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Today January 12th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
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.
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 Agca 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.
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)
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
1922 – Tadeusz Zychiewicz, Polish journalist and art historian (d. 1994)
1923 – Ira Hayes, US Marine (d. 1955)
1924 – Olivier Gendebien, Belgian racing driver (d. 1998)
1925 – Bill Burrud, American television host (d. 1990)
1925 – Scottie MacGregor, American actress
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
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 – Kentaro 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
1963 – François Girard, French-Canadian film director and screenwriter
1964 – Jeff Bezos, American entrepreneur
1964 – Laura Gildemeister, Argentine tennis player
1965 – Mark Moore, British record producer
1965 – Rob Zombie, American musician
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 Prosinecki, Croatian footballer
1970 – Raekwon, American rapper
1970 – Zack de la Rocha, American musician (Rage Against the Machine)
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 – Dominic Etli, American soccer player
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 – 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
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
1992 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese gravure idol
1993 – Aika Mitsui, Japanese singer
1995 – Laurel McGoff, American singer
1998 – Nathan Gamble, American actor
Deaths
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 – Ludovít 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)
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)
Holidays and observances
Tanzania – Zanzibar Revolution Day
India- National Youth Day Swami Vivekananda s birthday
Feast day of Benedict Biscop
Feast day of Saint Tatiana
January 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
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