January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 353 days remaining until the end of the year (354 in leap years). [edit] Events - 475 – Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople.
- 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden crowned king of Sweden.
- 1539 – Treaty of Toledo signed by King Francis I of France and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
- 1773 – The first public Colonial American museum opens in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1777 – Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded in what is now Santa Clara, California.
- 1808 – The organizational meeting that led to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
- 1848 – The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
- 1866 – The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
- 1872 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
- 1875 – Kwang-su becomes emperor of China.
- 1895 – The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom.
- 1898 – Ito Hirobumi begins his third term as Prime Minister of Japan.
- 1899 – 13 crew members and 5 apprentices are rescued off the cost of England by the Lynmouth Lifeboat.
- 1906 – Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's cabinet (which included amongst its members H. H. Asquith, David Lloyd George, and Winston Churchill) embarks on sweeping social reforms after a Liberal landslide in the British general election.
- 1908 – A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
- 1911 – The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees.
- 1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park is formed by an act of U.S. Congress.
- 1915 – The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote.
- 1918 – Finland's "Mosaic Confessors" law went into effect, making Finnish Jews full citizens.
- 1932 – Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
- 1942 – World War II: President Franklin Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.
- 1964 – Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic.
- 1966 – Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
- 1967 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
- 1970 – Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war.
- 1971 – The Harrisburg Seven: The Reverend Philip Berrigan and five others are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
- 1976 – The UN Security Council votes 11-1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).
- 1986 – Space Shuttle program: Congressman Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61C as a Mission Specialist.
- 1991 – Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
- 1992 – A new constitution, providing for freedom to form political parties, is approved by a referendum in Mali.
- 1995 – Malcolm X's daughter, Qubilah Shabazz, is arrested for conspiring to kill Louis Farrakhan.
- 1998 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
- 2004 – The world's largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage.
- 2005 – Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta 2 rocket.
- 2006 – The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany declare that negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program have reached a dead end and recommend that Iran be referred to the United Nations Security Council.
- 2006 – A stampede during the Stoning the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims.
- 2006 – Turkey releases Mehmet Ali Ağca from jail after he served 25 years for shooting Pope John Paul II.
- 2006 – The French warship Clemenceau reaches Egypt and is barred access to the Suez Canal. Greenpeace activists board the ship.
- 2007 – Comet McNaught reaches perihelion becoming the brightest comet in more than 40 years.
[edit] Births - 1483 – Henry III of Nassau-Breda, German nobleman (d. 1538)
- 1562 – Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
- 1576 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (d. 1660)
- 1577 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist (d. 1644)
- 1580 – Lord Alexander Ruthven, Scottish nobleman (d. 1600)
- 1591 – José Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
- 1597 – François Duquesnoy, French sculptor (d. 1643)
- 1628 – Charles Perrault, French folklorist (d. 1703)
- 1715 – Jacques Duphly, French composer (d. 1789)
- 1716 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general (d. 1795)
- 1721 – Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, Prussian general (d. 1792)
- 1723 – Samuel Langdon, American college educator (d. 1797)
- 1729 – Edmund Burke, Irish statesman (d. 1797)
- 1737 – John Hancock, American statesman (d. 1793)
- 1746 – Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss pedagogue (d. 1827)
- 1751 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
- 1772 – Count Mikhail Speransky, Russian reformer (d. 1839)
- 1786 – Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (d. 1855)
- 1792 – Johan August Arfwedson, Swedish chemist (d. 1841)
- 1797 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician (d. 1873)
- 1810 – King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1859)
- 1822 – Étienne Lenoir, French engineer (d. 1900)
- 1849 – Jean Béraud, French painter (d. 1935)
- 1852 – Joseph Joffre, French general (d. 1931)
- 1856 – John Singer Sargent, American artist (d. 1925)
- 1860 – Henry Larkin, American baseball player (d. 1942)
- 1863 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian philosopher (d. 1902)
- 1873 – Spiridon Louis, Greek marathon runner (d. 1940)
- 1876 – Jack London, American author (d. 1916)
- 1876 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (d. 1948)
- 1877 – Frank J. Corr, American politician (d. 1934)
- 1878 – Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian writer (d. 1952)
- 1879 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Milton Sills, American actor (d. 1930)
- 1884 – Texas Guinan, American actress (d. 1933)
- 1892 – Mikhail Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer (d. 1976)
- 1893 – Hermann Göring, German Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1893 – Alfred Rosenberg, German Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1894 – Georges Carpentier, French boxer (d. 1975)
- 1896 – David Wechsler, American psychologist (d. 1981)
- 1899 – Pierre Bernac, French baritone (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
- 1903 – Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist (d. 1960)
- 1904 – Fred McDowell, American blues musician (d. 1972)
- 1905 – James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (d. 1997)
- 1905 – Tex Ritter, American country singer and actor (d. 1974)
- 1906 – Daniil Kharms, Russian playwright (d. 1942)
- 1906 – Emmanuel Levinas, French philosopher (d. 1995)
- 1907 – Patsy Kelly, American actress (d. 1981)
- 1907 – Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1966)
- 1908 – Jean Delannoy, French film director (d. 2008)
- 1908 – Clement Hurd, American illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1910 – Luise Rainer, German actress
- 1915 – Paul Jarrico, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1915 – Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, Catholic archbishop of Ottawa
- 1916 – Pieter Willem Botha, South African politician (d. 2006)
- 1916 – Jay McShann, American musician (d. 2006)
- 1916 – William Pleeth, British cellist (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Walter Hendl, American conductor (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Jimmy Skinner, Canadian hockey coach (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian spiritualist (d. 2008)
- 1920 – James L. Farmer, Jr., American activist (d. 1999)
- 1920 – Prof Jerzy Zubrzycki, Polish-born Australian sociologist (d. 2009)
- 1922 – Tadeusz Żychiewicz, Polish journalist and art historian (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Ira Hayes, US Marine (d. 1955)
- 1924 – Olivier Gendebien, Belgian racing driver (d. 1998)
- 1924 – Grethe Holmer, Danish actress (d. 2004)
- 1925 – Bill Burrud, American television host (d. 1990)
- 1925 – Scottie MacGregor, American actress
- 1925 – Bodil Udsen, Danish actress (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Morton Feldman, American composer
- 1926 – Ray Price, American singer
- 1928 – Ruth Brown, American singer (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Lloyd Ruby, American race car driver
- 1929 – Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottis-born American philosopher
- 1930 – Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player (d. 1974)
- 1930 – Glenn Yarborough, American singer
- 1932 – Des O'Connor, British television presenter
- 1933 – Michael Aspel, English broadcaster
- 1934 – Mick Sullivan, English rugby league footballer
- 1935 – Kreskin, American mentalist
- 1935 – Tomiko Ishii, Japanese actress
- 1936 – Raimonds Pauls, Latvian Composer
- 1937 – Marie Dubois, French actress
- 1937 – Shirley Eaton, British actress
- 1937 – Vicente Sardinero, Spanish baritone (d. 2002)
- 1938 – Lewis Fiander, Australian actor
- 1941 – Long John Baldry, British blues singer (d. 2005)
- 1942 – Bernardine Dohrn, former leader of the radical leftist organization Weather Underground
- 1944 – Joe Frazier, American boxer
- 1944 – Hans Henning Atrott, Prussian euthanasia advocate
- 1944 – Vlastimil Hort, Czechoslovakian chess player
- 1944 – Viktoria Postnikova, Russian pianist
- 1944 – Carlos Villagrán, Mexican actor
- 1945 – Maggie Bell, Scottish singer (Stone the Crows)
- 1946 – Lady Cosgrove, Scottish judiciary figure
- 1946 – George Duke, American musician
- 1946 – Cynthia Robinson, American musician (Sly & the Family Stone)
- 1948 – Kenny Allen, English footballer
- 1948 – Anthony Andrews, English actor
- 1948 – Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (d. 2001)
- 1948 – William Nicholson, English writer
- 1949 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese composer (d. 2007)
- 1949 – Ottmar Hitzfeld, German football manager
- 1949 – Haruki Murakami, Japanese novelist
- 1949 – Michael W. Vannier, American radiologist
- 1949 – Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born American film director
- 1950 – Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
- 1950 – Göran Lindblad, Swedish politician
- 1950 – Bob McEwen, American politician
- 1950 – Dorrit Moussaieff, First Lady of Iceland
- 1950 – Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (d. 1992)
- 1951 – Kirstie Alley, American actress
- 1951 – Ann Althouse, American law professor
- 1951 – Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality and political commentator
- 1952 – Charles Faulkner, American motivational speaker and author
- 1952 – Walter Mosley, American author
- 1952 – John Walker, New Zealand middle distance runner
- 1954 – Howard Stern, American radio personality
- 1955 – Rockne S. O'Bannon, American screenwriter
- 1957 – John Lasseter, American animation director
- 1958 – Curt Fraser, American ice hockey coach
- 1959 – Blixa Bargeld, German singer and musician (Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
- 1959 – Per Gessle, Swedish songwriter and musician (Roxette)
- 1959 – Nick Nairn, British celebrity chef
- 1960 – Oliver Platt, Canadian actor
- 1960 – Dominique Wilkins, American basketball player
- 1962 – Luna Vachon, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1963 – François Girard, French-Canadian film director and screenwriter
- 1963 – Jon King, Pornographic actor
- 1964 – Jeff Bezos, American entrepreneur
- 1964 – Laura Gildemeister, Argentine tennis player
- 1965 – Mark Moore, British record producer
- 1965 – Rob Zombie, American musician and film director (White Zombie, Solo)
- 1966 – Olivier Martinez, French actor
- 1967 – Vendela Kirsebom, Swedish supermodel
- 1968 – Keith Anderson, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1968 – Rachael Harris, American actress
- 1968 – Junichi Masuda, Japanese composer
- 1968 – Heather Mills, British activist and model
- 1968 – Mauro Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1969 – Margaret Nagle, American screenwriter and TV producer
- 1969 – Robert Prosinečki, Croatian footballer
- 1970 – Raekwon, American rapper
- 1970 – Zack de la Rocha, American musician (Rage Against the Machine)
- 1970 – Mig Ayesa, Australian musician
- 1971 – Scott Burrell, American basketball player
- 1972 – Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of Rajiv Gandhi
- 1972 – Espen Knutsen, Norwegian ice hockey player
- 1972 – Jason Sklar, American comedian
- 1972 – Randy Sklar, American comedian
- 1973 – Dan Haseltine, American singer (Jars of Clay)
- 1973 – Matt Wong, American musician (Reel Big Fish)
- 1973 – Hande Yener, Turkish singer
- 1974 – Melanie Chisholm, British singer
- 1974 – Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1975 – Jason Freese, American musician
- 1975 – Jocelyn Thibault, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Miki Nakatani, Japanese actress and singer
- 1977 – Yoandy Garlobo, Cuban baseball player
- 1977 – Cade McNown, American football player
- 1977 – Piolo Pascual, Filipino actor
- 1978 – Amerie, American singer and songwriter
- 1978 – Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball pitcher
- 1978 – Jeremy Camp, American musician
- 1978 – Bonaventure Kalou, Ivorian footballer
- 1978 – Kim Sa Rang, Korean actress
- 1978 – Kris Roe, American musician (The Ataris)
- 1979 – Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1979 – Lee Bo-young, South Korean actress and model
- 1979 – Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer
- 1980 – Bobby Crosby, American baseball player
- 1981 – Dan Klecko, American football player
- 1982 – Sherzod Abdurahmonov, Uzbekistanian boxer
- 1982 – Paul-Henri Mathieu, French tennis player
- 1982 – Chris Ray, American baseball player
- 1982 – Dimitrios Tsiamis, Greek triple jumper
- 1982 – Hans Van Alphen, Belgian decathlete
- 1982 – Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
- 1984 – Scott Olsen, American baseball player
- 1985 – Yohana Cobo, Spanish actress
- 1985 – Artem Milevskiy, Ukrainian footballer
- 1986 – Miguel Ángel Nieto, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Kieron Richardson, English actor
- 1987 – Will Rothhaar, American actor
- 1987 – Salvatore Sirigu, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Chris Casement, Irish footballer
- 1988 – Andrew Lawrence, American actor
- 1990 – Sergey Karjakin, Ukrainian chess player
- 1991 – Pixie Lott, English singer
- 1992 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese gravure idol
- 1993 – Aika Mitsui, Japanese singer
- 1995 – Laurel McGoff, American singer
- 1998 – Nathan Gamble, American actor
[edit] Deaths - 690 – Benedict Biscop, saint (b. 628)
- 1167 – Ailred of Rievaulx, saint (b. 1110)
- 1321 – Maria of Brabant, wife of Philip III of France (b. 1256)
- 1519 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459)
- 1665 – Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician and lawyer (b. 1601)
- 1674 – Giacomo Carissimi, Italian composer (b. 1605)
- 1700 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, saint (b. 1620)
- 1705 – Luca Giordano, Italian artist (b. 1634)
- 1732 – John Horsley, British archaeologist (b. 1685)
- 1735 – John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
- 1759 – Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (b. 1709)
- 1765 – Johann Melchior Molter, German composer (b. 1696)
- 1777 – Hugh Mercer, American Revolutionary War officer (mortally wounded in battle) (b. 1726)
- 1781 – Richard Challoner, English Catholic prelate (b. 1691)
- 1817 – Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740)
- 1829 – Friedrich von Schlegel, German poet (b. 1772)
- 1833 – Marie-Antoine Carême, French chef (b. 1784)
- 1834 – William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
- 1856 – Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak politician, author of Slovak language, (b. 1815)
- 1892 – William Reeves, bishop, antiquarian (b. 1815)
- 1897 – Isaac Pitman, British inventor (Pitman Shorthand) (b. 1813)
- 1899 – Hiram Walker, American distiller (b. 1816)
- 1909 – Hermann Minkowski, German mathematician (b. 1864)
- 1921 – Gervase Elwes, English tenor (b. 1866)
- 1926 – Sir Austin Chapman, Australian politician (b. 1864)
- 1934 – Pawel Kochanski, Polish violinist, composer and arranger (b. 1887)
- 1938 – Gösta Ekman, Swedish actor (b. 1890)
- 1940 – Edward Smith, English soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1899)
- 1943 – Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and writer (b. 1902)
- 1944 – Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
- 1956 – Norman Kerry, American actor (b. 1894)
- 1958 – Charles Mallory Hatfield, U.S. rainmaker (b. 1875)
- 1960 – Nevil Shute, English writer (b. 1899)
- 1962 – Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian writer and feminist (b. 1869)
- 1965 – Lorraine Hansberry, American writer (b. 1936)
- 1974 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (b. 1886)
- 1976 – Agatha Christie, English writer (b. 1890)
- 1977 – Henri-Georges Clouzot, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
- 1983 – Rebop Kwaku Baah, Nigerian percussionist (b. 1944)
- 1983 – Nikolai Podgorny, President of the USSR (b. 1903)
- 1988 – Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
- 1990 – Laurence J. Peter, Canadian-born educator et writer (b. 1919)
- 1991 – Keye Luke, Chinese-American actor (b. 1904)
- 1996 – Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician (b. 1926)
- 1997 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (b. 1936)
- 1997 – Charles B. Huggins, Canadian-born cancer researcher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1901)
- 1999 – Betty Lou Gerson, American voice actress (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1961)
- 2000 – Marc Davis, American animator (b. 1913)
- 2000 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
- 2001 – Affirmed, American racehorse (b. 1975)
- 2001 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
- 2001 – William Hewlett, American engineer and businessman (b. 1913)
- 2002 – Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
- 2002 – Cyrus Vance, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist (b. 1912)
- 2003 – Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)
- 2003 – Brandon Vedas (b. 1981)
- 2003 – Leopoldo Galtieri, dictator of Argentina (b. 1926)
- 2003 – Maurice Gibb, British singer, songwriter, and musician (Bee Gees) (b. 1949)
- 2003 – Allan Nunn May, English physicist and Soviet spy (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Randy VanWarmer, American singer and songwriter (b. 1955)
- 2005 – Alessia di Matteo, first survivor of eight transplants in one operation (b. 2003)
- 2005 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
- 2005 – Edmund S. Valtman, Estonian-born cartoonist (b. 1914)
- 2007 – Sir James Killen, Australian politician (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Alice Coltrane, American jazz musician (b. 1937)
- 2009 – Claude Berri, French movie director (b. 1934)
- 2009 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher (b. 1912)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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