January 12

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).

Events

• 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned king.
• 1554 – Bayinnaung, who would go on to assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, is crowned King of Burma.
• 1616 – The city of Belém is founded in Pará, Brazil by Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco.
• 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, Scotland.
• 1808 – John Rennie's scheme to defend St Mary's Church, Reculver, founded in 669, from coastal erosion was abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture.
• 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.
• 1895 – The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom.
• 1898 – Itō Hirobumi begins his third term as Prime Minister of Japan.
• 1899 – Thirteen crew members and five apprentices are rescued from the stricken schooner Forest Hall by the Lynmouth Lifeboat when the former founders off the coast of Devon.
• 1902 – Uddevalla Suffrage Association is formally dissolved.
• 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 United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote.
• 1916 – Both Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft, receive the German Empire's highest military award, the Pour le Mérite as the first German aviators to earn it.
• 1918 – Finland's "Mosaic Confessors" law goes into effect, making Finnish Jews full citizens.
• 1921 – Acting to restore confidence in baseball after the Black Sox Scandal, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is elected as Major League Baseball's first commissioner.
• 1926 – Original Sam 'n' Henry aired on Chicago radio later renamed Amos 'n' Andy in 1928.
• 1932 – Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
• 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.
• 1959 – The Caves of Nerja are rediscovered in Spain.
• 1962 – Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place.
• 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.
• 1969 – The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
• 1970 – Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian Civil War.
• 1971 – The Harrisburg Seven: Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other activists 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.
• 1971 – All in the Family an American sitcom premiered on the CBS television network
• 1976 – The United Nations 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-61-C as a Mission Specialist.
• 1991 – Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
• 1998 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
• 2001 – Downtown Disney opens to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
• 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 II rocket.
• 2006 – A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims.
• 2006 – The French warship Clemenceau reaches Egypt and is barred access to the Suez Canal. Greenpeace activists board the ship.
• 2007 – Comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) reaches perihelion becoming the brightest comet in more than 40 years.
• 2010 – An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing over 100,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince.
• 2012 – Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu's economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.
• 2015 – Cameroon kills 143 Boko Haram fighters in clashes.
• 2015 – A serviceman stationed at the Russian 102nd Military Base, kills seven people in Gyumri, Armenia.
• 2016 – Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

Births

• 1483 – Henry III of Nassau-Breda (d. 1538)
• 1562 – Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
• 1576 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (d. 1660)
• 1577 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist and physician (d. 1644)
• 1580 – Alexander Ruthven, Scottish son of William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie (d. 1600)
• 1588 – John Winthrop, English lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1649)
• 1591 – Jusepe de Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
• 1597 – François Duquesnoy, Flemish sculptor and educator (d. 1643)
• 1628 – Charles Perrault, French author and academic (d. 1703)
• 1673 – Rosalba Carriera, Italian painter (d. 1757)
• 1711 – Gaetano Latilla, Italian composer (d. 1788)
• 1715 – Jacques Duphly, French organist and composer (d. 1789)
• 1716 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general and politician, 1st Spanish Governor of Louisiana (d. 1795)
• 1721 – Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1792)
• 1723 – Samuel Langdon, American minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1797)
• 1724 – Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (d. 1789)
• 1729 – Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1797)
• 1746 – Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss philosopher and educator (d. 1827)
• 1751 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
• 1772 – Mikhail Speransky, Russian academic and politician (d. 1839)
• 1786 – Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet, English politician (d. 1855)
• 1792 – Johan August Arfwedson, Swedish chemist and academic (d. 1841)
• 1797 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and author (d. 1873)
• 1810 – Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1859)
• 1822 – Étienne Lenoir, Belgian engineer, designed the internal combustion engine (d. 1900)
• 1837 – Adolf Jensen, German pianist and composer (d. 1879)
• 1849 – Jean Béraud, Russian-French painter and academic (d. 1935)
• 1856 – John Singer Sargent, American painter and academic (d. 1925)
• 1863 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian monk and philosopher (d. 1902)
• 1869 – Bhagwan Das, Indian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1958)
• 1873 – Spyridon Louis, Greek runner (d. 1940)
• 1874 – Laura Adams Armer, American author and photographer (d. 1963)
• 1876 – Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the Turkish Provisional Government (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Jack London, American novelist and journalist (d. 1916)
• 1876 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (d. 1948)
• 1877 – Frank J. Corr, American lawyer and politician, 45th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1934)
• 1878 – Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian-American author and playwright (d. 1952)
• 1879 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver and engineer (d. 1968)
• 1879 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (d. 1942)
• 1882 – Milton Sills, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1930)
• 1884 – Texas Guinan, Canadian-American entertainer and bootlegger (d. 1933)
• 1889 – Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, Indian-Pakistani spiritual leader (d. 1965)
• 1890 – Johannes Vares, Estonian poet, physician, and politician (d. 1946)
• 1892 – Mikhail Gurevich, Russian engineer and businessman, co-founded the Russian Aircraft Corporation (d. 1976)
• 1893 – Hermann Göring, German commander, pilot, and politician, Minister President of Prussia (d. 1946)
• 1893 – Alfred Rosenberg, Estonian-German architect and politician, Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories (d. 1946)
• 1894 – Georges Carpentier, French boxer and actor (d. 1975)
• 1895 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (d. 1959)
• 1896 – David Wechsler, Romanian-American psychologist and author (d. 1981)
• 1899 – Pierre Bernac, French opera singer and educator (d. 1979)
• 1899 – Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
• 1901 – Karl Künstler, German SS officer (d. 1945)
• 1903 – Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1960)
• 1904 – Mississippi Fred McDowell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
• 1905 – Nihal Atsız, Turkish author, poet, and philosopher (d. 1975)
• 1905 – James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist and academic (d. 1997)
• 1905 – Tex Ritter, American singer and actor (d. 1974)
• 1906 – Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-French historian, philosopher, and academic (d. 1995)
• 1907 – Sergei Korolev, Russian colonel and engineer (d. 1966)
• 1908 – Jean Delannoy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1908 – Clement Hurd, American illustrator (d. 1988)
• 1910 – Gladys Blake, American actress (d. 1983)
• 1910 – Patsy Kelly, American actress and comedian (d. 1981)
• 1910 – Luise Rainer, German-English actress (d. 2014)
• 1912 – Richard Kuremaa, Estonian footballer (d. 1991)
• 1914 – Mieko Kamiya, Japanese psychiatrist and psychologist (d. 1979)
• 1915 – Paul Jarrico, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
• 1915 – Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, Canadian archbishop and academic (d. 2013)
• 1916 – Ruth R. Benerito, American chemist and inventor (d. 2013)
• 1916 – P. W. Botha, South African politician, 8th Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 2006)
• 1916 – Jay McShann, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2006)
• 1916 – William Pleeth, English cellist and educator (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Walter Hendl, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2007)
• 1917 – Jimmy Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2007)
• 1918 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian-Dutch guru and educator (d. 2008)
• 1920 – James Farmer, American activist and politician, co-founded Congress of Racial Equality (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Jerzy Zubrzycki, Polish-Australian sociologist and academic (d. 2009)
• 1922 – Tadeusz Żychiewicz, Polish journalist and historian (d. 1994)
• 1923 – Vic Allen, English sociologist, economist, and historian (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Ira Hayes, American marine who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima (d. 1955)
• 1924 – Olivier Gendebien, Belgian race car driver and businessman (d. 1998)
• 1924 – Chris Chase, American model, actress, and journalist (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Bill Burrud, American television host, producer, and actor (d. 1990)
• 1925 – Katherine MacGregor, American actress and dancer
• 1926 – Morton Feldman, American composer and academic (d. 1987)
• 1926 – Andrew Laszlo, Hungarian-American cinematographer (d. 2011)
• 1926 – Ray Price, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Lloyd Ruby, American race car driver (d. 2009)
• 1929 – Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish-American philosopher and academic
• 1929 – Jaakko Hintikka, Finnish philosopher and logician (d. 2015)
• 1930 – Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman, founded Tim Hortons (d. 1974)
• 1930 – Jennifer Johnston, Irish author and playwright
• 1930 – Glenn Yarbrough, American singer and actor (The Limeliters)
• 1931 – Leyla Erbil, Turkish author and activist (d. 2013)
• 1932 – Des O'Connor, English comedian, singer, and television host
• 1933 – Michael Aspel, English television host
• 1933 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (d. 2013)
• 1934 – Metin Serezli, Turkish actor and director (d. 2013)
• 1934 – Alan Sharp, Scottish-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1934 – Mick Sullivan, English rugby player and coach
• 1934 – James Fergason, American lieutenant and businessman (d. 2008)
• 1935 – Kreskin, American magician and actor
• 1936 – Jennifer Hilton, Baroness Hilton of Eggardon, English police officer and politician
• 1936 – Raimonds Pauls, Latvian pianist and composer
• 1936 – Brajanath Ratha, Indian poet and activist (d. 2014)
• 1936 – Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Home Affairs (d. 2016)
• 1937 – Marie Dubois, French actress (d. 2014)
• 1937 – Shirley Eaton, English actress
• 1937 – Vicente Sardinero, Spanish actor and singer (d. 2002)
• 1938 – Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Pakistani scholar and politician (d. 2013)
• 1938 – Teresa del Conde, Mexican historian and critic
• 1939 – William Lee Golden, American singer-songwriter and painter (The Oak Ridge Boys)
• 1939 – Jim Palosaari, American evangelist (d. 2011)
• 1940 – Ronald Shannon Jackson, American drummer and composer (Last Exit) (d. 2013)
• 1941 – Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and voice actor (Blues Incorporated, Steampacket, and Bluesology) (d. 2005)
• 1941 – Fiona Caldicott, English psychiatrist and psychotherapist
• 1941 – Chet Jastremski, American swimmer and physician (d. 2014)
• 1942 – Bernardine Dohrn, American activist and academic
• 1944 – Hans Henning Atrott, German author and theorist
• 1944 – Joe Frazier, American boxer and actor (d. 2011)
• 1944 – Vlastimil Hort, Czech-German chess player
• 1944 – Viktoria Postnikova, Russian pianist
• 1944 – Cynthia Robinson, American trumpet player and singer (Sly and the Family Stone and Graham Central Station) (d. 2015)
• 1944 – Carlos Villagrán, Mexican actor and journalist
• 1945 – Maggie Bell, Scottish singer-songwriter (Stone the Crows and The British Blues Quintet)
• 1945 – André Bicaba, Burkinabé sprinter
• 1946 – Hazel Cosgrove, Lady Cosgrove, Scottish lawyer and judge
• 1946 – George Duke, American keyboard player, composer, and educator (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Richard Carwardine, English historian and academic
• 1947 – Tom Dempsey, American football player and educator
• 1947 – Sally Hamwee, Baroness Hamwee, English politician
• 1948 – Kenny Allen, English footballer
• 1948 – Anthony Andrews, English actor and producer
• 1948 – Gordon Campbell, Canadian educator and politician, 34th Premier of British Columbia
• 1948 – John Etheridge, English guitarist (Soft Machine)
• 1948 – Brendan Foster, English runner and sportscaster
• 1948 – William Nicholson, English author and screenwriter
• 1949 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 2007)
• 1949 – Ottmar Hitzfeld, German footballer and manager
• 1949 – Hamadi Jebali, Tunisian engineer, journalist, and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Tunisia
• 1949 – Haruki Murakami, Japanese author, translator, and academic
• 1949 – Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1950 – Sheila Jackson Lee, American lawyer, judge, and politician
• 1950 – Göran Lindblad, Swedish dentist and politician
• 1950 – Bob McEwen, American businessman and politician
• 1950 – Dorrit Moussaieff, Israeli-Icelandic jewelry designer and businesswoman, 5th First Lady of Iceland
• 1950 – Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (d. 1992)
• 1951 – Kirstie Alley, American actress and producer
• 1951 – Chris Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Big Star) (d. 1978)
• 1951 – Rush Limbaugh, American talk show host and author
• 1951 – Drew Pearson, American football player and sportscaster
• 1952 – Charles Faulkner, American-English computer programmer and author
• 1952 – Walter Mosley, American author and actor
• 1952 – Phil Perry, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1952 – John Walker, New Zealand runner and politician
• 1953 – Mary Harron, Canadian director and screenwriter
• 1954 – Howard Stern, American radio host, actor, and author
• 1954 – Martin Kylhammar, Swedish professor of culture and society
• 1955 – Tom Ardolino, American drummer (NRBQ and The Minus 5) (d. 2012)
• 1955 – Rockne S. O'Bannon, American screenwriter and producer
• 1956 – Marie Colvin, American-English journalist (d. 2012)
• 1957 – B. Brian Blair, American wrestler and politician
• 1957 – John Lasseter, American animator, director, and producer
• 1957 – Jeremy Sams, English director, playwright, and composer
• 1958 – Christiane Amanpour, English-born Iranian-American journalist
• 1958 – Curt Fraser, American-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1959 – Blixa Bargeld, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1960 – Oliver Platt, Canadian-American actor
• 1960 – Dominique Wilkins, French-American basketball player and manager
• 1961 – Simon Russell Beale, Malaysia-born English actor and historian
• 1961 – Tahawwur Hussain Rana, Pakistani-Canadian physician and terrorist
• 1962 – Joe Quesada, American author and illustrator
• 1962 – Richie Richardson, Antiguan cricketer and bass player
• 1962 – Luna Vachon, American-Canadian wrestler and manager (d. 2010)
• 1963 – François Girard, Canadian director and screenwriter
• 1963 – Nando Reis, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Nando Reis e Os Infernais and Titãs)
• 1964 – Laura Arraya, Argentinian-Peruvian tennis player
• 1964 – Jeff Bezos, American computer scientist and businessman, founded Amazon.com
• 1965 – Mark Moore, English DJ and producer (S'Express)
• 1965 – Rob Zombie, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director (White Zombie)
• 1966 – Olivier Martinez, French actor
• 1966 – Craig Parry, Australian golfer
• 1967 – Vendela Kirsebom, Norwegian-Swedish model and actress
• 1968 – Junichi Masuda, Japanese director, producer, and composer
• 1968 – Mauro Silva, Brazilian footballer
• 1969 – David Mitchell, English author and translator
• 1969 – Margaret Nagle, American screenwriter and producer
• 1970 – Raekwon, American rapper (Wu-Tang Clan)
• 1970 – Mig Ayesa, Filipino-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
• 1970 – Zack de la Rocha, American singer-songwriter (Rage Against the Machine, One Day as a Lion, and Inside Out)
• 1971 – Scott Burrell, American basketball player and coach
• 1972 – Priyanka Gandhi, Indian politician
• 1972 – Espen Knutsen, Norwegian ice hockey player and coach
• 1972 – Paul Wilson, Australian cricketer and umpire
• 1973 – Brian Culbertson, American pianist and producer
• 1973 – Dan Haseltine, American singer-songwriter (Jars of Clay)
• 1973 – Hande Yener, Turkish singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1974 – Melanie C, English singer-songwriter and actress (Spice Girls)
• 1974 – Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian skier
• 1975 – Jason Freese, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer
• 1975 – Jocelyn Thibault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1976 – Miki Nakatani, Japanese actress and singer
• 1977 – Stéphan Buckland, Mauritian sprinter
• 1977 – Yoandy Garlobo, Cuban baseball player
• 1978 – Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball player
• 1978 – Jeremy Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1978 – Kim Sa-rang, South Korean model and actress, Miss Korea 2000
• 1978 – Maurizio Zaffiri, Italian rugby player
• 1979 – Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player
• 1979 – Lee Bo-young, South Korean actress and model
• 1979 – Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer
• 1979 – David Zabriskie, American cyclist
• 1980 – Ares, Swiss-American wrestler
• 1980 – Bobby Crosby, American baseball player
• 1981 – Amerie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1981 – João Paulo Daniel, Brazilian footballer
• 1981 – Dan Klecko, American football player
• 1981 – Angus Macdonald, New Zealand rugby player
• 1981 – Luis Ernesto Pérez, Mexican footballer
• 1982 – Sherzod Abdurahmonov, Uzbek 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 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
• 1982 – Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
• 1983 – Styliani Kaltsidou, Greek basketball player
• 1983 – Miho Tanaka, Japanese model and actress
• 1984 – Andrew Chan, Australian drug trafficker (d. 2015)
• 1984 – Scott Olsen, American baseball player
• 1984 – Oribe Peralta, Mexican footballer
• 1984 – Daniel Sepulveda, American football player
• 1984 – Jonathan Zydko, French footballer
• 1985 – Artem Milevskiy, Ukrainian footballer
• 1985 – Borja Valero, Spanish footballer
• 1986 – Kehoma Brenner, German rugby player
• 1986 – Ayako Imoto, Japanese comedian and actor
• 1986 – Miguel Ángel Nieto, Spanish footballer
• 1986 – Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, Argentinian-Italian footballer
• 1987 – Andi Muise, Canadian model
• 1987 – Salvatore Sirigu, Italian footballer
• 1988 – Ytalo, Brazilian footballer
• 1988 – Holder da Silva, Guinea-Bissauan sprinter
• 1988 – Claude Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1988 – Andrew Lawrence, American actor
• 1989 – Thiemo-Jérôme Kialka, German footballer
• 1991 – Pixie Lott, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
• 1991 – Matt Srama, Australian rugby league player
• 1992 – Ishak Belfodil, Algerian footballer
• 1992 – Samuele Longo, Italian footballer
• 1993 – Zayn Malik, English singer-songwriter (One Direction)
• 1993 – Simone Pecorini, Italian footballer
• 1994 – Emre Can, German footballer

Deaths

• 690 – Benedict Biscop, English scholar and saint, founded the Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey (b. 628)
• 1167 – Aelred of Rievaulx, English monk and saint (b. 1110)
• 1321 – Marie of Brabant, Queen 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 priest and composer (b. 1605)
• 1700 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (b. 1620)
• 1720 – William Ashhurst, English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1647)
• 1732 – John Horsley, English-Scottish historian and author (b. 1685)
• 1735 – John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
• 1759 – Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (b. 1709)
• 1765 – Johann Melchior Molter, German violinist and composer (b. 1696)
• 1777 – Hugh Mercer, Scottish-American general and physician (b. 1726)
• 1778 – François Bigot, French politician (b. 1703)
• 1781 – Richard Challoner, English bishop (b. 1691)
• 1829 – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, German philosopher, poet, and critic (b. 1772)
• 1833 – Marie-Antoine Carême, French chef (b. 1784)
• 1834 – William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
• 1856 – Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak philologist and politician (b. 1815)
• 1861 – Václav Hanka, Czech philologist and author (b. 1791)
• 1892 – James Caulfeild, 3rd Earl of Charlemont, Irish politician, Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone (b. 1820)
• 1892 – William Reeves, Irish bishop and historian (b. 1815)
• 1899 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club (b. 1816)
• 1909 – Hermann Minkowski, Lithuanian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1864)
• 1911 – Andreas Papagiannakopoulos, Greek journalist, judge, and politician (b. 1845)
• 1916 – Georgios Theotokis, Greek lawyer and politician, 80th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1844)
• 1921 – Gervase Elwes, English tenor and actor (b. 1866)
• 1926 – Austin Chapman, Australian businessman and politician, 4th Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1864)
• 1929 – Ivar Böhling, Finnish wrestler (b. 1889)
• 1934 – Paul Kochanski, Polish violinist and composer (b. 1887)
• 1934 – Surya Sen, Bangladeshi educator and activist (b. 1894)
• 1938 – Oscar Florianus Bluemner, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1867)
• 1938 – Gösta Ekman, Swedish actor and singer (b. 1890)
• 1940 – Edward Smith, English lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1899)
• 1943 – Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and critic (b. 1902)
• 1944 – Lance C. Wade, American commander and pilot (b. 1915)
• 1957 – Ken Wharton, English race car driver (b. 1916)
• 1958 – Charles Hatfield, American meteorologist (b. 1875)
• 1960 – Nevil Shute, English engineer and author (b. 1899)
• 1962 – Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1869)
• 1965 – Lorraine Hansberry, American author, playwright, and director (b. 1936)
• 1967 – Burhan Asaf Belge, Turkish diplomat (b. 1887)
• 1971 – John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey, English admiral (b. 1885)
• 1973 – Roy Franklin Nichols, American historian and academic (b. 1896)
• 1974 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (b. 1886)
• 1976 – Agatha Christie, English author and playwright (b. 1890)
• 1977 – Henri-Georges Clouzot, French director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
• 1983 – Rebop Kwaku Baah, Ghanaian drummer (Traffic and Can) (b. 1944)
• 1983 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (b. 1903)
• 1988 – Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
• 1988 – Piero Taruffi, Italian race car driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1906)
• 1990 – Laurence J. Peter, Canadian-American author and educator (b. 1919)
• 1991 – Robert Jackson, Australian public servant and diplomat (b. 1911)
• 1991 – Mary Francis Shura, American author (b. 1923)
• 1994 – Gustav Naan, Estonian physicist and philosopher (b. 1919)
• 1996 – Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
• 1997 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (b. 1936)
• 1997 – Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
• 1998 – Roger Clark, English race car driver (b. 1939)
• 1999 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1961)
• 2000 – Marc Davis, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1913)
• 2000 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
• 2001 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
• 2001 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (b. 1913)
• 2002 – Stanley Unwin, South African-English actor (b. 1911)
• 2002 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
• 2003 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist and author (b. 1912)
• 2003 – Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
• 2003 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (b. 1926)
• 2003 – Maurice Gibb, Manx-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Bee Gees) (b. 1949)
• 2003 – Alan Nunn May, English physicist and spy (b. 1911)
• 2004 – Olga Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
• 2004 – Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1955)
• 2006 – Faisal bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahraini prince (b. 1991)
• 2006 – Ömer Küyük, Turkish soldier (b. 1900)
• 2006 – Pablita Velarde, Santa Clara Pueblo (Native American) painter (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (b. 1937)
• 2007 – James Killen, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1925)
• 2009 – Claude Berri, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
• 2009 – Russ Conway, Canadian-American actor (b. 1913)
• 2009 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher and academic (b. 1912)
• 2010 – Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and author (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Consolidated Contractors Company (b. 1920)
• 2012 – MS-1, Mexican wrestler (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Bjørn G. Andersen, Norwegian geologist and academic (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Glenda Dickerson, American director, choreographer, and educator (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Bill Janklow, American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1939)
• 2012 – Shiv Kumari of Kotah (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Charles H. Price II, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Jim Stanley, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Ourasi, French race horse (b. 1980)
• 2013 – Precious Bryant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Anna Lizaran, Spanish actress (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Eugene Patterson, American journalist and activist (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Connie Binsfeld, American educator and politician, 58th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (b. 1924)
• 2014 – George Dement, American soldier, businessman, and politician (b. 1922)
• 2015 – Trevor Colbourn, American historian and academic (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Robert Gover, American journalist and author (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Carl Long, American baseball player (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Elena Obraztsova, Russian soprano and actress (b. 1939)
• 2015 – Inge Vermeulen, Brazilian-Dutch field hockey player (b. 1985)
• 2016 – Robert Black, Scottish serial killer (b. 1947)
• 2016 – Ivan Bukavshin, Russian chess player (b. 1995)
• 2016 – William Needles, Canadian actor and educator (b. 1919)
• 2016 – Andrew Smith, American basketball player (b. 1990)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Aelred of Rievaulx
  • Benedict Biscop
  • Bernard of Corleone
  • Marguerite Bourgeoys
  • Tatiana
  • January 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which Lee–Jackson Day can fall while January 18 is the latest, celebrated on the Friday before Martin Luther King Day. (Commonwealth of Virginia)
• Memorial Day (Turkmenistan)
• Prosecutor General's Day (Russia)
• National Youth Day (India)
• Zanzibar Revolution Day (Tanzania)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to January 12.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History