Events in History Jan 4 Netherlands, Great Britain & France sign Triple Alliance Jan 5 Prussian King Frederik Willem I buys conscript for nobles Jan 14 German mob leader and thief "Sjako" sentenced to death in Amsterdam Birthdays in History Jan 5 William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman, born in Becket, Massachusetts (d. 1793) Jan 28 Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1774). Reigned 1757-74. Jan 29 Jeffrey Amherst, English gov-gen of America/fieldmarshal 1716 On This Day in History 1718