Today January 18th 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
350 – Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor.
474 – Leo II briefly becomes Byzantine emperor.
532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.
1520 – King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes at Lake Åsunden.
1535 – Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima, the capital of Peru.
1562 – Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
1591 – King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Minchit Sra of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed marked as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
1670 – Henry Morgan captures Panama.
1701 – Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.
1777 – Representatives of the New Hampshire Grants declare the independence of the Vermont Republic from Britain.
1778 – James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the Sandwich Islands.
1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay.
1861 – American Civil War – Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.
1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed the first German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The empire was known as The Second Reich to the Germans.
1884 – Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom.
1886 – Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
1896 – The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time.
1903 – President Theodore Roosevelt sends a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.
1911 – Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco harbor, marking the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
1913 – A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos during the First Balkan War, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
1915 – Japan issues the Twenty-One Demands to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
1916 – A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite strikes a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.
1919 – World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.
1919 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
1919 – Bentley Motors Limited is founded.
1943 – Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
1944 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers were Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
1944 – Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.
1945 – Liberation of the Budapest ghetto by the Red Army.
1955 – Battle of Yijiangshan occurred.
1958 – Willie O Ree, the first African Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut.
1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler, is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life in prison.
1969 – United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay resulting in the loss of all 32 passengers and six crew members.
1974 – A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
1977 – Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires disease.
1977 – Australia s worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
1978 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
1983 – The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe s Olympic medals to his family.
1990 – Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
1991 – Eastern Air Lines goes out of business after 62 years, citing financial problems.
1993 – For the first time, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed in all 50 states.
1994 – The Cando event, a possible bolide impact in Cando, Spain. Witnesses claim to have seen a fireball in the sky lasting for almost one minute.
1997 – In north west Rwanda, Hutu militia members kill 3 Spanish aid workers, 3 soldiers and seriously wound one other.
1997 – Boerge Ousland of Norway becomes the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided.
1998 – Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair story on his website The Drudge Report.
2000 – The Tagish Lake meteorite impacts the Earth.
2002 – Sierra Leone Civil War was finally declared over.
2003 – A bushfire kills 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
2003 – The Airbus A380, the world s largest commercial jet, was unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France
2007 – The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people, Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Hurricane Kyrill, causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe. Other losses include the Container Ship MSC Napoli destroyed by the storm off the coast of Devon, England.
Births
885 – Daigo, Emperor of Japan (d. 930)
1519 – Isabella Jagiello, queen of Hungary (d. 1559)
1543 – (baptised) Alfonso Ferrabosco (I), Italian composer (d. 1588)
1641 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French war minister (d. 1691)
1659 – Damaris Cudworth Masham, English philosopher (d. 1708)
1672 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (d. 1731)
1688 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1765)
1689 – Montesquieu, French writer (d. 1755)
1779 – Peter Roget, British lexicographer (d. 1869)
1782 – Daniel Webster, American statesman (d. 1852)
1795 – Anna Pavlovna of Russia, queen of The Netherlands (d. 1865)
1813 – Joseph Glidden, American farmer who patented barbed wire (d. 1906)
1815 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German biblical scholar (d. 1874)
1840 – Henry Austin Dobson, English poet (d. 1921)
1841 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French composer (d. 1894)
1842 – Albert Alonzo Ames, Mayor of Minneapolis (d. 1911)
1848 – Ioan Slavici, Transylvanian writer (d. 1925)
1849 – Sir Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
1850 – Seth Low, American politician (d. 1916)
1854 – Thomas Watson, American telephone pioneer (d. 1934)
1856 – Daniel Hale Williams, African-American surgeon (d. 1931)
1867 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan Journalist, Diplomat, Poet (d. 1916)
1877 – Samuel Zemurray, U.S. businessman (d. 1961)
1879 – Henri Giraud, French general (d. 1949)
1881 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher (d. 1975)
1882 – A. A. Milne, English author (d. 1956)
1886 – Clara Nordström, German writer and translator (d. 1962)
1888 – Thomas Sopwith, British aviation pioneer (d. 1989)
1892 – Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (d. 1957)
1892 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon (d. 1956)
1896 – C. M. Eddy, Jr., American writer (d. 1967)
1901 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1973)
1904 – Cary Grant, English actor (d. 1986)
1904 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordionist (d. 2006)
1905 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (d. 2002)
1908 – Jacob Bronowski, Polish-born mathematician, poet, and physicist (d. 1974)
1908 – Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1972)
1910 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist (d. 1983)
1913 – Danny Kaye, American actor (d. 1987)
1914 – Arno Schmidt, German author (d. 1979)
1915 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer and songwriter (d. 1984)
1917 – Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese businessman
1918 – Gustave Gingras, French Canadian physician (d. 1996)
1922 – Bob Bell, American clown (d. 1997)
1925 – Gilles Deleuze, French philosopher (d. 1995)
1927 – Sundaram Balachander, Indian veena player (d. 1990)
1931 – Chun Doo-hwan, President of South Korea
1932 – Robert Anton Wilson, American author (d. 2007)
1933 – John Boorman, Irish film director
1933 – Ray Dolby, American inventor (Dolby noise reduction system)
1934 – Raymond Briggs, English writer and illustrator
1935 – Albert Millaire, Quebec actor and theatre director
1935 – Jon Stallworthy, English poet
1935 – Gad Yaacobi, Israeli minister (d. 2007)
1937 – John Hume, Northern Irish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998
1938 – Curt Flood, American baseball player (d. 1997)
1938 – Anthony Giddens, British sociologist
1940 – Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican racing driver (d. 1971)
1941 – Denise Bombardier, Quebec journalist, television host and novelist
1941 – Bobby Goldsboro, American country/pop singer
1941 – David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991)
1943 – Kay Granger, American politician
1944 – Paul Keating, twenty-fourth Prime Minister of Australia
1944 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (d. 1983)
1945 – José Luis Perales, Spanish singer
1946 – Joseph Deiss, Swiss Federal Councilor
1947 – Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director
1947 – Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseball player
1949 – Philippe Starck, French designer
1949 – Bill Keller, American newspaper editor
1950 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
1951 – Bob Latchford, English footballer
1951 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist (d. 1982)
1952 – R. Stevie Moore, American singer, songwriter, and home recording pioneer
1952 – Michael Behe, American advocate of Intelligent Design
1953 – Brett Hudson, American musician
1954 – Ted DiBiase, Retired Professional Wrestler
1953 – Tom Bailey, English singer & musician (Thompson Twins)
1955 – Kevin Costner, American actor
1955 – Fergus Martin, Irish artist
1956 – Sharon Mitchell, American porn actress
1961 – Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 – Peter Beardsley, English footballer
1961 – Jeff Yagher, American actor
1962 – Alison Arngrim, American actress
1962 – David O Connor, American equestrian rider
1963 – Maxime Bernier, French Canadian politician
1963 – Martin O Malley, Governor of Maryland
1963 – Yury Zakharevich, Soviet weightlifter
1964 – Jane Horrocks, British actress
1964 – Enrico Lo Verso, Italian actor
1964 – Andrea Leand, American tennis player
1965 – Dave Attell, American writer and comedian
1966 – Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player
1966 – André Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver
1967 – Kim Perrot, American basketball player (d. 1999)
1967 – Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer
1968 – Frank Quitely, Scottish comic book artist
1969 – Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer
1969 – Dave Bautista, American professional wrestler
1969 – Jim O Rourke, American musician and producer (Loose Fur and Wilco)
1970 – DJ Quik, American rapper
1970 – Peter van Petegem, Belgian cyclist
1971 – Jonathan Davis, American singer (Ko?n)
1971 – Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
1971 – Fabian Ribauw, Nauruan politician
1971 – Josep Guardiola, Spanish footballer
1971 – Seamus O Regan, Canadian broadcast journalist
1972 – Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player
1973 – Anthony Koutoufides, Australian rules footballer and Gladiator
1973 – Crispian Mills, British musician (The Jeevas and Kula Shaker)
1973 – Richard Archer, British singer (lead singer of Hard-Fi)
1974 – Michael Tunn, Australian television and radio
1974 – Christian Burns, English musician (BBMak)
1974 – Devon Odessa, American actress
1974 – Maulik Pancholy, American actor
1974 – Princess Claire of Belgium
1976 – Laurence Courtois, Belgian tennis player
1976 – Damien Leith, Irish-born Australian singer, winner of Australian Idol 2006
1977 – Curtis Cregan, American actor
1977 – Alina Jidkova, Russian tennis player
1978 – Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player
1978 – Bogdan Lobont, Romanian football player
1979 – Jay Chou, Taiwanese singer and producer
1979 – Ruslan Fedotenko, Ukrainian ice hockey player
1979 – Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
1979 – Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player
1979 – Kenyatta Jones, American football player
1980 – Robert Green, English footballer
1980 – Julius Peppers, American football player
1980 – Jason Segel, American actor
1980 – Estelle Swaray, English singer
1981 – Kang Dong-won, South Korean model and actor
1981 – Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player
1981 – Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer
1982 – Joanna Newsom, American harpist
1983 – Samantha Mumba, Irish singer and actress
1984 – Benji Schwimmer, American dancer
1984 – Michael Kearney, American child prodigy
1984 – Maarja Kivi, Estonian singer
1984 – Seung-Hui Cho, shooter at Virginia Tech
1984 – Kristy Lee Cook, American Idol 7 cast member
1985 – Dale Begg-Smith, Australian freestyle skier
1985 – Riccardo Montolivo, Italian soccer player
1985 – Minissha Lamba, Indian Actress and Model
1988 – Ronald Guglielmone Jr., American singer-songwriter
1993 – Morgan York, American actress
Deaths
52 BC – Publius Clodius Pulcher (murdered)
474 – Leo I, Byzantine Emperor (b. 401)
1367 – King Peter I of Portugal (b. 1320)
1425 – Edmund de Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, English politician (b. 1391)
1471 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (b. 1419)
1586 – Margaret of Austria, regent of The Netherlands (b. 1522)
1664 – Moses Amyraut, French theologian (b. 1596)
1677 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch merchant (b. 1619)
1803 – Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet (b. 1743)
1862 – John Tyler, 10th President of the United States (b. 1790)
1873 – Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English author (b. 1803)
1878 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist (b. 1788)
1886 – Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (b. 1819)
1892 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1819)
1896 – Charles Floquet, French statesman (b. 1828)
1923 – Wallace Reid, Actor (b. 1891)
1936 – Rudyard Kipling, British writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1865)
1940 – Kazimierz Tetmajer, Polish writer (b. 1865)
1951 – Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary (b. 1867)
1952 – Curly Howard, American actor and comedian (b. 1903)
1954 – Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (b. 1879)
1963 – Hugh Gaitskell, leader of the British Labour Party (b. 1906)
1966 – Kathleen Norris, American writer (b. 1880)
1967 – Goose Tatum, American basketball player (b. 1921)
1969 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist (b. 1887)
1970 – David O. McKay, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1873)
1971 – Virgil Finlay, American horror illustrator (b. 1914)
1975 – Gertrude Olmstead, American actress (b. 1897)
1978 – Hasan Askari, Pakistani philosopher, critic and writer (b. 1919)
1978 – Carl Betz, American film and television actor (b. 1921)
1978 – Walter H. Thompson, English Scotland Yard detective, bodyguard of Winston Churchill (b. 1890)
1980 – Sir Cecil Beaton, English fashion designer (b. 1904)
1984 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
1985 – Wilfrid Brambell, Irish actor (b. 1912)
1989 – Bruce Chatwin, English novelist (b. 1940)
1990 – Rusty Hamer, American actor (b. 1947)
1993 – Eleanor Hibbert, British author (b. 1906)
1995 – Adolf Butenandt, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
1995 – Ron Luciano, American baseball umpire (b. 1937)
1996 – Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, Indian actor (b. 1923)
1997 – Paul Tsongas, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (b. 1941)
2000 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (b. 1897)
2001 – Al Waxman, Canadian actor (b. 1935)
2003 – Edward The Sheik Farhat, American professional wrestler (b. 1926)
2005 – Lamont Bentley, American actor (b. 1973)
2006 – Jan Twardowski, Polish poet (b. 1915)
2007 – Brent Liles, American musician (Agent Orange/Social Distortion) (b. 1963)
2008 – Georgia Frontiere, American football team owner (b. 1927)
2008 – Frank Lewin, American composer and music theorist (b. 1925)
2008 – John Stroger, first African-American Cook County Board President (b. 1929)
Holidays and observances
Chair of Saint Peter on the Pre Second Vatican Council calendar (February 22 on the new calendar).
Feast day of Saint Athanasius (Eastern Orthodox)
Feast day of Saint Cyril of Alexandria
Feast day of Saint Margaret of Hungary
Feast day of Saint Prisca
Feast day of Saint Volusianus
Feast days of January 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Feast of The Confession of Peter observed in Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches.
Feast of the Cross (Eastern Orthodox)
Paryaya festival at Udupi held every alternate year — 2006, 2008, 2010 etc.
Royal Thai Armed Forces Day (in observance of the victory of Naresuan in 1593.
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins
Winnie The Pooh Day (in observance of the birthday of Alan Alexander Milne, 1882.)
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