January 27

Events

• AD 98 - Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
• 1186 - Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
• 1302 - Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.
• 1343 - Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences. Nearly 200 years later, Martin Luther would protest this.
• 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
• 1695 - Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan and Caliph of Islam in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
• 1776 - American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox's "noble train of artillery" arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• 1785 - The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
• 1820 - A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast.
• 1825 - The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory, clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears".
• 1868 - Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi begins, between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions; it will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
• 1869 - Boshin War: Tokugawa rebels establish the Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō.
• 1880 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for his incandescent lamp.
• 1916 - World War I: The British government passed a legislation that introduced conscription in the United Kingdom.
• 1918 - Beginning of the Finnish Civil War.
• 1927 - Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.
• 1939 - First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
• 1943 - World War II: The Eighth Air Force sorties ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany.
• 1944 - World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
• 1945 - World War II: The Soviet 322nd Rifle Division liberates the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
• 1951 - Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.
• 1961 - The Soviet submarine S-80 sinks when its snorkel malfunctions, flooding the boat.
• 1967 - Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
• 1967 - Cold War: The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
• 1973 - The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict's last recorded American combat casualty.
• 1980 - Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.
• 1983 - The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
• 1996 - In a military coup, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
• 1996 - Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
• 2002 - An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
• 2003 - The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
• 2010 - The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.
• 2011 - Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sana'a.
• 2013 - Two hundred and forty-two people die in a nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.

  Births

• 1365 - Edward of Angoulême, English noble
• 1443 - Albert III, Duke of Saxony
• 1546 - Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg
• 1571 - Abbas I of Persia
• 1585 - Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter
• 1603 - Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons
• 1603 - Humphrey Mackworth, English politician, lawyer and judge
• 1621 - Thomas Willis, English physician and anatomist
• 1662 - Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian
• 1663 - George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, Royal Navy admiral
• 1687 - Johann Balthasar Neumann, German engineer and architect, designed Würzburg Residence and Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
• 1701 - Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian and theologian
• 1708 - Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia
• 1741 - Hester Thrale, Welsh author
• 1756 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian pianist and composer
• 1775 - Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German-Swiss philosopher and academic
• 1790 - Juan Álvarez, Mexican general and president
• 1795 - Eli Whitney Blake, American engineer, invented the Mortise lock
• 1803 - Eunice Hale Waite Cobb, American writer, public speaker, and activist
• 1805 - Maria Anna of Bavaria
• 1805 - Samuel Palmer, English painter and etcher
• 1806 - Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer and educator
• 1808 - David Strauss, German theologian and author
• 1814 - Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect, designed the Lausanne Cathedral
• 1821 - John Chivington, American colonel and pastor
• 1823 - Édouard Lalo, French violinist and composer
• 1824 - Urbain Johnson, Canadian farmer and political figure
• 1826 - Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist and author
• 1826 - Richard Taylor, American general, historian, and politician
• 1832 - Lewis Carroll, English novelist, poet, and mathematician
• 1832 - Carl Friedrich Schmidt, Estonian-Russian geologist and botanist
• 1836 - Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author
• 1842 - Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian-Russian painter
• 1848 - Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral
• 1850 - John Collier, English painter and author
• 1850 - Samuel Gompers, English-American labor leader
• 1850 - Edward Smith, English captain
• 1858 - Neel Doff, Dutch-Belgian author
• 1859 - Wilhelm II, German Emperor
• 1869 - Will Marion Cook, American violinist and composer
• 1878 - Dorothy Scarborough, American author
• 1885 - Jerome Kern, American composer and songwriter
• 1885 - Seison Maeda, Japanese painter
• 1886 - Radhabinod Pal, Indian academic and jurist
• 1889 - Balthasar van der Pol, Dutch physicist and academic
• 1891 - Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian journalist and author
• 1893 - Soong Ching-ling, Chinese politician, Honorary President of the People's Republic of China
• 1895 - Joseph Rosenstock, Polish-American conductor and manager
• 1895 - Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter
• 1900 - Hyman G. Rickover, American admiral
• 1901 - Willy Fritsch, German actor
• 1901 - Art Rooney, American football player and coach, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers
• 1903 - John Eccles, Australian-Swiss neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1903 - Otto P. Weyland, American general
• 1904 - James J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic
• 1905 - Howard McNear, American actor
• 1908 - William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher
• 1910 - Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general, economist, and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia
• 1912 - Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher and environmentalist
• 1912 - Francis Rogallo, American engineer, invented the Rogallo wing
• 1915 - Jules Archer, American historian and author
• 1915 - Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor, and illustrator
• 1918 - Skitch Henderson, American pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1918 - Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1918 - William Seawell, American general
• 1919 - Tom Addington, English captain
• 1919 - Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks
• 1920 - Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Japanese lieutenant and pilot
• 1920 - Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer
• 1921 - Donna Reed, American actress
• 1924 - Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus
• 1924 - Brian Rix, English actor, producer, and politician
• 1924 - Harvey Shapiro, American poet
• 1926 - Fritz Spiegl, Austrian flute player and journalist
• 1926 - Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress
• 1928 - Michael Craig, Indian-English actor and screenwriter
• 1928 - Hans Modrow, Polish-German lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of East Germany
• 1929 - Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-Swiss businessman
• 1929 - Gastón Suárez, Bolivian author and playwright
• 1930 - Bobby "Blue" Bland, American blues singer-songwriter
• 1931 - Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter
• 1931 - Nigel Vinson, Baron Vinson, English lieutenant and businessman
• 1932 - Boris Shakhlin, Russian-Ukrainian gymnast
• 1933 - Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman
• 1934 - Édith Cresson, French politician and diplomat, 160th Prime Minister of France
• 1934 - George Follmer, American race car driver
• 1935 - Steve Demeter, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1936 - Troy Donahue, American actor
• 1936 - Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1937 - Fred Åkerström, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1940 - Ahmet Kurtcebe Alptemoçin, Turkish engineer and politician, 35th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1940 - James Cromwell, American actor
• 1940 - Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1940 - Petru Lucinschi, Romanian activist and politician, 2nd President of Moldova
• 1940 - Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter
• 1941 - Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist
• 1942 - Maki Asakawa, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
• 1942 - Tasuku Honjo, Japanese immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine
• 1942 - John Witherspoon, American actor and comedian
• 1942 - Kate Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1943 - Julia Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege, English businesswoman and politician
• 1944 - Peter Akinola, Nigerian archbishop
• 1944 - Mairead Maguire, Northern Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1944 - Nick Mason, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
• 1945 - Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician
• 1946 - Christopher Hum, English academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to China
• 1946 - Nedra Talley, American singer
• 1947 - Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1947 - Vyron Polydoras, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for Public Order
• 1947 - Cal Schenkel, American painter and illustrator
• 1947 - Philip Sugden, English historian and author
• 1947 - Perfecto Yasay Jr., Filipino lawyer and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
• 1948 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor
• 1948 - Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
• 1951 - Seth Justman, American keyboard player and songwriter
• 1951 - Cees van der Knaap, Dutch soldier and politician
• 1952 - Brian Gottfried, American tennis player
• 1952 - Billy Johnson, American football player and coach
• 1952 - Tam O'Shaughnessy, American tennis player, psychologist, and academic
• 1952 - G. E. Smith, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1954 - Peter Laird, American author and illustrator
• 1954 - Ed Schultz, American talk show host and sportscaster
• 1955 - Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1955 - John Roberts, American lawyer and judge, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
• 1956 - Mimi Rogers, American actress
• 1957 - Janick Gers, English guitarist and songwriter
• 1957 - Frank Miller, American illustrator, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1958 - James Grippando, American lawyer and author
• 1958 - Alan Milburn, English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• 1959 - Cris Collinsworth, American football player and sportscaster
• 1959 - Göran Hägglund, Swedish lawyer and politician, 28th Swedish Minister for Social Affairs
• 1959 - Keith Olbermann, American journalist and author
• 1960 - Fiona O'Donnell, Canadian-Scottish politician
• 1961 - Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
• 1961 - Margo Timmins, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1962 - Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
• 1963 - George Monbiot, English-Welsh author and activist
• 1964 - Patrick van Deurzen, Dutch composer and academic
• 1964 - Bridget Fonda, American actress
• 1964 - Shahin Shahablou, Iranian photographer
• 1965 - Alan Cumming, Scottish-American actor
• 1965 - Mike Newell, English footballer and manager
• 1965 - Ignacio Noé, Argentinian author and illustrator
• 1965 - Attila Sekerlioglu, Austrian footballer and manager
• 1966 - Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese-American actress and singer
• 1967 - Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1968 - Tracy Lawrence, American country singer
• 1968 - Mike Patton, American singer, composer, and voice artist
• 1968 - Matt Stover, American football player
• 1969 - Michael Kulas, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1969 - Patton Oswalt, American comedian and actor
• 1969 - Shane Thomson, New Zealand cricketer
• 1970 - Bradley Clyde, Australian rugby league player
• 1970 - Dean Headley, English cricketer and coach
• 1971 - Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1972 - Bibi Gaytán, Mexican singer and actress
• 1973 - Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager
• 1974 - Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian skier and biathlete
• 1974 - Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player and coach
• 1974 - Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
• 1976 - Ahn Jung-hwan, South Korean footballer
• 1976 - Clint Ford, American actor, voice actor and novelist
• 1976 - Danielle George, Professor of Radio frequency engineering at the University of Manchester
• 1976 - Fred Taylor, American football player
• 1976 - Michael K. Winder, American businessman and politician
• 1978 - Pete Laforest, Canadian-American baseball player and manager
• 1979 - Rosamund Pike, English actress
• 1979 - Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer and coach
• 1980 - Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1980 - Marat Safin, Russian tennis player and politician
• 1981 - Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
• 1981 - Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
• 1982 - Eva Asderaki, Greek tennis umpire
• 1983 - Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 - Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 - Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
• 1984 - Vince Mellars, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1987 - Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1987 - Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
• 1987 - Ashley Grace, American singer-songwriter
• 1988 - Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
• 1989 - Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer
• 1991 - Christian Bickel, German footballer
• 1991 - Sebastine Ikahihifo, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1992 - Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer
• 1995 - Harrison Reed, English footballer midfielder
• 2000 - Cory Paix, Australian rugby league player

  Deaths

• AD 98 - Nerva, Roman emperor
• 457 - Marcian, Byzantine emperor
• 555 - Yuan Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty
• 672 - Pope Vitalian
• 847 - Pope Sergius II
• 906 - Liu Can, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
• 931 - Ruotger, archbishop of Trier
• 947 - Zhang Yanze, Chinese general and governor
• 1062 - Adelaide of Hungary,
• 1311 - Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan
• 1377 - Frederick the Simple, King of Sicily
• 1490 - Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun
• 1504 - Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo
• 1540 - Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint, founded the Company of St. Ursula
• 1592 - Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter
• 1596 - Francis Drake, English captain and explorer
• 1629 - Hieronymus Praetorius, German organist and composer
• 1638 - Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish author and poet
• 1651 - Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch painter and illustrator
• 1689 - Robert Aske, English merchant and philanthropist
• 1731 - Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the Piano
• 1733 - Thomas Woolston, English theologian and author
• 1740 - Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon
• 1770 - Philippe Macquer, French historian
• 1794 - Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general
• 1812 - John Perkins, Anglo-Jamaican captain
• 1814 - Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic
• 1816 - Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral and politician
• 1851 - John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter
• 1860 - János Bolyai, Romanian-Hungarian mathematician and academic
• 1880 - Edward Middleton Barry, English architect and academic, co-designed the Halifax Town Hall and the Royal Opera House
• 1901 - Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer
• 1910 - Thomas Crapper, English plumber and businessman
• 1919 - Endre Ady, Hungarian poet and journalist
• 1921 - Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant
• 1922 - Nellie Bly, American journalist and author
• 1927 - Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Lithuanian bishop
• 1931 - Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna
• 1940 - Isaac Babel, Russian short story writer, journalist, and playwright
• 1942 - Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia
• 1951 - Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish field marshal and politician, 6th President of Finland
• 1956 - Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director
• 1961 - Bernard Friedberg, Austrian scholar and author
• 1963 - John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1965 - Abraham Walkowitz, American painter
• 1967 - crew of Apollo 1
• * Roger B. Chaffee, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut
• * Gus Grissom, American pilot and astronaut
• * Ed White, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut
• 1967 - Alphonse Juin, Algerian-French general
• 1970 - Rocco D'Assunta, Italian actor, comedian and playwright
• 1971 - Jacobo Árbenz, Guatemalan captain and politician, President of Guatemala
• 1972 - Mahalia Jackson, American singer
• 1973 - William Nolde, American colonel
• 1974 - Georgios Grivas, Cypriot general
• 1975 - Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer
• 1983 - Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter
• 1986 - Lilli Palmer, German-American actress
• 1987 - Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator and director
• 1988 - Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian historian, author, and playwright
• 1989 - Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player and pilot
• 1993 - André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor
• 1994 - Claude Akins, American actor
• 1996 - Ralph Yarborough, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
• 2000 - Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer
• 2003 - Henryk Jabłoński, Polish historian and politician, President of Poland
• 2004 - Salvador Laurel, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Vice President of the Philippines
• 2004 - Jack Paar, American talk show host and author
• 2006 - Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 2006 - Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th President of Germany
• 2007 - Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete, long jumper, and hurdler
• 2008 - Suharto, Indonesian general and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia
• 2008 - Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader and author, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• 2008 - Louie Welch, American businessman and politician, 54th Mayor of Houston
• 2009 - John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic
• 2009 - R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th President of India
• 2010 - Zelda Rubinstein, American actress
• 2010 - J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author
• 2010 - Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist
• 2011 - Charlie Callas, American comedian and musician
• 2012 - Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster
• 2012 - Ted Dicks, English composer and screenwriter
• 2012 - Jeannette Hamby, American nurse and politician
• 2012 - Kevin White, American politician, 51st Mayor of Boston
• 2013 - Ivan Bodiul, Ukrainian-Russian politician
• 2013 - Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian
• 2014 - Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist
• 2014 - Epimaco Velasco, Filipino lawyer and politician, Governor of Cavite
• 2014 - Paul Zorner, German soldier and pilot
• 2015 - Rocky Bridges, American baseball player and coach
• 2015 - David Landau, English-Israeli journalist
• 2015 - Joseph Rotman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist
• 2015 - Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 2015 - Larry Winters, American wrestler and trainer
• 2016 - Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach
• 2017 - Emmanuelle Riva, French actress
• 2017 - Arthur H. Rosenfeld, American physicist
• 2018 - Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA
• 2018 - Mort Walker, American cartoonist
• 2019 - Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau, German socialite

  Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
• *Angela Merici
• *Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini
• *Devota
• *Enrique de Ossó y Cercelló
• *John Chrysostom
• *Sava
• *January 27
• Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad
• Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
• *Holocaust Memorial Day
• *International Holocaust Remembrance Day
• *Memorial Day
• *Other Holocaust Memorial Days observances