January 9
January 9 is the ninth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 356 days remaining until the end of the year (357 in leap years).
Events
- 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire.
- 1127 – Invading Jurchen soldiers from the Jin Dynasty besiege and sack Bianjing (Kaifeng), the capital of the Song Dynasty of China, and abduct Emperor Qinzong and others, ending the Northern Song Dynasty.
- 1349 – The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing Black Death, is rounded up and incinerated.
- 1431 – Judges' investigations for the trial of Joan of Arc begin in Rouen, France, the seat of the English occupation government.
- 1760 – Afghans defeat Marathas in the Battle of Barari Ghat.
- 1768 – In London, Philip Astley stages the first modern circus.
- 1788 – Connecticut becomes the fifth state to be admitted to the United States.
- 1793 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first person to fly in a balloon in the United States.
- 1806 – Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St Paul's Cathedral.
- 1816 – Sir Humphry Davy tests the Davy lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery.
- 1822 – The Portuguese prince Pedro I of Brazil decides to stay in Brazil against the orders of the Portuguese king João VI, starting the Brazilian independence process.
- 1839 – The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process.
- 1857 – The Fort Tejon earthquake of California occurs, registering an estimated magnitude of 7.9.
- 1858 – Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The "Star of the West" incident occurs near Charleston, South Carolina. It is considered by some historians to be the "First Shots of the American Civil War".
- 1861 – Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union before the outbreak of the American Civil War.
- 1863 – American Civil War: the Battle of Fort Hindman begins in Arkansas.
- 1878 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy.
- 1880 – The Great Gale of 1880 devastates parts of Oregon and Washington with high wind and heavy snow.
- 1894 – New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.
- 1903 – Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, son of the famous poet Alfred Tennyson, becomes the second Governor-General of Australia.
- 1905 – According to the Julian Calendar which is used at the time, Russian workers stage a march on the Winter Palace that ends in the massacre by Tsarist troops known as Bloody Sunday, setting off the Russian Revolution of 1905.
- 1909 – Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, plants the British flag 97 nautical miles (180 km; 112 mi) from the South Pole, the furthest anyone had ever reached at that time.
- 1914 – Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., the first historically black intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity to be officially recognized at Howard University is founded.
- 1916 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli concludes with an Ottoman Empire victory when the last Allied forces are evacuated from the peninsula.
- 1917 – World War I: the Battle of Rafa occurs near the Egyptian border with Palestine.
- 1918 – Battle of Bear Valley: The last battle of the American Indian Wars.
- 1921 – Greco-Turkish War: The First Battle of İnönü, the first battle of the war, began near Eskişehir in Anatolia.
- 1923 – Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro flight.
- 1923 – Lithuanian residents of the Memel Territory rebelled against the League of Nations decision to leave the area as a mandated region under French control.
- 1927 – A fire at the Laurier Palace movie theatre in Montreal, Quebec, kills 78 children.
- 1941 – World War II: First flight of the Avro Lancaster.
- 1941 – World War II: The Greek Triton (Y-5) sinks the Italian submarine Neghelli in Otranto.
- 1945 – World War II: The United States invades Luzon in the Philippines.
- 1947 – Elizabeth "Betty" Short, the Black Dahlia, is last seen alive.
- 1960 – President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser opens construction on the Aswan Dam by detonating ten tons of dynamite to demolish twenty tons of granite on the east bank of the Nile.
- 1964 – Martyrs' Day: Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag on the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between U.S. military and Panamanian civilians.
- 1965 – The Mirzapur Cadet College formally opens for academic activities in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
- 1991 – Representatives from the United States and Iraq meet at the Geneva Peace Conference to try and find a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
- 1992 – The Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina proclaims the creation of Republika Srpska, a new state within Yugoslavia.
- 1996 – First Chechen War: Chechen separatists launch a raid against the helicopter airfield and later a civilian hospital in the city of Kizlyar in the neighbouring Republic of Dagestan, which turns into a massive hostage crisis involving thousands of civilians.
- 2004 – An inflatable boat carrying illegal Albanian emigrants stalls near the Karaburun Peninsula while on the way to Brindisi, Italy; exposure to the elements kills 28.
- 2005 – Elections are held to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He is succeeded by Rawhi Fattouh.
Births
- 1475 – Crinitus, Florentine humanist (d. 1507)
- 1554 – Pope Gregory XV (d. 1623)
- 1571 – Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy, soldier in Habsburg service (d. 1621)
- 1589 – Ivan Gundulić, Croatian poet (d. 1638)
- 1624 – Empress Meishō (d. 1696)
- 1685 – Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist (d. 1766)
- 1728 – Thomas Warton, English poet (d. 1790)
- 1735 – John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent Royal Navy, Admiral of the Fleet
- 1745 – Caleb Strong, 6th and 10th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1819)
- 1753 – Luísa Todi, Portuguese mezzo-soprano opera singer (d. 1833)
- 1773 – Cassandra Austen, English watercolorist and sister of Jane Austen (d. 1845)
- 1790 – Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet (d. 1855)
- 1811 – Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, English writer (d. 1856)
- 1818 – Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon, French sculptor and photographer (d. 1881)
- 1819 – James Francis, Premier of Victoria (d. 1884)
- 1823 – Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch, German surgeon (d. 1908)
- 1829 – Thomas William Robertson, English playwright (d. 1871)
- 1829 – Adolf von Schlagintweit, German explorer (d. 1857)
- 1832 – Félix-Gabriel Marchand, French-Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1900)
- 1839 – John Knowles Paine, American composer (d. 1906)
- 1848 – Princess Frederica of Hanover (d. 1926)
- 1849 – John Hartley, English tennis player (d. 1935)
- 1854 – Jennie Jerome, American socialite and mother of Winston Churchill (d. 1921)
- 1856 – Anton Aškerc, Slovenian priest and poet (d. 1912)
- 1859 – Carrie Chapman Catt, American suffragist leader (d. 1947)
- 1864 – Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician (d. 1926)
- 1868 – S. P. L. Sørensen, Danish chemist (d. 1939)
- 1870 – Joseph B Strauss, American civil engineer (d. 1938)
- 1873 – Hayyim Nahman Bialik, Hebrew poet (d. 1934)
- 1875 – Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American socialite (d. 1942)
- 1879 – John Broadus Watson, American psychologist (d. 1958)
- 1881 – Lascelles Abercrombie, British poet and critic (d. 1938)
- 1881 – Edouard Beaupré, horse lifter (d. 1904)
- 1881 – Giovanni Papini, Italian writer (d. 1956)
- 1886 – Lloyd Loar, Acoustical engineer and inventor of the Gibson F-5 mandolin (d. 1943)
- 1890 – Karel Čapek, Czech writer (d. 1938)
- 1890 – Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist (d. 1935)
- 1892 – Eva Bowring, American politician (d. 1985)
- 1896 – Warwick Braithwaite, New Zealand-born British conductor (d. 1971)
- 1897 – Karl Löwith, German philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1898 – Wally Baker, American supercentenarian (d. 2009)
- 1898 – Vilma Bánky, Hungarian actress (d. 1991)
- 1898 – Gracie Fields, English music hall performer (d. 1979)
- 1900 – Richard Halliburton, American adventurer (presumed dead 1939)
- 1900 – Maria of Romania, Queen Consort of Yugoslavia (d. 1961)
- 1901 – Chic Young, American cartoonist (d. 1973)
- 1902 – Rudolf Bing, Austrian-born opera manager (d. 1997)
- 1902 – Saint Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish Catholic priest and founder of Opus Dei (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Hem Vejakorn, Thai illustrator (d. 1969)
- 1908 – Simone de Beauvoir, French author (d. 1986)
- 1909 – Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Anthony Mamo, Malta's 1st President (d. 2008)
- 1909 – Patrick Peyton, Irish Roman Catholic prelate (d. 1992)
- 1909 – J. R. Simplot, American entrepreneur (d. 2008)
- 1912 – Ralph Tubbs, British architect (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (d. 1994)
- 1914 – Kenny (Klook) Clarke, American jazz drummer and composer (d. 1985)
- 1915 – Fernando Lamas, Argentine actor (d. 1982)
- 1915 – Anita Louise, U.S. actress (d. 1970)
- 1916 – Vic Mizzy, American orchestra leader (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Peter Twinn, English World War II code-breaker (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Alma Ziegler, American baseball player [AAGPBL] (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Chan Canasta, Polish-British magician (d. 1999)
- 1920 – Clive Dunn, British actor
- 1920 – Hakim Mohammed Said, Pakistani scholar (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright (d. 2006)
- 1922 – Har Gobind Khorana, Nobel laureate (d. 2011)
- 1922 – Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea (d. 1984)
- 1924 – Sergei Parajanov, Soviet film director (d. 1990)
- 1925 – Lee Van Cleef, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1926 – Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian politician, Lieutenant governor of Quebec (d. 2002)
- 1928 – Judith Krantz, American author
- 1928 – Domenico Modugno, Italian singer and songwriter (d. 1994)
- 1929 – Brian Friel, Irish dramatist
- 1929 – Heiner Muller, German dramatist (d. 1995)
- 1929 – Dorothea Puente, American serial killer
- 1931 – Algis Budrys, American author (d. 2008)
- 1933 – Robert Garcia, American politician
- 1933 – Wilbur Smith, Zambian-British novelist
- 1934 – Bart Starr, American football player
- 1935 – Bob Denver, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1935 – Dick Enberg, American sportscaster
- 1935 – Earl G. Graves, Sr., African-American publisher
- 1935 – Brian Harradine, Australian independent Senator
- 1936 – Anne Rivers Siddons, American writer
- 1938 – Stuart Woods, American novelist
- 1939 – Susannah York, British actress (d. 2011)
- 1940 – Jimmy Boyd, American actor and singer (d. 2009)
- 1940 – Barbara Buczek, Polish composer (d. 1993)
- 1940 – Al Downing, American singer (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Ruth Dreifuss, Swiss politician
- 1941 – Joan Baez, American singer and activist
- 1941 – Gilles Vaillancourt, Quebec politician
- 1942 – K Callan, American actress
- 1942 – John Dunning, American writer
- 1942 – Lee Kun-hee, Korean industrialist, chairman of Samsung
- 1942 – Judy Malloy, American hypertext fiction pioneer and artist
- 1943 – Robert Drewe, Australian author
- 1943 – Elmer MacFadyen, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
- 1943 – Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer
- 1943 – Scott Walker, American singer
- 1944 – Ian Hornak, American painter, draughtsman and sculptor (d. 2002)
- 1944 – Jimmy Page, British musician and producer (Led Zeppelin)
- 1945 – John Doman, American actor
- 1947 – Ronnie Landfield, American artist
- 1948 – Bill Cowsill, American singer (The Cowsills) (d. 2006)
- 1948 – Cassie Gaines, backup Singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
- 1950 – David Johansen, American singer
- 1950 – Rio Reiser, German singer (d. 1996)
- 1951 – M.L. Carr, basketball player and coach
- 1951 – Crystal Gayle, American singer
- 1952 – Hugh Bayley, British politician
- 1952 – Michael Capuano, American politician, United States Congressman from Massachusetts
- 1953 – Javad Alizadeh, Iranian cartoonist.
- 1953 – Morris Gleitzman, British-Australian children's author
- 1954 – Philippa Gregory, English historical novelist
- 1955 – Michiko Kakutani, American literary critic
- 1955 – J. K. Simmons, American actor
- 1956 – Kimberly Beck, American actress
- 1956 – Imelda Staunton, British actress
- 1956 – Mike Walczewski, American public address announcer at Madison Square Garden
- 1957 – Bibie, Ghanaian singer
- 1957 – Phil Lewis, American singer (L.A. Guns)
- 1958 – Mehmet Ali Ağca, Turkish attempted assassin of Pope John Paul II
- 1958 – Stephen Neale, British philosopher
- 1959 – Mark Martin, American race car driver
- 1959 – Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- 1959 – Cristi Minculescu, Romanian musician
- 1959 – Otis Nixon, American baseball player
- 1961 – Oliver Goldstick, American screenwriter
- 1963 – Michael Everson, expert in writing systems and Unicode
- 1965 – Darren Bennett, Australian-born American football player
- 1964 – Stan Javier, Dominican baseball player
- 1965 – Muggsy Bogues, American basketball player
- 1965 – Iain Dowie, English football manager
- 1965 – Eric Erlandson, American musician
- 1965 – Haddaway, Trinidadian singer
- 1965 – Joely Richardson, British actress
- 1966 – Jan Johansen, Swedish singer
- 1967 – Carl Bell, American musician
- 1967 – Claudio Caniggia, Argentinian footballer
- 1967 – Steve Harwell, American singer and musician (Smash Mouth)
- 1967 – Dave Matthews, South African singer and musician
- 1967 – Gary Teichmann, South African rugby player
- 1968 – Jimmy Adams, West Indian cricketer
- 1968 – Joey Lauren Adams, American actress
- 1968 – Catalina Saavedra, Chilean actress
- 1968 – Al Schnier, American rock guitarist (moe.)
- 1970 – Lara Fabian, Belgian singer
- 1970 – Alex Staropoli, Italian keyboardist (Rhapsody Of Fire)
- 1970 – Mia X, American rapper
- 1971 – Daniel Dumile, American hip hop artist
- 1971 – Angie Martinez, American rapper and radio talk host
- 1971 – Yusuke Naora, Japanese game art director
- 1971 – Hal Niedzviecki, Canadian author
- 1971 – Scott Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 – Sarah Beeny, British TV personality
- 1972 – Mat Hoffman, professional BMX rider
- 1972 – Jay Powell, baseball player
- 1973 – Angela Bettis, American actress
- 1973 – Sean Paul, Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician
- 1974 – Farhan Akhtar, Indian Bollywood director, actor, producer, singer.
- 1975 – Kiko Calero, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1975 – Kim Mathers, Eminem's ex-wife
- 1976 – Radek Bonk, Czech ice hockey player
- 1976 – Simon Gosejohann, German comedian
- 1976 – Todd Grisham, American professional wrestling interviewer
- 1977 – Beth Troutman, American production assistant
- 1978 – Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer
- 1978 – AJ McLean, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- 1978 – Chad Ochocinco, American football player
- 1978 – Maggie Rizer, American model and AIDS activist
- 1979 – Athanassios Prittas, Greek footballer
- 1979 – Tomiko Van, Japanese singer
- 1980 – Sergio García, Spanish golfer
- 1981 – Euzebiusz Smolarek, Polish footballer
- 1982 – Timmy Bowers, American basketball player
- 1982 – Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
- 1983 – Sharad Malhotra, Indian television actor
- 1984 – Benjamin Danso, German rugby player
- 1986 – Jéferson, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Amanda Mynhardt, South African netballer
- 1987 – Sam Bird, English racing driver
- 1987 – Mao Inoue, Japanese actress
- 1987 – Lucas Pezzini Leiva, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 – Paolo Nutini, Scottish singer/songwriter
- 1987 – Pablo Santos, Mexican actor (d. 2006)
- 1989 – Michael Beasley, American basketball player
- 1989 – Nina Dobrev, Bulgarian actress
- 1989 – Michaëlla Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
- 1989 – Chris Sandow, Australian Rugby League player
- 1990 – Melissa Ricks, Filipina actress
Deaths
- 1150 – Emperor Xizong of Jin is murdered by Prince Hailing of Jin in a Coup d'état. (b. 1119)
- 1282 – Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd ibn Hakam al Qurashi, ruler of Minorca (b. 1204)
- 1283 – Wen Tianxiang, Prime Minister of China (executed) (b. 1236)
- 1499 – John Cicero, elector of Brandenburg (b. 1455)
- 1514 – Anna, Duchess of Brittany, queen of Charles VIII of France (b. 1477)
- 1543 – Guillaume du Bellay, French diplomat and general (b. 1491)
- 1562 – Amago Haruhisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1514)
- 1571 – Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, French naval officer (b. 1510)
- 1598 – Jasper Heywood, English translator (b. 1553)
- 1677 – Aernout van der Neer, Dutch painter (b. 1603)
- 1757 – Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, French scientist and man of letters (b. 1657)
- 1757 – Louis Bertrand Castel, French mathematician (b. 1688)
- 1766 – Thomas Birch, British historian (b. 1705)
- 1799 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian scientist (b. 1718)
- 1800 – Jean Étienne Championnet, French general (b. 1762)
- 1805 – Noble Wimberly Jones, American Continental Congressman (b. 1723)
- 1843 – William Hedley, British industrial engineer (b. 1773)
- 1848 – Caroline Herschel, German-born astronomer (b. 1750)
- 1858 – Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas (suicide) (b. 1798)
- 1873 – Emperor Napoleon III of France (b. 1808)
- 1876 – Samuel Gridley Howe, American abolitionist (b. 1801)
- 1877 – Alexander Brullov, Russia painter (b. 1799)
- 1878 – King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (b. 1820)
- 1895 – Aaron Lufkin Dennison, American watch manufacturer (b. 1812)
- 1901 – Richard Copley Christie, English scholar (b. 1830)
- 1908 – Wilhelm Busch, German painter (b. 1832)
- 1908 – Abraham Goldfaden, Russian-born actor (b. 1840)
- 1911 – Edwin Arthur Jones, American composer (b. 1853)
- 1911 – Edvard Rusjan, Slovene flight pioneer (b. 1886)
- 1918 – Émile Reynaud, French scientist (b. 1844)
- 1923 – Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand writer (b. 1888)
- 1927 – Houston Stewart Chamberlain, British pro-Aryan anti-semitic writer, son-in-law of Richard Wagner (b. 1855)
- 1931 – Wayne Munn, wrestler (b. 1896)
- 1936 – John Gilbert, American actor (b. 1899)
- 1939 – Johann Strauss III, Austrian conductor (b. 1866)
- 1945 – Jüri Uluots, Estonian Prime Minister (b. 1890)
- 1946 – Countee Cullen, American poet (b. 1903)
- 1946 – Dimitrios Golemis, Greek athlete (b. 1874)
- 1947 – Karl Mannheim, German sociologist (b. 1893)
- 1960 – Elsie J. Oxenham, British children's author (b. 1880)
- 1961 – Emily Greene Balch, American writer, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1867)
- 1971 – Elmer Flick, baseball player (b. 1876)
- 1972 – Ted Shawn, American dancer (b. 1891)
- 1975 – Pierre Fresnay, French actor (b. 1897)
- 1975 – Pyotr Novikov, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
- 1979 – Pier Luigi Nervi, Italian engineer and architect (b. 1891)
- 1981 – Kazimierz Serocki, Polish composer (b. 1922)
- 1984 – Wolfgang Staudte, German director (b. 1906)
- 1985 – Robert Mayer, British businessman and philanthropist (b. 1879)
- 1987 – Arthur Lake, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1989 – Bill Terry, baseball player (b. 1898)
- 1990 – Spud Chandler, baseball player (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Steve Brodie, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1992 – Bill Naughton, British playwright (b. 1910)
- 1993 – Sir Paul Hasluck, Governor-General of Australia (b. 1905)
- 1994 – Johnny Temple, baseball player (b. 1927)
- 1995 – Peter Cook, British actor and comedian (b. 1937)
- 1995 – Souphanouvong, President of Laos (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Edward Osobka-Morawski, Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Jesse White, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1998 – Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate (b. 1918)
- 1998 – Charito Solis, Filipino actress (b. 1935)
- 2000 – Ted Jones, Hydroplane builder/designer (b. 1908)
- 2000 – Nigel Tranter, Scottish historian and author (b. 1909)
- 2001 – Maurice Prather, American photographer (b. 1926)
- 2003 – Will McDonough, American sports journalist (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Gonzalo Gavira, Mexican film sound technician (b. 1925)
- 2006 – Andy Caldecott, Australian motorcycle racer (b. 1964)
- 2006 – Mikk Mikiver, Estonian actor, director (b. 1937)
- 2007 – Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (b. 1977)
- 2007 – Jean-Pierre Vernant, French structuralist historian and anthropologist (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Johnny Grant, American radio personality, television producer (b. 1923)
- 2008 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist (b. 1977)
- 2008 – Sir John Harvey-Jones, chairman of ICI from 1982 to 1987 (b. 1924)
- 2008 – Liam Quinn, Provisional IRA member (b. 1949)
- 2009 – Rob Gauntlett, English adventurer, explorer and motivational speaker (b. 1987)
- 2009 – T. Llew Jones, Welsh author (b. 1915)
- 2010 – Vimcy, Sports writer (b. 1925)
- 2011 – Makinti Napanangka, Indigenous Australian artist (b.circa 1930)
Holidays and observances
External links