Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
1543 Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Portuguese-Spanish conquistador who conquered Central America and later discovered California, dies of gangrene at around 43
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
- 1552 Henry II of Bavaria, Bishop of Utrecht (1524-29), Worms (1523-52) and Freising (1541-52), dies at 64
- 1560 Peder Palladus, Danish church reformer (Visitasbog), dies at about 56
- 1570 Bartholomeus Latomus, [Steinmetz], Flemish archbishop of Trier, dies
- 1571 Joachim II Hector, elector (Brandenburg), dies at 65
- 1628 Francesco Maria Guaitoli, composer, dies at 64
- 1641 Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomical prodigy, dies at 22
- 1656 Mathieu Molé, French statesman (b. 1584)
- 1661 Maria I Stuart, Queen of England/husband of Willem II, dies at 29 [NS]
- 1670 George Monck, English general, dies at 61
- 1690 Hillel ben Naphtali Zevi, Lithuanian rabbi (b. 1615)
- 1701 Prince Louis I of Monaco (b. 1642)
- 1743 Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect and designer, dies at 85
- 1759 Marquis & Marquess of Tavora, Portuguese nobles, executed
- 1761 Willem de Fesch, Dutch violinist/composer (Joseph), dies at 73
- 1767 Luca Antonio Predieri, Italian composer and violinist, dies at 78
- 1779 Claude Bourgelat, French veterinary surgeon, dies at 66
- 1785 Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
- 1795 Josiah Wedgwood, English pottery designer and manufacturer (Wedgwood), dies at 64
- 1813 Bennelong, Australian aboriginal interlocutor between his tribe and the British settlers (b. c. 1764)
- 1826 Louis Gabriel Suchet, French marshal (b. 1770)
- 1829 Robert Archibald Smith, composer, dies at 48
- 1836 Friedrich Witt, German composer, dies at 65
- 1841 Wilhelmus Kist, writer/director of Dutch (Official) Gazette, dies at 82
- 1853 Theodor Uhlig, composer, dies at 30
- 1858 Rachel Félix [Elisabeth "Eliza/Élisa"], French singer and actress (Muse), dies at 36
- 1858 Henry Darcy, French hydraulic engineer (Darcy's Law), dies at 54
- 1865 Jozef Lies, Flemish painter, dies at 43
- 1868 Moritz Hauptmann, German composer, dies at 75
- 1870 Konstantin Ushinsky, Russian educationalist, dies at 46
- 1873 John Lodge Ellerton, British classical composer (The Bridal of Triermain, Domenica), dies at 71
- 1875 Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (opera's buff), dies at 68
- 1875 Pierre Larousse, French editor (b. 1817)
- 1882 William H Ainsworth, English writer (Guy Fawkes), dies at 76
- 1882 Clement Claiborne Clay, American politician (U.S. Senator from Alabama),dies at 65
- 1895 James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman (Currier and Ives), dies at 70
- 1898 James Wimshurst, British designer and inventor (electrostatic generator), dies at 70
- 1900 Edwin George Monk, English church organist and composer, dies at 80
- 1903 Alois Hitler, father of Adolf Hitler, dies at 65
- 1907 Josef Foerster, Czech organist and composer, dies at 73
- 1911 Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author (b. 1851)
- 1912 Felix Dahn, German historian, jurist and poet, dies at 77
- 1914 Stephane Raoul Pugno, composer, dies at 62
- 1915 James Elroy Flecker, English poet and dramatist (Hassan), dies at 30
Grenville M. Dodge
1916 Grenville M. Dodge, American railroad engineer (Transcontinental Railroad-Union Pacific) and Major General (Union Army), dies at 84
Grenville M. Dodge
- 1920 Zygmunt Janiszewski, Polish mathematician, dies at 31
- 1923 Jaroslav Hašek, Czech writer (Good Soldier Schweyk), dies at 39
- 1927 Carle David Tolmé Runge, German mathematician and physicist, dies at 70
- 1931 Joseph J C Joffre, French marshal, dies at 78
- 1933 Wilhelm Cuno, German Reich's chancellor (1922-23) and businessman, dies at 56
- 1933 Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor (The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come), dies at 37
- 1938 Arthur Boon, Flemish priest/philologist, dies at 54
- 1942 Pauline Beersmans, [PLJM van Cuyck], Flemish actress, dies at 70
- 1943 Sir Walter James, Premier of Western Australia (b. 1863)
- 1943 Bid McPhee, American Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman (Cincinnati Reds; last 2nd baseman to play without a glove), dies at 83
- 1944 Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (b. 1873)
- 1945 Théodore "Fyodor" Akimenko, Ukrainian composer, dies at 68
- 1945 Edgar Cayce, American psychic (b. 1877)
- 1945 Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish writer (Lenin: God of the Godless), dies at 68
- 1946 William Joyce, American-born Irish Fascist politician, hanged in Britain for treason at 39
- 1951 Ferdinand [Fred] Barlow, French composer, dies at 69
- 1956 Alexander Tikhonovich Gretshaninov, Russian/American composer, dies at 91
- 1956 Joseph Wirth, 5th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic, Germany (Stalin Peace Prize), dies at 76
- 1960 Victor Sjöström, Swedish director (Wind, Under the Red Robe), dies at 80
- 1963 Oscar Backing, Austria/Neth viola player, dies at 83
- 1965 Betty Harte, entertainer, dies at 82
- 1965 Julius Tannen, comedian, dies at 84
- 1966 Rex Lease, American actor (Fast Bullets, Sunny Skies, Custer's Last Stand), dies at 62
- 1967 Mary Garden, opera star, dies at 92
- 1969 Howard McNear, American actor (The Andy Griffith Show,Irma La Douce), dies after long illness at 63
- 1969 Jean Focas, Greco-French astronomer (b. 1909)
- 1970 Gladys Aylward, British missionary in China; portrayed by Ingrid Bergman in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (b. 1902)
- 1972 Frans Masereel, Flem WWII resistance fighter (Le Soleil), dies at 82
- 1974 Gino Cervi, Italian actor (Les Miserables, Naked Maja), dies at 72
- 1974 Arthur Daley, American sportswriter (NY Times-Pulitzer 1956), dies from a heart attack at 69
- 1975 Milton J Cross, TV announcer (Met Opera Auditions), dies at 87
- 1975 Robert Neumann, Austrian-British author (False Flag), dies at 77
- 1975 Walter Linck, Swiss sculptor, dies at 71
- 1976 Malcolm "Mal" Evans, British Beatles roadie and assistant, dies in a confrontation with the police at 40
- 1976 Mateusz Glinski, composer, dies at 83
- 1976 Michael V. Love, American test pilot (X-24), dies in F-4 crash at 37
- 1977 Avraham Ofer, Israeli minister of housing, commits suicide
- 1977 Benno Stokvis, Dutch attorney/politician, dies at 75
- 1979 Conrad Hilton, US founder (Hilton Hotels), dies at 91
- 1980 Amos Milburn, American R&B singer and pianist, dies at 52
- 1980 Axel Springer Jr, German photographer, commits suicide at 38
- 1980 Ivan Triesault [Johann Constantin Treisalt], Russian actor (Cry of the Werewolf, Black Parachute), dies at 81
- 1980 Lucien Buysse, Belgian cyclist (Tour de France 1926 champion), dies at 87
Joy Adamson
1980 Joy Adamson [Friederike Viktoria Gessner], Austrian naturalist and author (Born Free), murdered at 69 by her servant
Joy Adamson
- 1981 Princess Alice of Albany (b. 1883)
- 1982 Derek Sealy, cricketer (West Indies 1930-39), dies
- 1985 Lucien Cailliet, French-American composer, conductor and teacher (Philadelphia Orchestra, 1919-1937), dies at 93
- 1986 Jens Bjerre, Danish composer, dies at 82
- 1988 Gaston Eyskens, Prime Minister of Belgium (1949, 1958-61, 1968-72), dies at 82
- 1988 William Cagney, actor (Torrid Zone), dies of a heart attack at 82
- 1988 Rose Ausländer, German poet (b. 1901)
- 1988 Joie Chitwood, American racedriver & Daredevil (b. 1912)
- 1989 Sergei Lvovich Sobolev, Russian mathematician (b. 1909)
- 1989 Nick Virgilio, American Haiku poet, dies at 60
- 1990 Ken Hill, American actor (Cobra, Protocol), dies at 49
- 1990 Arthur Gold, American pianist, half of Gold and Fizdale duo (b. 1917)
- 1991 Luke Appling, American Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop, (7-time MLB All Star), dies of abdominal aortic aneurysm at 83
- 1992 Anthony Del Casino, band leader (Charlie Barnet Band), dies at 79
- 1992 Judith Anderson, actress (Star Trek 3), dies of pneumonia at 93
- 1992 Ken Grieves, Australian cricketer (NSW & Lancashire leg-spin all-rounder), dies at 66
- 1992 Lewis Michael Friedman, pianist, dies at 47 of AIDS
- 1992 Radomiro Tomic, Chilean president (1970), dies
- 1993 Peter Brocco, blacklisted in the 1950's, dies of heart attack at 89
- 1993 Johnny Most, American sports announcer (b. 1923)
- 1994 Roel Bazen, Dutch sound technician (Van Kooten & The Bie), dies at 48
- 1994 Heather Sears, British actress (b. 1935)
- 1994 Frank Belknap Long, American writer (Rim of the Unknown), dies at 92
- 1995 Al Duncan, American blues drummer, dies at 68
- 1995 Byron MacGregor, newscaster, dies at 56
- 1995 Gerard W Taylor, South African/British surgeon, dies at 74
- 1995 Robert Nesbitt, impresario, dies at 88
- 1996 Geoffrey Pardoe, British engineer (Project Manager for the Blue Streak ballistic missile programme), dies at 67
- 1996 Terence Cuneo, English artist (official artist for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953), dies at 88
- 1997 Burton Lane, composer, dies at 84
- 1997 Roger Goeb, American composer, dies at 82
- 2000 Bernhard Wicki, Austrian director and actor (Morituri, Crime & Passion), dies at 80
- 2002 Juan García Esquivel, Mexican band leader (b. 1918)
- 2002 Freddy Heineken, Dutch beer brewer (Heineken), dies at 78
- 2002 Al Smith, American baseball outfielder and third baseman (3-time MLB All Star; Cleveland Indians), dies at 73
- 2003 Sid Gillman, American football coach, dies at 91
- 2004 Des Corcoran, Premier of South Australia (b. 1928)
- 2004 Leon Wagner, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2005 Koo Chen-fu, Chinese negotiator (b. 1917)
- 2005 Will Eisner, American comic book artist (b. 1917)
- 2005 JN Dixit, Indian government official (b. 1936)
- 2005 Edward R. Roybal, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1963-93), dies at 89
- 2006 Bill Skate, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
- 2006 Steve Rogers, Australian rugby league footballer (b. 1954)
- 2007 William Verity Jr., United States Secretary of Commerce 1987-1989 (b. 1917)
- 2007 Michael Yeats, Irish Fianna Fáil senator 1961-1981 and son of W.B. Yeats (b. 1921)
- 2007 Sir Cecil Walker, Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for North Belfast 1983-2001 (b. 1924)
- 2007 Earl Reibel, Canadian ice hockey forward Detroit Red Wings (b. 1930)
- 2007 Janos Furst, Hungarian orchestral conductor (b. 1935)
- 2008 Werner Dollinger, German politician and economist (b. 1918)
- 2008 Aleksandr Abdulov, Russian actor (b. 1953)
- 2008 Natasha Collins, British actress and television presenter (b. 1976)
- 2008 Yo-Sam Choi, South Korean boxer/former WBC light flyweight champion (b. 1972)
- 2009 Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle, American actor (Hang 'em High, Splendor in the Grass, Batman Returns), dies of myelodysplastic syndrome at 84
- 2009 Ulf G. Lindén, Swedish entrepreneur (b. 1937)
- 2009 Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
- 2009 Olga San Juan, American actress, dancer and comedian (Variety Girl, 1 Touch of Venus), dies at 81
- 2009 Charles Camilleri, Maltese composer, dies at 77
- 2009 Alan Walters, British political economist (Chief Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), dies at 82
- 2010 Professor Sir Ian Brownlie, International law specialist
- 2010 Mary Daly, American theologian and feminist scholar (b. 1928)
- 2011 Fadil Hadžić, Croatian film director (b. 23 April 1922)
- 2012 Wylie Walker Vale, American endocrinologist who discovered the stress hormone, dies at 70
- 2012 Robert L Carter, American civil rights activist and judge, dies after complications from a stroke at 94
- 2012 Winifred Milius Lubell, American illustrator and writer (The Outer Lands), dies of congestive heart failure at 97
- 2012 Josef Skvorecky, Czech writer and publisher, dies at 87
- 2012 Bob Weston, British guitarist and songwriter (Fleetwood Mac), dies from a gastrointestinal hemorrhage at 64 (body found this date)
- 2012 Harold Zirin, American astronomer, dies at 82
- 2013 Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romanian film director, dies from surgical complications at 82
Phil Everly
2014 Phil Everly, American singer and half of the rock and roll duo "The Everly Brothers" (Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie), dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 74
Phil Everly
- 2014 Tom Rosenthal, British publisher and broadcaster, dies at 78
Edward W. Brooke
2015 Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass), first popularly elected African American to the US Senate (1967-79), dies at 95
Edward W. Brooke
- 2017 Igor Volk, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz T-12) and test pilot, dies at 79
- 2018 Bra Willie [Keorapetse Kgositsile], South African poet and political activist (Point of Departure: Fire Dance Fire Song), dies at 79
January in History
The Beatles? 'They have no future in show business'
In 1962, an unknown group called the Beatles travelled to London for a recording contract audition with one of the major record labels. They were rejected.
January 1, 1962'The Most Famous of All Streaks'
Erika Roe bounced into the history books on this day when, topless, she skipped onto the pitch at a rugby game to the roar of 60,000 cheering spectators.
January 2, 1982A Crackdown on Lovers in New York
New York wasn't always a free and easy city. Time was when not only adultery was a crime, but even looking at a lady in the wrong way could land a guy in trouble.
January 8, 1902The Man Who Saved Elton John's Life
Long John Baldry was born on this day - a friend of stars from Rod Stewart to The Beatles and who, in 1969, famously took Elton John aside and saved the life.
January 12, 1941
