issued by the London Credit Exchange Company.
1773 The hymn that becomes known as "Amazing Grace", previously titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17, Faith's Review and Expectation", is first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.
1776 American Revolutionary War: Burning of Norfolk Norfolk, Virginia, is burned to the ground by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action.
1776 General George Washington hoists the first United States flag, the Continental Union Flag, at Prospect Hill.
1781 American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781.
1788 The first edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
1801 The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is proclaimed.
1801 Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
1804 French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America after the United States.
1806 The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
1808 The United States bans the importation of slaves.
1810 Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales.
1818 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (anonymously) publishes the pioneering work of science fiction, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, in London.
1822 The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
1834 Most of Germany forms the Zollverein customs union, the first such union between sovereign states.
1845 The Philippines moves its national calendar to align with other Asian countries' calendars by skipping Tuesday, December 31, 1844. The change has been ordered by Governor–General Narciso Claveria to reform the country's calendar so that it aligns with the rest of Asia. Its territory has been one day behind the rest of Asia for 323 years since the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines on March 16, 1521.
1847 The world's first "Mercy" Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh, United States, by a group of Sisters of Mercy from Ireland; the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world.
1860 The first Polish postage stamp is issued, replacing the Russian stamps previously in use.
1861 Liberal forces supporting Benito Juárez enter Mexico City.
1863 American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory.
1877 Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.
1885 Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming's proposal for standard time (and also, time zones).
1890 Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government as Italian Eritrea.
1892 Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States.
1898 New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
1899 Spanish rule ends in Cuba.
1900 Nigeria becomes a British protectorate with Frederick Lugard as high commissioner.
1901–present
1901 The Southern Nigeria Protectorate is established within the British Empire.
1901 The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister.
1902 The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California.
1910 Captain David Beatty is promoted to rear admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for royal family members) since Horatio Nelson.
1912 The Republic of China is established.
1914 The SPT Airboat Line becomes the world's first scheduled airline to use a winged aircraft.
1923 Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.
1927 New Mexican oil legislation goes into effect, leading to the formal outbreak of the Cristero War.
1928 Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran to seek asylum in France. He is the only member of Joseph Stalin's secretariat to have defected from the Soviet Union.
1929 The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver.
1932 The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth.
1934 Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison.
1934 A "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring" comes into effect in Nazi Germany.
1942 The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
1945 World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed, attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow.
1947 Cold War: The American and British occupation zones in Allied-occupied Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, which later (with the French zone) became part of West Germany.
1947 The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
1948 The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways.
1949 United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
1956 Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom.
1957 George Town, Penang, is made a city by a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
1957 Lèse majesté in Thailand is strengthened to include "insult" and changed to a crime against national security, after the Thai criminal code of 1956 went into effect.
1958 The European Economic Community is established.
1959 Cuban Revolution: Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces.
1960 Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom.
1962 Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
1964 The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
1965 The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
1971 Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.
1973 Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom are admitted into the European Economic Community.
1976 A bomb explodes on board Middle East Airlines Flight 438 over Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 81 people on board.
1978 Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747, crashes into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Bombay, India, due to instrument failure, spatial disorientation, and pilot error, killing all 213 people on board.
1979 the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Taiwan Relations Act enter into force. Through the Communiqué, the United States establishes normal diplomatic relations with China. Through the Act, the United States guarantees military support for Taiwan.
1982 Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
1983 The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet.
1984 The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
1984 Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
1985 The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.
1985 Eastern Air Lines Flight 980 crashes into Mount Illimani in Bolivia, killing all 29 aboard.
1987 The Isleta Pueblo tribe elect Verna Williamson to be their first female governor.
1988 The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
1989 The Montreal Protocol comes into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.
1990 David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor.
1993 Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
1994 The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
1994 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect.
1995 The World Trade Organization comes into being.
1995 The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU.
1998 Following a currency reform, Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
1998 – Argentinian physicist Juan Maldacena publishes a landmark paper initiating the study of AdS/CFT correspondence, which links string theory and quantum gravity.
1999 The Euro currency is introduced in 11 member nations of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).
2001 Greece adopts the Euro, becoming the 12th Eurozone country.
2004 In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007.
2007 Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.
2007 Adam Air Flight 574 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes near the Makassar Strait, Indonesia, killing all 102 people on board.
2009 Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
2010 A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.
2011 A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
2011 Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.
2013 At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
2015 The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
2017 An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year's celebrations, kills 39 people and injures 79 others.
2023 Croatia officially adopts the Euro, becoming the 20th Eurozone country, and becomes the 27th member of the Schengen Area.
2024 A 7.5 earthquake strikes the western coast of Japan, killing more than 500 people and injuring over 1,000 others. A majority of direct deaths were due to collapsed homes.
2024 Disney's copyright protection on Steamboat Willie and the original Mickey Mouse expires as they enter the public domain.
2024 Artsakh ceases to exist.
2025 Fourteen people are killed and 57 others injured during a vehicle-ramming and shooting attack in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2026 Bulgaria officially adopts the Euro, becoming the 21st Eurozone country.
2026 A fire at a bar during New Year's Eve celebrations in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, kills 41 people and injures 116 others.
Births
Pre-1600
766 Ali al-Ridha, 8th Imam of Twelver Shia Islam (died 818)
1431 Pope Alexander VI (died 1503)
1449 Lorenzo de' Medici, Italian politician (died 1492)
1467 Sigismund I the Old, Polish king (died 1548)
1484 Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss pastor and theologian (died 1531)
1511 Henry, Duke of Cornwall, first-born child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon (died 1511)
1557 Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (died 1606)
1600 Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian and academic (died 1649)
1601–1900
1628 Christoph Bernhard, German composer and theorist (died 1692)
1655 Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher (died 1728)
1684 Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch scholar and author (died 1748)
1704 Soame Jenyns, English author, poet, and politician (died 1787)
1711 Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (died 1749)
1714 Giovanni Battista Mancini, Italian soprano and author (died 1800)
1714 Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (died 1780)
1735 Paul Revere, American silversmith and engraver (died 1818)
1745 Anthony Wayne, American general and politician (died 1796)
1752 Betsy Ross, American seamstress, sewed flags for the Pennsylvania Navy during the Revolutionary War (died 1836)
1768 Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish author (died 1849)
1769 Marie-Louise Lachapelle, French obstetrician (died 1821)
1774 André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist and academic (died 1860)
1779 William Clowes, English publisher (died 1847)
1803 Edward Dickinson, American politician and father of poet Emily Dickinson (died 1874)
1806 Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (died 1853)
1809 Achille Guenée, French lawyer and entomologist (died 1880)
1813 George Bliss, American politician (died 1868)
1814 Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebellion leader and king (died 1864)
1818 William Gamble, Irish-born American general (died 1866)
1819 Arthur Hugh Clough, English-Italian poet and academic (died 1861)
1819 George Foster Shepley, American general (died 1878)
1823 Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and activist (died 1849)
1833 Robert Lawson, Scottish-New Zealand architect, designed the Otago Boys' High School and Knox Church (died 1902)
1834 Ludovic Halévy, French author and playwright (died 1908)
1848 John W. Goff, Irish-American lawyer and politician (died 1924)
1852 Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, French chemist and academic (died 1904)
1854 James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist and academic (died 1941)
1854 Thomas Waddell, Irish-Australian politician, 15th Premier of New South Wales (died 1940)
1858 Heinrich Rauchinger, Kraków-born painter (died 1942)
1859 Michael Joseph Owens, American inventor (died 1923)
1859 Thibaw Min, Burmese king (died 1916)
1860 Michele Lega, Italian cardinal (died 1935)
1863 Pierre de Coubertin, French historian and educator, founded the International Olympic Committee (died 1937)
1864 Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer and curator (died 1946)
1864 Qi Baishi, Chinese painter (died 1957)
1865 Harry Coulby, American businessman (died 1929)
1867 Mary Acworth Evershed, English astronomer and scholar (died 1949)
1874 Frank Knox, American publisher and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (died 1944)
1874 Gustave Whitehead, German-American pilot and engineer (died 1927)
1877 Alexander von Staël-Holstein, German sinologist and orientalist (died 1937)
1878 Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician, statistician, and engineer (died 1929)
1879 E. M. Forster, English author and playwright (died 1970)
1879 William Fox, Hungarian-American screenwriter and producer, founded the Fox Film Corporation and Fox Theatres (died 1952)
1883 William J. Donovan, American general, lawyer, and politician (died 1959)
1883 Noe Khomeriki, Georgian Social Democrat politician (died 1924)
1884 Chikuhei Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant, engineer, and politician, founded Nakajima Aircraft Company (died 1949)
1887 Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (died 1945)
1888 Chesley Bonestell, American painter, designer, and illustrator (died 1986)
1888 John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand rifle (died 1974)
1888 Georgios Stanotas, Greek general (died 1965)
1889 Charles Bickford, American actor (died 1967)
1889 Seabury Quinn, American author (died 1969)
1890 Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and academic (died 1966)
1891 Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 3rd Governor of Rajasthan (died 1969)
1892 Mahadev Desai, Indian author and activist (died 1942)
1892 Artur Rodziński, Polish-American conductor (died 1958)
1892 Manuel Roxas, Filipino lawyer and politician, 5th President of the Philippines (died 1948)
1893 Mordechai Frizis, Greek colonel (died 1940)
1893 Heinie Miller, American football player and coach (died 1964)
1894 Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist and mathematician (died 1974)
1894 Edward Joseph Hunkeler, American clergyman (died 1970)
1895 J. Edgar Hoover, American law enforcement official; 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (died 1972)
1899 Randolfo Pacciardi, centre-left Italian politician (died 1991)
1900 Chiune Sugihara, Japanese soldier and diplomat (died 1986)
1900 Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American singer-songwriter and actor (died 1990)
1901–present
1902 Buster Nupen, Norwegian-South African cricketer and lawyer (died 1977)
1902 Hans von Dohnányi, German jurist and political dissident (died 1945)
1904 Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (died 1982)
1905 Stanisław Mazur, Ukrainian-Polish mathematician and theorist (died 1981)
1905 Lise Lindbæk, Norwegian journalist and war correspondent (died 1961)
1906 Manuel Silos, Filipino filmmaker and actor (died 1988)
1907 Kinue Hitomi, Japanese sprinter and long jumper (died 1931)
1909 Dana Andrews, American actor (died 1992)
1909 Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian soldier and politician (died 1959)
1909 Peggy Dennis, American-Russian journalist, author, and activist (died 1993)
1911 Basil Dearden, English director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1971)
1911 Hank Greenberg, American baseball player (died 1986)
1911 Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (died 2012)
1911 Audrey Wurdemann, American poet and author (died 1960)
1912 Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko, Russian mathematician and historian (died 1995)
1912 Kim Philby, British spy (died 1988)
1912 Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek poet and academic (died 1991)
1914 Noor Inayat Khan, British SOE agent (died 1944)
1917 Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (died 2016)
1918 Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (died 2000)
1918 Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (died 1997)
1919 Rocky Graziano, American boxer and actor (died 1990)
1919 Carole Landis, American actress (died 1948)
1919 Sheila Mercier, British actress, Emmerdale Farm (died 2019)
1919 Bones McKinney, American basketball player (died 1997)
1919 J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (died 2010)
1920 Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (died 2007)
1921 Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (died 1986)
1921 César Baldaccini, French sculptor and academic (died 1998)
1921 Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (died 2013)
1921 Johnny Logan, American basketball player (died 1977)
1922 Ernest Hollings, American soldier and politician, 106th Governor of South Carolina (died 2019)
1923 Barbara Baxley, American actress (died 1990)
1923 Valentina Cortese, Italian actress (died 2019)
1923 Milt Jackson, American jazz vibraphonist and composer (died 1999)
1924 Francisco Macías Nguema, Equatorial Guinean politician, 1st President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (died 1979)
1925 Matthew Beard, American child actor (died 1981)
1925 Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (died 2005)
1926 Kazys Petkevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (died 2008)
1927 Maurice Béjart, French-Swiss dancer, choreographer, and director (died 2007)
1927 James Reeb, American clergyman and political activist (died 1965)
1927 Vernon L. Smith, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1927 Doak Walker, American football player and businessman (died 1998)
1928 Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (died 1984)
1928 Gerhard Weinberg, German-American historian, author, and academic
1929 Larry L. King, American journalist, author, and playwright (died 2012)
1929 Haruo Nakajima, Japanese actor and stuntman, portrayed Godzilla from 1954 to 1972 (died 2017)
1930 Frederick Wiseman, American director and producer (died 2026)
1932 Giuseppe Patanè, Italian conductor (died 1989)
1933 James Hormel, American philanthropist and diplomat (died 2021)
1933 Joe Orton, English dramatist (died 1967)
1934 Lakhdar Brahimi, Algerian politician, Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1935 Om Prakash Chautala, Indian politician (died 2024)
1936 James Sinegal, American businessman, co-founded Costco
1938 Frank Langella, American actor
1939 Michèle Mercier, French actress
1939 Phil Read, English motorcycle racer and businessman (died 2022)
1939 Senfronia Thompson, American politician
1939 Younoussi Touré, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali (died 2022)
1940 Prathia Hall, American civil rights movement activist (died 2002)
1942 Dennis Archer, American lawyer and politician, 67th Mayor of Detroit
1942 Anthony Hamilton-Smith, 3rd Baron Colwyn, English dentist and politician (died 2024)
1942 Country Joe McDonald, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1942 Alassane Ouattara, Ivorian economist and politician, President of the Ivory Coast
1942 Gennadi Sarafanov, Russian pilot and cosmonaut (died 2005)
1943 Tony Knowles, American soldier and politician, 7th Governor of Alaska
1943 Don Novello, American comedian, screenwriter and producer
1943 Vladimir Šeks, Croatian lawyer and politician, 16th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament
1944 Barry Beath, Australian rugby league player
1944 Jimmy Hart, American professional wrestling manager
1944 Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistani field hockey player and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Pakistan (died 2020)
1944 Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (died 2013)
1944 Mati Unt, Estonian author, playwright, and director (died 2005)
1945 Victor Ashe, American politician and former United States Ambassador to Poland
1945 Jacky Ickx, Belgian racing driver
1945 Jimmy Jones, American basketball player
1946 Claude Steele, American social psychologist and academic
1947 Jon Corzine, American sergeant and politician, 54th Governor of New Jersey
1948 Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish economist, academic, and politician, 57th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
1948 Pavel Grachev, Russian general and politician, 1st Russian Minister of Defence (died 2012)
1948 Dick Quax, New Zealand runner and politician (died 2018)
1949 Borys Tarasyuk, Ukrainian politician and diplomat
1950 Wayne Bennett, Australian rugby league player and coach
1950 Tony Currie, English footballer
1952 Shaji N. Karun, Indian director and cinematographer (died 2025)
1953 Gary Johnson, American businessman and politician, 29th Governor of New Mexico
1954 Richard Edson, American actor
1954 Bob Menendez, American lawyer and politician
1954 Dennis O'Driscoll, Irish poet and critic (died 2012)
1954 Yannis Papathanasiou, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
1955 Mary Beard, English classicist, academic and presenter
1955 LaMarr Hoyt, American baseball player (died 2021)
1956 Sergei Avdeyev, Russian engineer and astronaut
1956 Royce Ayliffe, Australian rugby league player
1956 Christine Lagarde, French lawyer and politician; Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
1956 Mike Mitchell, American basketball player (died 2011)
1956 Martin Plaza, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1957 Evangelos Venizelos, Greek lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece
1958 Grandmaster Flash, Barbadian rapper and DJ
1958 Dave Silk, American ice hockey player
1959 Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghan colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1959 Azali Assoumani, Comorian colonel and politician, President of the Comoros
1959 Panagiotis Giannakis, Greek basketball player and coach
1959 Adrian Hall, English director and former actor
1962 Anton Muscatelli, Italian-Scottish economist and academic
1963 Milo Aukerman, American singer and songwriter
1963 Jean-Marc Gounon, French racing driver
1964 Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress
1966 Anna Burke, Australian businesswoman and politician, 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
1966 Ivica Dačić, Serbian journalist and politician, 95th Prime Minister of Serbia
1966 Tihomir Orešković, Croatian–Canadian businessman, 11th Prime Minister of Croatia
1967 Tawera Nikau, New Zealand rugby league player
1968 Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
1969 Morris Chestnut, American actor
1969 Verne Troyer, American actor (died 2018)
1970 Sergei Kiriakov, Russian footballer and coach
1971 Sammie Henson, American wrestler and coach
1971 Bobby Holík, Czech-American ice hockey player and coach
1971 Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician
1972 Lilian Thuram, French footballer
1974 Christian Paradis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Industry
1975 Chris Anstey, Australian basketball player and coach
1975 Joe Cannon, American soccer player and sportscaster
1975 Becky Kellar-Duke, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 Fernando Tatís, Dominican baseball player
1978 Arilson Chiorato, Brazilian politician
1979 Vidya Balan, Indian actress
1979 Ibrahim Benli, Danish politician
1980 Elin Nordegren, Swedish-American model
1981 Jonas Armstrong, Irish-English actor
1981 Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian racing driver
1981 Mladen Petrić, Croatian footballer
1981 Eden Riegel, American actress
1982 Egidio Arévalo, Uruguayan footballer
1982 David Nalbandian, Argentine tennis player
1983 Calum Davenport, English footballer
1983 Park Sung-hyun, South Korean archer
1984 Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian footballer
1984 Fernando San Emeterio, Spanish basketball player
1984 Michael Witt, Australian rugby league player
1985 Jeff Carter, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 Steven Davis, Northern Irish footballer
1985 Kenoh, Japanese professional wrestler
1985 Tiago Splitter, Brazilian basketball player
1986 Pablo Cuevas, Uruguayan tennis player
1986 Glen Davis, American basketball player
1986 Colin Morgan, Northern Irish actor
1986 Lee Sung-min, South Korean singer
1987 Gia Coppola, American director and screenwriter
1987 Gilbert Brulé, Canadian ice hockey player
1987 Meryl Davis, American ice dancer
1987 Patric Hörnqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
1988 Marcel Gecov, Czech footballer
1988 Dallas Keuchel, American baseball player
1989 Jason Pierre-Paul, American football player
1990 Julia Glushko, Israeli tennis player
1990 Ali Maâloul, Tunisian football player
1991 Glen Rice Jr., American basketball player
1991 Darius Slay, American football player
1991 Xavier Su'a-Filo, American football player
1992 Nathaniel Peteru, New Zealand rugby league player
1992 Shane Duffy, Irish footballer
1993 Larry Nance Jr., American basketball player
1993 Abdoulaye Doucouré, Malian footballer
1994 Brendan Elliot, Australian rugby league player
1994 LaMonte Wade Jr., American baseball player
1995 Sardar Azmoun, Iranian footballer
1995 Poppy, American singer and YouTube personality
1996 Andreas Pereira, Brazilian footballer
1996 Mahmoud Dahoud, German footballer
1996 Mathias Jensen, Danish footballer
1997 Noah Kahan, American singer-songwriter
1997 Keegan Hipgrave, Australian rugby league player
1997 Gonzalo Montiel, Argentine footballer
1998 Cristina Bucșa, Moldovan-Spanish tennis player
1998 Edwuin Cetré, Colombian footballer
1998 Enock Mwepu, Zambian footballer
1998 Frank Onyeka, Nigerian footballer
1999 Tomás Chancalay, Argentine footballer
1999 Azmy Qowimuramadhoni, Indonesian-Azerbaijani badminton player
2000 Nicolas Kühn, German footballer
2000 Ice Spice, American rapper
2001 Angourie Rice, Australian actress
2001 Winter, South Korean singer
2002 Simon Adingra, Ivorian footballer
2003 Daria Trubnikova, Russian rhythmic gymnast
2004 Lamine Camara, Senegalese footballer
2007 Ian Subiabre, Argentine footballer
Deaths
Pre-1600
138 Lucius Aelius, adopted son and intended successor of Hadrian (born 101)
404 Telemachus, Christian monk and martyr
1031 William of Volpiano, Italian abbot (born 962)
1189 Henry of Marcy, Cistercian abbot (born )
1204 Haakon III, king of Norway (born 1182)
1387 Charles II, king of Navarre (born 1332)
1496 Charles d'Orléans, count of Angoulême (born 1459)
1559 Christian III, king of Denmark (born 1503)
1560 Joachim du Bellay, French poet and critic (born 1522)
1601–1900
1617 Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter and illustrator (born 1558)
1697 Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine historian and author (born 1625)
1716 William Wycherley, English playwright and poet (born 1641)
1748 Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (born 1667)
1766 James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite pretender (born 1688)
1780 Johann Ludwig Krebs, German organist and composer (born 1713)
1782 Johann Christian Bach, German composer (born 1735)
1789 Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English lawyer and politician, British Speaker of the House of Commons (born 1716)
1793 Francesco Guardi, Italian painter and educator (born 1712)
1817 Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist and academic (born 1743)
1846 John Torrington, English sailor and explorer (born 1825)
1853 Gregory Blaxland, Australian farmer and explorer (born 1778)
1862 Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Ukrainian mathematician and physicist (born 1801)
1881 Louis Auguste Blanqui, French activist (born 1805)
1892 Roswell B. Mason, American lawyer and politician, 25th Mayor of Chicago (born 1805)
1894 Heinrich Hertz, German physicist and academic (born 1857)
1896 Alfred Ely Beach, American publisher and lawyer, created the Beach Pneumatic Transit (born 1826)
1901–present
1901 Ignatius L. Donnelly, American politician and promoter of pseudoscience and pseudohistory (born 1831)
1906 Hugh Nelson, Scottish-Australian farmer and politician, 11th Premier of Queensland (born 1833)
1918 William Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet and author (born 1858)
1921 Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, German lawyer and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (born 1856)
1923 Willie Keeler, American baseball player (born 1872)
1928 Loie Fuller, American dancer (born 1862)
1929 Mustafa Necati, Turkish civil servant and politician, Turkish Minister of Environment and Urban Planning (born 1894)
1931 Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (born 1851)
1937 Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Indian religious leader, founded the Gaudiya Math (born 1874)
1940 Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian author and educator (born 1865)
1943 Jenő Rejtő, Hungarian journalist (born 1905)
1944 Edwin Lutyens, English architect, designed the Castle Drogo and Thiepval Memorial (born 1869)
1944 Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (born 1862)
1953 Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1923)
1955 Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Indian colloid chemist, academic, and scientific administrator (born 1894)
1954 Duff Cooper, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (born 1890)
1954 Leonard Bacon, American poet and critic (born 1887)
1955 Arthur C. Parker, American archaeologist and historian (born 1881)
1958 Edward Weston, American photographer (born 1886)
1960 Margaret Sullavan, American actress (born 1909)
1961 Alastair Denniston, Scottish cryptologist (born 1881)
1966 Vincent Auriol, French journalist and politician, 16th President of the French Republic (born 1884)
1969 Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright and screenwriter (born 1902)
1971 Amphilochius of Pochayiv, Ukrainian saint (born 1894)
1972 Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (born 1888)
1977 Roland Hayes, American lyric tenor and composer (born 1887)
1978 Carle Hessay, German-Canadian painter (born 1911)
1980 Pietro Nenni, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1891)
1981 Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Australian pianist (born 1920)
1982 Victor Buono, American actor (born 1938)
1984 Alexis Korner, French-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1928)
1984 Joaquín Rodríguez Ortega, known as "Cagancho", Spanish bullfighter (born 1903)
1988 Clementine Hunter, American folk artist (born 1886 or 1887)
1992 Grace Hopper, American computer scientist and admiral, co-developed COBOL (born 1906)
1994 Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt, New Zealand physician and politician, 11th Governor-General of New Zealand (born 1900)
1994 Cesar Romero, American actor (born 1907)
1994 Edward Arthur Thompson, Irish historian and academic (born 1914)
1995 Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902)
1996 Arleigh Burke, American admiral (born 1901)
1996 Arthur Rudolph, German-American engineer (born 1906)
1997 Townes Van Zandt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1944)
1998 Helen Wills, American tennis player and coach (born 1905)
2001 Ray Walston, American actor (born 1914)
2002 Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (born 1944)
2003 Joe Foss, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (born 1915)
2005 Shirley Chisholm, American educator and politician (born 1924)
2005 Ngo Van, Vietnamese revolutionary (born 1913)
2006 Harry Magdoff, American economist and journalist (born 1913)
2007 Roland Levinsky, South African-English biochemist and academic (born 1943)
2007 Tillie Olsen, American short story writer (born 1912)
2007 – Darrent Williams, American football player (born 1982)
2008 Pratap Chandra Chunder, Indian educator and politician (born 1919)
2009 Claiborne Pell, American politician (born 1918)
2009 Helen Suzman, South African anti-apartheid activist and politician (born 1917)
2010 Lhasa de Sela, American-Mexican singer-songwriter (born 1972)
2012 Bob Anderson, English fencer (born 1922)
2012 Kiro Gligorov, Macedonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (born 1917)
2012 Nay Win Maung, Burmese physician, businessman, and activist (born 1962)
2012 Tommy Mont, American football player and coach (born 1922)
2013 Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist (born 1945)
2013 Patti Page, American singer and actress (born 1927)
2014 Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (born 1910)
2014 William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (born 1950)
2014 Juanita Moore, American actress (born 1914)
2015 – Ulrich Beck, German sociologist (born 1944)
2015 Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (born 1932)
2015 Donna Douglas, American actress (born 1932)
2015 Omar Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 58th Prime Minister of Lebanon (born 1934)
2015 Boris Morukov, Russian physician and astronaut (born 1950)
2015 William Lloyd Standish, United States District Judge (born 1930)
2016 Fazu Aliyeva, Russian poet and journalist (born 1932)
2016 Dale Bumpers, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Governor of Arkansas (born 1925)
2016 Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer (born 1930)
2017 Tony Atkinson, British economist (born 1944)
2017 Yvon Dupuis, Canadian politician (born 1926)
2018 Robert Mann, American violinist (born 1920)
2018 Jon Paul Steuer, American actor (born 1984)
2019 Paul Neville, Australian politician (born 1940)
2019 Pegi Young, American singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist (born 1952)
2019 George, last known Achatinella apexfulva (born )
2020 Lexii Alijai, American rapper (born 1998)
2020 Alexander Frater, British travel writer and journalist (born 1937)
2020 Don Larsen, American baseball player (born 1929)
2020 Barry McDonald, Australian rugby union player (born 1940)
2020 David Stern, American lawyer and businessman (born 1942)
2021 Carlos do Carmo, Portuguese fado singer (born 1939)
2021 Mark Eden, English actor (born 1928)
2021 Elmira Minita Gordon, Belizean educator and psychologist (born 1930)
2021 – Floyd Little, American football player (born 1942)
2022 – Gary Burgess, British broadcaster and journalist (born 1975)
2022 Dan Reeves, American football player and coach (born 1944)
2023 Fred White, American musician and songwriter (born 1955)
2024 Lynja, American celebrity chef and YouTuber (born 1956)
2025 David Lodge, English author and critic (born 1935)
2025 Chad Morgan, Australian musician (born 1933)
2025 Wayne Osmond, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1951)
Holidays and observances
Christian feast day:
Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God; and its related observances:
The last day of Kwanzaa (African Americans)
The eighth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
New Year's Day (Gregorian calendar)
Public Domain Day (multiple countries)