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

Historical events on January 18

• 0336St. Mark elected Catholic Pope
• 0350General Maxentius drives out Western Roman Emperor Constans
• 0532Nika uprising at Constantinople fails, 30-40,000 die
• 1307German King Albrecht I makes his son Rudolf King of Bohemia
• 1478Grand Duke Ivan II of Moscow occupies Novgorod
• 1486King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth, Daughter of Edward IV
• 1520Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats Swedes at Lake Asunde
• 1535Francisco Pizarro founds Lima Peru
• 16441st UFO sighting in America, by perplexed pilgrims in Boston
• 1691English King Willem III travels to The Hague
• 1701Frederik I / Sophie Charlotte van Hanover crowned King / Queen of Prussia
• 17331st polar bear exhibited in America (Boston)
• 1777San Jose California, founded
• 1778Captain James Cook stumbles over Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands)
• 1795French admitted to Amsterdam without resistance
• 1795Governor / Viceroy Willem V flees Scheveningen to England
• 1840Electro-Magnetic Intelligencer, 1st US electrical journal, appears
• 1862Confederate Territory of Arizona forms
• 1865Battle of Ft Moultrie, South Carolina
• 1869Elegant California Theater opens in San Francisco
• 18712nd German Empire proclaimed by Kaiser Wilhelm I and Bismarck
• 1884General Charles Gordon departs London for Khartoum
• 18961st demonstration of an X-ray machine in US (NYC)
• 1896British troops occupy Kumasi, West Africa
• 1901Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Graves De Communi Re
• 1905French government of Combes falls
• 19111st shipboard landing of a plane (Tanforan Park to USS Pennsylvania)
• 1912English explorer Robert F Scott and his expedition reach South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had gotten there before
• 1913Turkish-Greek sea battle near Troy
• 1915Train crashes at Colima-Guadalajara Mexico, about 600 die

Born on January 18

• 1543Alfonso Ferrabosco: Composer
• 1641Francois Michel le Tellier: French Statesman (Marquis de Louvois)
• 1657Hendrik Casimir II: Dutch Field Marshal (Nassau)
• 1685Tiberius Hemsterhuis: Dutch Classical prof, baptized
• 1689Charles de Montesquieu: France -- Philosopher / writer (Letters Persanes)
• 1726Hendrik D F L: Prince of Prussia / diplomat
• 1732Jean-Guillain Cardon: Composer
• 1751Ferdinand Kauer: Composer
• 1779Peter Roget: Thesaurus fame / inventor (slide rule, pocket chessboard)
• 1782Daniel Webster: Salisbury, New Hampshire -- Orator / politician / lawyer
• 1793William Henry Havergal: Composer
• 1795Anna Paulowna Romanova: Monarch of Russia / Daughter of Czar Paul I
• 1809Richard Caswell Gatlin: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1896
• 1813Joseph Farwell Glidden: Inventor (1st coml useable barbed wire)
• 1815James Chesnut, Jr.: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1885
• 1815Richard Yates Gov: MC (Union), died in 1873
• 1817Jacques Gregoir: Composer
• 1818Johannes van Vloten: Dutch literary / theologist
• 1820Abraham Buford: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1884
• 1829Louis van Haecke: Flemish chaplain / author (Blood to Bridge)
• 1831Edward Ferrero: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1899
• 1835Jan van Droogenbroeck: Flemish poet
• 1840Austin Dobson: England, United Kingdom -- Poet / critic / biographer
• 1840Ernst Rudorff: Composer
• 1849Edmund Barton: 1st Prime Minister of Australia (1900-03)
• 1854Thomas A Watson: Needed by Bell, inventor assistant (Telephone)
• 1856Daniel Nathan Hale Williams: Surgeon (1st open heart operation)
• 1856John Hyatt Brewer: Composer
• 1857Otto von Below: German Commandant (WWI)
• 1861Hans Goldschmidt: German chemist

Died on January 18

• 1367Pedro I: King of Portugal (1357-67), dies at 46
• 1479Louis IX [the Rich]: Duke of Bayern (University of Ingolstadt), dies at 61
• 1580Antonio Scandello: Italian Composer (Passion of John), dies at 63
• 1659Benedikt Lechler: Composer, dies at 64
• 1664Moise Amyrault: French Theologist / vicar
• 1666Adriaen A Bloemaert: Dutch landscape painter, dies at about 56
• 1677John A van Riebeeck: Dutch founder Cape Colony, dies at 57
• 1730Peter II: Czar of Russia (1727-30), dies at 14
• 1760Claudio Casciolini: Composer, dies at 62
• 1769Hakuin Ekaku: Zen teacher (reformer of Rinzai school), dies in Japan
• 1854Juda Turo: American philanthropist
• 1862John Tyler: 10th US President (1841-45), dies at 71 in Richmond, Virginia
• 1875Joseph Philbrick Webster: Composer, dies at 55
• 1886Michal Czajchovski [Sadik Pasja]: Writer
• 1890Amadeus I FM: King of Spain (1870-73), dies at 44
• 1902Filippo Marchetti: Composer, dies at 70
• 1913Edmond R H Regout: Dutch industrialist / politician, dies at 49
• 1919John C F: Son of English King George V, dies at 13
• 1921Adolf von Hildebrand: German sculptor, dies at 73
• 1923Wallace Reid: Actor (Birth of a Nation), dies at 31
• 1936Rudyard Kipling: Author (Gunga Din, Nobel 1907), dies at 70
• 1940Kazimierz P Tetmajer: Polish writer / Poet (Young Poland), dies at 74
• 1951Robert Mark: US Chairman (Caste World Congress), dies at 41
• 1954Sydney Greenstreet: Actor (Conflict, Maltese Falcon), dies at 74
• 1962Raymond Moulaert: Composer, dies at 86
• 1966Kathleen Norris: US author, dies at 85
• 1967Albert Conti: Actor (Eagle, Jazz Heaven, Topaz), dies at 79
• 1967Barney Ross: Welterweight Boxing Champ (1934), dies at 57
• 1967Harry Antrim: Actor (Ma & Pa Kettle), dies of heart attack at 83
• 1967Reese "Goose" Tatum: Basketballer (Harlem Globetrotters), dies at 45

Events on Jan 19

• 0379Theodosius installed as co-Emperor of East Roman Empire
• 0973Pope Benedictus VI elected
• 1419French city of Rouen surrenders to Henry V in Hundred Years War
• 1668King Louis XIV and Emperor Leopold I sign treaty dividing Spain
• 1714Richard Steele publishes "Crisis, " defending Hanoverian success
• 1770Battle of Golden Hill (Lower Manhattan)
• 1793French King Louis XVI sentenced to death
• 1795Democratic revolution in Amsterdam ends oligarchy
• 1806Britain occupies Cape of Good Hope
• 1808Louis Napoleon signs 1st Dutch aviation law
• 1825Ezra Daggett and nephew Thomas Kensett patent food storage in tin cans
• 1833Charles Darwin reaches Straits Ponsonby, Fireland
• 1839Aden conquered by British East India Company
• 1840Antarctica discovered, Charles Wilkes expedition (US claim)
• 1861Georgia becomes 5th state to secede
• 1861MS troops take Ft Massachusetts an Ship Island
• 1863General Mieroslawski appointed Dictator of Poland
• 1865NV Suriname Bank established
• 1865Union occupies Fort Anderson, North Carolina
• 18711st Negro lodge of US Masons approved, New Jersey
• 1885Battle at Abu Klea Sudan: 800-1000 killed
• 1886Aurora Ski Club, 1st in US, founded in Minnesota
• 1898Brown defeats Harvard 6-0 in 1st intercollegiate hockey game
• 1899Anglo-Egyptian Sudan forms
• 19031st regular transatlantic radio broadcast between US and England
• 1903New bicycle race "Tour de France" announced
• 1910Germany and Bolivia ends commerce / friendship treaty
• 1910National Institute of Arts & Letters incorporated by Congress
• 19151st German Zeppelin attack over Great Britain, 4 die
• 1915Neon Tube sign patented by George Claude

Born on Jan 19

• 1200Dogen Kigen: Japan -- Zen teacher and 1st Patriarch of the Japanese Soto
• 1613Jacques Huyn: Composer
• 1676John Weldon: Composer
• 1679Girolamo Chiti: Composer
• 1686Hakuin Ekakuborn: Japan -- Zen Buddhist
• 1736James Watt: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Inventor (steam engine)
• 1736Laurens P van de Spiegel: Dutch regent / Secretary of State 1787-95
• 1737Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre: Fr writer (Paul et Virgin)
• 1749Isaiah Thomas: United States -- Printer / editor / publisher / historian
• 1760Melchor Lopez Jimenez: Composer
• 1798Auguste Comte: Philosopher / founder (sociology and positivism)
• 1802[Jean] Silvain van de Weyer: 1st Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1831)
• 1806Vaclav Jindrich Veit: Composer
• 1813Henry Bessemer: Engineer / inventor (Bessemer engine)
• 1816Henry Gray: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1892
• 1820John Haskell King: Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1888
• 1830George Blake Cosby: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1909
• 1832Ferdinand Laub: Composer
• 1832Salvador Giner y Vidal: Composer
• 1837William Williams Keen: Surgeon (brain)
• 1839Bohumil Pazdirek: Composer
• 1851David Starr Jordan: New York, United States -- Biologist / university President (Leland Stanford)
• 1851Johannes C Kapteyn: Dutch astronomer
• 1858Eugene Brieux: French playwright (Blanchette, Lesson Avaries)
• 1859Alice Eastwood: Toronto, Ontario -- Botanist (Handbook of Trees of California)
• 1863Werner Sombart: German fascist (Juden und das Wirtschaftsleben)
• 1866Harry Davenport: NYC, New York -- Actor / director (Her Unborn Child, My Sin)
• 1868Gustav Meyrink: Writer
• 1869Alfred R Zimmerman: Mayor (Rotterdam 1906-22) / Dir (League of Nations)
• 1873Hans E Blaich: Writer

Died on Jan 19

• 1549Barthout van Assendelft: 1st land advocate of Holland
• 1576Hans Sachs: Composer, dies at 81
• 1591Edmond Auger: French Jesuit (under Henri III), dies at about 60
• 1625Erhard Buttner: Composer, dies at 32
• 1629Abbas I: Shah of Persia (1588-1629), dies at 57
• 1647Johan van Beverwijck: Physician (Treas of Ongesontheyt), dies at 52
• 1669Leo Allatios: Greek / Italian Theologist / literary, dies at about 82
• 1692John Commelin: Director of Hortus Botanist (Amsterdam), dies at 62
• 1795Maria Teresa Agnesi: Composer, dies at 74
• 1805Johann Gottlieb Karl Spazier: Composer, dies at 43
• 1830Wenzel Thomas Matiegka: Composer, dies at 56
• 1839Georg Abraham Schneider: Composer, dies at 38
• 1874H v Fallersleben: Writer, dies at 75
• 1878Henri V Regnault: French physicist / chemist, dies at 67
• 1885Fred Burnaby: English Colonel / balloon pioneer, dies in battle
• 1893Julius Eichberg: Composer, dies at 68
• 1894Francois Haverschmidt: Dutch writer, dies at 58
• 1913David Emlyn Evans: Composer, dies at 69
• 1927Charlotte MAAVCL: Princess of Belg / emp of Mexico (1864-67), dies at 86
• 1934Armand Parent: Composer, dies at 70
• 1944Harold Fraser-Simson: Composer, dies at 71
• 1945Ernest B Allo: French theologist, dies at 71
• 1951Constantin Nottara: Composer, dies at 60
• 1962Snub Pollard: Actor (Limelight, Arizona Days), dies of cancer at 72
• 1965Frank Reicher: Actor (King Kong, Nazi Agent, Son of Kong), dies at 89
• 1967Grace Cunard: Actress (Untamed, Ressurection), dies at 73
• 1970Hal March: Actor (Atomic Kit, Outrage, Yankee Pasha), dies at 49
• 1973Max Adrian: Actor (Boy Friend, Her Favorite Husband), dies at 69
• 1975Thomas Heart Benson: US artist, dies at 85
• 1976Kevin Coughlin: Actor (T R Ryan-Mama), killed in hit-&-run at 30