January 10

January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 355 days remaining until the end of the year (356 in leap years). This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56).

Events

• 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
• 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin dynasty.
• 69 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is appointed by Galba as deputy Roman Emperor.
• 236 – Pope Fabian succeeds Anterus to become the twentieth pope of Rome.
• 1072 – Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo.
• 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
• 1645 – Archbishop William Laud is beheaded at the Tower of London.
• 1776 – Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense.
• 1791 – The Siege of Dunlap's Station begins near Cincinnati during the Northwest Indian War.
• 1806 – Dutch settlers in Cape Town surrender to the British.
• 1810 – Napoleon Bonaparte divorces his first wife Joséphine.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Florida secedes from the Union.
• 1863 – The London Underground, the world's oldest underground railway, opens between London Paddington station and Farringdon station.
• 1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
• 1901 – The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
• 1916 – World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire.
• 1920 – The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I.
• 1922 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of the Dáil Éireann.
• 1923 – Lithuania seizes and annexes Memel.
• 1927 – Fritz Lang's futuristic film Metropolis is released in Germany.
• 1941 – World War II: The Greek army captures Kleisoura.
• 1946 – The first General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. Fifty-one nations are represented.
• 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
• 1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea killing 35 people.
• 1962 – Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle, which became known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission.
• 1971 – A by-poll is held in the Lebanese Chouf District.
• 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.
• 1981 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments
• 1984 – Holy See–United States relations: The United States and Holy See (Vatican City) re-establish full diplomatic relations after almost 117 years, overturning the United States Congress's 1867 ban on public funding for such a diplomatic envoy.
• 1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.
• 1990 – Time Warner is formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications.
• 2007 – A general strike begins in Guinea in an eventually successful attempt to get President Lansana Conté to resign.
• 2012 – A bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and 78 others injured.
• 2013 – More than 100 people are killed and 270 injured in several bomb blasts in Pakistan.
• 2015 – A mass poisoning at a funeral in Mozambique involves beer that was deliberately contaminated with crocodile bile leaving at least 56 dead and nearly 200 hospitalized.
• 2015 – A traffic accident between an oil tanker truck and passenger coach en route to Shikarpur from Karachi on the Pakistan National Highway Link Road near Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Karachi, killing at least 62 people.

Births

• 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1530)
• 1538 – Louis of Nassau (d. 1574)
• 1607 – Isaac Jogues, French priest and missionary (d. 1646)
• 1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire (d. 1687)
• 1644 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French general (d. 1711)
• 1654 – Joshua Barnes, English historian and scholar (d. 1712)
• 1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
• 1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
• 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian priest, biologist, and physiologist (d. 1799)
• 1741 – Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain (d. 1759)
• 1745 – Isaac Titsingh, Dutch surgeon, scholar, and diplomat (d. 1812)
• 1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, Scottish-English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1823)
• 1760 – Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, German composer and conductor (d. 1802)
• 1769 – Michel Ney, French general (d. 1815)
• 1776 – George Birkbeck, English physician and academic, founded Birkbeck, University of London (d. 1841)
• 1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
• 1797 – Eugenio Kincaid, American missionary (d. 1883)
• 1802 – Carl Ritter von Ghega, Italian-Austrian engineer, designed the Semmering railway (d. 1860)
• 1810 – Ferdinand Barbedienne, French engineer (d. 1892)
• 1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, American jurist and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1883)
• 1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect and academic (d. 1881)
• 1828 – Herman Koeckemann, German bishop and missionary (d. 1892)
• 1834 – John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, Italian-English historian and politician (d. 1902)
• 1836 – Charles Ingalls, American farmer and carpenter (d. 1902)
• 1840 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (d. 1925)
• 1842 – Luigi Pigorini, Italian palaeontologist, archaeologist, and ethnographer (d. 1925)
• 1843 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (d. 1915)
• 1848 – Reinhold Sadler, American merchant and politician, 9th Governor of Nevada (d. 1906)
• 1849 – Robert Crosbie, Canadian theosophist, founded the United Lodge of Theosophists (d. 1919)
• 1850 – John Wellborn Root, American architect, designed the Rookery Building and Monadnock Building (d. 1891)
• 1853 – Jessie Bond, English singer and actress (d. 1942)
• 1854 – Ramón Corral, Mexican general and politician, 6th Vice President of Mexico (d. 1912)
• 1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
• 1859 – Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spanish philosopher and academic (d. 1909)
• 1860 – Charles G. D. Roberts, Canadian poet and author (d. 1943)
• 1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
• 1865 – Mary Ingalls, American sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1928)
• 1873 – Algernon Maudslay, English sailor (d. 1948)
• 1873 – Jack O'Neill, Irish-American baseball player (d. 1935)
• 1873 – George Orton, Canadian runner and hurdler (d. 1958)
• 1875 – Issai Schur, German mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
• 1878 – John McLean, American hurdler, football player, and coach (d. 1955)
• 1880 – Manuel Azaña, Spanish jurist and politician, 7th President of Spain (d. 1940)
• 1881 – Leslie Rainey, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1962)
• 1883 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1966)
• 1883 – Alfred Saalwächter, German admiral (d. 1945)
• 1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1945)
• 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (d. 1962)
• 1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian actress (d. 1984)
• 1891 – Heinrich Behmann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1970)
• 1891 – Ann Shoemaker, American actress (d. 1978)
• 1892 – Dumas Malone, American historian and author (d. 1986)
• 1892 – Melchior Wańkowicz, Polish soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1974)
• 1893 – Albert Jacka, Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1932)
• 1894 – Pingali Lakshmikantam, Indian poet and author (d. 1972)
• 1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, American physicist and engineer (d. 1979)
• 1900 – Violette Cordery, English race car driver (d. 1983)
• 1902 – Dobriša Cesarić, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1980)
• 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
• 1903 – Pud Thurlow, Australian cricketer (d. 1975)
• 1903 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian-Swedish wrestler and businessman (d. 1997)
• 1904 – Ray Bolger, American actor and dancer (d. 1987)
• 1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (d. 1993)
• 1908 – Paul Henreid, Italian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
• 1908 – Bernard Lee, English actor (d. 1981)
• 1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
• 1911 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (d. 2013)
• 1911 – Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist (d. 2004)
• 1912 – Maria Mandl, Austrian SS guard (d. 1948)
• 1913 – Franco Bordoni, Italian race car driver and pilot (d. 1975)
• 1913 – Gustáv Husák, Slovak politician, 9th President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
• 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian soldier and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1981)
• 1914 – Pierre Cogan, French cyclist (d. 2013)
• 1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Chinese politician, 23rd Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2000)
• 1915 – Dean Dixon, American-Swiss conductor (d. 1976)
• 1915 – Cynthia Freeman, American author (d. 1988)
• 1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
• 1916 – Eldzier Cortor, American painter (d. 2015)
• 1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
• 1917 – Hilde Krahl, Croatian-Austrian actress (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American journalist and producer (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Les Bennett, English footballer and manager (d. 1999)
• 1918 – Arthur Chung, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 1st President of Guyana (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Harry Merkel, German race car driver (d. 1995)
• 1919 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (d. 1977)
• 1919 – Milton Parker, American businessman, co-founded the Carnegie Deli (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Billy Varga, American wrestler and actor (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Rosella Hightower, American ballerina (d. 2008)
• 1920 – Max Patkin, American baseball player and clown (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2004)
• 1922 – Billy Liddell, Scottish-English footballer (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Ester Mägi, Estonian composer
• 1924 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 1996)
• 1924 – Max Roach, American drummer and composer (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Billie Sol Estes, American financier and businessman (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Musallam Bseiso, Palestinian journalist and politician
• 1927 – Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian-American singer and actress (d. 2003)
• 1927 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1990)
• 1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss lawyer and politician, 140th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Philip Levine, American poet and academic (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Peter Mathias, English historian and academic
• 1929 – Tony Soper, English ornithologist and author
• 1930 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
• 1931 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2004)
• 1931 – Rosalind Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids, Grenadian-English academic and politician
• 1931 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (d. 2015)
• 1931 – John Zizioulas, Greek metropolitan
• 1933 – Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician, 1st President of Ukraine
• 1935 – Sherrill Milnes, American opera singer and educator
• 1936 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and author (d. 2002)
• 1936 – Walter Bodmer, German-English geneticist and academic
• 1936 – Al Goldstein, American publisher and pornographer (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1937 – Daniel Walker Howe, American historian and academic
• 1937 – Thomas Penfield Jackson, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 2013)
• 1938 – Jim Bailey, American actor and singer (d. 2015)
• 1938 – Donald Knuth, American computer scientist and author
• 1938 – Frank Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
• 1938 – Willie McCovey, American baseball player
• 1939 – Jared Carter, American poet and author
• 1939 – David Horowitz, American activist and author, founded the David Horowitz Freedom Center
• 1939 – William Levy, American-Dutch journalist, author, and poet
• 1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
• 1939 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
• 1940 – Godfrey Hewitt, English geneticist and academic (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Walter Hill, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1941 – Tom Clarke, Scottish politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
• 1942 – Graeme Gahan, Australian footballer and coach
• 1943 – Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
• 1943 – Jantzen Derrick, English footballer
• 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer and actor (d. 2016)
• 1945 – John Fahey, New Zealand-Australian lawyer and politician, 38th Premier of New South Wales
• 1945 – Steven P. Perskie, American politician and judge
• 1945 – Rod Stewart, English singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Gunther von Hagens, German anatomist, invented plastination
• 1946 – Aynsley Dunbar, English drummer and songwriter
• 1947 – George Alec Effinger, American author (d. 2002)
• 1947 – James Morris, American opera singer
• 1947 – Matthew Oakeshott, Baron Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, English banker and politician
• 1947 – Peer Steinbrück, German politician, German Minister of Finance
• 1947 – Tiit Vähi, Estonian engineer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Estonia
• 1948 – Donald Fagen, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1948 – David Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury, English lawyer and judge
• 1948 – Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist and sportscaster
• 1949 – Allu Aravind, Indian actor and producer
• 1949 – Fred Bronson, American journalist and author
• 1949 – Kemal Derviş, Turkish economist and politician, Turkish Minister of Economy
• 1949 – George Foreman, American boxer, actor, and businessman
• 1949 – James Lapine, American director and playwright
• 1949 – Linda Lovelace, American porn actress and activist (d. 2002)
• 1950 – Roy Blunt, American academic and politician
• 1951 – Alejandro Escovedo, American singer-songwriter
• 1951 – Nicolas Philibert, French actor and director
• 1952 – Scott Thurston, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1953 – Bobby Rahal, American race car driver and businessman
• 1954 – John Gidman, English footballer and manager
• 1954 – Greg Towns, Australian footballer
• 1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1955 – Franco Tancredi, Italian footballer and manager
• 1956 – Shawn Colvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish author
• 1957 – Paula Smith, American tennis player
• 1957 – Greg Walden, American broadcaster and politician
• 1958 – Eddie Cheever, American race car driver
• 1958 – Anatoly Pisarenko, Ukrainian weightlifter and trainer
• 1959 – Chandra Cheeseborough, American sprinter and coach
• 1959 – Bernhard Hoff, German sprinter
• 1959 – Chris Van Hollen, American lawyer and politician
• 1959 – Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter and producer
• 1960 – Gurinder Chadha, Kenyan-English director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1960 – Brian Cowen, Irish lawyer and politician, 12th Taoiseach of Ireland
• 1960 – John Mann, English lawyer and politician
• 1960 – Benoît Pelletier, Canadian lawyer and politician
• 1961 – Janet Jones, American actress
• 1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-American violinist, author, and educator
• 1962 – Michael Fortier, Canadian lawyer and politician
• 1962 – Kathryn S. McKinley, American computer scientist and academic
• 1963 – Malcolm Dunford, New Zealand-Australian footballer
• 1963 – Kira Ivanova, Russian figure skater (d. 2001)
• 1963 – Scott Perry, American director, producer, and engineer
• 1963 – Mark Pryor, American lawyer and politician, 53rd Arkansas Attorney General
• 1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1966 – Steve Kramer, American engineer and politician
• 1967 – Jeremy Cumpston, Australian actor and physician
• 1967 – Maciej Śliwowski, Polish footballer
• 1969 – Janko Kastelic, Slovene-Canadian conductor
• 1969 – Andreas Reinke, German footballer and manager
• 1970 – Scott Ludlam, New Zealand-Australian graphic designer and politician
• 1970 – Alisa Marić, Serbian chess player and politician, Serbian Minister of Youth and Sports
• 1972 – Thomas Alsgaard, Norwegian skier and sportscaster
• 1972 – Mohammed Benzakour, Moroccan-Dutch journalist, poet, and author
• 1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
• 1973 – Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican boxer
• 1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor, singer, and guitarist
• 1974 – Davide Dionigi, Italian footballer and manager
• 1974 – Akari Kaida, Japanese pianist and composer
• 1974 – Andrey Korneyev, Russian swimmer (d. 2014)
• 1974 – Bob Peeters, Belgian footballer and manager
• 1975 – Jake Delhomme, American football player
• 1976 – Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
• 1976 – Ian Poulter, English golfer
• 1976 – Alec Shelbrooke, English engineer and politician
• 1978 – Johan van der Wath, South African cricketer
• 1979 – Simone Cavalli, Italian footballer
• 1979 – Obea Moore, American sprinter
• 1979 – Bodo Sieber, German rugby player and coach
• 1980 – Nelson Cuevas, Paraguayan footballer
• 1980 – Tatjana Mannima, Estonian skier
• 1980 – Bernat Martínez, Spanish motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
• 1980 – Aleksandr Pogorelov, Russian decathlete
• 1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress
• 1981 – Nasri, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1981 – James Coppinger, English footballer
• 1981 – Inga Jankauskaitė, Lithuanian actress, singer, and pianist
• 1982 – Julien Brellier, French footballer
• 1982 – Tomasz Brzyski, Polish footballer
• 1984 – Marouane Chamakh, Moroccan footballer
• 1984 – Trent Cutler, Australian rugby league player
• 1984 – Ariane Friedrich, German high jumper
• 1984 – Nando Rafael, Angolan-German footballer
• 1986 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgian tennis player
• 1986 – Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Kenneth Vermeer, Dutch footballer
• 1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
• 1988 – Leonard Patrick Komon, Kenyan runner
• 1988 – Marvin Martin, French footballer
• 1988 – Vladimir Zharkov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1989 – Emily Meade, American actress
• 1989 – Kyle Reimers, Australian footballer
• 1990 – Mirko Bortolotti, Italian race car driver
• 1990 – Wilhelm Ingves, Finnish footballer
• 1990 – Stefano Lilipaly, Dutch-Indonesian footballer
• 1991 – Chad Townsend, Australian rugby league player
• 1991 – Romain Wattel, French golfer
• 1992 – Emmanuel Frimpong, Ghanaian footballer
• 1994 – Mohammed Aman, Ethiopian runner
• 1996 – Sakurako Ohara, Japanese actress and singer
• 1996 – María Paulina Pérez, Colombian tennis player
• 1996 – Paula Andrea Pérez, Colombian tennis player
• 1998 – Xu Shilin, Chinese tennis player

Deaths

• 314 – Pope Miltiades
• 681 – Pope Agatho
• 976 – John I Tzimiskes, Byzantine emperor (b. 925)
• 1094 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Egyptian caliph (b. 1029)
• 1276 – Pope Gregory X (b. 1210)
• 1645 – William Laud, English archbishop and academic (b. 1573)
• 1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
• 1662 – Honoré II, Prince of Monaco (b. 1597)
• 1698 – Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French priest and historian (b. 1637)
• 1754 – Edward Cave, English publisher, founded The Gentleman's Magazine (b. 1691)
• 1761 – Edward Boscawen, English admiral and politician (b. 1711)
• 1777 – Spranger Barry, Irish actor (b. 1719)
• 1778 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1707)
• 1794 – Georg Forster, German-Polish ethnologist and journalist (b. 1754)
• 1811 – Joseph Chénier, French poet, playwright, and politician (b. 1764)
• 1824 – Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (b. 1759)
• 1828 – François de Neufchâteau, French poet, academic, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (b. 1750)
• 1829 – Gregorio Funes, Argentinian clergyman, historian, and educator (b. 1749)
• 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1752)
• 1837 – Bertie Crewe, British architect (b. 1860)
• 1851 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)
• 1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English author and playwright (b. 1787)
• 1862 – Samuel Colt, American engineer and businessman, founded Colt's Manufacturing Company (b. 1814)
• 1863 – Lyman Beecher, American minister and activist, co-founded the American Temperance Society (b. 1775)
• 1866 – Pyotr Pletnyov, Russian poet and critic (b. 1792)
• 1883 – Samuel Mudd, American physician (b. 1833)
• 1895 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American chemist, physicist, and academic (b. 1836)
• 1895 – Benjamin Godard, French violinist and composer (b. 1849)
• 1901 – James Robert Dickson, Australian businessman and politician, 1st Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1832)
• 1904 – Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
• 1905 – Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
• 1917 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
• 1917 – Feliks Leparsky, Russian fencer and captain (b. 1875)
• 1920 – Sali Nivica, Albanian journalist and politician (b. 1890)
• 1922 – Frank Tudor, Australian politician, 6th Australian Minister for Trade and Investment (b. 1866)
• 1926 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (b. 1878)
• 1934 – Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch anarchist (b. 1909)
• 1935 – Edwin Flack, Australian tennis player and runner (b. 1873)
• 1935 – Charlie McGahey, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1871)
• 1941 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (b. 1879)
• 1941 – John Lavery, Irish painter and academic (b. 1856)
• 1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian-American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
• 1941 – Issai Schur, Belarusian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1875)
• 1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (b. 1865)
• 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
• 1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1890)
• 1954 – Oscar Brockmeyer, American soccer player (b. 1883)
• 1954 – Chester Wilmot, American journalist and historian (b. 1911)
• 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
• 1959 – Şükrü Kaya, Turkish jurist and politician, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
• 1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1879)
• 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (b. 1894)
• 1965 – Frederick Fleet, English sailor (b. 1887)
• 1967 – Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (b. 1893)
• 1968 – Basil Sydney, English actor (b. 1894)
• 1968 – Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Turkish general and politician, 6th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey (b. 1882)
• 1969 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 2nd Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1891)
• 1969 – John Brownlee, Australian actor and singer (b. 1900)
• 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian pilot and astronaut (b. 1925)
• 1971 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded Chanel (b. 1883)
• 1971 – Ignazio Giunti, Italian race car driver (b. 1941)
• 1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
• 1976 – Howlin' Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
• 1978 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist and author (b. 1924)
• 1978 – Don Gillis, American composer and conductor (b. 1912)
• 1978 – Hannah Gluckstein, British painter (b. 1895)
• 1980 – Hughie Critz, American baseball player and scout (b. 1900)
• 1980 – George Meany, American plumber and union leader (b. 1894)
• 1980 – Bo Rein, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
• 1981 – Richard Boone, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1917)
• 1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian and author (b. 1915)
• 1982 – Paul Lynde, American actor and comedian (b. 1926)
• 1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Laotian politician, 8th Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
• 1985 – Anton Karas, Austrian zither player and composer (b. 1906)
• 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech journalist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
• 1987 – Marion Hutton, American singer and actress (b. 1919)
• 1987 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1904)
• 1989 – Herbert Morrison, American journalist and producer (b. 1905)
• 1990 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (b. 1925)
• 1992 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1919)
• 1994 – Michael Aldridge, English actor (b. 1920)
• 1995 – Kathleen Tynan, Canadian-English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
• 1997 – Elspeth Huxley, Kenyan-English journalist and author (b. 1907)
• 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
• 1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
• 1999 – Edward Williams, Australian lieutenant, pilot, and judge (b. 1921)
• 2000 – Sam Jaffe, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1901)
• 2001 – Necati Cumalı, Turkish author and poet (b. 1921)
• 2002 – W. A. Criswell, American pastor and author (b. 1909)
• 2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
• 2004 – Alexandra Ripley, American author (b. 1934)
• 2005 – Wasyly, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop (b. 1909)
• 2005 – Margherita Carosio, Italian soprano and actress (b. 1908)
• 2005 – James Forman, American academic and activist (b. 1928)
• 2005 – Kalevi Hämäläinen, Finnish skier (b. 1932)
• 2005 – Erwin Hillier, German-English cinematographer (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Jack Horner, American journalist (b. 1912)
• 2005 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
• 2007 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer, photographer, and cartographer (b. 1910)
• 2008 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and actor (b. 1967)
• 2008 – Mikhail Minin, Russian soldier (b. 1922)
• 2008 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
• 2009 – Bill Stone, English sailor (b. 1900)
• 2010 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, India metallurgist, educator and administrator (b. 1942)
• 2011 – John Dye, American actor (b. 1963)
• 2011 – Margaret Whiting, American singer (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Vince Gibson, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Lila Kaye, English actress (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Jean Pigott, Canadian businesswoman and politician (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Cliff Portwood, English footballer and singer (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Mary Raftery, Irish journalist (b. 1957)
• 2012 – Gevork Vartanian, Russian intelligence agent (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Antonino Calderone, Italian mobster (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Evan S. Connell, American novelist, poet, and short story writer (b. 1924)
• 2013 – George Gruntz, Swiss pianist and composer (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Franz Lehrndorfer, German organist and composer (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Lucien Poirier, French general (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Petr Hlaváček, Czech shoemaker and academic (b. 1950)
• 2014 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Ian Redford, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1960)
• 2014 – Larry Speakes, American journalist, 16th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
• 2015 – Robert Berner, American geologist and academic (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Harry V. Jaffa, American historian, philosopher, and academic (b. 1918)
• 2015 – Junior Malanda, Belgian footballer (b. 1994)
• 2015 – Taylor Negron, American actor, playwright, and painter (b. 1957)
• 2015 – Francesco Rosi, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 2015 – Robert Stone, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1937)
• 2016 – Wim Bleijenberg, Dutch footballer and manager (b. 1930)
• 2016 – David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1947)
• 2016 – Jeanne Córdova, American journalist and activist (b. 1948)
• 2016 – Ralph Hauenstein, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1912)
• 2016 – George Jonas, Hungarian-Canadian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Leonie Aviat
  • Obadiah (Coptic Church)
  • Peter Orseolo
  • Pope Agatho (Roman Catholic)
  • William Laud (Anglican Communion)
  • William of Donjeon
  • January 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Fête du Vodoun (Benin)
• Majority Rule Day (Bahamas)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History