IRC-Galleria

Events
1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England.
1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans.
1494 - First Mass celebrated in the New World at La Isabela, Hispaniola.
1540 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves
1579 - The Union of Atrecht was signed.
1661 - The fifth monarchy men unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London.
1690 - Joseph, son of Emperor Leopold I, becomes King of the Romans.
1720 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings.
1838 - Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.
1853 - American President-Elect Franklin Pierce, wife Jane, and son Ben are involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts. Franklin and Jane survive but eleven-year-old Ben is killed.
1870 - The inauguration of the Musikverein (Vienna).
1887 - `Abd-allah II of Harar opens the Battle of Chelenqo with an attack on the camp of the Shewan army of Negus Menelik II early in the morning; prepared for the assault, the Negus orders a counter-attack which routs the enemy, resulting with the capture of Harar a few days later.
1893 - Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
1900 - Boers attack Ladysmith, South Africa - over 1,000 people killed
1907 - Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome.
1912 - New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U.S. state.
1929 - King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country's constitution (the so-called January 6th Dictatorship, Šestojanuarska diktatura.)
1929 - Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin a legacy of work amongst India's poorest and diseased people
1930 - The first diesel-engine automobile trip is completed (Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).
1931 - Thomas Edison submits his last patent application.
1936 - Supreme Court of the United States rules the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al..
1936 - Porky Pig premieres.
1940 - Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the city of Poznań, Warthegau.
1941 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.
1941 - Keel of USS Missouri (BB-63) is laid at New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn
1942 - Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to have a flight go around the world.
1950 - The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
1961 - A fire at the Thomas Hotel in San Francisco kills 20 people.
1967 - United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta.
1974 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
1977 - The music publisher EMI ends its contract with the notorious punk rock group Sex Pistols after reports of abusive behaviour at Heathrow Airport, London.
1978 - The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after the Second World War.
1994 - Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the right leg by an assailant under orders from figure skating rival Tonya Harding.
1995 - A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.
2004 - Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate is declared the official anthem of Karnataka
2005 - Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders: Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect for the 1964 murders of three Civil Rights workers.
2005 - First World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace begins in Brussels, Belgium.
2006 - Tropical Storm Zeta (2005) dissipates, ending the notorious 2005 hurricane season.
2007 - California Institute of Technology's men's basketball team snaps a 207-game losing streak dating back to 1996. The Beavers beat Bard College 81-52.

[edit]
Births
1367 - Richard II of England (d. 1400)
1412 - Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France (legendary date) (d. 1431)
1486 - Martin Agricola, German composer (d. 1556)
1488 - Helius Eobanus Hessus, German poet (d. 1540)
1525 - Caspar Peucer, German reformer (d. 1602)
1561 - Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician (d. 1656)
1587 - Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count-Duke of Olivares, Spanish statesman (d. 1645)
1595 - Claude Favre de Vaugelas, French man of letters (d. 1650)
1617 - Kristoffer Gabel, Danish statesman (d. 1673)
1706 - Benjamin Franklin, American statesman (d. 1790)
1714 - Percivall Pott, English physician (d. 1788)
1745 - Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor (d. 1799)
1793 - James Madison Porter, American politician (d. 1862)
1795 - Anselme Payen, French chemist (d. 1871)
1807 - Jozef Maximilián Petzval, Slovak inventor (d. 1891)
1822 - Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (d. 1890)
1832 - Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)
1838 - Max Bruch, German composer (d. 1920)
1848 - Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet (d. 1876)
1854 - Sherlock Holmes, Fictional detective
1870 - Gustav Bauer, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1944)
1872 - Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer (d. 1915)
1878 - Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)
1880 - Tom Mix, American actor (d. 1940)
1882 - Aleksandra Ekster, Russian painter (d. 1949)
1882 - Fan S. Noli, Albanian bishop (d. 1965)
1882 - Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1961)
1883 - Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer (d. 1931)
1898 - James Fitzmaurice, Irish aviation pioneer (d. 1965)
1899 - Phyllis Haver, American actress (d. 1960)
1899 - Heinrich Nordhoff, German automobile engineer (d. 1968)
1903 - Maurice Abravanel, Greek-born conductor (d. 1993)
1905 - Idris Davies, Welsh poet (d. 1953)
1910 - Wright Morris, American writer (d. 1998)
1913 - Edward Gierek, Polish politician (d. 2001)
1913 - Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)
1914 - Danny Thomas, American actor (d. 1991)
1915 - Alan Watts, English writer (d. 1973)
1917 - Koo Chen-fu, Chinese negotiator (d. 2005)
1920 - Sun Myung Moon, Korean evangelist
1920 - John Maynard Smith, English biologist (d. 2004)
1920 - Doris Stokes, British psychic medium (d. 1987)
1920 - Early Wynn, American baseball player (d. 1999)
1921 - Cary Middlecoff, American golfer (d. 1998)
1923 - Jacobo Timerman, Argentine writer (d. 1999)
1924 - Earl Scruggs, American musician
1925 - John De Lorean, American auto maker (d. 2005)
1926 - Ralph Branca, American baseball player
1926 - Pat Flaherty, American racecar driver (2002)
1926 - Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (d. 2003)
1926 - Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)
1926 - Kim Dae-jung, President of South Korea and Nobel Prize laureate
1929 - Babrak Karmal, Afghani politician (d. 1996)
1930 - Vic Tayback, American actor (d. 1990)
1931 - Capucine, French actress (d. 1990)
1931 - E. L. Doctorow, American author
1931 - Dickie Moore, Canadian ice hockey player
1932 - Stuart A. Rice, American chemist
1933 - Oleg Makarov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2003)
1933 - Emil Steinberger, Swiss comedian
1935 - Nino Tempo, American singer and actor
1936 - Rubén Amaro, Sr., Mexican baseball player
1936 - Julio María Sanguinetti Coirolo, President of Uruguay
1937 - Paolo Conte, Italian singer
1937 - Lou Holtz, American football coach
1937 - Doris Troy, American singer (d. 2004)
1938 - Adriano Celentano, Italian singer and actor
1938 - Mario Rodríguez Cobos "Silo", Argentine writer and spiritual leader
1940 - Penny Lernoux, American journalist (d. 1989)
1940 - Van McCoy, American musician (d. 1979)
1943 - Terry Venables, English football manager
1944 - Bonnie Franklin, American actress
1944 - Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist, Nobel laureate
1945 - Allen Appel, American novelist
1945 - Kojo Nnamdi, Guyanese-born American radio host
1946 - Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd (d. 2006)
1947 - Sandy Denny, English vocalist (d. 1978)
1951 - Don Gullett, American baseball player
1951 - Kim Wilson, American musician (The Fabulous Thunderbirds)
1952 - Frank Sivero, Italian-born American actor
1952 - Moondog Spot, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
1953 - Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC)
1954 - Hans Robert Hiegel, German architect
1954 - Yuji Horii, Japanese video game designer
1954 - Anthony Minghella, British film director
1955 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
1955 - Richard Corbett, Labour Member of the European Parliament
1956 - Angus Deayton, English comedian, actor and television presenter
1957 - Nancy Lopez, American golfer
1959 - Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer
1959 - Kathy Sledge, American singer
1960 - Paul Azinger, American golfer
1960 - Kari Jalonen, Finnish ice hockey player
1960 - Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer
1960 - Howie Long, American football player
1962 - Michael Houser, American guitarist (Widespread Panic) (d. 2002)
1963 - Jazzie B, English musician (Soul II Soul)
1964 - Charles Haley, American football player
1964 - Henry Maske, German boxer
1964 - Mark O'Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
1964 - Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan athlete (d. 2005)
1964 - Yuri, Mexican actress and singer
1965 - Muhammed al-Ahari, American Muslim writer
1965 - Konnan, Cuban-born professional wrestler
1966 - Fernando Carrillo, Venezuelan actor
1966 - A. R. Rahman, Indian composer
1966 - Andrew Wood, American singer (Mother Love Bone) (d. 1990)
1968 - John Singleton, American film director
1970 - Julie Chen, American television presenter
1970 - Gabrielle Reece, American volleyball player
1972 - Nek, Italian singer
1973 - Scott Ferguson, Canadian ice hockey player
1974 - Nicole DeHuff. American actress (d. 2005)
1975 - James Farrior, American football player
1975 - Yukana, Japanese seiyū
1976 - Danny Pintauro, American actor
1976 - Richard Zedník, Slovak ice hockey player
1978 - Nikki Einfeld, Canadian opera singer
1980 - Steed Malbranque, French footballer
1980 - Hiromi Oshima, Japanese adult model
1981 - Mike Jones, American rapper
1981 - Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor
1981 - Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress
1982 - Gilbert Arenas, American basketball player
1982 - Tiffany Pollard, Reality television contestant
1984 - A. J. Hawk, American football player
1986 - Alex Turner (musician), British musician (Arctic Monkeys)
1993 - Johan Rehder, Swedish basketball player

[edit]
Deaths
664 - Amr ibn al-A'as, Arab general (bc. 583)
1088 - Berengar of Tours, French theologian (bc. 999)
1448 - Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1418)
1537 - Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence (b. 1510)
1537 - Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (b. 1481)
1616 - Philip Henslowe, English theatrical entrepreneur (bc. 1550)
1689 - Seth Ward, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1671)
1711 - Philipp van Almonde, Dutch admiral (b. 1646)
1718 - Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (b. 1664)
1718 - Richard Hoare, English goldsmith and banker (b. 1648)
1724 - Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese dramatist (b. 1653)
1731 - Étienne François Geoffroy, French chemist (b. 1672)
1734 - John Dennis, English critic and dramatist (b. 1657)
1813 - Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, French general (b. 1764)
1831 - Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist, composer and conductor (b. 1766)
1840 - Fanny Burney, English novelist and diarist (b. 1752)
1852 - Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind (b. 1809)
1855 - Giacomo Beltrami, Italian explorer (b. 1779)
1884 - Gregor Johann Mendel, Austrian geneticist (b. 1822)
1885 - Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian writer and scientist (b. 1812)
1913 - Frederick Hitch, English Victoria Cross Winner (b. 1856)
1918 - Georg Cantor, German mathematician (b. 1845)
1919 - Max Heindel, Danish astrologer and mystic (b. 1865)
1919 - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (b. 1858)
1922 - Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (b. 1842)
1928 - Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete (b. 1876)
1937 - André Besette, Canadian religious figure (b. 1845)
1941 - Charley O'Leary, American baseball player (b. 1882)
1942 - Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian International Olympic Committee president (b. 1876)
1944 - Ida Tarbell, American journalist (b. 1857)
1945 - Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (b. 1863)
1949 - Victor Fleming, American director (b. 1883)
1969 - Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins (b. 1908)
1972 - Chen Yi, Chinese military commander and politician (b. 1901)
1978 - Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer (b. 1899)
1981 - A.J. Cronin, Scottish writer (b. 1896)
1990 - Ian Charleson, Scottish actor (b. 1949)
1990 - Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
1993 - Rudolf Nureyev, Russian ballet dancer (b. 1938)
1993 - Rudolf Nureyev, Russian ballet dancer (b. 1938)
1995 - Joe Slovo, South African politician (b. 1926)
1996 - Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian leader (b. 1966)
1997 - Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (b. 1912)
1999 - Michel Petrucciani, French jazz pianist (b. 1962)
2000 - Don Martin, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
2004 - Pierre Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica (b. 1954)
2004 - Charles Dumas, American athlete (b. 1937)
2004 - Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (b. 1921)
2005 - Lois Hole, Lt. Governor of Alberta (b. 1933)
2005 - Louis Robichaud, Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1925)
2006 - Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)
2006 - Hugh Thompson, Jr., decorated Vietnam War helicopter pilot (b. 1943)
2007 - Mario Danelo, American football player (b. 1985)
2007 - Sneaky Pete Kleinow, American musician and special-effects artist (b. 1934)
2007 - Roberta Wohlstetter, military historian and strategist (b. 1912)