- 598 Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor of China (626-49), born at Wugong (d. 649)
Thomas Aquinas
1225 Saint Thomas Aquinas, Italian theologian and saint, born in Roccasecca, Italy (d. 1274)
Thomas Aquinas
- 1312 Queen Joan II of Navarre (d. 1349)
- 1457 Henry VII, Pembroke Castle, 1st Tudor king of England (1485-1509)
- 1540 Ludolph van Ceulen, German mathematician (d. 1610)
- 1578 Cornelis Haga, Dutch lawyer/ambassador to Constantinople (1611-39)
- 1582 John Barclay, Scottish satirist/poet (Euphormio's Satyricon), born Pont-à-Mousson France
- 1600 Clement IX [Giulio Rospigliosi], Italian Pope (238th: 1667-69), born in Pistoia, Italy (d. 1669)
- 1608 Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, mathematician/astronomer, born in Naples, Italy
- 1611 Johannes Hevelius, Danzig, astronomer (star cataloger)
- 1622 Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (d. 1691)
- 1688 Jan Maurits Quinkhard, Dutch portrait painter
- 1693 Anna "Ivanovna", tsarina of Russia (1730-40) (2/7 NS)
- 1701 Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
- 1702 Hermanus Noordkerk, Dutch lawyer
- 1706 John Baskerville, English printer (typeface inventor)
- 1712 Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (d. 1761)
- 1714 Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (Child with Cage, Mercury Fastening his Sandals), born in Paris (d. 1785)
- 1717 Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1774). Reigned 1757-74.
- 1719 Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (d. 1749)
- 1768 Frederick VI, Danish king (1808-39); lost Norway to Sweden (1814)
George Hamilton-Gordon
1784 George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Peelite: 1852-55) and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1861)
George Hamilton-Gordon
Alexander Mackenzie
1822 Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (Liberal: 1873-78), born in Logierait, Scotland (d. 1892)
Alexander Mackenzie
- 1825 George Edward Pickett, Major General (Confederate Army), (d. 1875)
- 1828 Michel Abeloos, Flemish sculptor
- 1828 Thomas Carmichael Hindman, Mjr Gen (Confederate Army), (d. 1868)
- 1831 Henry Brevard Davidson, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1899)
- 1833 Charles George Gordon, general (China, Khartoum), born in London, England
Henry Morton Stanley
1841 Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh journalist and African explorer (found Livingstone in Africa), born in Denbigh, Wales (d. 1904)
Henry Morton Stanley
- 1853 Jose Martí y Perez, Cuba, poet/essayist/politician
- 1855 William Seward Burroughs, NY, inventor (recording adding machine)
- 1863 Ernst William Christmas, Australian painter (d. 1918)
- 1864 Herbert Akroyd Stuart, English engineer - inventor of the first compression ignition engine (d. 1927)
- 1865 Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1928)
- 1865 Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, first president of Finland (d. 1952)
- 1884 Auguste Piccard, Swiss scientist/explorer (balloonist), twin brother of Jean Felix Piccard
- 1884 Jean Felix Piccard, Swiss scientist/explorer (balloonist) twin brother of Auguste Piccard
- 1884 Lucien H d'Azambuja, French astronomer (chromosome of sun)
- 1886 Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (d. 1973)
- 1886 Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese electrical engineer (d. 1976)
- 1890 Robert Stroud, American convict, "Birdman of Alcatraz", born in Seattle Washington (d. 1963)
- 1891 Camille Melloy, [Paepe], Belgian poet (Parfum des Buis)
- 1897 Valentin Kataev, novelist/playwright (Embezzled), born in Odessa Ukraine (d. 1986)
- 1898 Wies Moens, Flemish writer/nazi
- 1899 Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (d. 1940)
- 1900 Alexandre AM Stols [Chl van Halsbeke], publisher (History of Ecuador)
- 1900 Hermann Kesten, German writer (Allert de Lange)
- 1900 Alice Neel, American artist (d. 1984)
- 1903 Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, crystallographer (1st woman in Royal Society)
- 1904 Canuplin, Filipino magician and bodabil entertainer (d. 1979)
- 1905 Luther George Simjian, Turkish-American Inventor (teleprompter and first self-posing portrait camera)
- 1906 Harry van Kruiningen, [Henri A Janssen], painter and graphic artist
- 1910 Verda Bryant, American author
- 1911 Johan van Hulst, Dutch teacher who helped save 600 children from the Nazis, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2018)
Jackson Pollock
1912 Jackson Pollock, American expressionist painter (Lavender Mist), born in Cody, Wyoming (d. 1956)
Jackson Pollock
- 1912 William "Bill" Henson, English diplomat (Prague 1939)
- 1913 Oliver Chesterton, chartered surveyor
- 1918 Harry M Corbett, Bradford, puppeteer/entertainer (Sooty, Some People)
- 1918 Trevor Skeet, British MP
- 1918 Wilson Ferreira Aldunate, Uruguayan politician/human rights worker
- 1920 James Whyte, Moderator (General Assembly of Church of Scotland)
- 1922 Robert W Holley, American biochemist, worked with RNA (Nobel '68)
- 1925 Henry Harris, British professor of medicine
- 1927 Anthony Garner, director (Conservative Central Office)
- 1927 J D Hughes, Principal (Ruskin College-Oxford)
- 1928 MG Falcon, CEO (Norwich Union Insurance Group)
- 1928 Martin Sinnatt, Major-General/secretary (Kennel Club)
- 1928 Slade Gorton, (Sen-R-WA, 1981- )
- 1929 Claes Oldenburg, US pop artist (Alphabet/Good Humor), born in Stockholm, Sweden
- 1930 David Morris, British MEP
- 1931 Timothy Kitson, British politician
- 1932 David Thompson, CEO (Gestetner Holdings)
- 1932 Thomas J Bliley Jr, (Rep-R-VA, 1981- )
- 1932 David Hennessy, Lord Windlesham, British peer and TV executive, Leader of the House of Lords (1973-4) (d. 2010)
- 1934 BR White, principal (Regent's Park College-Oxford)
- 1935 David John Lodge, British writer and literary critic (Soul & Bodies), born in London, England
- 1935 Manuel dos Santos Lima, Angolian revolutionary/poet (Pele do Diabo)
- 1936 Bill Jordan, British trade unionist
- 1936 Enid Castle, principal (Cheltenham Ladies' College)
- 1937 Bette Howland [Lee Sotonoff], American writer and literary critic (Blue in Chicago, The iron year), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2017)
- 1939 John M Fabian, Goosecreek Tx, Col USAF/astronaut (STS 7, STS 51G)
Carlos Slim
1940 Carlos Slim, Mexican business magnate (América Móvil) once ranked as the richest person in the world, born in Mexico City, Mexico
Carlos Slim
- 1944 James Cran, British MP
- 1944 John Edmonds, British trade unionist
- 1945 Nick Raynsford, British MP
- 1947 MJ Ainsworth, CEO (Institute of Chartered Secretaries)
- 1947 Valerie Bragg, principal (City Technology College-Kingshurst)
- 1948 Mamoru Mohri, Yoichi-machi Hokkaido Japan, astronaut (STS 47)
- 1948 Charles Taylor, President of Liberia
- 1949 Thomas J Downey, (Rep-D-NY, 1975- )
- 1950 David Carl Hilmers, Iowa, Col USMC/astronaut (STS 51-J, 26, 36, 42)
- 1950 Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain (1999 - present), born in Riffa, Bahrain
- 1951 Gordon Prentice, British MP
- 1951 Leonid Konstantinovich Kadenyuk, Kkishkov Ukraine, astronaut (STS 87)
- 1951 Brian Bilbray, American politician
- 1954 Rick Warren, American pastor and author
Nicolas Sarkozy
1955 Nicolas Sarkozy, 23rd President of France (2007-12), born in Paris, France
Nicolas Sarkozy
- 1959 Randi Rhodes, Nova M Radio personality
- 1960 Robert von Dassanowsky, American cultural historian, writer, and producer
- 1969 Linda Sanchez, American politician
- 1975 David Zingler, American writer
- 1985 Athina Onassis, daughter of Christina
January in History
'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, 1998
Crippled 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, 1859
Riot 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
Secret Behind Mona Lisa's Smile
The smile has beguiled art lovers for nearly 600 years and made the Mona Lisa the world's most famous work of art. But was her smile due to a medical condition?
January 29, 1987