Events on Jan 15

• 0708Sisinnius begins his reign as Pope (dies 20 days later)
• 0946Caliph al-Mustaqfi blinded / ousted
• 1346Emperor Louis IV of Bavaria gives his wife Margaretha, Holland / Zealand
• 1535Henry VIII declares himself head of English Church
• 1552France signs secret treaty with German Protestants
• 15623rd sitting of Council of Trente opens
• 1582Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to Poland, loses access to Baltic
• 1586Battle at Boxum: Spanish troops under Tassis beat state army
• 1752Tobias Smollett publishes pamphlet accusing Fielding of plagiarism
• 1754Riot at burial of doelist Daniel Raap in Amsterdam
• 1759British Museum opens in Montague House, London
• 1762Fraunces Tavern opens in New York City
• 1777People of New Connecticut (Vermont) declare independence from England
• 1780Continental Congress establishes court of appeals
• 1785Mozarts string quartet opus 10 premieres
• 17971st top hat worn (John Etherington of London)
• 18311st US railroad honeymoon trip, Mr and Mrs Pierson, Charleston, South Carolina
• 18311st US-built locomotive to pull a passenger train makes 1st run
• 1833HMS Beagle anchors at Goeree Tierra del Fuego
• 1844University of Notre Dame receives its charter in Indiana
• 18471st Swedish magazine in US, Skandinavia, published in New York City
• 1851Gen Arista replaces Mexican President Herrera
• 18571st first-class game in Sydney, NSW vs. Vic at The Domain
• 1861Steam elevator patented by Elisha Otis
• 18631st US newspaper printed on wood-pulp paper, Boston Morning Journal
• 1865Ft Fisher, NC falls to Union troops
• 1877US Assay Office in Helena, Montana opens
• 18821st US ski club forms (Berlin NH)
• 1886Weekly Herald, 1st Vancouver, BC newspaper, publishes 1st issue
• 1892Basketball rules published in Triangle Magazine, Massachusetts

Born on Jan 15

• 1432Afonso V "the African": King of Portugal (1438-1481)
• 1507Johann Oporinus [Herbster]: Switzerland -- Book publisher (Koran)
• 1567Black Box [Catherine Quinol]: Guadeloupe -- Vocalist (Love Sensation)
• 1715Georg C Wagenzeil: Austria -- Composer / pianist
• 1716Philip Livingston: Merchant (signed Declaration of Independence)
• 1730John Malchair: Composer
• 1733Joseph Lederer: Composer
• 1742Eugene Godecharle: Composer
• 1779Jean Coralli: Paris, France -- Ballet producer / choreographer
• 1791Franz Gillparzer: Austrian tragic dramatist (Golden Fleece)
• 1795Willem de Clerq: Dutch Merchant / man of letters
• 1798Thomas Crofton Croker: Irish story teller (Fairy legends)
• 1809Cornelia Connelly: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- Founder (Society of the Holy Child Jesus)
• 1809Pierre Joseph Proudhon: France -- Politician (libertarian socialist)
• 1813James Marion Sims: South Carolina, United States -- Surgeon / gynecologist (vesicovaginal operation)
• 1815Henry Morris Naglee: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1886
• 1817Lewis Golding Arnold: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1871
• 1821Lafayette McLaws: Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1897
• 1826Mikhail Saltykov: Spas-Ugol, Russia -- Satirist (Family of Noblemen)
• 1845Ella Flagg Young: 1st woman President (National Educational Association)
• 1845Heinrich Vogl: Composer
• 1850Mihail Eminesco [Eminovici]: Romanian poet (Samanul Dionis)
• 1850Sonya Kurtovsky Kovalevsky: Mathemetician (Academy of Science)
• 1858Giovanni Segantini: Italy -- Painter
• 1863Adolph Goldschmidt: German historian
• 1863Wilhelm Marx: Premier (Prussia)
• 1868Noach Zjordanija: Georgian veterinarian / Premier (1918-21)
• 1870Johan Peter Koch: Danish officer / explorer (Greenland)
• 1871Bertram Shapleigh: Composer
• 1873Max Adler: Austria -- Sociologist / socialist theorist

Died on Jan 15

• 1208Peter of Castelnau: French nobleman, murdered
• 1684Caspar Netscher: Dutch portrait painter, dies at about 48
• 1705Walraad [the Young]: Earl of Nassau-Ottweiler / gov of Nijmegen
• 1744Charles-Hubert Gervais: Composer, dies at 72
• 1755Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaia: Composer, dies at 83
• 1765Carlmann Kolb: Composer, dies at 61
• 1775Giovanni Battista Sammartini: Composer
• 1788Gaetano Latilla: Composer, dies at 77
• 1812Johannes Herbst: Composer, dies at 76
• 1816Henry Harington: Composer, dies at 88
• 1844Joseph Mazzinghi: Composer, dies at 78
• 1896Matthew B Brady: US photographer (Civil War), dies at about 72
• 1904Eduard Lassen: Composer, dies at 73
• 1909Ernest Reyer: Composer, dies at 85
• 1909Ernest von Wildenbruch: German playwright (Das Edle Blut), dies at 63
• 1911Wilhelm Berger: Composer, dies at 49
• 1915Guillaume Couture: Composer, dies at 63
• 1919Karl Liebknecht: Marxist revolutionary, murdered at 47
• 1919Rosa Luxemburg: Marxist revolutionary, murdered
• 1924Geza Zichy: Composer, dies at 74
• 1926Enrico Toselli: Composer, dies at 42
• 1932Georg Kerschensteiner: German educationalist, dies at 77
• 1934Hermann Bahr: Austrian writer (Concert), dies at 70
• 1942Melvin Winfield Sheppard: Runner (1908, 12 Olympics - Gold Medalist), dies at 58
• 1949Black Dahlia: Murder victim found in LA (basis of the movie)
• 1949Pompeo Aloisi: Italian Baron / diplomat / senator, dies at 63
• 1953Viktor Patrick Vretblad: Composer, dies at 76
• 1955Yves Tanguy: French / American sailor / surrealistic painter
• 1961Francesco Maria Saraceni: Composer, dies at 49
• 1962Kenneth MacKenna: Actor (Men Without Women), dies of cancer at 62

Historical events on January 16

• 1219Floods in Northern Netherlands after storm, 1,000s killed
• 1325Laure de Noves, beloved of Petrarch, marries Hugues de Sade
• 1493Columbus returns to Spain on his 1st trip
• 1547Ivan IV the Terrible (17) crowns himself 1st tsar of Moscow
• 1556Emperor Karel appoints his son Philip II, King of Spain
• 1581English parliament passes laws against Catholicism
• 1756England and Prussia sign Treaty of Westminster
• 1759British Museum opens in London
• 1765Charles Messier catalogs M41 (galactic cluster in Canis Major)
• 1776Continental Congress approves enlistment of free blacks
• 1777Vermont declares independence from New York
• 1780Battle at Cape St. Vincent: Admiral Rodney beats Spanish fleet
• 1795French army under Pichegru occupies Utrecht Neth
• 1819Godert baron van der de Capellen becomes Governor of Dutch-Indies
• 1832Charles Darwin lands at San Tiago, Cape Verde
• 1864Heavy fighting takes place near Dandridge, Tennessee
• 1865Confederate Brigadier General John Pegram marries Hetty Cary
• 1865Drunken sailor attacks munitions at Ft Fisher NC, 40 die
• 1865Gen Wm Sherman issues Field Order #15 (land for blacks)
• 1865San Francisco Dramatic Chronicle started
• 1868Refrigerator car patented by William Davis, a fish dealer in Detroit
• 1870Virginia becomes 8th state readmitted to US after Civil War
• 1871Jefferson Long of Georgia sworn in as 2nd black congressman
• 1877Color organ (for light shows) patented, by Bainbridge Bishop
• 1879January record 13" of snow falls in NYC (broken Jan 7, 1996)
• 1883Pendleton Act creates basis of US Civil Service system
• 1883Quebec Rugby Football Union forms
• 1905Baseball outfielder Frank Huelsman traded for 6th time in 8 months
• 1908Pinnacles National Monument, California established
• 1909British explorer Ernest Shackleton finds magnetic south pole

Born on January 16

• 1587Alexander Adriaenssen: Flemish painter
• 1672Francesco Mancini: Composer
• 1697Richard Savage: Poet
• 1749Vittoria A Alfieri: Italian count / poet (Maria Stuarda)
• 1757Samuel McIntire: Woodcarver / architect (architect of Salem)
• 1804Karl August Krebs: Composer
• 1807Charles Henry Davis: Rear Admiral (Union Navy), died in 1877
• 1815Adolph Trube: Composer
• 1815Henry Wagner "Old Brains" Halleck: Major General (Union Army)
• 1834Albert Lindley Lee: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1907
• 1837James Phillip Simms: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1887
• 1853Johnston Forbes-Robertson: English actor / theater director (Kathleen)
• 1864Frank Bacon: Actor / author (Lightnin)
• 1868Cyril Metodej Hrazdira: Composer
• 1870Wilhelm Normann: German chemist (hardening of oils)
• 1872Edward G Craig: Actor / director (On the art of theatre)
• 1872Henri-Paul Busser: Composer
• 1873Boyd Alexander: English explorer
• 1874Robert Service: England, United Kingdom -- Canadian poet (Cremation of Sam McGee)
• 1878Harry Carey, Sr.: Bronx, New York -- Actor (Aces Wild, Border Cafe, Air Force)
• 1878Henry Dewitt "Harry" Carey II: US actor (Informer)
• 1885Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz: President of Poland (1939-40)
• 1887John Hamilton: Pennsylvania, United States -- Actor (Perry White-Superman)
• 1890Karl Freund: Czech / Austrian cameraman / director
• 1890Lloyd Bacon: San Jose, California -- Actor (Charlie Chaplin)
• 1894Guy Chamberlin: Early NFL end / coach (Canton, Frankford, Cards)
• 1901Fulgencio Batista: President / Dictator of Cuba (1933-44, 1952-59)
• 1902Eric Liddell: China -- English 400m runner (1924 Olympics - Gold Medalist)
• 1902Evelyn Levine: Composer
• 1904Max Vredenburg: Composer

Died on January 16

• 0308Marcellus I: Catholic Pope (-308)
• 1343Robert of Anjou: King (Naples)
• 1595Murad III: Sultan of Turkey (1574-95)
• 1703Matteo Coferati: Composer, dies at 64
• 1794Edward Gibbon: Historian (Decline & Fall), dies in London at 56
• 1817Antonin Josef Alois Volanek: Composer, dies at 55
• 1842Thomas Freanby: Norwegian landscape painter
• 1849Wilhelm M L de Wette: German theologist, dies at 69
• 1864Anton Schindler: German violinist / biographer (Beethoven), dies at 68
• 1891Clement-Philibert-Leo Delibes: Composer, dies at 54
• 1892Imakita Kosen: Zen teacher / abbot of Engagkuji monastery
• 1893Johan Philip Koelman: Painter / Sculptor / architect, dies at 74
• 1901Hiram Revels: Dies at 73
• 1912Georg Heym: Writer, dies at 24
• 1916Arnold Aletrino: Dut physician-criminologist (From Death), dies at 57
• 1919Jaroslav Jeremias: Composer, dies at 19
• 1920Reginald De Koven: Composer, dies at 60
• 1934Annie Patterson: Composer, dies at 65
• 1935Richard Wetz: Composer, dies at 59
• 1939Albert Fish: Mass murderer, executed
• 1942Carole Lombard: Actress, (Bolero), and mom killed in plane crash at 32
• 1943Franz Courtens: Flemish Painter (Sunny Lane), dies at 88
• 1945Dennis Donnini: British rifleman (Victoria Cross), dies in battle at 19
• 1946Johanna HC Albregt: Actress / Wife of Henri Dons (Paradise), dies at 71
• 1954Michail M Prishvin: Russian writer
• 1955Jonkheer Reneke de Marees van Swinderen: Dutch min (1908-13)
• 1955Reneke de Marees van Swinderen: Dutch Minister (1908-13), dies at 94
• 1957Alexander Cambridge: Governor-General (South African 1923-31 / Canada 1940-5), dies at 82
• 1957Arturo Toscanini: Italian US conductor (NBC), dies in New York City at 89
• 1961Janos Viski: Composer, dies at 54

Events on Jan 17

• 1501Cesare Borgia returns in triumph to Rome from Romagna
• 1536Francois Rabelais absolved of apostasy by Pope Paul III
• 1562Edict of St. Germain recognizes Huguenots in France
• 1584Bohemia adopts Gregorian calendar
• 1595French King Henri IV declares war on Spain
• 1601France gains Bresse, Bugey, Valromey and Gex in treaty with Spain
• 1718Avalanche destroys every building in Leukerbad, Switz; kills 53
• 1746Battle of Falkirk, Scotland-Edward I defeats and massacres Scots
• 1757German Diet declares war on Prussia
• 17759 old women burnt as witches for causing bad harvests, Kalisk, Pol
• 1827Duke of Wellington appointed British Supreme Commander
• 1832Johannes van den Bosch appointed Governor-General of Dutch-Indies
• 1852British recognize independence of Transvaal (in South Africa)
• 1861Flush toilet patented by Mr Thomas Crapper (Honest!)
• 1863Civil War skirmish near Newtown, Virginia
• 18711st cable car patented, by Andrew S Hallidie (begins service in 1873)
• 1874Armed Democrats seize Texas government ending Radical Reconstruction
• 18821st Dutch female Physician Aletta Jacobs opens office
• 1885Brits beat Mahdists at Battle of Abu Klea in Sudan
• 1893Queen Liliuokalani deposed, Kingdom of Hawaii becomes a Republic
• 1895French President Casimir-Perier resigns
• 1899US takes possession of Wake Island in Pacific
• 1905Punchboards patented by Charles Brewer and C G Scannell, Chicago
• 1911Failed assassination attempt on Premier Briand in French Assembly
• 1912Robert Scott expedition arrives at South Pole, 1 month after Amundsen
• 1915Russia occupies Bukovina and Western Ukraine
• 19161st PGA Championship: Jim Barnes at Siwanoy Country Club - Bronxville, New York
• 1916Professional Golfer Association (PGA) forms in New York City
• 1917US pays Denmark $25 million for Virgin Islands (or 3 / 21)
• 1920Paul Deschanel elected President of France

Born on Jan 17

• 1342Philip [the Bold]: Duke of Burgundy
• 1463Frederick III [the Wise]: Elector of Saxony (1486-25), protector Luther
• 1501Leonhard Fuchs: Germany -- Botanist (History of Plants)
• 1504Pius V [Antonio Ghislieri]: Saint, Pope (1566-72)
• 1517Antonio Scandello: Italian composer (Passion of Johannes)
• 1545Antonio Pace: Composer
• 1574Robert Fludd: Composer
• 1600Calderon: Writer
• 1612Thomas Fairfax: Lord Fairfax, English Parliamentary General
• 1657Pieter van Bloemen [Standaart]: Flemish painter, baptized
• 1659Antonio Veracini: Composer
• 1683Gerard van Loon: Dutch historian
• 1712John Stanley: Composer
• 1719Jean-Joseph Vade: Composer
• 1728Johann Gottfried Muthel: Composer
• 1732Stanislaw II August Poniatowski: Last King of Poland (1764-95)
• 1745Nicolas Roze: Composer
• 1759Paul Cuffe: Massachusetts, United States -- Merchant / shipbuilder / black nationalist
• 1761James Hall: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Geologist
• 1769Ole Andreas Lindeman: Composer
• 1771Charles Brockden Brown: Father of American novel (Wieland)
• 1814Ellen Wood: English author (East Lynne, Pomeroy Abbey)
• 1818Antoine Dorion: (L) joint Premier of Canada (1858, 1863-64)
• 1820Anne Bronte: English Novelist / poet (Tenant of Wildfell Hall)
• 1828Lewis Addison Grant: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1918
• 1834Wilhelmina J R Albregt-Engelman: Dutch actress / Daughter of Mimi Bia
• 1835Antanas Baranauskas: Lithuanian Bishop / poet / dialectologist
• 1835Johan Filip von Schantz: Composer
• 1836Jose Silvestre de los Dolores White Lafitte: Composer
• 1842Anton G van Hamel: Founder (Roman Philology in Netherlands)

Died on Jan 17

• 0395Theodosius I [the Great]: Spanish Emperor of Rome, dies at 49
• 1103Frutolf: German Monk / musicologist / historian
• 1119Boudouin VII Hapkin: Count of Flanders
• 1229Albert: Bishop of Riga / founder (Sword Knights), dies at about 68
• 1604Santino Garsi: Composer, dies at 61
• 1617Pieter C Bockenberg: Dutch historian, dies at 68
• 1620Diego Alvarez de Paz: Spanish Missionary / writer (Peru), dies at about 59
• 1625Nicolo Rubini: Composer, dies at 50
• 1654Paul Potter: Dutch painter, buried
• 1661Andres Malong: Philippines rebel leader, executed
• 1738Jean-Francois Dandrieu: Composer
• 1750Tomaso Albinioni: Italian Composer (Adagio in G Minor), dies at 78
• 1781Marie de Negre Dables: Marquess
• 1788Alessio Prati: Composer, dies at 37
• 1805Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil du Perron: French interpreter, dies at 73
• 1820Daniel W Wyttenbach: Dutch classicist / historian, dies at 73
• 1823Zacharius Werner: German playwright, dies at 36
• 1830W Waiblinger: Writer
• 1833James Ball Antyne: Scot founder (Ball Antyne Press), dies at about 60
• 1833William Rush: Indians Sculptor (Spirit of the Schuylkill)
• 1856Thomas Attwood Walmisley: Composer, dies at 41
• 1863E J Horace Vernet: French painter, dies at 73
• 1869Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky: Composer, dies at 55
• 1874Chang and Eng Bunker: Chinese / Thai Siamese twins, dies at 62
• 1889Juan Montalvo: Ecuadorian Author (Siete Tratados), dies at 56
• 1890Salomon Sulzer: Composer, dies at 85
• 1891Johannes Josephus Hermanus Verhulst: Composer, dies at 74
• 1892Alexandre Levy: Composer, dies at 27
• 1893Rutherford B Hayes: 19th US President (1877-81), dies at 70 in Fremont, Ohio
• 1901Jacob G Agarah: Swedish algologist, dies at 87