January 7

January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 358 days remaining until the end of the year (359 in leap years).

Events

• 1131 – Canute Lavard was murdered at Haraldsted, Denmark by his cousin Magnus, which led to the civil war in Denmark (1131–34).
• 1325 – Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal.
• 1558 – France takes Calais, the last continental possession of England.
• 1566 – Pope Pius V is elected.
• 1608 – Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia.
• 1610 – Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following day.
• 1782 – The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens.
• 1785 – Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.
• 1797 – The modern Italian flag is first used.
• 1835 – HMS Beagle drops anchor off the Chonos Archipelago.
• 1894 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film.
• 1904 – The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS".
• 1919 – Montenegrin guerrilla fighters rebel against the planned annexation of Montenegro by Serbia, but fail.
• 1920 – The New York State Assembly refuses to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen.
• 1922 – Dáil Éireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by a 64–57 vote.
• 1927 – The first transatlantic telephone service is established from New York, New York to London, United Kingdom.
• 1931 – Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast.
• 1935 – Benito Mussolini and French Foreign minister Pierre Laval sign the Franco-Italian Agreement.
• 1940 – Winter War: The Finnish 9th Division stops and completely destroys the overwhelming Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road.
• 1942 – World War II: The siege of the Bataan Peninsula begins.
• 1945 – World War II: British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge.
• 1948 – Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of a supposed UFO.
• 1954 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held in New York at the head office of IBM.
• 1955 – Contralto Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.
• 1959 – The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
• 1960 – The Polaris missile is test launched.
• 1968 – Surveyor Program: Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off from launch complex 36A, Cape Canaveral.
• 1970 – The Punjab Legislative Council (Abolition) Act, 1969 comes into effect.
• 1973 – Mark Essex fatally shoots ten people and wounds 13 others at Howard Johnson's Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, before being shot to death by police officers.
• 1979 – Third Indochina War: Cambodian–Vietnamese War: Phnom Penh falls to the advancing Vietnamese troops, driving out Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
• 1980 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.
• 1984 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
• 1985 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches Sakigake, Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union.
• 1989 – Prince Akihito is crowned emperor of Japan after the death of his father, Hirohito
• 1990 – The interior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public for safety reasons.
• 1991 – Roger Lafontant, former leader of the Tonton Macoute in Haiti under François Duvalier, attempts a coup d'état, which ends in his arrest.
• 1993 – The Fourth Republic of Ghana is inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings as President.
• 1993 – Bosnian War: The Bosnian Army executes a surprise attack on the village of Kravica in Srebrenica.
• 1999 – The Senate trial in the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton begins.
• 2010 – Muslim gunmen in Egypt open fire on a crowd of Coptic Christians, killing eight of them and one Muslim bystander.
• 2012 – A hot air balloon crashes near Carterton, New Zealand, killing all 11 people on board.
• 2015 – Two gunmen commit a mass shooting at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, killing twelve people and injuring another eleven.
• 2015 – A car bomb explodes outside a police college in the Yemeni capital Sana'a with at least 38 people reported dead and more than 63 injured.

Births

• 1355 – Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, English politician, Lord High Constable of England (d. 1397)
• 1502 – Pope Gregory XIII (d. 1585)
• 1634 – Adam Krieger, German organist and composer (d. 1666)
• 1647 – William Louis, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1677)
• 1685 – Jonas Alströmer, Swedish agronomist and businessman (d. 1761)
• 1706 – Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (d. 1751)
• 1713 – Giovanni Battista Locatelli, Italian director and manager (d. 1785)
• 1718 – Israel Putnam, American general (d. 1790)
• 1746 – George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith, Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1823)
• 1768 – Joseph Bonaparte, Italian king (d. 1844)
• 1786 – John Catron, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1865)
• 1796 – Princess Charlotte of Wales (d. 1817)
• 1800 – Millard Fillmore, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 13th President of the United States (d. 1874)
• 1827 – Sandford Fleming, Scottish-Canadian engineer, created Universal Standard Time (d. 1915)
• 1831 – Heinrich von Stephan, German postman, founded the Universal Postal Union (d. 1897)
• 1832 – James Munro, Scottish-Australian publisher and politician, 15th Premier of Victoria (d. 1908)
• 1834 – Johann Philipp Reis, German physicist and academic, invented the Reis telephone (d. 1874)
• 1837 – Thomas Henry Ismay, English businessman, founded the White Star Line Shipping Company (d. 1899)
• 1844 – Bernadette Soubirous, French nun and saint (d. 1879)
• 1845 – Ludwig III of Bavaria (d. 1921)
• 1856 – Charles Harold Davis, American painter and academic (d. 1933)
• 1858 – Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Belarusian lexicographer and journalist (d. 1922)
• 1860 – Emanuil Manolov, Bulgarian composer (d. 1902)
• 1864 – Seo Jae-pil, South Korean-American journalist and activist (d. 1951)
• 1870 – Gordon Hewart, 1st Viscount Hewart, English judge and politician, 7th Lord Chief Justice of England (d. 1943)
• 1871 – Émile Borel, French mathematician and politician (d. 1956)
• 1873 – Charles Péguy, French poet and journalist (d. 1914)
• 1873 – Adolph Zukor, Hungarian-American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (d. 1976)
• 1875 – Gustav Flatow, German gymnast (d. 1945)
• 1875 – Thomas Hicks, American runner (d. 1963)
• 1876 – William Hurlstone, English pianist and composer (d. 1906)
• 1877 – William Clarence Matthews, American baseball player, coach, and lawyer (d. 1928)
• 1880 – Jerome Steever, American water polo player (d. 1957)
• 1885 – Edwin Swatek, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1966)
• 1887 – Oskar Luts, Estonian author and playwright (d. 1953)
• 1888 – Vera de Bosset, Russian-American ballerina (d. 1982)
• 1891 – Zora Neale Hurston, American anthropologist and author (d. 1960)
• 1895 – Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited (d. 1974)
• 1895 – Clara Haskil, Romanian pianist (d. 1960)
• 1896 – Arnold Ridley, English actor and playwright (d. 1984)
• 1898 – Robert LeGendre, American pentathlete and dentist (d. 1931)
• 1899 – Al Bowlly, Mozambican-English singer-songwriter (d. 1941)
• 1899 – Francis Poulenc, French pianist and composer (d. 1963)
• 1900 – John Brownlee, Australian actor and singer (d. 1969)
• 1900 – Robert Le Vigan, French-Argentinian actor (d. 1972)
• 1903 – Ioannis Despotopoulos, Greek architect and academic (d. 1992)
• 1903 – Alan Napier, English-American actor (d. 1988)
• 1905 – James Simpson, Jr., American race car driver and politician (d. 1960)
• 1906 – Red Allen, American trumpet player (d. 1967)
• 1906 – Bobbi Trout, American pilot (d. 2003)
• 1907 – Nicanor Zabaleta, Spanish harp player (d. 1993)
• 1910 – Orval Faubus, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Arkansas (d. 1994)
• 1911 – Butterfly McQueen, American actress and dancer (d. 1995)
• 1912 – Charles Addams, American cartoonist, created The Addams Family (d. 1988)
• 1912 – Günter Wand, German conductor and composer (d. 2002)
• 1913 – Johnny Mize, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1993)
• 1916 – W. L. Jeyasingham, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (d. 1989)
• 1916 – Paul Keres, Estonian-Finnish chess player and theoretician (d. 1975)
• 1917 – Ulysses Kay, American composer and educator (d. 1995)
• 1917 – Milton Resnick, Russian-American painter and educator (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Vincent Gardenia, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1992)
• 1921 – Chester Kallman, American poet and translator (d. 1975)
• 1922 – Alvin Dark, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Eric Jupp, English-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2003)
• 1922 – Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flute player (d. 2000)
• 1923 – Hugh Kenner, Canadian scholar and critic (d. 2003)
• 1924 – Geoffrey Bayldon, English actor
• 1924 – Pablo Birger, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1966)
• 1924 – Gene L. Coon, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1973)
• 1925 – Gerald Durrell, Indian-English zookeeper, conservationist and author, founded Durrell Wildlife Park (d. 1995)
• 1926 – Kim Jong-pil, South Korean lieutenant and politician, 11th Prime Minister of South Korea
• 1928 – William Peter Blatty, American author and screenwriter
• 1929 – Robert Juniper, Australian painter and sculptor (d. 2012)
• 1929 – Terry Moore, American actress and producer
• 1930 – Jack Greene, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Eddie LeBaron, American football player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Mirja Hietamies, Finnish skier (d. 2013)
• 1932 – Joe Berinson, Australian pharmacist, lawyer, and politician; Attorney-General of Western Australia
• 1933 – Elliott Kastner, American-English film producer (d. 2010)
• 1933 – Phil Mulkey, American decathlete and coach
• 1934 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian lawyer and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2002)
• 1934 – Charles Jenkins Sr., American sprinter and coach
• 1934 – Joseph Naso, American serial killer
• 1934 – Tassos Papadopoulos, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 5th President of Cyprus (d. 2008)
• 1935 – Kenny Davern, American clarinet player and saxophonist (d. 2006)
• 1935 – Tommy Johnson, American tuba player and educator (d. 2006)
• 1935 – Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Ducky Schofield, American baseball player
• 1936 – G. Robert Blakey, American lawyer and academic
• 1936 – Ben Cropp, Australian hunter and photographer
• 1936 – Hunter Davies, Scottish author and journalist
• 1936 – Ian La Frenais, English screenwriter and producer
• 1938 – Lou Graham, American golfer and soldier
• 1938 – Lena Granhagen, Swedish actress
• 1938 – Roland Topor, French illustrator, painter, and actor (d. 1997)
• 1938 – Fred Whitfield, American baseball player (d. 2013)
• 1939 – Tom Kiernan, Irish rugby player and coach
• 1939 – Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark
• 1940 – Anton Norris, Barbadian high jumper and cricketer
• 1941 – Iona Brown, English violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
• 1941 – Frederick D. Gregory, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
• 1941 – Manfred Schellscheidt, German-American soccer player and coach
• 1941 – John E. Walker, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1942 – Vasily Alekseyev, Russian-German weightlifter and coach (d. 2011)
• 1942 – Jim Lefebvre, American baseball player and manager
• 1942 – Danny Steinmann, American director and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1942 – Danny Williams, South African singer (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Richard Armstrong, English organist and conductor
• 1943 – Sadako Sasaki, Japanese victim of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (d. 1955)
• 1944 – Arne Scheie, Norwegian sportscaster
• 1944 – Kotaro Suzumura, Japanese economist and academic
• 1944 – Tony Whitlam, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician
• 1945 – Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1990)
• 1945 – Dick Marty, Swiss lawyer and politician
• 1945 – Raila Odinga, Kenyan engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Kenya
• 1946 – Michael Roizen, American anesthesiologist and author
• 1946 – Jann Wenner, American publisher, co-founded Rolling Stone
• 1946 – Mike Wilds, English race car driver and pilot
• 1947 – Tony Elliott, English publisher, founded Time Out
• 1947 – Mohammad-Reza Lotfi, Iranian setar player and composer (d. 2014)
• 1948 – Kenny Loggins, American singer-songwriter (Loggins and Messina)
• 1948 – Shobhaa De, Indian journalist and author
• 1948 – Ichirou Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor (JAM Project)
• 1949 – Marshall Chapman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1949 – Chavo Guerrero Sr., American wrestler and trainer
• 1949 – Steven Williams, American actor
• 1950 – Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer-songwriter
• 1950 – Erin Gray, American actress
• 1950 – Ross Grimsley, American baseball player and coach
• 1950 – Malcolm Macdonald, English footballer and manager
• 1951 – Helen Worth, English actress
• 1952 – Sammo Hung, Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and martial artist
• 1953 – Robert Longo, American painter and sculptor
• 1953 – Morris Titanic, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1954 – Alan Butcher, English cricketer and coach
• 1954 – Jodi Long, American actress
• 1954 – José María Vitier, Cuban pianist and composer
• 1956 – David Caruso, American actor and producer
• 1956 – Mike Liut, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1956 – Uwe Ochsenknecht, German actor and singer
• 1956 – Kostas Petropoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1957 – Nicholson Baker, American historian, author, and academic
• 1957 – Katie Couric, American journalist and author
• 1957 – Reena Roy, Indian actress
• 1957 – Julian Solís, Puerto Rican boxer
• 1958 – Donna Rice Hughes, American actress and activist
• 1958 – Linda Kozlowski, American actress
• 1959 – Anne Balsamo, American author and academic
• 1959 – Jon Larsen, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter (Hot Club de Norvège)
• 1959 – Ross Norman, New Zealand-English squash player
• 1959 – Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon, English accountant and politician
• 1959 – Kathy Valentine, American bass player and songwriter (The Go-Go's)
• 1960 – David Marciano, American actor
• 1960 – Loretta Sanchez, American politician
• 1961 – Nils Økland, Norwegian fiddler and composer
• 1961 – Supriya Pathak, Indian actress
• 1961 – Andrew Thomson, Australian lawyer and politician
• 1961 – John Thune, American lawyer and politician
• 1962 – Aleksandr Dugin, Russian sociologist and philosopher
• 1962 – Hallie Todd, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1963 – Clint Mansell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Pop Will Eat Itself)
• 1963 – Rand Paul, American ophthalmologist and politician
• 1964 – Nicolas Cage, American actor, director, and producer
• 1965 – Alessandro Lambruschini, Italian runner
• 1965 – John Ondrasik, American singer-songwriter (Five For Fighting)
• 1966 – Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, American publicist (d. 1999)
• 1966 – Corrie Sanders, South African boxer (d. 2012)
• 1966 – Ehab Tawfik, Egyptian singer-songwriter
• 1967 – Nick Clegg, English academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1967 – Tim Donaghy, American basketball player and referee
• 1967 – Guy Hebert, American ice hockey player
• 1967 – Irrfan Khan, Indian actor
• 1967 – Mark Lamarr, English radio and television host
• 1967 – Ricky Stuart, Australian rugby player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1969 – David Yost, American actor and producer
• 1970 – Andy Burnham, English politician, Secretary of State for Health
• 1970 – Todd Day, American basketball player and coach
• 1970 – Doug E. Doug, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – João Ricardo, Angolan footballer
• 1971 – C.W. Anderson, American wrestler
• 1971 – Jeremy Renner, American actor, singer, and producer
• 1972 – Donald Brashear, American-Canadian ice hockey player and mixed martial artist
• 1972 – Vladimir Dubrovshchik, Belarusian discus thrower
• 1973 – Baiba Broka, Latvian actress
• 1973 – Jonna Tervomaa, Finnish singer-songwriter
• 1974 – Alenka Bikar, Slovenian sprinter and politician
• 1974 – Svetlana Metkina, Russian actress
• 1974 – John Rich, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Big & Rich)
• 1975 – Hossein Derakhshan, Iranian-Canadian journalist and blogger
• 1975 – Yūko Nakamura, Japanese actress
• 1975 – Shawn Phelan, American actor (d. 1998)
• 1976 – Éric Gagné, Canadian baseball player
• 1976 – Vybz Kartel, Jamaican dancehall artist and entreprenuer
• 1976 – Harish Raghavendra, Indian actor and singer
• 1976 – Tomas Ražanauskas, Lithuanian footballer and manager
• 1976 – Alfonso Soriano, Dominican baseball player
• 1977 – Michelle Behennah, Singaporean-English model
• 1977 – Dustin Diamond, American actor, director, and producer
• 1977 – John Gidding, American architect and television host
• 1977 – Sofi Oksanen, Finnish author and playwright
• 1977 – Marco Storari, Italian footballer
• 1978 – Dean Cosker, English cricketer
• 1978 – Jean Charles de Menezes, Brazilian shooting victim (d. 2005)
• 1978 – Asami Imajuku, Japanese model, actress, and singer
• 1978 – Kevin Mench, American baseball player
• 1978 – Emilio Palma, Argentinian citizen, first person born on Antarctica
• 1978 – Ryan Star, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1978 – Kierston Wareing, English actress
• 1979 – Bipasha Basu, Indian actress and singer
• 1979 – Aloe Blacc, American singer-songwriter (Roseaux)
• 1979 – Yōko Honna, Japanese voice actress
• 1979 – Ricardo Maurício, Brazilian race car driver
• 1979 – Mariángel Ruiz, Venezuelan actress and singer, Miss Venezuela 2002
• 1980 – Campbell Johnstone, New Zealand rugby player
• 1980 – Ivan L. Moody, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Five Finger Death Punch and Ghost Machine)
• 1980 – Zöe Salmon, Northern Irish model and television host, Miss Northern Ireland 1999
• 1980 – Merritt Wever, American actress
• 1981 – Alex Auld, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Marquis Daniels, American basketball player
• 1981 – Travis Friend, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1982 – Francisco Rodríguez, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1982 – Hannah Stockbauer, German swimmer
• 1982 – Sho Tomita, Japanese actor
• 1982 – Priit Viks, Estonian biathlete
• 1982 – Ianina Zanazzi, Argentinian race car driver
• 1983 – Marc Burns, Trinidadian sprinter
• 1983 – Edwin Encarnación, Dominican baseball player
• 1983 – Natalie Gulbis, American golfer
• 1983 – Liesbeth Mouha, Belgian volleyball player
• 1983 – Robert Ri'chard, American actor and producer
• 1984 – Diego Balbinot, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Jon Lester, American baseball player
• 1984 – Antonino Saviano, Italian footballer
• 1985 – Austin Brown, American singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Lewis Hamilton, English race car driver
• 1985 – Wayne Routledge, English footballer
• 1986 – Jinxx, American guitarist (Black Veil Brides and The Dreaming)
• 1986 – Grant Leadbitter, English footballer
• 1987 – Stefan Babović, Serbian footballer
• 1987 – Lyndsy Fonseca, American actress
• 1987 – Olga Panova, Russian tennis player
• 1987 – Jimmy Smith, English footballer
• 1988 – Hardwell, Dutch DJ and producer
• 1988 – Haley Bennett, American actress and singer
• 1988 – Sergei Mošnikov, Estonian footballer
• 1988 – Scott Pendlebury, Australian footballer
• 1988 – Robert Sheehan, Irish actor
• 1989 – Miles Addison, English footballer
• 1989 – Emiliano Insúa, Argentinian footballer
• 1990 – Liam Aiken, American actor
• 1990 – Elene Gedevanishvili, Georgian figure skater
• 1990 – Camryn Grimes, American actress and producer
• 1990 – Michael Sam, American football player
• 1990 – Gregor Schlierenzauer, Austrian ski jumper
• 1991 – Eden Hazard, Belgian footballer
• 1991 – Max Morrow, Canadian actor and producer
• 1991 – Caster Semenya, South African runner
• 1993 – Varunya Wongteanchai, Thai tennis player
• 1997 – Ayumi Ishida, Japanese singer and dancer (Morning Musume and Dorothy Little Happy)

Deaths

• 312 – Lucian of Antioch, Turkish martyr, saint, and theologian (b. 240)
• 672 – Tenji, Japanese emperor (b. 626)
• 1131 – Canute Lavard, Danish prince and saint (b. 1096)
• 1285 – Charles I of Naples (b. 1226)
• 1325 – Denis of Portugal (b. 1261)
• 1400 – Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey, English politician (b. 1374)
• 1451 – Antipope Felix V (b. 1383)
• 1536 – Catherine of Aragon (b. 1485)
• 1566 – Louis de Blois, Flemish monk and author (b. 1506)
• 1619 – Nicholas Hilliard, English painter and goldsmith (b. 1547)
• 1625 – Ruggiero Giovannelli, Italian composer and author (b. 1560)
• 1655 – Pope Innocent X (b. 1574)
• 1658 – Theophilus Eaton, American farmer and politician, 1st Governor of the New Haven Colony (b. 1590)
• 1694 – Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire (b. 1618)
• 1700 – Raffaello Fabretti, Italian scholar and author (b. 1618)
• 1715 – François Fénelon, French archbishop, theologian, and poet (b. 1651)
• 1758 – Allan Ramsay, Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1686)
• 1767 – Thomas Clap, American minister and academic (b. 1703)
• 1770 – Carl Gustaf Tessin, Swedish politician and diplomat (b. 1695)
• 1783 – William Tans'ur, English composer and educator (b. 1700)
• 1786 – Jean-Étienne Guettard, French physician and mineralogist (b. 1715)
• 1812 – Joseph Dennie, American journalist and author (b. 1768)
• 1830 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian public servant and politician (b. 1770)
• 1830 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (b. 1769)
• 1858 – Mustafa Reşid Pasha, Ottoman politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1800)
• 1864 – Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist and politician, 6th U.S. Secretary of the Interior (b. 1808)
• 1876 – Juste Olivier, Swiss poet and academic (b. 1807)
• 1878 – François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist, physician, and physiologist (b. 1794)
• 1892 – Tewfik Pasha, Egyptian ruler (b. 1852)
• 1893 – Josef Stefan, Slovenian physicist and mathematician (b. 1835)
• 1904 – Emmanuel Rhoides, Greek journalist and author (b. 1836)
• 1913 – Jack Boyle, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1866)
• 1919 – Henry Ware Eliot American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Washington University in St. Louis (b. 1843)
• 1920 – Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1849)
• 1927 – Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos, Greek politician, 99th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1851)
• 1931 – Edward Channing, American historian and author (b. 1856)
• 1932 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (b. 1877)
• 1936 – Guy d'Hardelot, French pianist and composer (b. 1858)
• 1941 – Charles Finger, English journalist and author (b. 1869)
• 1942 – Alfred Asikainen, Finnish wrestler (b. 1888)
• 1943 – Nikola Tesla, Croatian-Serbian-American physicist and engineer (b. 1856)
• 1944 – Lou Henry Hoover, American wife of Herbert Hoover, 33rd First Lady of the United States (b. 1874)
• 1944 – Napoleon Lapathiotis, Greek lawyer and poet (b. 1888)
• 1946 – Adamo Didur, Polish actor and singer (b. 1874)
• 1951 – René Guénon, French-Egyptian philosopher and author (b. 1886)
• 1953 – Osa Johnson, American explorer, director, and producer (b. 1894)
• 1960 – Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, English tennis player and coach (b. 1878)
• 1963 – Arthur Edward Moore, New Zealand-Australian farmer and politician, 23rd Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
• 1964 – Cyril Davies, English singer and harmonica player (Blues Incorporated) (b. 1932)
• 1964 – Reg Parnell, English race car driver and manager (b. 1911)
• 1966 – Allan Chapman, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
• 1967 – David Goodis, American author and screenwriter (b. 1917)
• 1967 – Carl Schuricht, German-Swiss conductor (b. 1880)
• 1968 – J. L. B. Smith, South African chemist and academic (b. 1897)
• 1968 – Gholamreza Takhti, Iranian wrestler (b. 1930)
• 1972 – John Berryman, American poet and scholar (b. 1914)
• 1972 – Eftichia Papagianopoulos, Greek composer (b. 1893)
• 1980 – Larry Williams, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1935)
• 1981 – Alvar Lidell, English journalist (b. 1908)
• 1981 – Eric Robinson, Australian businessman and politician, 2nd Australian Minister for Finance (b. 1926)
• 1984 – Alfred Kastler, German-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
• 1985 – Mary Hardy, Australian comedian and actor (b. 1931)
• 1986 – P. D. Eastman, American author and illustrator (b. 1909)
• 1986 – Juan Rulfo, Mexican author, screenwriter, and photographer (b. 1917)
• 1988 – Michel Auclair, German-French actor (b. 1922)
• 1988 – Trevor Howard, English actor (b. 1913)
• 1989 – Hirohito, Japanese emperor (b. 1901)
• 1990 – Bronko Nagurski, Canadian-American football player and wrestler (b. 1908)
• 1990 – Horace Stoneham, American businessman (b. 1903)
• 1992 – Richard Hunt, American puppeteer and voice actor (b. 1951)
• 1994 – Llewellyn Rees, English actor (b. 1901)
• 1995 – Murray Rothbard, American economist, historian, and theorist (b. 1926)
• 1996 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1930)
• 1996 – Tarō Okamoto, Japanese painter and sculptor (b. 1911)
• 1998 – Owen Bradley, American record producer (b. 1915)
• 1998 – Vladimir Prelog, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
• 2000 – Gary Albright, American wrestler (b. 1963)
• 2001 – James Carr, American singer (b. 1942)
• 2002 – Jon Lee, English drummer (Feeder, The Darling Buds, and Raindancer) (b. 1968)
• 2002 – Avery Schreiber, American actor (b. 1935)
• 2004 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress and director (b. 1926)
• 2005 – Pierre Daninos, French author (b. 1913)
• 2006 – Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer, geographer, and author (b. 1912)
• 2007 – Bobby Hamilton, American race car driver and businessman (b. 1957)
• 2007 – Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic-Scottish journalist, author, and academic (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Alwyn Schlebusch, South African academic and politician, Vice State President of South Africa (b. 1917)
• 2011 – Derek Gardner, English engineer (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Ibrahim Aslan, Egyptian journalist and author (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Tony Blankley, American journalist and actor (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Azer Bülbül, Turkish singer and actor (b. 1969)
• 2012 – Milburn E. Calhoun, American physician, philanthropist, and publisher (b. 1930)
• 2012 – George Livingston, American politician (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Hideaki Nitani, Japanese actor (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Herbert Wilf, American mathematician and academic (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Carl Berner, German-American super-centenarian (b. 1902)
• 2013 – Richard Ben Cramer, American journalist and author (b. 1950)
• 2013 – David R. Ellis, American actor, stuntman, and director (b. 1952)
• 2013 – Huell Howser, American television host and producer (b. 1945)
• 2013 – Ada Louise Huxtable, American curator and critic (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Jiřina Jirásková, Czech actress and singer (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Harvey Shapiro, American poet and journalist (b. 1924)
• 2014 – Paul Goggins, English politician (b. 1953)
• 2014 – Aitzaz Hasan, Pakistani student (b. 1999)
• 2014 – Thomas V. Jones, American businessman (b. 1920)
• 2014 – Run Run Shaw, Chinese-Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist, founded Shaw Brothers Studio and TVB (b. 1907)
• 2015 – Subhas Anandan, Indian-Singaporean lawyer (b. 1947)
• 2015 – Mompati Merafhe, Botswana general and politician, Vice-President of Botswana (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Arch A. Moore, Jr., American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1923)
• 2015 – J. P. Parisé, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1941)
• 2015 – B. S. Abdur Rahman, Indian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Tim Roberts, American wrestler (b. 1976)
• 2015 – Rod Taylor, Australian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1930)
• 2015 – Georges Wolinski, Tunisian-French cartoonist (b. 1934)
• 2016 – Princess Ashraf of Iran (b. 1919)
• 2016 – Bill Foster, American basketball player and coach (b. 1929)
• 2016 – John Johnson, American basketball player (b. 1947)
• 2016 – Kitty Kallen, American singer and actress (b. 1921)
• 2016 – Judith Kaye, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1938)
• 2016 – Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Home Affairs (b. 1936)
• 2016 – Troy Shondell, American singer-songwriter (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • André Bessette (Canada)
  • Canute Lavard
  • Charles of Sezze
  • Lucian of Antioch
  • Raymond of Peñafort
  • Synaxis of John the Forerunner & Baptist (Julian Calendar)
  • January 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Earliest day on which Plough Monday can fall, while January 13 is the latest; celebrated in Monday after Epiphany. (Europe)
• Christmas (Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches using the Julian Calendar, Rastafari)
  • Christmas in Russia
• Distaff Day (medieval Europe)
• Nanakusa no sekku (Japan)
• Pioneer's Day (Liberia)
• Remembrance Day of the Dead (Armenia)
• Tricolour day or Festa del Tricolore (Italy)
• Victory from Genocide Day (Cambodia)

External links

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