1249 Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with Mongol Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
1646 Battle of Great Torrington, Devon the last major battle of the first English Civil War.
1742 Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister.
1804 First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USSPhiladelphia.
1838 Weenen Massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
1852 Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.
1859 The French Government passes a law to set the A-note above middle C to a frequency of 435 Hz, in an attempt to standardize the pitch.
1862 American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
1866 Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War.
1868 In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
1899 President of France Flix Faure dies in office.
1899 Knattspyrnuflag Reykjavkur Iceland's first football club is founded.
1918 The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.
1923 Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
1934 The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republican Schutzbund.
1934 Commission of Government is sworn in as form of direct rule for the Dominion of Newfoundland.
1936 Elections bring the Popular Front to power in Spain.
1937 Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon.
1940 World War II: Altmark Incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMSCossack. 299 British prisoners are freed.
1943 World War II: Soviet troops re-enter Kharkov.
1945 World War II: American forces land on Corregidor island in the Philippines.
1947 Canadians are granted Canadian citizenship after 80 years of being British subjects. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
1957 The "Toddlers' Truce", a controversial television close down between 6.00pm and 7.00pm is abolished in the United Kingdom.
1959 Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
1961 Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.
1968 In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.
1978 The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois).
1983 The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia kill 75.
1985 Hezbollah is founded.
1986 The Soviet liner MSMikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.
1987 The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being a Nazi guard dubbed "Ivan the Terrible" in Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem.
1991 Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermdez is assassinated in Managua.
1993 Western Australia's and Australia's first female Premier, Carmen Lawrence, is voted out of office.
1996 Shaquille O'Neal, at the time playing for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association, makes his only career 3-point shot against the Milwaukee Bucks.
1999 In Uzbekistan, a bomb explodes and gunfire is heard at the government headquarters in an apparent assassination attempt against President Islom Karimov.
1999 Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrests one of their rebel leaders, Abdullah calan.
2005 The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.
2005 The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004-2005 regular season and playoffs, becoming the first major sports league in North America to do so over a labor dispute.
2006 The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.
Births
1032 Emperor Yingzong of China (d. 1067)
1222 Nichiren Daishonin, Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism (d. 1282)
1497 Philipp Melanchthon, German humanist and reformer (d. 1560)
1519 Gaspard de Coligny, French Huguenot leader (d. 1572)
1543 Kano Eitoku, Japanese painter (d. 1590)
1620 Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg, Duke of Prussia (d. 1688)
1643 John Sharp, English Archbishop of York (d. 1714)
1698 Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician (d. 1758)
1727 Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian scientist (d. 1817)
1761 Charles Pichegru, French general (d. 1804)
1786 Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1859)
1802 Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, American philosopher (d. 1866)
1804 Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist (d. 1885)
1812 Henry Wilson, American politician 18th Vice President of the United States (d. 1875)
1821 Heinrich Barth, German explorer (d. 1865)
1822 Sir Francis Galton, English explorer and biologist (d. 1911)
1824 Peter Kozler, Slovenian cartographer and geographer (d. 1879)
1826 Julia Grant, First Lady of the United States (d. 1902)
1826 Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German poet (d. 1886)
1831 Nikolai Leskov, Russian writer (d. 1895)
1834 Ernst Haeckel, German zoologist and philosopher (d. 1919)
1838 Henry Adams, American historian and novelist (d. 1918)
1845 George Kennan, American explorer (d. 1924)
1847 Philipp Scharwenka, Polish-German composer (d. 1917)
1848 Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist (d. 1935)
1856 Rudolph Karstadt, German entrepreneur (d. 1944)
1856 Willem Kes, Dutch conductor (d. 1934)
1866 Billy Hamilton, American baseball player (d. 1940)
1866 Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet (d. 1949)
1874 Marie Gutheil-Schoder, German soprano (d. 1935)
1876 George Macaulay Trevelyan, English historian (d. 1962)
1878 Pamela Colman Smith, artist, writer, designer of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck of tarot cards (d. 1951)
1880 Frank Burke, American baseball player (d. 1946)
1883 Elizabeth Craig, British writer (d. 1980)
1884 Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (d. 1951)
1886 Van Wyck Brooks, American historian and critic (d. 1963)
1887 Kathleen Clifford, American actress (d. 1962)
1891 Hans F. K. Gnther, German eugenicist (d. 1967)
1896 Eugnie Blanchard, French supercentenarian
1898 Katharine Cornell, American actress (d. 1974)
1901 Vincent Coleman, American actor (d. 1971)
1901 Wayne King, American musician and orchestra leader (d. 1985)
1901 Chester Morris, American film actor (d. 1970)
1903 Edgar Bergen, American ventriloquist (d. 1978)
1903 George-Henri Lvesque, Quebec priest and sociologist (d. 2000)
1904 George F. Kennan, American historian, diplomat and political policy-maker (d. 2005)
1906 Vera Menchik, British-Czech chess player, the first Women's World Champion in chess (d. 1944)
1909 Hugh Beaumont, American actor (d. 1982)
1909 Jeffrey Lynn, American actor (d. 1995)
1909 Richard McDonald, American fast food pioneer (d. 1998)
1915 Jim O'Hora, American college football coach (d. 2005)
1915 Elisabeth Eybers, South African poet (d. 2007)
1915 Michael Relph, British film producer and director (d. 2004)
1916 Bill Doggett, American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist (d. 1996)
1918 Patty Andrews, American singer
1920 Anna Mae Hays, American army general
1921 Jean Behra, French Formula One driver (d. 1959)
1921 Araucaria, British crossword compiler
1921 Vera-Ellen, American actress (d. 1981)
1922 Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, German night fighter pilot (d. 1950)
1925 Carlos Paredes, Portuguese guitar master (d. 2004)
1926 John Schlesinger, English film director (d. 2003)
1926 Margot Frank, German-born Dutch Jewish holocaust victim (d. 1945)
1927 June Brown, British actress
1929 Gerhard Hanappi, Austrian footballer (d. 1980)
1931 George E. Sangmeister, American politician (d. 2007)
1931 Ken Takakura, Japanese actor
1932 Gretchen Wyler, American actress and dancer (d. 2007)
1932 Otis Blackwell, American songwriter and singer (d. 2002)
1932 Harry Goz, American actor (d. 2003)
1932 Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, President of Sierra Leone
1934 Herbie & Harold Kalin, American singers
1934 Marlene Hagge, American professional golfer
1935 Sonny Bono, American entertainer & U.S. Congressman (d. 1998)
1936 Jill Kinmont, American skier
1937 Yuri Manin, Russian mathematician
1938 John Corigliano, American composer
1938 Barry Primus, American actor
1939 Czesaw Niemen, Polish singer-songwriter and composer (d. 2004)
1939 Adolfo Azcuna, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
1941 Kim Jong-il, North Korean leader
1943 Brig Owens, American football player
1944 Richard Ford, American novelist
1944 Antnio Mascarenhas Monteiro, 2nd President of Cape Verde
1945 Jeremy Bulloch, English actor
1946 Ian Lavender, English actor
1948 Eckhart Tolle, Author and spiritual teacher
1950 Peter Hain, British politician
1950 Kazuki Tomokawa, Japanese acid-folk singer
1950 Roman Tam, Hong Kong singer (d. 2002)
1951 William Katt, American actor
1952 Barry Foote, American baseball player
1953 George Martin, English footballer
1953 Lanny McDonald, Canadian ice hockey player
1953 Roberta Williams, computer game designer
1954 Michael Holding, Jamaican West Indies cricketer
1954 Iain Banks, Scottish author
1954 Margaux Hemingway, American actress and model (d. 1996)
1955 Hunt Block, American actor
1956 James Ingram, American singer
1956 Vincent Ward, New Zealand director and screenwriter
1957 LeVar Burton, American actor
1958 Natalie Angier, American journalist and author
1958 Ice-T, American rapper and actor
1958 Lisa Loring, American actress
1958 Oscar Schmidt, Brazilian basketball player
1958 Herb Williams, American basketball player and coach
1958 Michael W. Burns, American politician
1959 John McEnroe, American tennis player
1959 Kelly Tripucka, American basketball player
1960 Pete Willis, English guitarist (Def Leppard)
1960 Cherie Chung, Hong Kong actress
1961 Andy Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran, The Power Station)
1961 Eric Red, American screenwriter and director
1962 John Balance, English musician (Coil, Psychic TV) (d. 2004)
1963 Dano Halsall, Swiss swimmer
1964 Bebeto, Brazilian footballer
1964 Christopher Eccleston, English actor
1965 Dave Lombardo, Cuban-born drummer (Slayer)
1967 John Valentin, baseball player
1967 Keith Gretzky, former hockey player; brother of Wayne Gretzky
1968 Warren Ellis, British comic writer
1969 David Heath, American professional wrestler better known as Gangrel
1969 Holly Aird, English actress
1970 D.J. Wallis, American fitness competitor
1970 Serdar Ortac, Turkish popstar
1970 Angelo Peruzzi, Italian footballer
1971 Amanda Holden, British actress
1972 Jerome Bettis, American football player
1972 Sarah Clarke, American actress
1973 Christian Bassedas, Argentine footballer
1973 Cathy Freeman, Australian athlete
1973 Nikos Kostakis, Greek footballer
1973 Maureen Johnson, American author
1974 Fanis Katergiannakis, Greek footballer
1974 Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, American actor
1974 Johnny Tri Nguyen, Vietnamese American stuntman and martial arts actor
1975 Nanase Aikawa, Japanese singer
1975 Vanina Ickx, Belgian racing driver
1975 Don Jeffcoat, American actor
1976 Eric Byrnes, American baseball player
1976 Kyo, Japanese singer (Dir en grey)
1976 Joe Odagiri, Japanese actor
1977 Brad Walst, American Bassist (Three Days Grace)
1977 Ian Clarke, Irish computer programmer
1977 Ahman Green, American football player
1978 Tia Hellebaut, Belgian athlete
1978 John Tartaglia, Broadway actor and Muppeteer
1978 Wasim Jaffer, Indian cricketer
1979 Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer
1979 Eric Mun, Korean rapper (Shinhwa)
1980 Agim Kaba, American actor and film producer
1980 Ashley Lelie, American football player
1981 Jay Howard, British racing driver
1981 Jerry Owens, American baseball player
1981 Qyntel Woods, American basketball player
1982 Lupe Fiasco, American hip hop artist
1983 Tuomo Ruutu, Finnish ice hockey player
1984 Ous Mellouli, Tunisian swimmer
1985 Zoi Dimoschaki, Greek swimmer
1987 Theresa Goh, Singaporean Paralympic swimmer
1988 Denlson Pereira Neves, Brazilian footballer
1988 Diego Capel, Spanish footballer
1991 Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, Princess of Luxembourg
Deaths
1247 Heinrich Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (b. 1204)
1279 King Afonso III of Portugal (b. 1210)
1391 John V Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1332)
1531 Johannes Stffler, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1452)
1560 Jean du Bellay, French Catholic cardinal and diplomat
1710 Esprit Flchier, French writer and Bishop of Nmes (b. 1632)
1721 James Craggs the Younger, English politician (b. 1686)
1754 Richard Mead, English physician (b. 1673)
1820 Georg Carl von Dbeln, Swedish Lieutenant General and war hero (b. 1758)
1844 Joseph Crosfield, English soap and alkali manufacturer (b. 1792)
1898 Thomas Bracken, New Zealand poet (b. 1843)
1899 Flix Faure, President of France (b. 1841)
1907 Giosu Carducci, Italian writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1835)
1912 St. Nikolai of Japan, Eastern Orthodox priest (b. 1836)
1917 Octave Mirbeau, French writer (b. 1848)
1919 Vera Kholodnaya, Russian film star (b. 1893)
1928 Eddie Foy, American singer and dancer (b. 1856)
1932 Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1841)
1932 Sir Edgar Speyer, American-born British financier and philanthropist (b. 1862)
1967 Antonio Moreno, Spanish-born actor (b. 1887)
1967 Smiley Burnette, American actor, singer and songwriter (b. 1911)
1974 John Garand, Canadian rifle engineer and manufacturer (b. 1888)
1975 Morgan Taylor, American athlete (b. 1903)
1975 Norman Treigle, American bass-baritone (b. 1927)
1977 Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (b. 1897)
1978 E. Roland Harriman, American financier (b. 1895)
1979 Nematollah Nassiri, executed Iran general/head of SAVAK (b. 1911)
1980 Erich Hckel, German physicist (b. 1895)
1984 M.A.G. Osmani, Supreme Commander of Bangladesh Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War (b. 1918)
1986 Howard Da Silva, American actor (b. 1909)
1988 Jean Carignan, French Canadian fiddler (b. 1916)
1990 Keith Haring, American artist (b. 1958)
1991 Enrique Bermdez, Nicaraguan Contra leader (b. 1932)
1992 Angela Carter, English writer (b. 1940)
1992 Jnio Quadros, Brazilian politician (b. 1917)
1992 Herman Wold, Swedish statistician (b. 1908)
1996 Roger Bowen, American actor (b. 1932)
1996 Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California (b. 1905)
