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Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

Events

★ 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon.

★ 1496 - Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.

★ 1521 - Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.

★ 1749 - Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.

★ 1777 - American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.

★ 1815 - Austria, Britain, and France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia.

★ 1823 - Stephen F. Austin receives a grant of land in Texas from the government of Mexico.

★ 1825 - Rensselaer School, the first engineering college in the U.S. is opened in Troy, New York. It is now known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

★ 1833 - Britain seizes control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

★ 1834 - The government of Mexico imprisons Stephen F. Austin in Mexico City.

★ 1848 - Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of the independent African Republic of Liberia.

★ 1861 - American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.

★ 1868 - Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.

★ 1870 - The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.

★ 1871 - Henry W. Bradley patents oleomargarine.

★ 1888 - The 91 cm refracting telescope at Lick Observatory is used for the first time. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time.

★ 1888 - Marvin C. Stone patents the drinking straw.

★ 1899 - The first known use of the word automobile, in an editorial in ''The New York Times''.

★ 1921 - Turkey makes peace with Armenia.

★ 1924 - English explorer Howard Carter discovers the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt.

★ 1925 - Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.

★ 1932 - Martial law declared in Honduras to stop revolt by banana workers fired by United Fruit.

★ 1933 - Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of a legislative body in the USA.

★ 1938 - The March of Dimes is established by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

★ 1938 - ''Woman in White'' is first broadcast on the NBC Red network. The program remains on the radio for the next ten years.

★ 1944 - World War II: Top Ace Major Greg "pappy" Boyington is shot down in his Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Zero.

★ 1945 - Admiral Chester W Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan itself.

★ 1947 - Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.

★ 1951 - ''Dragnet'' is first broadcast on NBC-TV.

★ 1953 - Frances Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.

★ 1957 - Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.

★ 1958 - The West Indies Federation is formed.

★ 1959 - Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.

★ 1961 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba.

★ 1961 - The SL-1, a government-run reactor near Idaho Falls, Idaho, leaks radiation, killing three workers.

★ 1962 - Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.

★ 1973 - George Steinbrenner buys the New York Yankees from CBS for 3.2 million dollars

★ 1977 - Apple Computer was incorporated.

★ 1983 - CiTV launches on ITV in the UK.

★ 1987 - Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

★ 1988 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th Century.

★ 1990 - Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces.

★ 1991 - Gulf War: The British government announces the expulsion of 75 Iraqis from the country.

★ 1993 - In Moscow, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

★ 1994 - An Aeroflot Tupolev TU-154 crashes and explodes after takeoff from Irkutsk, Russia, killing 125 people including one on the ground.

★ 1997 - The People's Republic of China announces it will spend $27.7 billion to fight erosion and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow river valleys.

★ 1999 - The Mars Polar Lander launches.

★ 1999 - Israel detains, later to expel, 14 members of Concerned Christians.

★ 2004 - Flight 604, a Boeing 737 owned by Flash Airlines, an Egyptian airliner, plunges into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people aboard.

★ 2007 - National Express has its worst ever coach crash just outside Heathrow Airport when it was travelling to Glasgow

Births

★ 106 BC - Cicero, Roman statesman and philosopher (d. 43 BC)

★ 1196 - Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1231)

★ 1710 - Richard Gridley, American Revolutionary soldier (d. 1796)

★ 1719 - Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian (d. 1773)

★ 1722 - Fredric Hasselquist, Swedish naturalist (d. 1752)

★ 1760 - John Storm, American Revolutionary soldier (d. 1835)

★ 1778 - Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish bishop (d. 1861)

★ 1793 - Lucretia Mott, American women's rights activist (d. 1880)

★ 1802 - Charles Pelham Villiers, British House of Commons member (d. 1898)

★ 1803 - Douglas William Jerrold, British playwright (d. 1857)

★ 1810 - Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, French geographer (d. 1897)

★ 1836 - Sakamoto Ryoma, Japanese revolutionary (d. 1867)

★ 1840 - Father Damien, Belgian missionary (d. 1889)

★ 1855 - Hubert Bland, English socialist (d. 1914)

★ 1865 - Henry Lytton, British actor and opera singer (d. 1936)

★ 1870 - Henry Handel Richardson, Australian author (d. 1946)

★ 1876 - Wilhelm Pieck, first President of East Germany (d. 1960)

★ 1879 - Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (d. 1957)

★ 1883 - Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1967)

★ 1886 - Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)

★ 1887 - August Macke, German painter (d. 1914)

★ 1892 - J. R. R. Tolkien, British writer (d. 1973)

★ 1894 - ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)

★ 1897 - Marion Davies, American actress (d. 1961)

★ 1898 - Carlos Keller, Chilean fascist politician (d. 1974)

★ 1901 - Ngô Đình Diệm, President of South Vietnam (d. 1963)

★ 1905 - Ray Milland, Welsh actor (d. 1986)

★ 1905 - Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)

★ 1909 - Victor Borge, Danish entertainer (d. 2000)

★ 1910 - Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player (d. 2000)

★ 1911 - John Sturges, American director (d. 1982)

★ 1912 - Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and senator (d. 2002)

★ 1912 - Armand Lohikoski, Finnish director (d. 2005)

★ 1916 - Maxene Andrews, American singer (The Andrews Sisters) (d. 1995)

★ 1916 - Betty Furness, American actress (d. 1994)

★ 1917 - Roger W. Straus, Jr., American publisher (d. 2004)

★ 1920 - Renato Carosone, Italian musician (d. 2001)

★ 1921 - John Russell, American actor (d. 1991)

★ 1922 - Bill Travers, English actor and director (d. 1994)

★ 1923 - Hank Stram, American football coach (d. 2005)

★ 1924 - Doug Ellis, British entrepreneur

★ 1924 - André Franquin, Belgian cartoonist (Gaston Lagaffe) (d. 1997)

★ 1924 - Nell Rankin, American singer (d. 2005)

★ 1926 - George Martin, British producer

★ 1929 - Sergio Leone, Italian director (d. 1989)

★ 1929 - Ernst Mahle, Brazilian composer

★ 1930 - Marcel Dubé, Quebec playwright

★ 1930 - Robert Loggia, American actor

★ 1932 - Dabney Coleman, American actor

★ 1932 - Coo Coo Marlin, American race car driver (d. 2005)

★ 1935 - Raymond Garneau, French Canadian politician and businessman

★ 1937 - Seri Wangnaitham, Thai dancer and choreographer (d. 2007)

★ 1939 - Nikos Alefantos, Greek football manager

★ 1939 - Bobby Hull, Canadian hockey player

★ 1939 - Gene Summers, American singer/entertainer

★ 1941 - Van Dyke Parks, American musician

★ 1942 - John Thaw, British actor (d. 2002)

★ 1944 - David Atherton, English conductor

★ 1945 - Stephen Stills, American musician

★ 1946 - John Paul Jones, British musician (Led Zeppelin)

★ 1946 - Cissy King, American entertainer

★ 1949 - Sylvia Likens, American torture victim

★ 1950 - Victoria Principal, American actress

★ 1954 - Dean Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1990)

★ 1954 - Ned Lamont, American businessman

★ 1954 - Jim Ross, American wrestling announcer

★ 1956 - Mel Gibson, Australian actor

★ 1956 - Willy T. Ribbs, American race car driver

★ 1957 - Bojan Križај, Slovenian skier

★ 1958 - Shim Hyung-rae, South Korean filmmaker

★ 1959 - Rafael Arráiz Lucca Venezuelan writer

★ 1960 - Sandeep Marwah Founder of Film City,Noida,India

★ 1962 - Francesca Lia Block, American author

★ 1963 - Vic Grimes, American professional wrestler

★ 1963 - Jerome Young, American professional wrestler

★ 1964 - Bruce LaBruce, Canadian film-maker

★ 1966 - Martin Galway, Northern Ireland composer

★ 1969 - Michael Schumacher, German race car driver

★ 1970 - Mahaya Petrosian, Iranian actress

★ 1971 - Cory Cross, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1972 - Yoon Chan, South Korean actor

★ 1972 - Nichole Nordeman, American singer

★ 1974 - Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist

★ 1975 - Thomas Bangalter, French DJ (Daft Punk)

★ 1975 - Jason Marsden, American actor

★ 1975 - Danica McKellar, American actress

★ 1976 - Angelos Basinas, Greek footballer

★ 1976 - Dinara Drukarova, Russian actress

★ 1976 - Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor

★ 1977 - Lee Bowyer, English footballer

★ 1977 - A.J. Burnett, American baseball player

★ 1977 - Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress (seiyū)

★ 1977 - Michelle Stephenson, English singer (The Spice Girls)

★ 1978 - Kimberley Locke, American singer

★ 1978 - Park Sol-mi, South Korean actress

★ 1978 - Dominic Wood, English childrens television presenter and magician

★ 1978 - Mike York, American ice hockey player

★ 1979 - Francesco Bellissimo, Italian mangaka

★ 1980 - Rob Arnold, American guitarist (Chimaira)

★ 1980 - Liya Kebede, Ethiopian model

★ 1980 - Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player

★ 1980 - David Tyree, American football player

★ 1981 - Eli Manning, American football player

★ 1985 - John David Booty, American football player

★ 1986 - Jacob Timpano, Australian soccer player

★ 1986 - Lloyd Polite, R&B Singer

★ 1989 - Alex D. Linz, American actor

Deaths

★ 1098 - Walkelin, first Norman bishop of Winchester (b. unknown)

★ 1322 - King Philip V of France (b. 1293)

★ 1437 - Catherine of Valois, wife of Henry V of England (b. 1401)

★ 1543 - Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer (b. 1499)

★ 1641 - Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer (b. 1618)

★ 1656 - Mathieu Molé, French statesman (b. 1584)

★ 1670 - George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English soldier (b. 1608)

★ 1690 - Hillel ben Naphtali Zevi, Lithuanian rabbi (b. 1615)

★ 1743 - Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect and designer (b. 1657)

★ 1779 - Claude Bourgelat, French veterinary surgeon (b. 1712)

★ 1785 - Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)

★ 1795 - Josiah Wedgwood, English potter (b. 1730)

★ 1826 - Louis Gabriel Suchet, French marshal (b. 1770)

★ 1875 - Pierre Larousse, French editor (b. 1817)

★ 1882 - William Harrison Ainsworth, English novelist (b. 1805)

★ 1903 - Alois Hitler, father of Adolf Hilter (b. 1837)

★ 1911 - Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author (b. 1851)

★ 1915 - James Elroy Flecker, English author (b. 1884)

★ 1916 - Grenville M. Dodge, American Civil War Union Army Major General (b. 1831)

★ 1923 - Jaroslav Hasek, Czech novelist (b. 1883)

★ 1927 - Carle David Tolmé Runge, German physicist (b. 1856)

★ 1931 - Joseph Joffre, French general (b. 1852)

★ 1933 - Wilhelm Cuno, 6th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Germany) (b. 1876)

★ 1933 - Jack Pickford, Canadian actor (b. 1896)

★ 1944 - Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (b. 1873)

★ 1945 - Edgar Cayce, American psychic (b. 1877)

★ 1945 - Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish writer (b. 1879)

★ 1946 - William Joyce, American Nazi propagandist (executed) (b. 1906)

★ 1950 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor (b. 1884)

★ 1956 - Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian composer (b. 1864)

★ 1956 - Joseph Wirth, 5th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (Germany) (b. 1876)

★ 1963 - Jack Carson, Canadian actor (b. 1910)

★ 1967 - Mary Garden, Scottish singer (b. 1874)

★ 1967 - Jack Ruby, American killer of Lee Harvey Oswald (b. 1911)

★ 1969 - Jean Focas, Greco-French astronomer (b. 1909)

★ 1969 - Howard McNear, American actor (b. 1905)

★ 1974 - Gino Cervi, Italian actor (b. 1901)

★ 1979 - Conrad Hilton, American hotelier (b. 1887)

★ 1980 - Joy Adamson, Czech conservationist (b. 1910)

★ 1980 - Lucien Buysse, Belgian cyclist (b. 1892)

★ 1981 - Princess Alice of Albany (b. 1883)

★ 1988 - Rose Ausländer, German poet (b. 1901)

★ 1989 - Sergei Lvovich Sobolev, Russian mathematician (b. 1909)

★ 1992 - Dame Judith Anderson, Australian actress (b. 1897)

★ 1993 - Johnny Most, American sports announcer (b. 1923)

★ 2002 - Juan García Esquivel, Mexican band leader (b. 1918)

★ 2002 - Freddy Heineken, Dutch beer executive (b. 1923)

★ 2003 - Sid Gillman, American football coach (b. 1911)

★ 2004 - Leon Wagner, American baseball player (b. 1934)

★ 2005 - Koo Chen-fu, Chinese negotiator (b. 1917)

★ 2005 - JN Dixit, Indian government official (b. 1936)

★ 2005 - Will Eisner, American comic book artist (b. 1917)

★ 2006 - Steve Rogers, Australian rugby league footballer (b. 1954)

★ 2006 - Bill Skate, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)

★ 2007 - Janos Furst, Hungarian-born orchestral conductor (b. 1935)

★ 2007 - Earl Reibel, Canadian ice hockey forward Detroit Red Wings (b. 1930)

★ 2007 - William Verity Jr., United States Secretary of Commerce 1987-1989 (b. 1917)

★ 2007 - Sir Cecil Walker, Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for North Belfast 1983–2001 (b. 1924)

★ 2007 - Michael Yeats, Irish Fianna Fáil senator 1961–1981 and son of W.B. Yeats (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances

★ Feast day of St Genevieve

★ Festival in honour of Pax, Roman Empire

★ The tenth night and ninth day of Christmas in Western Christianity

★ January 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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