- 347 Emperor Theodosius I "The Great" of Rome, last emperor to rule the east and west empire, born in Hispania (d. 395)
- 889 Abd-ar-Rahman III, Emir and Caliph of Cordoba (d. 961)
- 1322 Emperor Komyo of Japan (d. 1380)
- 1359 Emperor Go-En'yu of Japan (d. 1393)
- 1395 Michelle of Valois, Duchess of Burgundy (d. 1422)
- 1403 Jan IV, Duke of Brabant/Limburg
- 1449 Domenico Ghirlandajo, Italian renaissance painter
- 1503 Francesco Parmigianino, Italian artist (Madonna with the Long Neck)
- 1591 Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English Civil War general (d. 1646)
- 1630 John Rogers, American President of Harvard in the US (d. 1684)
- 1671 François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French military leader (d. 1745)
- 1720 Gijsbert John van Hardenbroeck, Utrechts regent
- 1723 Prithvi Narayan Shah, began the unification of modern Nepal (d. 1774)
- 1746 William Curtis, English botanist/publisher (Botanical Magazine)
Alexander Hamilton
1755 Alexander Hamilton, US Founding Father and 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (1789-95), born in Charlestown, Nevis, West Indies (d. 1804)
Alexander Hamilton
- 1757 Samuel Bentham, English mechanical engineer (d. 1831)
- 1786 Joseph Jackson Lister, British optician who perfected the optical microscope by designing the achromatic objective lens, born in London, England
- 1788 William Thomas Brande, English chemist (d. 1866)
- 1800 Ányos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist (d. 1895)
- 1807 Alfred Eugene "Mudwall" Jackson, Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
- 1807 Ezra Cornell, founder (Western Union Telegraph, Cornell University)
- 1808 Antoine GB Schayes, Belgian historian/archaeologist
- 1814 James Paget, English surgeon (disease of Paget)
- 1814 Richard Griffith, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1862)
John A. Macdonald
1815 John A. Macdonald, First Prime Minister of Canada (1867-1873 and 1878-1891), born in Glasgow, Scotland
John A. Macdonald
- 1816 Fitz Henry Warren, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Brimfield, Massachusetts (d. 1878)
- 1818 John Reese Kenly, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1891)
- 1825 Bayard Taylor, U.S. poet and writer (d. 1878
- 1831 James Ronald Chalmers, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Halifax County, Virginia (d. 1898)
- 1839 Eugenio Maria de Hostos, Puerto Rico, patriot/scholar
William James
1842 William James, American psychologist/philosopher (Pragmatism), born in NYC, New York
William James
- 1843 Charles Yelverton O'Connor, Irish-Australian engineer (d. 1902)
- 1849 Oskar Lassar, German dermatologist (bath house)
- 1850 J C Arthur, botanist (studied rusts), born in Lowville, New York
- 1850 Philipp la Renotiere von Ferrary, famous philatelist
- 1852 Konstantin Fehrenbach, German chancellor (1920-21)
- 1853 Gustav Falke, German author/poet (Der Mann im Nebel)
- 1853 Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter (d. 1926)
- 1858 Harry Gordon Selfridge, American retailer (d. 1947)
- 1859 [Gerard] Jan Ligthart, Dutch educator (Nog bij mother, Ot & Sien)
- 1860 Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian/French painter/author (Journal)
- 1864 Thomas Dixon, US attorney/playwright (Flaming Sword)
- 1867 Edward B. Titchener, British psychologist. (d. 1927)
- 1868 Cai Yuanpei, Chinese educator (d. 1940)
- 1870 Alexander Stirling Calder, American sculptor (d. 1945)
- 1872 George Washington Pierce, American physicist (d. 1956)
- 1873 John Callan O'Laughlin, American political and military figure and journalist (d. 1949)
- 1878 Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and dictator (1926), born in Salamis, Greece (d. 1952)
- 1879 Antonio Beltramelli, writer
Alice Paul
1885 Alice Paul, American suffragist (National Woman's Party), born in Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey (d. 1977)
Alice Paul
- 1887 Aldo Leopold, American conservationist, professor and co-founder of the Wilderness Society, born in Burlington, Iowa (d. 1949)
- 1889 Calvin Bridges, American geneticist (d. 1938)
- 1890 Oswald de Andrade, Brazilian author (one of the modernist Group of Five), born in São Paulo, Brazil (d. 1954)
- 1897 August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (d. 1979)
- 1898 Hans Rudolf Krik, Danish writer/critic (Fiskerne, Slaven)
- 1901 Andries D Copier, Dutch glass manufacturer (Gildeglass)
- 1901 Kwon Ki-ok, Korean pilot (d. 1988)
Alan Paton
1903 Alan Paton, South African author (Cry, the Beloved Country, Too Late the Phalarope) and anti-apartheid activist, born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (d. 1988)
Alan Paton
- 1904 Frederick Boland, Irish diplomat/president (UN General Assembly)
- 1905 John Henry Jacques, Northumberland, England, co-operative retailer
- 1905 Clyde Kluckhohn, American anthropologist (d. 1960)
- 1906 Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist (discovered LSD)
- 1906 Robert Nesbitt, impresario
- 1907 Pierre Mendès-France, French Premier (1954-55) (d. 1982)
- 1907 Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jewish American rabbi and theologian (d. 1972), born in Warsaw, Poland
- 1910 Dorothy Stroud, English museum curator & biographer, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 1997)
- 1910 Trygve Bratteli, Norwegian Prime Minister (Labour: 1971-72, 1973-76), born in Nøtterøy, Norway (d. 1984)
- 1910 Sir Shane Paltridge, Australian politician (d. 1966)
- 1911 Nora Heysen, Australian artist (d. 2003)
- 1911 Zenko Suzuki, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2004)
- 1912 Roger Lewis, aviation exec (Lockheed, Curtiss Wright, Pan Am)
- 1914 Dorothy Jeakins, costume designer
- 1915 Robert Blair Mayne, British soldier, co-founder Special Air Service (d. 1955)
- 1916 James H [Jimmy] Quillen, (Rep-R-TN, 1963- )
- 1920 John Powell, campaigner
- 1922 Neville Duke, English test pilot
- 1922 Ernle Bradford, English historian and writer (d. 1986)
- 1924 Sam B. Hall, American politician (d. 1994)
- 1926 Lev Stepanovich Demin, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 15)
- 1928 David L Wolper, producer (Devil's Brigade)
- 1930 Ron Mulock, Australian politician
- 1931 Betty Churcher, director of the National Gallery of Australia
- 1934 Sir Charles Antony Richard Hoare, Computer scientist
Jean Chretien
1934 Jean Chrétien, 20th Prime Minister of Canada (Liberal: 1993-2003), born in Shawinigan, Quebec
Jean Chretien
- 1936 Eve Hesse, German born Jewish-American sculptor. , born in Hamburg, Germany
- 1938 Fischer S Black Jr, financial theorist
- 1938 Michael Fenn, docker/socialist
- 1938 Arthur Scargill, British Marxist & trade unionist (National Union of Mineworkers), born in Barnsley, United Kingdom
- 1944 Mohammed Abed Elhai, Sudanese writer and academic (d. 1989)
- 1944 Shibu Soren, Indian politician
- 1945 Samdech Preah Sanghareach Bour Kry, Supreme Patriarch of the Cambodian Dhammayutt Order
- 1946 Tony Kaye, rocker (Yes)
- 1946 John Piper, American theologian
- 1952 Michael Forshaw, Australian politician
- 1953 Anna Marchesini, Italian entertainer
- 1958 Diego León Montoya Sánchez, former Colombian crime boss
- 1961 Jasper Fforde, British author
- 1962 Susan Lindauer, American peace activist and accused spy
- 1965 Karl Van Calcar, 3k steeplechase, born in Torrance, California
- 1966 Kelley Law, Canadian curler
- 1972 Yang Wenyi, Chinese swim star (WR/OR 50m freestyle)
- 1975 Matteo Renzi, Italian politician and Prime Minister of Italy (2014-), born in Florence, Italy
- 1980 Lovieanne Jung, US softball player, born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- 1988 Alexandria L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- 1988 Danielle L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- 1988 Erica L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- 1988 Raymond L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- 1988 Veronica L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
January in History
A 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, 1902
The 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
British Museum Opens its Doors
The British Museum opened to visitors on January 15, 1759. Fearing damage to the collections by unruly hordes, nobody was admitted without a ticket.
January 15, 1759
Squaring Up for Radio Commentary
This was the day when the BBC broadcast live sports commentary for the first time and introduced a novel way of involving listeners in the action.
January 15, 1927