John Hancock
1737 John Hancock, American merchant & statesman who was 1st to sign the Declaration of Independence, born in Braintree, Massachusetts (d. 1793)
John Hancock
- 1745 William Jessop, English canal engineer, born in Plymouth, United Kingdom (d. 1814)
- 1761 Friedrich von Matthison, German poet (Adelaide), born in Hohendodeleben, Germany (d. 1831)
- 1762 Christian A Vulpius, German novelist & dramatist (Rinaldo Rinaldini), born in Weimar, Germany (d. 1827)
- 1783 Stendhal [Marie Henri Beyle], French writer (Le Rouge et de Noir, a Chartreuse de Parme), born in Grenoble, France (d. 1842)
- 1785 Carl Adolph Agardh, Swedish botanist & bishop of Karlstad, born in Båstad, Sweden (d. 1859)
- 1786 Auguste de Montferrand, French architect, born in Trocadéro, Paris (d. 1858)
- 1809 Veer Surendra Sai, Indian freedom fighter & tribal leader, born in Sambalpur district, India (d. 1884)
- 1816 Compars Herrmann, German stage magician, born in Hanover, Germany (d. 1887)
- 1827 Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai & leader of Satsuma rebellion, born in Kajiyacho, Japan (d. 1877)
- 1828 Calvin Edward Pratt, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Worcester County, Massachusetts (d. 1896)
- 1830 Gaston, Marquis de Galliffet, French general & Minister of War (1899-1900), born in Paris, France (d. 1909)
Edouard Manet
1832 Edouard Manet, French impressionist painter (Olympia, The Luncheon on the Grass), born in Paris, France (d. 1883)
Edouard Manet
- 1833 John Randolph Chambliss Jr, American Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), born in Greensville County, Virginia (d. 1864)
- 1840 Ernst Abbe, German physicist & optical scientist (Carl Zeiss Optics Company), born in Eisenach, Germany (d. 1905)
- 1855 John Moses Browning, American inventor, born in Ogden, Utah (d. 1926)
- 1857 Andrija Mohorovicic, Croatian meteorologist & seismologist (Moho discontinuity), born in Opatija, Croatia (d. 1936)
- 1862 David Hilbert, German mathematician (Hilbert spaces, invariant theory, axiomatization of geometry), born in Königsberg, East Prussia (d. 1943)
- 1869 Herbert David Croly, American author (Promise of American Life), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1930)
- 1872 Paul Langevin, French physicist, born in Paris, France (d. 1946)
- 1872 Joze Plečnik, Slovenian architect, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia (d. 1957)
- 1878 Oton Zupancic, Slovenian poet (Zimzelen pod Snegom), born in Vinica, Črnomelj, Slovenia (d. 1949)
- 1888 Gilbert Ledward, English sculptor, born in Chelsea, London (d. 1960)
- 1888 Paul Peter Ewald, German Crystallographer and physicist who devised the theory of X-ray interference by crystals and pioneered X-ray diffraction methods, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1985)
- 1889 Prosper Arents, Flemish bibliographer (Rubens-bibliography)
Antonio Gramsci
1891 Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher & Marxist theorist, born in Ales, Sardinia, Italy (d. 1937)
Antonio Gramsci
- 1893 Frank Carlson, American politician (Gov/Rep/Sen-R-Ks), born in Cloud County, Kansas (d. 1987)
- 1896 Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1919-64), born in Berg Castle, Luxembourg (d. 1985)
- 1897 Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian politician & nationalist, born in Cuttack, British India (d. 1945)
- 1897 Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2000)
- 1898 Freda Utley, British scholar & author, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 1978)
- 1899 Joseph Nathan Kane, American non-fiction writer & journalist (Famous Firsts), born in NYC, New York (d. 2002)
- 1901 Benno Stokvis, Dutch lawyer & politician, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1977)
- 1903 Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician, born in Cucunubá, Colombia (d. 1948)
- 1905 Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, Polish poet (Zielona Ges), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1953)
- 1907 Hediki Yukawa, Japanese physicist (Nobel 1949), born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 1981)
- 1914 Napoleon L Bonaparte, French pretender to the throne, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1997)
- 1915 Potter Stewart, United States Supreme Court justice (1958-81), born in Jackson, Michigan (d. 1985)
- 1916 Airey Neave, British soldier & politician, born in Knightsbridge, London (d. 1979)
- 1916 David Douglas Duncan, American photo-journalist best known for his war photography, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2018)
- 1917 Dusan Kostic, Serbian writer, born in Peja, Serbia (d. 1997)
Gertrude B. Elion
1918 Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and drug researcher who developed groundbreaking leukemia and herpes drug treatments (Nobel 1988), born in NYC, New York (d. 1999)
Gertrude B. Elion
- 1919 Hans Hass, Austrian zoologist and underwater scientist, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2013)
- 1920 Erbet Pawel, biographer (Kafka)
- 1923 Walter M. Miller Jr., American sci-fi author (Hugo, View from Stars), born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida
- 1924 Frank Lautenberg, American politician (Sen-D-NJ, 1982-2001, 2003-2013), born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 2013)
- 1927 Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American entrepreneur & explorer, born in Solna Municipality, Sweden (d. 1994)
- 1929 John Polanyi, Canadian chemist (Nobel 1986), born in Berlin, Germany
- 1929 Patriarch Filaret (Mykhailo Denysenko) of Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate
- 1930 Derek Walcott, Caribbean poet (Omeros), Nobel Prize for Literature 1992, born in Castries, St Lucia (d. 2017)
- 1930 William Reid Pogue, American fighter pilot & astronaut (Skylab 4), born in Okemah, Oklahoma (d. 2014)
- 1932 Bud Shuster, American politician (Rep-R-PA, 1973- ), born in Glassport, Pennsylvania
- 1934 Pierre Bourgault, Quebec politician & essayist, born in East Angus, Canada (d. 2003)
- 1938 Anatoly Marchenko, Soviet dissident, born in Barabinsk, Russia (d. 1986)
- 1942 Ivan Ivanovich Bachurin, Soviet cosmonaut, born in Kharkov Oblast, Ukrainian SSR
- 1942 Willy Bogner Jr., German fashion designer & film maker (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), born in Munich, Germany
- 1943 Bill Gibb, Scottish fashion designer, born in New Pitsligo, Scotland (d. 1988)
- 1944 Marty Russo, American politician & lobbyist (Rep-D-IL, 1975- ), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1945 Mike Harris, Canadian politician
Arnoldo Aleman
1946 Arnoldo Aleman, 81st President of Nicaragua (1997-2002), born in Managua, Nicaragua
Arnoldo Aleman
- 1947 Tom Carper, American politician (Rep-D-DE, 1983- ), born in Beckley, West Virginia
- 1947 Megawati Sukarnoputri, 5th President of Indonesia, born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- 1947 Gatewood Galbraith, American author & attorney, born in Carlisle, Kentucky (d. 2012)
- 1949 Robert Cabana, American astronaut (STS 41, 53, 68, sk:88), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Chesley Sullenberger
1951 Chesley Sullenberger III, American pilot (successfully executed emergency landing US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River), born in Denison, Texas
Chesley Sullenberger
- 1953 Antonio Villaraigosa, Hispanic-American 52nd Mayor of Los Angeles, born in East Los Angeles, California
Pavlo Lazarenko
1953 Pavlo Lazarenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine (1996-97), born in Karpivka, Ukraine
Pavlo Lazarenko
- 1957 Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi, daughter of Princess Grace and Prince Rainer, born in Monte Carlo, Monaco
- 1957 Lou Schuler, American fitness journalist, born in St. Louis, Missouri
- 1961 Mas Selamat bin Kastari, Singapore's most-wanted terror fugitive, born in Kendal Regency, Indonesia
- 1962 Elvira Lindo, Spanish writer & journalist, born in Cádiz, Spain
- 1967 Belkis Ayón, Cuban printmaker (collography), born in Havana, Cuba (d. 1999)
- 1974 Richard T. Slone, British artist, born in Newton-in-Furness, United Kingdom
- 1975 Tito Ortiz, American UFC fighter, born in Huntington Beach, California
- 1981 Greg Smith, American UFC fighter, born in Vallejo, California
January in History
The British: 139. Zulu Warriors: 4,000. Let Battle Begin
It was one of the most remarkable military engagements ever: the day that 139 British soldiers took on 4,000 Zulu warriors – and won.
January 22, 1879'I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman'
One of the most notorious denials in political history came on this day when President Bill Clinton held a news conference on his relations with Monica Lewinsky.
January 26, 1998Crippled Kaiser Had Grip of Iron
German Emperor 'Kaiser Bill,' was born on this day, strong-willed and determined to overcome the deformity that afflicted him from birth.
January 27, 1859Riot Leader Accuses a Queen
How did Lord George Gordon, an aristocrat who led the Gordon Riots in London, lose a libel case on this day to French Queen Marie Antoinette?
January 28, 1788
