Today January 5th in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France.
1500 – Duke Ludovico Sforza conquers Milan.
1527 – Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, is executed by drowning.
1554 – A great fire occurs in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
1675 – Battle of Colmar: the French army beats Brandenburg.
1757 – Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert–François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.
1759 – George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis.
1781 – American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.
1846 – The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
1854 – The San Francisco steamer sinks, killing 300 people.
1889 – Preston North End is declared winner of the original football league.
1895 – Dreyfus Affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil s Island.
1896 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wilhelm Roentgen has discovered a type of radiation later known as X-rays.
1900 – Irish leader John Edward Redmond calls for a revolt against British rule.
1909 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
1912 – The Prague Party Conference takes place.
1913 – First Balkan War: During the Naval Battle of Lemnos, Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war.
1914 – The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day s labor.
1918 – The Free Committee for a German Workers Peace, which would become the Nazi party, is founded.
1925 – Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female governor in the United States.
1933 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
1940 – FM radio is demonstrated to the FCC for the first time.
1944 – The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper.
1945 – The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland.
1968 – Alexander Dubcek comes to power: Prague Spring begins in Czechoslovakia.
1969 – Members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary damage property and assault occupants in the Bogside in Derry, Northern Ireland. In response, residents erect barricades and establish Free Derry.
1972 – U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the development of a space shuttle program.
1974 – An earthquake in Lima, Peru, kills six people, and damages hundreds of houses.
1975 – The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
1976 – Cambodia is renamed Democratic Kampuchea by the Khmer Rouge.
1993 – The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.
1993 – Washington state executes Westley Allan Dodd by hanging (the first legal hanging in America since 1965).
1996 – Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.
2005 – Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz using images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the Palomar Observatory.
Births
1209 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1272)
1548 – Francisco Suarez, Spanish theologian (d. 1617)
1587 – Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer (d. 1641)
1592 – Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1666)
1614 – Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (d. 1662)
1667 – Antonio Lotti, Italian composer (b. 1740)
1696 – Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/painter (d. 1757)
1717 – William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman (d. 1793)
1762 – Constanze Mozart, wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (d. 1842)
1779 – Zebulon Pike, American explorer (d. 1813)
1779 – Stephen Decatur, American naval officer (d. 1820)
1829 – Sir Roger Tichborne, missing U.K. heir who was the subject of the longest criminal trial in British history (d. c. 1854)
1834 – William John Wills, English explorer of Australia, member of the Burke and Wills expedition (d. 1861)
1838 – Camille Jordan, French mathematician (d. 1922)
1846 – Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1926)
1855 – King Camp Gillette, American inventor (d. 1932)
1864 – Bob Caruthers, American baseball player (d. 1911)
1864 – Ban Johnson, American baseball executive (d. 1931)
1865 – Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer (d. 1920)
1871 – Frederick Converse, U.S. composer (d. 1940)
1874 – Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
1876 – Konrad Adenauer, German statesman (d. 1967)
1879 – Hans Eppinger, Austrian physician (d. 1946)
1880 – Nikolay Medtner, Russian composer (d. 1951)
1882 – Herbert Bayard Swope, U.S. journalist who coined the term Cold War (d. 1958)
1885 – Humbert Wolfe, Italian-British poet (d. 1940)
1893 – Zoltán Böszörmény, Hungarian Nazi politician (d. unknown)
1893 – Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (d. 1952)
1895 – Jeannette Piccard, American teacher, scientist, priest, and aeronaut (d. 1981)
1895 – Elizabeth Cotten, American musician (d. 1987)
1900 – Yves Tanguy, French painter (d. 1955)
1902 – Stella Gibbons, English novelist (d. 1989)
1903 – Harold Gatty, Australian aviator, navigator with Wiley Post (d. 1957)
1904 – Erica Morini, Austrian violinist (d. 1995)
1904 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer (d. 1997)
1906 – Kathleen Kenyon, English archaeologist (d. 1978)
1908 – George Dolenz, American actor (d. 1963)
1909 – Stephen Kleene, American mathematician (d. 1994)
1909 – Lucienne Bloch, Swiss-U.S. sculptor, muralist, photographer (d. 1995)
1910 – Jack Lovelock, New Zealand athlete (d. 1949)
1910 – Hugh Brannum, American actor (d. 1987)
1911 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor (d. 2001)
1914 – Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter (d. 1955)
1914 – George Reeves, American actor (d. 1959)
1915 – Arthur H. Robinson, Canadian-born cartographer (d. 2004)
1917 – Wieland Wagner, German stage director (d. 1966)
1917 – Jane Wyman, American actress (d. 2007)
1917 – Francis L. Kellogg, U.S. diplomat and prominent socialite (d. 2006)
1917 – Lucienne Day, textile designer
1919 – Severino Gazzelloni, Italian flautist (d. 1992)
1920 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (d. 1995)
1921 – Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss writer (d. 1990)
1921 – Paul Governali, American professional football player (d. 1978)
1921 – Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
1922 – Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot, Chief of the Australian Defence Force (d. 2001)
1923 – Sam Phillips, American music producer (d. 2003)
1924 – Dr Gilbert Bogle, Australian scientist who died in the Bogle-Chandler case (1963)
1926 – Hosea Williams, American activist (d. 2000)
1926 – William De Witt Snodgrass, American poet
1928 – Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani statesman (d. 1979)
1928 – Walter Mondale, American politician
1929 – Wilbert Harrison, American singer (d. 1994)
1931 – Alvin Ailey, American choreographer (d. 1989)
1931 – Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist
1931 – Joan Coxsedge, Australian politician
1931 – Robert Duvall, American actor
1932 – Raisa Gorbacheva, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev (d. 1999)
1932 – Umberto Eco, Italian writer
1932 – Chuck Noll, American football coach
1934 – William Bendeck, Bolivian rally driver (d. 1971)
1936 – Florence King, American humorist
1938 – King Juan Carlos I of Spain
1938 – Jim Otto, American football player
1938 – Ngugi wa Thiong o, Kenyan writer
1940 – Michael O Donoghue, American writer (d. 1994)
1940 – Yuri Ershov, Russian mathematician
1940 – Athol Guy, Australian singer, member of The Seekers
1940 – General Sir Michael Rose, UK military officer, prominent in Bosnia
1941 – Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese film maker
1941 – Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian cricketer
1942 – Jan Leeming, English television presenter and newsreader
1942 – Terenci Moix, Spanish writer (d. 2003)
1942 – Maurizio Pollini, Italian pianist
1942 – Charlie Rose, American talk show host
1943 – Justice Mary Gaudron, first female judge of the High Court of Australia
1944 – Ed Rendell, American politician
1945 – Chuck McKinley, U.S. tennis player (d. 1986)
1945 – Roger Spottiswoode, Canadian-born film director
1946 – Diane Keaton, American actress
1947 – Mercury Morris, American football player
1948 – Ted Lange, American actor
1949 – George Brown, American drummer (Kool & The Gang)
1950 – Ioan Petru Culianu, Romanian-born professor (d. 1991)
1950 – John Manley, Canadian politician
1950 – Charlie Richmond, Canadian entrepreneur
1950 – Chris Stein, American guitarist (Blondie)
1950 – Krzysztof Wielicki, Polish mountaineer
1951 – Steve Arnold, English footballer
1953 – Steve Archer, American singer (The Archers)
1953 – Pamela Sue Martin, American actress
1953 – Mike Rann, Australian politician
1953 – George Tenet, American CIA director
1954 – Alex English, American basketball player
1956 – Chen Kenichi, Japanese-born chef
1956 – Tim Macartney-Snape, Australian mountaineer
1957 – Kevin Hastings, Australian rugby league footballer
1958 – Nancy Delahunt, Canadian athlete (curling)
1959 – Clancy Brown, American actor
1960 – Steve Jones, British aviator (Red Bull Air Race World Series)
1960 – Glenn Strömberg, Swedish footballer
1960 – Phil Thornalley, English bass guitarist (The Cure)
1962 – Suzy Amis, American actress
1962 – Perry Fenwick, English actor
1962 – Danny Jackson, American baseball player
1963 – Jeff Fassero, American baseball player
1964 – Grant Young, American drummer (Soul Asylum)
1965 – Vinnie Jones, English-born Welsh footballer and actor
1966 – Kate Schellenbach, American drummer (Luscious Jackson)
1967 – Joe Flanigan, American actor
1968 – DJ Bobo, Swiss singer
1968 – Ricky Paull Goldin, American actor
1968 – Andrew Golota, Polish boxer
1968 – Carrie Ann Inaba, American dancer and choreographer
1968 – Joé Juneau, Canadian ice hockey player
1969 – Marilyn Manson, American singer
1969 – Paul McGillion, Scottish actor
1970 – Rick Campanelli, Canadian TV presenter
1971 – Mayuko Takata, Japanese actress
1972 – Sakis Rouvas, Greek singer
1973 – Phil Joel, Australian bassist (Newsboys)
1974 – Sarah Jane Honeywell – UK Television presenter
1975 – Kylie Bax, New Zealand model
1975 – Bradley Cooper, American actor
1975 – Warrick Dunn, American football player
1975 – Mike Grier, American ice hockey player
1976 – Diego Tristán, Spanish footballer
1976 – Matt Wachter, American bassist (30 Seconds to Mars)
1978 – January Jones, American actress
1978 – Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver
1978 – Sabrina Harman, American military figure and accused torturer
1979 – Kyle Calder, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Ronnie O Brien, Irish footballer
1980 – Bennie Joppru, National Football League tight end
1981 – Corey Flynn, New Zealand rugby union footballer
1981 – Brooklyn Sudano, American actress
1982 – Janica Kostelic, Croatian skier
1983 – Sean Dockery, American basketball player
1984 – Amanda Hearst, American heiress
1985 – Michael Cuccione, Canadian actor (d. 2001)
1985 – Yoon So-Yi, South Korean actress
1986 – Deepika Padukone, Indian model and actress
1986 – Teppei Koike, Japanese actor and singer
1988 – Pauline, French singer
1989 – Krisztián Németh, Hungarian footballer
1996 – Max Baldry, English actor
Deaths
842 – Al-Mu tasim, Abbasid caliph (b. 794)
1066 – Edward the Confessor, King of England (b. 1004)
1387 – King Peter IV of Aragon (b. 1319)
1400 – John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English politician (executed) (b. c. 1350)
1448 – Christopher of Bavaria (b. 1416)
1465 – Charles, Duke of Orléans, French poet (b. 1394)
1477 – Charles, Duke of Burgundy (killed in battle) (b. 1433)
1524 – Marko Marulic, Croatian poet (b. 1450)
1527 – Felix Manz, Swiss leader (executed) (b. 1498)
1588 – Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (b. 1528)
1589 – Catherine de Medici, queen of Henry II of France (b. 1519)
1713 – Jean Chardin, French explorer (b. 1643)
1740 – Antonio Lotti, Italian composer (b. 1667)
1762 – Empress Elizabeth of Russia (b. 1709)
1771 – John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, British statesman (b. 1710)
1823 – Major George Johnston, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales (b. 1764)
1846 – Alfred Thomas Agate, American artist (b. 1812)
1858 – Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Austrian field marshal (b. 1766)
1860 – Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, first American bishop to be canonized (b. 1811)
1883 – Charles Tompson, first Australian published poet (b. 1806)
1888 – Henri Herz, Austrian pianist (b. 1803)
1891 – Emma Abbott, American soprano (b. 1849)
1904 – Karl Alfred von Zittel, German palaeontologist (b. 1839)
1910 – Léon Walras, French economist (b. 1834)
1922 – Ernest Shackleton, Irish explorer (b. 1874)
1933 – Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States (b. 1872)
1937 – Marie Booth, child of William and Catherine Booth (b. 1864)
1939 – Amelia Earhart, American aviator declared dead after disappearance in 1937. (b. 1897)
1940 – Humbert Wolfe, Italian-British poet (b. 1885)
1941 – Amy Johnson, English aviator (b. 1903)
1943 – George Washington Carver, American educator (b. 1864)
1946 – Kitty Cheatham, American singer (b. 1864)
1951 – Andrei Platonov, Russian writer (b. 1899)
1952 – Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, Viceroy of India (b. 1887)
1952 – Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1869)
1954 – Rabbit Maranville, American baseball player (b. 1891)
1956 – Mistinguett, French singer (b. 1875)
1963 – Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player (b. 1896)
1970 – Max Born, German physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1882)
1970 – Cyril Fagan, Irish astrologer (b. 1896)
1970 – Roberto Gerhard, Catalan composer (b. 1896)
1971 – Douglas Shearer, Canadian film engineer (b. 1899)
1974 – Lev Oborin, Russian pianist (b. 1907)
1976 – John A. Costello, Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1891)
1976 – Mal Evans, Beatles roadie (b. 1935)
1979 – Charles Mingus, American musician (b. 1922)
1981 – Harold C. Urey, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1893)
1981 – Lanza del Vasto, Italian philosopher (b. 1901)
1982 – Sir Edmund Herring, Australian military commander, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria (b. 1892)
1982 – Hans Conried, American actor (b. 1917)
1982 – Harvey Lembeck, American actor (b. 1923)
1985 – Robert L. Surtees, American Oscar-winning cinematographer (Ben-Hur) (b. 1906)
1987 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-born Canadian cross-country skier (b. 1875)
1987 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian Author (b. 1926)
1988 – Pete Maravich, American basketball player (b. 1947)
1990 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (b. 1914)
1991 – Vasko Popa, Yugoslav poet (b. 1922)
1994 – Brian Johnston, English cricket commentator (b. 1912)
1994 – Tip O Neill, American politician (b. 1912)
1996 – Lincoln Kirstein, American writer, impresario, art connoisseur (b. 1907)
1996 – Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian Hamas member (b. 1966)
1997 – Burton Lane, American composer and lyricist (b. 1912)
1997 – André Franquin, Belgian cartoonist (Gaston Lagaffe) (b. 1924)
1998 – Sonny Bono, American entertainer and politician (b. 1935)
1998 – Ken Forssi, American musician (Love) (b. 1943)
2001 – Nancy Parsons, American actress (b. 1942)
2003 – Massimo Girotti, Italian film actor (b. 1918)
2003 – Roy Jenkins, British politician (b. 1920)
2003 – Doreen Carwithen, British composer, widow of William Alwyn (b. 1922)
2003 – Jean Kerr, American author (b. 1923)
2004 – Tug McGraw, American baseball player, father of Tim McGraw (b. 1944)
2005 – Danny Sugerman, American music manager (The Doors) (b. 1954)
2006 – Lord Merlyn-Rees, British politician (b. 1920)
2007 – Momofuku Ando, inventor of instant noodles and cup noodles (b. 1910)
2007 – Chih Ree Sun, Chinese-American physicist and poet (b. 1923)
2008 – Clinton Grybas, Australian sports commentator (b. 1975)
Holidays and observances
The Twelfth day of Christmas in Western Christianity, and the Twelfth Night of Christmas in Western Christianity.
Feast day of:
St. John Neumann
St. Simeon Stylites
Pope Telesphorus
January 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Mungday (Discordianism)
Red Hackle Anniversary Day of the Black Watch
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