- 705 John VI, Catholic Pope (701-05), dies
- 802 St. Paulinus II of Aquileia
- 812 Staurakios, Byzantine Emperor
- 844 Michael I Rhangabes, Byzantine Emperor
- 1055 Constantine IX Monomachos, emperor of Byzantium, dies
- 1083 Otto of Nordheim, Duke of Bavaria (c. 1020)
- 1494 Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian artist (b. 1449)
- 1495 Pedro González de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal and statesman, dies at 66
- 1547 Pietro Bembo, Italian author, literary theorist, and Catholic cardinal (b. 1470)
- 1552 Johannes Cochlaeus, [Dobeneck], German humanist/theologist, dies
- 1641 Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, Spanish poet (b. 1583)
- 1696 Charles Albanel, French missionary explorer in Canada (b. 1616)
- 1703 Johann Georg Graevius, German classical scholar and critic (b. 1632)
- 1713 Pierre Jurieu, French Protestant leader (b. 1637)
- 1735 Danilo I, Vladika of Montenegro (b. c. 1670)
- 1753 Hans Sloane, Irish physician, naturalist and collector (providing the foundation of the British Museum), dies at 92
- 1762 Louis-François Roubiliac, French sculptor (b. 1695)
- 1763 Caspar Abel, German theologian, historian, and poet (b. 1676)
- 1771 Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, marquis d'Argens, French author, dies at 66
- 1775 Yemelyan Pugachov, Don Cossack rebel, executed by tsarist Russia
- 1775 Prithvi Narayan Shah, began the unification of modern Nepal (b. 1723)
- 1788 François Joseph Paul de Grasse, French admiral (commanded the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake), dies at 64
- 1791 William Williams Pantycelyn, Welsh hymnist (b. 1717)
- 1797 Francis Lightfoot Lee, American advocate for independence (signed US Declaration of Independence), dies at 62
- 1836 John Molson, Canadian brewer (b. 1763)
- 1847 Caroline von Wolzogen [von Lengefeld], German author, dies at 83
- 1856 Nikolai I Nadezjdin, Russian archaeologist, dies [NS=Jan 23]
- 1867 Sir Stuart Donaldson, first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales (b. 1812)
- 1868 Henry Haywood Bell, U.S. Rear Admiral (Union Navy), dies at 59
Gail Borden
1874 Gail Borden, American manufacturer and inventor of condensed milk, dies at 72
Gail Borden
- 1882 Theodor Schwann, German physiologist and co-originator of cell theory, dies at 71
- 1891 Georges-Eugene, Baron Haussmann, French administrator and architect, dies at 81
- 1893 Benjamin F Butler, US gen/presidential candidate (anti-monopoly), dies at 74
- 1905 Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, Warsaw, Hasidic rabbi (b. 1847)
Ambrose Bierce
1914 Ambrose Bierce, American writer and satirist, dies at 71
Ambrose Bierce
- 1914 Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer and patron of the arts after whom the Carlsberg brewery was named (b. 1842)
- 1923 Constantine I, King of Greece (1913-17, 20-22), dies at 54
- 1928 Thomas Hardy, English novelist (Far from the Madding Crowd) and poet, dies near Dorchester at 87
- 1929 Julio Antonio Mella, Cuban revolutionary, murdered at about 28
- 1931 James Milton Carroll, American Baptist pastor, leader, historian, and author (b. 1852)
- 1943 Agustín Pedro Justo, President of Argentina (1932-38) during the Infamous Decade, dies at 66
- 1943 Carlo Tresca, NY's Italian newspaper editor/anti-fascist, murdered
- 1944 Galeazzo count of Cortellazzo Ciano, Italian politician, dies
- 1950 Karin Michaelis, writer, dies at 77
- 1952 Jean JM de Lattre de Tassigny, gen (N-Africa/Indo-China), dies at 61
- 1953 Hans Aanrud, Norwegian author (Storken), dies at 89
- 1953 Ernst H Ridder Rappard, Dutch Nazi founder (NSNAP), dies at 53
- 1953 Marcel Canneel, Flemish painter (Reuzenstoet), dies at 58
- 1953 Noach Zjordanija, Georgian Premier (1918-21), dies at 84
- 1954 Edgard Tytgat, Flemish painter and etcher, dies at 77
- 1955 Rodolfo Graziani, Italian Marshal, fascist and Viceroy of Italian East Africa, dies at 72
- 1957 Sir Robert Garran, Australian lawyer and early leading expert in Australian constitutional law (b. 1867)
- 1959 Mohammed Zakaria Ghonein, discoverer of 6,000 yr old pyramid, dies
- 1960 Johan E. Elias, Dutch historian (Amsterdam's regency), dies at 84
- 1963 Arthur D Nock, English-Americans historian (St Paul), dies at 60
- 1966 Alberto Giacometti, Swiss-French painter and sculptor, dies at 64
- 1966 Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian politician, Prime Minister of India (1964-66), dies under suspicious circumstances at 61
- 1969 Richmal Crompton, British author (b. 1890)
- 1971 I. (Irene) Rice Pereira, American abstract artist dies aged 68
- 1979 Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art dealer and publisher, dies at 94
- 1980 Barbara Pym, English novelist (b. 1913)
- 1983 Nikolaj V Podgorny, president USSR, dies at 79
- 1983 Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian industrialist and educator, dies at 88
- 1985 Sir William McKell, Premier of New South Wales, Governor-General of Australia (b. 1891)
- 1986 Sid Chaplin, UK novelist (b. 1916)
- 1988 Pappy Boyington, American combat pilot (United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II), dies of cancer at 75
- 1988 Isidor Isaac Rabi, nuclear physicist (Nobel Prize-1944), dies at 89
- 1988 Florence Knapp, American, one-time oldest person in the world (b. 1873)
- 1991 Jason Christmas, dies of a gunshot wound during robbery in NY at 49
Carl David Anderson
1991 Carl David Anderson, American physicist, Nobel laureate, dies at 85
Carl David Anderson
- 1993 Lacey Fosburgh, author (Closing Time), dies of breast cancer at 50
- 1994 John Bradley, United States Navy corpsman, one of six who raised flag on top of Mt. Suribachi (see Iwo Jima), dies of a stroke at 70
- 1994 Helmut Poppendick, Nazi physician (b. 1902)
- 1995 John AG Gere, English art historian (Raphael & his Circle), dies at 73
- 1995 Onat Kutlar, Turkish screenplay/producer (Hazal), murdered at 59
- 1996 Eric Hebborn, artist/faker, dies at 61
- 1996 Harold Walter Bailey, British philologist, dies at 96
- 1996 Hubert Nicholson, poet/novelist, dies at 87
- 1997 Helen Foster Snow, American journalist (reported from China in the 1930s), dies at 89
- 1999 Naomi Mitchison, Scottish novelist and poet (The Corn King and the Spring Queen ), dies at 101
- 1999 Brian Moore, Irish novelist (Catholics, Doctor's Wife), dies at 77
- 2000 Ivan Combe, American inventor (b. 1911)
- 2001 Sir Denys Lasdun, English architect (b. 1914)
- 2002 Struan Sutherland, Australian medical researcher (b. 1936)
- 2004 Mervyn Pike [Baroness Pike], British politician (C), dies at 85
- 2006 Markus Löffel (Mark Spoon), German DJ (b. 1966)
- 2006 Nixzmary Brown, American child abuse victim, dies from extreme abuse
- 2007 Robert Anton Wilson, American author (b. 1932)
- 2008 Carl Karcher, founded the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain (b. 1917)
Edmund Hillary
2008 Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer/1st to climb Mt Everest in 1953, dies from a heart attack at 88
Edmund Hillary
- 2009 Vivian Ridler, British scholar and printer (Oxford University), dies at 95
- 2010 Miep Gies, Dutch Humanitarian, discoverer of Anne Frank's diary (b. 1909)
- 2010 Éric Rohmer [Maurice Schérer], French director, journalist and teacher (My Night at Maud's, Claire's Knee, Le rayon vert), dies at 89
- 2013 Aaron H. Swartz, American computer programmer, dies from an apparent suicide at 26
- 2013 Lars Werner, Swedish communist leader, dies at 77
- 2014 Ariel Sharon, Israeli politician and general, Prime Minister of Israel (2001-2006), dies from heart failure at 85
- 2018 Edgar Ray Killen, American convict, former preacher, K.K.K. member and murderer, dies at 92
- 2019 Michael Atiyah, English mathematician (Atiyah-Singer Index, Fields Medal 1966), dies at 89
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
Designer Throws His Hat Into the Ring; Creates a Sensation
The first time a man stepped out in London wearing a topper it caused a sensation, then a court case. Who now could imagine Fred Astaire without his famous top hat?
January 15, 1797