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). [edit] Events - 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war.
- 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 Common Sense.
- 1806 – Dutch settlers in Cape Town surrender to the British.
- 1810 – The marriage of Napoleon and Josephine is annulled.
- 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.
- 1920 – The League of Nations holds its first meeting and ratifies the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I.
- 1922 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of the Irish Free State.
- 1923 – Lithuania seizes and annexes Memel.
- 1941 – Lend-Lease is introduced into the U.S. Congress.
- 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.
- 1962 – Apollo Project: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket booster. It became better known as the Saturn V moon rocket, which launched every Apollo moon mission.
- 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.
- 1982 – The Freezer Bowl, the NFL's coldest game in terms of wind chill, at -37°F, is won by the Cincinnati Bengals who defeat the San Diego Chargers 27-7 and advance to Super Bowl XVI.
- 1984 – The United States and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations after 117 years.
- 1989 – Cuban troops begin withdrawing from Angola.
- 1990 – Time Warner is formed from the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc.
- 2001 – A large piece of the chalk cliff at Beachy Head collapses into the sea.
- 2005 – A mudslide occurs in La Conchita, California, killing 10 people, injuring many more and closing the Highway 101, the main coastal corridor between San Francisco and Los Angeles, for 10 days.
[edit] Births - 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands (d. 1530)
- 1538 – Louis of Nassau, Dutch general (d. 1574)
- 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer (d. 1624)
- 1607 – Isaac Jogues, French missionary (d. 1646)
- 1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1687)
- 1638 – Nicolas Steno, Danish geologist (d. 1686)
- 1644 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French marshal (d. 1711)
- 1654 – Joshua Barnes, English scholar (d. 1712)
- 1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
- 1721 – Johann Philipp Baratier, German scholar (d. 1740)
- 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist (d. 1799)
- 1738 – Ethan Allen, American military leader (d. 1789)
- 1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, British Lord Chancellor (d. 1823)
- 1769 – Michel Ney, French marshal (d. 1815)
- 1797 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German writer (d. 1848)
- 1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, American statesman (d. 1883)
- 1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect (d. 1881)
- 1815 – Sir John Alexander Macdonald, first Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1891)
- 1828 – Herman Koeckemann, German Catholic prelate (d. 1892)
- 1834 – Lord Acton, British historian (d. 1902)
- 1840 – Louis Nazaire Bégin, Canadian archbishop and cardinal (d. 1925)
- 1843 – Frank James, American outlaw (d. 1915)
- 1849 – Francisco Ferrer Guardia, Spanish free-thinker (d. 1909)
- 1836 – Charles Ingalls, father of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1902)
- 1850 – John Wellborn Root, American architect (d. 1891)
- 1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
- 1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
- 1865 – Mary Ingalls, sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1928)
- 1873 – Jack O'Neill, Irish-born baseball player (d. 1935)
- 1873 – George Orton, Canadian athlete (d. 1958)
- 1880 – Manuel Azaña y Diaz, Spanish republican President (d. 1940)
- 1883 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor (d. 1966)
- 1883 – Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoi, Russian writer (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet (d. 1962)
- 1890 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (d. 1957)
- 1893 – Albert Jacka, Australian soldier, first Victoria Cross winner (d. 1932)
- 1898 – Katharine Blodgett, American scientist and inventor (d. 1979)
- 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (d. 1997)
- 1903 – Violet Wilkey, American actress (d. 1976)
- 1904 – Ray Bolger, American actor and dancer (d. 1987)
- 1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, director (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Paul Henreid, Austrian actor (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Bernard Lee, English actor (d. 1981)
- 1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
- 1912 – Maria Mandel, Austrian Auschwitz prison guard (d. 1948)
- 1913 – Gustáv Husák, President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian politician (d. 1981)
- 1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Premier of Taiwan (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Dean Dixon, American conductor (d. 1976)
- 1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American record producer (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Arthur Chung, President of Guyana (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Georges Marchal, French actor (d. 1997)
- 1920 – Max Patkin, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Rodger Ward, American racing driver (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballet dancer, choreographer and director (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Max Roach, American musician and composer (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Musallam Bseiso, Palestinian journalist and politician
- 1927 – Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian singer (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Lee Philips, American actor
- 1927 – Johnnie Ray, American singer (d. 1990)
- 1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss politician
- 1928 – Philip Levine, American poet
- 1929 – Derek Hammond-Stroud, English operatic baritone
- 1930 – Roy Edward Disney, American film executive
- 1931 – Peter Barnes, English writer (d. 2004)
- 1932 – Elaine Devry, American actress
- 1933 – Anton Rodgers, English actor (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician
- 1935 – Ronnie Hawkins, American musician
- 1935 – Sherrill Milnes, American baritone
- 1936 – Stephen Ambrose, American historian (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Burnum Burnum, Australian activist, actor and author (d. 1997)
- 1936 – Al Goldstein, American publisher and pornographer
- 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist, radio astronomer, Nobel laureate
- 1937 – Thomas Penfield Jackson, American judge
- 1938 – Donald Knuth, American mathematician and computer scientist
- 1938 – Frank Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player and Canadian Senator
- 1938 – Willie McCovey, American baseball player
- 1939 – Jared Carter, American poet
- 1939 – David Horowitz, American author and political commentator
- 1939 – William Levy, Dutch writer
- 1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer
- 1939 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
- 1939 – Bill Toomey, American athlete
- 1940 – Guy Chevrette, Quebec politician
- 1940 – Harry Gant, American racing driver
- 1940 – Ntare VI of Ankole, Omugabe of Nkole
- 1940 – Yesudas, Indian playback singer and classical musician
- 1942 – Walter Hill, American film director
- 1943 – Jim Croce, American singer (d. 1973)
- 1944 – Rory Byrne, South African racing car designer
- 1944 – Bernard Derome, Canadian news presenter
- 1944 – William Sanderson, American actor
- 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer
- 1945 – John Fahey, Australian politician
- 1945 – Jennifer Moss, English Actress (d. 2006)
- 1945 – Rod Stewart, Scottish singer
- 1945 – Edward Wiskoski, American wrestler
- 1946 – Aynsley Dunbar, English musician
- 1947 – Afeni Shakur, mother of Tupac Shakur
- 1947 – Peer Steinbrueck, German politician
- 1948 – Donald Fagen, American musician (Steely Dan)
- 1948 – Teresa Graves, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
- 1948 – Mischa Maisky, Latvian cellist
- 1948 – Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist
- 1949 – George Foreman, American boxer
- 1949 – James Lapine, American stage director
- 1949 – Linda Lovelace, American pornographic actress (d. 2002)
- 1950 – Roy Blunt, American politician, House minority whip
- 1951 – Paul DiMaggio, American educator
- 1952 – Scott Thurston, American musician
- 1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer
- 1953 – Dennis Cooper, American author
- 1953 – Bobby Rahal, American racing driver and team owner
- 1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist (UFO)
- 1956 – Shawn Colvin, American singer
- 1956 – Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish writer
- 1957 – Greg Walden, American politician
- 1958 – Anatoly Pisarenko, Soviet weightlifter
- 1959 – Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter
- 1960 – Gurinder Chadha, British film director
- 1960 – Brian Cowen, Taoiseach of Ireland
- 1960 – Benoît Pelletier, Canadian politician
- 1960 – Samira Said, Moroccan singer
- 1961 – Evan Handler, American actor
- 1961 – Janet Jones, American actress; wife of Wayne Gretzky
- 1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-born violinist
- 1962 – Michael Fortier, Canadian politician
- 1963 – Mark Pryor, American politician, junior senator of Arkansas
- 1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer (Crash Test Dummies)
- 1965 – Butch Hartman, American animator
- 1966 – Steve Kramer, American politician
- 1967 – Johan Laats, Belgian judoka
- 1970 – Marcus "Buff" Bagwell, American wrestler
- 1970 – Alisa Maric, Serbian-born chess grandmaster
- 1972 – Thomas Alsgaard, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1972 – Brian Lawler, American wrestler
- 1973 – Ryan Drummond, American voice actor
- 1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
- 1973 – Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican boxer
- 1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor
- 1974 – Davide Dionigi, Italian footballer
- 1974 – Akari Kaida, Japanese composer
- 1974 – Steve Marlet, French footballer
- 1974 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
- 1975 – Jake Delhomme, American football player
- 1976 – Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
- 1978 – Brent Smith, American singer (Shinedown)
- 1980 – Nelson Cuevas, Paraguayan footballer
- 1980 – Petri Lindroos, Finnish musician (Ensiferum)
- 1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress and model
- 1981 – Brian Joo, Korean-born singer
- 1982 – Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1983 – Danilo Dirani, Brazilian racing driver
- 1983 – Li Nina, Chinese aerial free-style skier
- 1986 – Abigail Clancy, English model
- 1986 – Saleisha Stowers, American model
- 1989 – Kyle Reimers, Australian rules footballer
- 1990 – Tao Li, Singaporean swimmer
[edit] Deaths - 681 – Pope Agatho
- 976 – John I Tzimiskes, Greek Byzantine Emperor (b. 925)
- 1094 – Caliph Al-Mustansir of Cairo (b. 1029)
- 1276 – Pope Gregory X (b. c.1210)
- 1645 – William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1573)
- 1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
- 1662 – Prince Honoré II of Monaco (b. 1597)
- 1698 – Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French historian (b. 1637)
- 1707 – Philibert, comte de Gramont, French writer (b. 1621)
- 1754 – Edward Cave, English editor and publisher (b. 1691)
- 1761 – Edward Boscawen, British admiral (b. 1711)
- 1777 – Spranger Barry, Irish actor (b. 1719)
- 1778 – Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist (b. 1707)
- 1794 – Georg Forster, German scientist and revolutionary (d. 1754)
- 1811 – Marie-Joseph Chénier, French poet (b. 1764)
- 1824 – King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (b. 1759)
- 1828 – François de Neufchâteau, French statesman and intellectual figure (b. 1750)
- 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician (b. 1752)
- 1851 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)
- 1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English novelist and dramatist (b. 1787)
- 1862 – Samuel Colt, American inventor (b. 1814)
- 1863 – Lyman Beecher, US Presbyterian clergyman, temperance movement leader (b. 1775)
- 1866 – Pyotr Pletnyov, Russian poet (b. 1792)
- 1883 – Dr Samuel A. Mudd, American medical doctor (b. 1833)
- 1895 – Benjamin Godard, French composer (b. 1849)
- 1901 – Sir James Dickson, Premier of Queensland, Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1832)
- 1904 – Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
- 1905 – Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
- 1917 – William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, American frontiersman (b. 1846)
- 1922 – Frank Tudor, Australian Labor Opposition leader (b. 1866)
- 1934 – Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist accused of setting the Reichstag fire (b. 1909)
- 1935 – Edwin Flack, Australian athlete, first Olympic champion (b. 1873)
- 1941 – Frank Bridge, English composer (b. 1879)
- 1941 – Sir John Lavery, Northern Irish artist (b. 1856)
- 1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian-born comedian and actor (b. 1904)
- 1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer, geophysicist, and polar scientist (b. 1865)
- 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
- 1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (b. 1890)
- 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1889)
- 1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1879)
- 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American writer (b. 1894)
- 1968 – Basil Sydney, English actor (b. 1894)
- 1969 – John Brownlee, Australian tenor (b. 1900)
- 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, French fashion designer (b. 1883)
- 1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (b. 1897)
- 1976 – Howlin' Wolf, American musician (b. 1910)
- 1978 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist (b. 1924)
- 1978 – Don Gillis, American composer (b. 1912)
- 1980 – Hughie Critz, American baseball player (b. 1900)
- 1980 – George Meany, American labor leader (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Bo Rein, American college football coach (b. 1945)
- 1981 – Katherine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
- 1981 – Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian (b. 1915)
- 1982 – Paul Lynde, American comedian (b. 1926)
- 1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Prince and Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
- 1985 – Anton Karas, Austrian zither player and composer (b. 1906)
- 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Marion Hutton, American singer and actress (b. 1919)
- 1987 – Sir David Robinson, English philanthropist and entrepreneur (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Herbert Morrison, American radio reporter (b. 1905)
- 1989 – Colin Winchester, Australian Assistant Police Commissioner, murdered (b. 1933)
- 1992 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentine racing driver (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Kathleen Tynan, Canadian-British journalist, author and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 1997 – Elspeth Huxley, British journalist and writer (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American film producer, actor, and director (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1907)
- 1999 – Sir Edward Williams, Australian judge (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Sam Jaffe, American producer (b. 1901)
- 2002 – W.A. Criswell, American (Baptist) preacher (b. 1909)
- 2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2004 – Alexandra Ripley, American author (b. 1934)
- 2005 – Gene Baylos, American comedian (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Margherita Carosio, Italian soprano (b. 1908)
- 2005 – James Forman, American civil rights leader (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Kalevi Hämäläinen, Finnish cross country skier (b. 1932)
- 2005 – Erwin Hillier, British cinematographer (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Jack Horner, American sports journalist (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Joséphine-Charlotte, Grandduchess of Luxembourg (b. 1927)
- 2005 – Metropolitan Wasyly Fedak, primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (b. 1909)
- 2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer (b. 1910)
- 2008 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater (b. 1967)
- 2008 – Maila Nurmi, aka Vampira, Finnish-born American actress (b. 1921)
- 2008 – Mikhail Minin, Russian Soviet soldier (b. 1922)
- 2009 – William Frederick "Bill" Stone, British World War I veteran (b. 1900)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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