Historical Events Jan 14 Battle at Elvas: Portuguese beat Spanish Jan 24 Pierre Corneille's "Oedipe" premieres in Paris Famous Birthdays Jan 17 Antonio Veracini, Italian violinist and Baroque composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1733) Jan 21 Adriaen van der Werff, Dutch portrait painter/engraver/architect Famous Deaths Jan 16 Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer, dies at 78 Jan 18 Benedikt Lechler, German composer, dies at 64 1658 History by Year 1660 What Happened in 1659 The Day They Banned Christmas December 24, 1659