Events on Jan 1
- 0001Origin of Christian Era
- 0069Roman garrison of Mainz uprising
- 0089Gov Lucius Antonius Saturninus of Germany becomes Emperor of Rome
- 0313Start of Roman (Pontifical) Indiction
- 0404Last gladiator competition in Rome
- 0414King Ataulf of Narbonne marries Emperor Honorius sister Galle Placidia
- 0722Hofmeier Charles Martel flees from Bishop Willibrord
- 0990Russia adopts Julian calendar
- 1430Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services
- 1438Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes King of Hungary
- 1494Juw Dekama elected potentate of Frisia
- 1502Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro
- 1504King Louis XII loses last bulwark in Naples, Caeta
- 1515Jews are expelled from Laibach Austria
- 1573Geuzen sets fire to Woudrichem
- 15831st day of the Gregorian calendar in Holland and Flanders
- 1610German astronomer Simon Marius 1st discovers the Jupiter moons, but does not officially report it, Galileo does on July 1 1610
- 1622Papal Chancery adopts Jan 1 as beginning of the year (was March 25)
- 1651Charles II Stuart crowned King of Scotland
- 1660General Moncks army battles with the Tweed on way to London
- 1673Regular mail delivery begins between New York and Boston
- 1689Pro-James II-earl of Danby occupies York
- 1700Protestant West-Europe (except England) begin using Gregorian calendar
- 1700Russia replaces Byzantines with Julian calendar
- 1701Great Britain and Ireland union is in effect, creating United Kingdom
- 1707Jacob V succeeds his father Pedro II as King of Portugal
- 1739J B C Bouvet de Lozier discovers Bouvet Island, near Antarctica
- 1770Date of action in the opera "Madeleine"
- 1776Gen George Washington hoists Continental Union Flag
- 1785"Daily Universal Register" (Times of London) publishes 1st issue
Born on Jan 1
- 0379Basilius [the Great of Caesarea]: Holyman (Moralia)
- 1387Charles [the Angry One]: King of Navarra (1349-87)
- 1431Alexander VI [Rodrigo Borgia]: Spanish / Italian Pope (1492-1503)
- 1467Sigismund I [the old]: King of Poland
- 1481Huldrych Zwingli: Switzerland -- Protestant Reformer
- 1504Caspar Cruciger: German church Reformer
- 1520Franciscus Balduinus [Francois Baudouin]: Lawyer
- 1622Isaac Sweers: Dutch Admiral / General / Civil rights activist
- 1628Christoph Bernhard: German composer
- 1638Antoinette du Ligier de la Guard Deshoulieres: French poet / playwright
- 1652Johann Krieger: Composer
- 1697Johann Pfeiffer: Composer
- 1714Kristijonas Donelaitis: Lutheran pastor, Lithuanian poet (The Seas)
- 1723Christian Friedrich Gregor: Composer
- 1729Edmund Burke: British author (Philosophy & Inquiry)
- 1734John F E Acton: Cruel Premier of Naples
- 1745"Mad" Anthony Wayne: General
- 1748Giovanni Furno: Composer
- 1752Elizabeth Griscom [Betsy] Ross: Flag maker
- 1764John Kinker: Dutch linguist / philosopher / poet (Minderjarige Zangster)
- 1777Micah Hawkins: Composer
- 1784William Beale: Composer
- 1800Sydney Nelson: Composer
- 1800Vaclav Horak: Composer
- 1809John Pieter Heije: Dutch Physician / writer / poet (Silver Fleet)
- 1815Charles Renouvier: French philosopher (neocriticism)
- 1819Arthur Hugh Clough: Poet, friend of Matthew Arnold
- 1819George Foster Shepley: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1878
- 1827William Lewis "Old Tige" Cabell: Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
- 1831William Joseph Westbrook: Composer
Died on Jan 1
- 0379Basilius the Great: Of Caesarea, Saint (Moralia)
- 0404Telemachus: Roman monk, murdered
- 0898Odo: Earl of Paris / King of France (888-98), dies at about 39
- 0962Boudouin III: Count of Flanders
- 1387Karel de Boze: King of Navarra (1349-87)
- 1502Gregorius XIII [Ugo Buoncampagni]: Italy -- Pope (1572-85)
- 1515Louis XII: "the Justified" King of France (1498-1515), dies at 52
- 1559Christian III: King of Denmark / Norway (1534-59)
- 1560Guillaume du Bellay: Sieur de Langey, French soldier
- 1617Hendrick Goltzius: Dutch Painter / cartoonist / engraver
- 1626Cornelis Pieterse Hoft: Amsterdam Merchant / regent, dies at 68
- 1630Tetsugen: Zen teacher (Jodo Sect converted to Obaku Zen)
- 1661Pieter Claesz: Dutch still life painter, dies at about 64
- 1701Pietro Sanmartini: Composer, dies at 64
- 1716William Wycherley: Dramatist (The Country Wife), dies at about 75
- 1730Daniel Finch: 2nd Earl of Nottingham, dies at 82
- 1753Louis-Maurice de La Pierre: Composer, dies at 55
- 1758Johann F von Cronegk: German playwright (Codrus), dies at 26
- 1766Frans E Jacobus III: Old Pretender, King of Gt Britain / Ireland
- 1766James III Edward: Old Pretender / King of Gt Britain / Ireland, dies at 77
- 1768Jean-Laurent Krafft: Composer, dies at 73
- 1777Emanuele Barbella: Composer, dies at 58
- 1782Johann Christian Bach: German Composer / Mozarts tutor, dies at 46
- 1787Arthur Middleton: US farmer (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 44
- 1789Christleib Siegmund Binder: Composer, dies at 65
- 1793Francesco Guardi: Italian painter, dies at 80
- 1800Louis J M Daubenton: France -- Zoologist, dies at 83
- 1816Francois Alexander Sallantin: Composer, dies at 60
- 1817Martin H Klaproth: German chemist (uranium), dies at 73
- 1818Fedele Fenaroli: Composer, dies at 87
Historical events on January 2
- 0069Roman Lower Rhine army proclaims its commander, Vitellius, Emperor
- 0533John II begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1235Emperor Joseph II orders Jews of Galicia Austria to adopt family names
- 1492Spain recaptures Granada from the Moors (Granada Day)
- 1570Tsar Ivan the Terrible march to Novgorod begins
- 1585Spain and Catholic France sign Saint League of Joinville
- 1602Battle at Kinsale, Ireland: English army beats Spanish
- 1602Spanish force in Ireland surrender to the English at Kinsdale
- 1678Staatsoper Hamburg opens with Theiles "Adam und Eva"
- 1757British troops occupy Calcutta India
- 17761st revolutionary flag displayed
- 1776Austria ends interregation torture
- 1788Georgia is 4th state to ratify US constitution
- 1800Free black community of Philadelphia petitions Congress to abolish slave
- 1811US Sen Thomas Pickering is 1st senator censured (revealed confidential documents communicated by the President of the US)
- 1814Lord Byron completes "The Corsair"
- 1831Liberator, abolitionist newspaper, begins publishing in Boston
- 18321st Curling club in US (Orchard Lake Curling Club) opens
- 18391st photo of the Moon (French photographer Louis Daguerre)
- 18421st US wire suspension bridge for general traffic opens in Penn
- 1861Colonel Charles Stone is put in charge of organizing DC militia
- 1861SC seizes inactive Ft Johnson in Charleston Harbor
- 1870Construction of Brooklyn Bridge begins
- 1871King Amadeus I of Spain inaugurated at 25
- 18791st Test match hat-trick, Fred Spofforth at the MCG
- 1879British battleship Thunder explodes in Gulf of Ismid, 9 die
- 1879Dr Benjamin E Mays, named President of Atlanta Board of Education
- 1879Northwestern League (minor baseball league) organized, Rockford, Illinois
- 1882Because of anti-monopoly laws, Standard Oil is organized as a trust
- 1885Gen Wolseley receives last distress signal of General Gordon in Khartoum
Born on January 2
- 1642Mehmed IV: Sultan of Turkey
- 1699Osman III: Sultan of Turkey
- 1728Louis Barbiano de Belgioioso: Austrian count / diplomat in Belgium
- 1732Franz Xaver Brixi: Composer
- 1752Philip Freneau: Poet of American Revolution (The American Village)
- 1777Christian D Rauch: German sculptor
- 1807Tomasz Napoleon Nidecki: Composer
- 1809Friedrich Wilhelm Jahns: Composer
- 1822Rudolph J E Clausius: Germany -- Physicist (thermodynamics)
- 1830Henry Kingsley: English / Australian writer
- 1831Justin Winston: Historian / librarian (Harvard)
- 1835Charles Russell Lowell, Jr.: Brigadier General (Union volunteers)
- 1837Mili Alexeyevich Balakirev: Nizhny-Novgorod, Russia -- Composer (Tamara)
- 1842Amy G C A Bonet-Maury: French reformed theologist
- 1846Sandor Erkel: Composer
- 1857Frederick Opper: Cartoonist (Maud, Alphonse & Gaston)
- 1857Martha Carey Thomas: Educator / President (Bryn Mawr College)
- 1860William C Mills: Museum curator (excavated Ohio Indian mounds)
- 1861Helen Herron Taft: 1st lady (1909-12)
- 1870Ernst Barlach: Writer
- 1873Anton Pannekoek: Dutch astronomer / marxist theorist (Communist Tactics)
- 1879Johannes L "Jan" Walch: Dutch literary (Grimaces)
- 1879Pieter Tesch: Dutch geologist (Pedestal of Nederlands)
- 1880Louis Breguet: French aviation pioneer
- 1885Johannes Ringers: Dutch water engineer (dikes)
- 1886Moyshe Leyb Halpern: Galican / US poet (In New-York)
- 1889Tito Schipa: Italy -- Tenor / composer (La Rondine)
- 1889Walter Baldwin: Ohio, United States -- Actor (Gay Amigo)
- 1892Lura Anson: Nebraska, United States -- Entertainer
- 1894Robert Nathan: NYC, New York -- Poet, Novelist (Portrait of Jennie)
Died on January 2
- 0017Publius Ovidius Naso: Roman poet
- 1726Domenico Zipoli: Composer, dies at 37
- 1740Johann Georg Weichenberger: Composer, dies at 63
- 1763John Casteret Earl Granville: English Premier, dies at 72
- 1789Franz Joseph Leonti Meyer von Schavensee: Composer, dies at 68
- 1790Joseph A Feuchtmayer (Feichtmayer): German rococo sculptor
- 1801Johann C Lavater: Swiss vicar / philosopher, dies at 59
- 1803Ignaz Franz von Beecke: Composer, dies at 69
- 1861Frederik Willem IV: King Prussia (1840-61) / German (1849-61), dies at 65
- 1863Roger Weightman Hanson: Confederate Brigadier General, dies in battle at 35
- 1892George B Airy: English astronomer / writer, dies at 90
- 1904James Longstreet: Confederate General, dies at 82
- 1915Karl Goldmark: Austria-Hungarian Composer (Queen of Saba), dies at 84
- 1917Edward B Tylor: English anthropologist, dies at 84
- 1918Sijbe K Bakker: Vicar / Theologist (Christian-Socialism), dies at 42
- 1921Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg: German chancellor / Prime Minister (Prussia), dies at 64
- 1923Sam Carter: Black resident of Rosewood Florida, lynched by KKK
- 1929Erich Wichman[n]: Dutch fascist Painter / sculptor, dies at 38
- 1937Ross Alexander: Actor (Captain Blood, Boulder Dam), dies at 29
- 1941Mischa Levitzki: Composer, dies at 42
- 1945Betram Home Ramsay: English Admiral / Cmdr Naval Forces (Normandy), dies at 61
- 1950Emil Jannings: Actor (The Way of All Flesh), dies at 65
- 1960Cees [Cornelis J] Laseur: Dutch actor / director (Hague Comedy), dies at 60
- 1960Chris van Abkoude: Author (Pietje Bell, Kruimeltje), dies at about 79
- 1960Fausto Coppi: Italian, ran world record 45, 798 km, dies at 40
- 1963Dick Powell: Actor / director (Dick Powell Theater), dies at 58
- 1963Jack Carson: Actor (Star is Born, Mildred Pierce), dies at 52
- 1965Staf Gustaf Frans Nees: Composer, dies at 63
- 1968Sanoesi Pane: Indonesian writer
- 1969Georges Renevant: Actor (Cornered), dies after long illness at 74
Events on Jan 3
- 0236St. Anterus ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 0269St. Felix I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 0936Duke Alberik II of Spoleto appoints his son Pope Leo VII
- 1338Jacob of Arteveld elected Mayor of Ghent
- 1407Bloody battles between Hoeksen and Kabeljauwen in Dordrecht
- 1431Joan of Arc handed over to the Bishop
- 1521Martin Luther excommunicated by Roman Catholic Church
- 1638Dutch Premier Van Joost speaks of "Hostage rights of Aemstel"
- 1638Schouwburg Theater, the 1st in Amsterdam, opens
- 1667Resistance of Androsovo in Russia-Poland
- 1667Russia and Poland sign Truce of Androsovo
- 1750Tax revolt in Haarlem Neth
- 1752East Indies invasion "Geldermalsen" leaves at Malakka: 92 killed
- 1777Washington defeats British at Battle of Princeton, New Jersey
- 1780Danish national anthem "Kong Kristian, " 1st sung
- 1825Scottish factory owner Robert Owen buys 30,000 acres in Indiana as site for New Harmony utopian community
- 18311st US building and loan association organized, Frankford, Penn
- 1833Britain seizes control of Falkland Islands in South Atlantic
- 18401st deep sea sounding
- 1847California town of Yerba Buena renamed San Francisco
- 18521st Chinese arrive in Hawaii
- 1861Delaware legislature rejects proposal to join Confederacy
- 1861US Ft Pulaski and Ft Jackson, Savannah, seized by Georgia
- 1862Romney Campaign-Stonewall Jackson moves north from Winchester
- 1870Brooklyn Bridge construction begins; completed May 24, 1883
- 1871Oleomargarine patented by Henry Bradley, Binghamton, New York
- 18721st patent list issued by US Patent Office
- 18761st free kindergarten in US opens in Florence, Massachusetts
- 18881st wax drinking straw patented, by Marvin C Stone in Washington DC
- 1889Admissions convention meets in Ellensburg, WA, asks for statehood
Born on Jan 3
- 1624William Tucker: 1st Black child born in America
- 1680Johann Baptist Zimmermann: German stucco worker
- 1730Charles Palissot de Montenoy: French writer / politician
- 1757Johann Abraham Sixt: Composer
- 1763Joseph Fesch: French Cardinal / war commission / Earl / senator
- 1777Louis Poinsot: French instrument worker
- 1777M A Elisa Bonaparte: Corsican Monarch of Lucca / Piombino
- 1786Johann Christian Friedrich Schneider: Composer
- 1789Carl G Carus: German Physician / psychologist / philosopher
- 1793Lucretia Coffin Mott: United States -- Teacher / Minister / abolitionist / feminist
- 1802Feliks Ostrowski: Composer
- 1803Douglas William Jerrold: London, England -- Author / playwright / wit (Punch Magazine)
- 1810Eliza Von Bretton di Zerega: Danish West Indies, Baroness
- 1819Thomas Hill Watts: Attorney General (Confederacy), died in 1892
- 1823Jaak-Nikolaas Lemmens: Flemish composer
- 1829John G R Acquoy: Theologist / church historian
- 1829Konrad Duden: German linguist (Der grosse Duden)
- 1830Alexander Ewing: Composer
- 1835Larkin Goldsmith Mead: Sculptor
- 1840Father Joseph Damien de Veuster: Belgium -- Helped lepers in Hawaii
- 1853Iwan Knorr: Composer
- 1868Franz V M Cumont: Belgian religious historian
- 1869Paul Charles Rene Landormy: Composer
- 1870Henry Eichheim: Composer
- 1870Henry Handel Richardson: Australia -- Novelist (Richard Mahoney)
- 1876Wilhelm Pieck: Co-founder German Communist Party / President (1949-60)
- 1879Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge: 1st lady (1923-29)
- 1882Willem Benoy: Flemish actor / director (Pygmalion)
- 1883Clement Richard Attlee: (L) British Prime Minister (1945-51)
- 1884Eli S Jones: United States -- Evangelist (Christ of Indian road)
Died on Jan 3
- 1322Philip V [the Tall]: King of France (1316-22)
- 1543Juan Cabrillo: Conqueror of Cen America, discoverer of California
- 1552Henry II of Bavaria: Bishop of Utrecht (1524-29), dies at 64
- 1560Peder Palladus: Danish church Reformer (Visitasbog), dies at about 56
- 1570Bartholomeus Latomus [Steinmetz]: Flemish Archbishop of Trier
- 1571Joachim II Hector: Elector (Brandenburg), dies at 65
- 1628Francesco Maria Guaitoli: Composer, dies at 64
- 1641Jeremiah Horrocks: English astronomical prodigy, dies at 22
- 1670George Monck: English General, dies at 61
- 1759Marquis and Marquess of Tavora: Portugese nobles, executed
- 1761Willem de Fesch: Dutch violinist / Composer (Joseph), dies at 73
- 1795Josiah Wedgwood: British, ceramic craftsman / woodworker, dies at 64
- 1829Robert Archibald Smith: Composer, dies at 48
- 1836Friedrich Witt: Composer, dies at 65
- 1841Wilhelmus Kist: Writer / Director of Dutch (Official) Gazette, dies at 82
- 1853Theodor Uhlig: Composer, dies at 30
- 1865Jozef Lies: Flemish painter, dies at 43
- 1868Moritz Hauptmann: Composer, dies at 75
- 1873John Lodge Ellerton: Composer, dies at 71
- 1875George Bizet: Composer
- 1882William H Ainsworth: English writer (Guy Fawkes), dies at 76
- 1898James Wimshurst: British designer / inventor (vacuum pump), dies at 70
- 1900Edwin George Monk: Composer, dies at 80
- 1907Josef Foerster: Composer, dies at 73
- 1912Felix Dahn: Writer, dies at 77
- 1914Stephane Raoul Pugno: Composer, dies at 62
- 1915James E Flecker: British diplomat / Novelist (Hassan), dies at 30
- 1923Jaroslav Hasek: Czech writer (Good Soldier Schweyk), dies at 39
- 1931Joseph J C Joffre: French marshal, dies at 78
- 1938Arthur Boon: Flemish priest / philologist, dies at 54