Famous Birthdays Jan 1 Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish novelist (d. 1849) Jan 8 Abraham de Veer, Dutch governor-general of Suriname (1822-28), born in Curaçao (d. 1838) Jan 24 Antony CW Staring, Dutch lawyer/poet (Jaromir) Famous Deaths Jan 3 Luca Antonio Predieri, Italian composer and violinist, dies at 78 Jan 7 Thomas Clap, American academic, 1st president of Yale University, dies at 63 Jan 22 Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German minterologist and geologist, dies at 47 1766 History by Year 1768