*27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. * 550 - Gothic War (535–552): The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison. * 929 - Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III of Cordoba declares himself caliph, thereby establishing the Caliphate of Cordoba. *1120 - The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. *1362 - A great storm tide in the North Sea destroys the German island of Strand and the city of Rungholt. *1412 - The Medici family are made official bankers of the Papacy. *1456 - Painter Filippo Lippi elopes with Lucrezia Buti, a young nun from the convent of Saint Margherita. *1492 - The first grammar of a modern language, in Spanish, is presented to Queen Isabella. *1547 - Ivan the Terrible becomes Tsar of Russia. *1556 - Philip II becomes King of Spain. *1572 - The Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England. *1581 - English Parliament outlaws Roman Catholicism. *1605 - The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes was published in Madrid. *1707 - The Scottish Parliament ratified the Act of Union, paving way for the creation of Great Britain. *1761 - British capture Pondicherry, India from the French. *1777 - Vermont declares its independence from New York. *1780 - American Revolution: Battle of Cape St. Vincent. *1795 - French occupy Utrecht, Netherlands. *1809 - Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña. *1847 - John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory. *1864 - Danish-Prussian War (Second war of Schleswig): King Christian IX of Denmark declares war to the German Confederation in order to occupy Schleswig *1878 - Captain Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from the Ottoman rule. *1883 - The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is passed. *1896 - Defeat of Cymru Fydd at South Wales Liberal Federation AGM, Newport, Monmouthshire. *1900 - The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands. *1909 - Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole. *1919 - Temperance movement: The United States of America ratifies the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing Prohibition in the United States one year after ratification. *1920 - Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. was founded on the campus of Howard University. *1945 - Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker. *1956 - President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine. *1968 - Youth International Party (Yippies) is founded. *1969 - Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, in protest against the Soviets' crushing of the Prague Spring the year before. * 1969 - Metroliner train starts running. *1970 - Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects. *1979 - The Shah of Iran flees Iran with his family and relocates to Egypt. *1986 - First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force. *1991 - The United States of America declares war on Iraq, beginning the Persian Gulf War (U.S.Time). *1992 - El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City that ends a 12-year civil war that claimed at least 75,000. *1996 - Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou resigns from office for health reasons. *2001 - Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards. * 2001 - US President Bill Clinton awards former US President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish-American War. *2002 - The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban. *2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which will be its final one. Columbia disintegrates 16 days later on re-entry. *2005 - Adriana Iliescu gives birth at age 66 and becomes the oldest woman in the world to do so. *2006 - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.

*1245 - Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III of England (d. 1296) *1409 - René I of Naples (d. 1480) *1477 - Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547) *1501 - Anthony Denny, confidant of King Henry VIII of England (d. 1559) *1616 - François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort, French soldier (d. 1669) *1626 - Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (d. 1699) *1634 - Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter, Norwegian poet (d. 1716) *1675 - Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (d. 1755) *1728 - Niccola Piccinni, Italian composer (d. 1800) *1807 - Charles Henry Davis, American Civil War Admiral (d 1877) *1815 - Henry W. Halleck, American Civil War general (d. 1872) *1821 - John C. Breckenridge, Confederate general (d. 1875) *1834 - Robert R. Hitt, American politician (d. 1906) *1838 - Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917) *1853 - Andre Michelin, French industrialist (d. 1931) *1874 - Robert W. Service, Canadian poet (d. 1958) *1875 - Leonor Michaelis, German enzyme kinetic theorist (d. 1947) *1885 - Zhou Zuoren, Chinese writer (d. 1967) *1886 - John Hamilton, American actor (d. 1958) *1888 - Osip Brik, Russian writer (d. 1945) *1895 - Nat Schachner, American author (d. 1955) *1897 - Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (d. 1977) *1898 - Margaret Booth, American film editor (d. 2002) *1901 - Fulgencio Batista, Cuban leader (d. 1973) * 1901 - Frank Zamboni, American inventor (d. 1988) *1902 - Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (d. 1945) *1903 - William Grover-Williams, British racing driver (d. 1945) *1906 - Diana Wynyard, British actress (d. 1964) *1907 - Paul Nitze, American government official (d. 2004) *1908 - Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (d. 1984) *1910 - Dizzy Dean, American baseball player (d. 1974) *1911 - Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996) * 1911 - Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean politician (d.1982) *1918 - Nel Benschop, Dutch poet (d. 2005) * 1918 - Stirling Silliphant, American writer (d. 1996) *1920 - Alberto Crespo, Argentine racing driver (d. 1991) *1921 - Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (d. 2004) *1922 - Ernesto Bonino, Italian singer *1923 - Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004) *1924 - Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002) *1928 - William Kennedy, American author *1930 - Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (d. 2006) *1931 - Johannes Rau, German politician (d. 2006) *1932 - Dian Fossey, American zoologist (d. 1985) *1933 - Susan Sontag, American writer (d. 2004) *1934 - Marilyn Horne, American opera singer *1935 - A.J. Foyt, American race car driver and team owner *1937 - Luiz Bueno, Brazilian racing driver *1942 - René Angélil, Canadian music executive * 1942 - Barbara Lynn, American singer *1943 - Brian Ferneyhough, British composer * 1943 - Ronnie Milsap, American singer and songwriter *1944 - Jim Stafford, American singer and songwriter *1946 - Kabir Bedi, Indian actor * 1946 - Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano *1947 - Laura Schlessinger, American radio talk show host * 1947 - Magdalen Nabb, British author (d. 2007) * 1947 - Harvey Proctor, British politician *1948 - John Carpenter, American film director * 1948 - Dalvanius Prime, New Zealand entertainer (d. 2002) * 1948 - Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player * 1948 - Ruth Reichl, American magazine editor *1950 - Debbie Allen, American dancer and choreographer * 1950 - Damo Suzuki, Japanese singer (Can) *1951 - Glenn Ordway, American radio talk show host *1952 - King Fuad II of Egypt *1953 - Robert Jay Mathews, American neo-Nazi (d. 1984) *1956 - Martin Jol, Dutch football manager * 1956 - Ivan Safronov, Russian journalist (d. 2007) *1958 - Anatoli Boukreev, Russian climber (d. 1997) * 1958 - Lena Ek, Swedish politician *1959 - Juanita Bynum, American televangelist * 1959 - Sade, Nigerian-born singer *1961 - Paul Raven, English musician (Killing Joke) (d. 2007) * 1961 - Jill Sobule, American singer-songwriter *1962 - Paul Webb, British musician (Talk Talk, .O.rang) *1963 - James May, English television presenter *1966 - Maxine Jones, American singer (En Vogue) *1969 - Roy Jones Jr., American boxer *1969 - Dead, Swedish black metal vocalist (Mayhem) (d. 1991) *1970 - Garth Ennis, Irish comic book author * 1970 - Brendan O'Hare, Scottish drummer (Teenage Fanclub, Telstar Ponies) * 1970 - Ron Villone, American baseball player *1972 - Greg Page, Australian actor *1973 - Josie Davis, American actress *1974 - Marlon Anderson, American baseball player * 1974 - Kate Moss, English model *1975 - Greg Strause, American visual effects creator * 1975 - Gillian Iliana Waters, American actress *1976 - Viktor Maslov, Russian racing driver * 1976 - Martina Moravcová, Slovak female swimmer *1977 - Jeff Foster, American basketball player *1979 - Aaliyah, American singer (d. 2001) * 1979 - Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player * 1979 - Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player *1980 - Albert Pujols, Dominican-born baseball player * 1980 - Michelle Wild, Hungarian model *1981 - Bobby Zamora, English footballer * 1981 - Nick Valensi, American guitarist (The Strokes) *1982 - Samuel Preston, British singer (The Ordinary Boys) * 1982 - Tuncay Şanlı, Turkish footballer *1983 - Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer *1987 - Lauren McAvoy, British fashion model *1988 - Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer *1990 - Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer

* 960 - Polyeuctus, Patriarch of Constantinople *1400 - John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician (executed) (b. 1352) *1545 - George Spalatin, German reformer (b. 1484) *1547 - Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477) *1554 - Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (b. 1480) *1585 - Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral (b. 1512) *1659 - Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580) *1710 - Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (b. 1675) *1711 - Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (b. 1651) *1747 - Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet (b. 1680) *1748 - Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1684) *1750 - Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshall (b. 1667) *1752 - Francis Blomefield, English topographer (b. 1705) *1794 - Edward Gibbon, English historian (b. 1737) *1809 - John Moore, British general (b. 1761) *1815 - Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Horatio Nelson (b. 1765) *1817 - Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman (b. 1759) *1834 - Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (b. 1769) *1856 - Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (b. 1795) *1865 - Edmond François Valentin About, French writer (b. 1828) *1879 - Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (b. 1827) *1891 - Léo Delibes, French composer (b. 1836) *1898 - Charles Pelham Villiers, longest-serving MP in the British House of Commons (b. 1802) *1917 - George Dewey, U.S. admiral (b. 1837) *1919 - Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil (b. 1848) *1924 - Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (b. 1859) *1936 - Albert Fish, American serial killer (b. 1870) *1942 - Carole Lombard, American actress (b. 1908) *1957 - Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor (b. 1867) *1962 - Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (b. 1883) *1963 - Ike Quebec, American tenor-saxophone player (b. 1918) *1967 - Robert J. Van de Graaff, American nuclear physicist (b. 1901) *1969 - Vernon Duke, American composer and songwriter (b. 1903) * 1969 - Jan Palach, Czech freedom fighter (b. 1948) *1971 - Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890) *1972 - Ross Bagdasarian, American actor and creator of The Chipmunks (b. 1919) *1979 - Ted Cassidy, American actor (b. 1932) * 1979 - August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (b. 1897) *1981 - Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908) *1982 - Red Smith, American sports columnist (b. 1905) *1986 - Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892) *1988 - Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899) * 1988 - Ballard Berkeley, English actor (b. 1904) *1993 - Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (b. 1960) *1995 - Eric Mottram, English poet, teacher, critic, and editor (b. 1924) *1997 - Ennis Cosby, son of entertainer Bill Cosby (murdered) (b. 1969) *1998 - Dimitris Horn, Greek actor (b. 1921) *2000 - John Rankin, musical entertainer (b. 1959) *2001 - Laurent-Désiré Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939) *2002 - Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923) * 2002 - Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948) * 2002 - Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928) * 2002 - Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952) *2003 - Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918) *2004 - Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930) *2005 - Marjorie Williams, American journalist (b. 1958) *2006 - Stanley Biber, American physician, pioneer of transgender surgery, (b. 1923) *2007 - Ron Carey, American actor (b. 1935) * 2007 - Benny Parsons, American Racecar driver & Commentator (b. 1941)

* Teacher's Day in Thailand * National Religious Freedom Day in the United States, to commemorate the adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786

* Berard of Carbio * Saint Fursey * Honoratus of Arles * January 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

* BBC: On This Day * * On this day in Canada ----