- 838 Babak, Persian social/religious reformer, martyred
- 1248 Sancho II, King of Portugal (1223-47), dies at 41
- 1428 Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, 'The Warlike' (b. 1370)
- 1564 Hosokawa Ujitsuna, Japanese military commander (b. 1514)
- 1584 Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter (Strasbourg astronomical clock), dies at 44
- 1612 Henry L Spieghel, Dutch merchant/writer, dies at 62
- 1678 Joan Maetsuyker, Dutch governor-general of Ceylon (1653-78), dies at 71
- 1695 Duke of Luxembourg, Luxembourg/French marshal, dies
- 1701 Ernst R Tarhemberg, Austrian field marshal, dies at 62
- 1707 Louis Willem I, count of Baden-Baden, dies
- 1729 Joseph de Montesquiou earl d'Artagnan, French lt-general, dies at 77
- 1729 Meir Bacharach, Hebrew poet, dies
- 1745 Willem I Kerricx, the Young, Flemish architect/painter, dies at 62
- 1752 Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (paradox of Cramer), dies at 47
- 1761 Stephen Hales, English vicar/inventor (ventilator), dies at 83
- 1773 Anton Losenko, Russian painter (b. 1737)
- 1778 Charles D J Eisen, French engraver/painter, dies at 57
- 1782 Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect (Ecole Military), dies at 83
- 1786 Mozes Mendelssohn, German Jewish enlightenment philosopher (Haksalah), dies at 56
- 1793 Bengt Lidner, Swedish poet (Medea/Yttersa domen), dies at 35
- 1804 Charlotte Lennox, English novelist (The Female Quixote), dies
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton
1821 Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, 1st native-born American saint, dies in Maryland at 46
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton
- 1825 Ferdinand I, King of Sicily/Naples (Ferdinand IV), dies at 73
- 1831 Nikola P Neofit Rilski, Bulgaria abbot/poet, dies at 37
- 1843 Petronella Moens, Frisian author/poetess, dies at 80
- 1874 Thomas Gregson, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)
- 1877 Cornelius Vanderbilt, US robber baron, dies at 82
- 1880 Anselm Feuerbach, German painter, dies at 50
- 1882 John William Draper, English scientist, photographer (b. 1811)
- 1883 Antoine Eugène Alfred Chanzy, French general (b. 1823)
- 1886 Ernest Panckoucke, French publisher (Horace), dies at 77
- 1891 Antoine Labelle, Quebec catholic priest (b. 1833)
- 1895 Manuel Pavía y Rodríguez de Alburquerque, Spanish general, dies at 66
- 1896 Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German Old Catholic bishop (b. 1821)
- 1903 Geo[rge J H] Poggenbeek, Dutch surrealist painter, dies at 49
- 1903 Gulstan Ropert, French Roman Catholic prelate, dies at 63
- 1903 Topsy the elephant (b. circa 1875)
- 1908 Antony Winkler Prins, writer (Groiller Encyclopaedia), dies at 70
- 1910 Leon Delagrange, French aviation pioneer, dies
- 1913 Alfred von Schlieffen, Prussian general-field marshal, dies at 79
- 1914 Silas Weir Mitchell, American physician (discovered causalgia, erythromelalgia) and author (Roland Blake, Hugh Wynne), dies at 84
- 1919 Georg von Hertling, Chancellor of Germany (1917-18), dies at 75
- 1920 Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish novelist (Episodios Nacionales), dies at 76
- 1933 Lucas Lindeboom, Dutch evangelist (Vredebond), dies at 87
- 1940 Conrad Weiss, German writer/poet (Heart of Words), dies at 59
- 1941 Henri Bergson, French philosopher (Le Rire, Nobel 1928), dies at 81
- 1943 Marina Raskova, Russian navigator, dies in airplane crash at 30
- 1944 Henri "Hans" Flu, Indonesian/Dutch family doctor/antifascist, murder
- 1944 Kaj Munk, [Harald Leininger], anti-fascist writer (Kaj Munk), dies
- 1946 Barney Oldfield, daredevil, dies at 67
- 1947 Forrest Reid, Irish author/critic (Young Tom, Apostate), dies at 71
- 1952 Constantl Permeke, Flemish painter (Boerin), dies at 65
- 1953 Prince Yasuhito Chichibu, brother of Emperor Showa, dies at 50
- 1955 Jan Derk Domela Nieuwenhuis Nyegaard, Dutch vicar (Young Flanders), dies at 84
- 1957 Theodor Korner von Siegringen, 5th President of Austria (1951-57), dies at 84
- 1958 John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, British civil servant, politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1943-45), dies at 75
Albert Camus
1960 Albert Camus, French author (Stranger), dies in an auto accident at 46
Albert Camus
Erwin Schrödinger
1961 Erwin Schrodinger, Austrian physicist and Nobel Laureate (wave mechanics), dies at 73
Erwin Schrödinger
- 1962 Hans Lammers, German SS officer (b. 1879)
T. S. Eliot
1965 T. S. Eliot, American-born British poet (The Waste Land) and Nobel laureate (1948), dies in London at 76
T. S. Eliot
- 1967 Donald Campbell, English boat and land racer (set world land and water records in 1964), dies attempting a new water speed record at 45
- 1968 Joseph Pholien, Belgian PM (1950-52) communist fighter, dies at 83
- 1969 Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins (b. 1908)
- 1970 Jean-Étienne Valluy, French general (b. 1899)
- 1971 Arthur Ford, American clairaudient (b. 1896)
- 1975 Carlo Levi, Italian writer (Parole Sono Pietre), dies at 72
- 1978 Willem Bruynzeel, Dutch timber/lumber/wood manufacturer, dies at 76
- 1985 Brian Gwynne Horrocks, English lt-general (A Full Life), dies at 89
- 1986 Christopher Isherwood, English novelist (Lions & Shadows), dies at 81
- 1987 Frederik van Heek, Dutch sociologist, dies at 79
- 1987 Peggy Bacon, American author and illustrator (Off With Their Heads), dies at 91
- 1988 Lily Laskine, French harpist, dies at 94
- 1990 Alberto Lleras Camargo, president of Colombia (1945-46, 58-62), dies
- 1990 Robert F Adams, American sci-fi author (Castaways in Time), dies at 57
- 1990 Harold Edgerton, American electrical engineer (b. 1903)
- 1990 Sir Henry Bolte, Premier of Victoria 1955-1972 (b. 1908)
- 1992 Earl Colbert, entertainer, dies
- 1993 Charles Bridgford, Australian politician
- 1994 Jim Booth, New Zealand producer (Heavenly Creatures), dies at 48
- 1994 Michiel P "Michael" Gorsira, Gov of Curacao (1951-67), dies at 80
- 1995 Jonathan Zeitlyn, artist, dies at 43
- 1995 Robert Clifford Latham, pepys Scholar, dies at 82
- 1995 Sol Tax, American anthropologist (b. 1907)
- 1997 Harry B Helmsley, owner (Empire State Building), dies at 87
- 2003 Sabine Ulibarri, Mexican American writer (b. 1919)
- 2004 John Toland, American political writer (Rising Sun, Pulitzer 1971), dies at 91
- 2004 Joan Aiken, English writer of children's books (The Whispering Mountain), dies at 79
- 2004 Jeff Nuttall, English writer (b. 1933)
- 2005 Alton Tobey, American artist (b. 1914)
- 2005 Robert Heilbroner, American economist (b. 1919)
- 2005 Frank Harary, American mathematician (b. 1921)
- 2005 Guy Davenport, American author, artist, and scholar (b. 1927)
- 2005 Humphrey Carpenter, English author (b. 1946)
- 2006 Irving Layton, Canadian poet (b. 1912)
- 2006 Robert Howard White, Mayor of Papatoetoe, New Zealand (b. 1914)
- 2006 Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai (b. 1946)
- 2007 Marais Viljoen, former State President of South Africa (b. 1915)
- 2007 Sir Lewis Hodges, British Air Chief Marshal (b. 1918)
- 2007 Osman Waqialla, Sudanese artist and calligrapher (b. 1925)
- 2007 Gren, Welsh newspaper cartoonist (b. 1934)
- 2007 Gáspár Nagy, Hungarian poet and writer (b. 1949)
- 2007 Ben Gannon, Australian theatre film and television producer (b. 1952)
- 2008 Joyce Carlson, American artist (b. 1923)
- 2008 Xavier Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan print editor (b. 1932)
- 2008 Jimmy Nah, Singapore celebrity (b. 1968)
- 2010 Johan Ferrier, Surinamian politician (b. 1910)
- 2010 Casey Johnson, American heiress and socialite (b. 1979)
- 2010 Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese Businessman, and Survivor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombings (b. 1916)
- 2011 Dick King-Smith English Author (b. 1922)
- 2012 Eve Arnold, American photojournalist, dies at 99
- 2012 Ruben Ayala, American politician (California State Senator 1974-1998), dies of natural cause at 89
- 2012 James Crow, American geneticist, dies at 95
- 2012 Gatewood Galbraith, [Louis], lawyer, American political activist, iconic Kentucky political figure, dies from pneumonia at 64
- 2012 Rod Robbie, Canadian architect and planner, dies at 83
- 2013 Yevgeny Pepelyaev, Soviet fighter pilot, dies at 94
January in History
The Beatles? 'They have no future in show business'
In 1962, an unknown group called the Beatles travelled to London for a recording contract audition with one of the major record labels. They were rejected.
January 1, 1962
'The Most Famous of All Streaks'
Erika Roe bounced into the history books on this day when, topless, she skipped onto the pitch at a rugby game to the roar of 60,000 cheering spectators.
January 2, 1982
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 5, 1797
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