January 23 in History

Northwestern Air Flight 738 crashes after takeoff from Fort Smith Airport, Northwest Territories, Canada, killing six people.

Mutinying Burkinabè soldiers led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba depose and detain President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré amid widespread anti-government protests.

A 7.9 Mw earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities.

A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds "dozens" of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials.

The China–United States trade war begins when President Donald Trump places tariffs on Chinese solar panels and washing machines.

A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted.

U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered.

Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Chinese Communist Party to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.

Netscape announces Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source.

Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.

Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan sends a "letter of death" to Somali President Siad Barre, proposing the genocide of the Isaaq people.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

World Airways Flight 30 overshoots the runway at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, and crashes into Boston Harbor. Two people are missing and presumed dead.

USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is attacked and seized by the Korean People's Navy.

Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established.

Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people. Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty-one villages. The area to be developed was largely farmland, with evidence of continuous settlement dating back to the Bronze Age.

The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.

The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese Army stationed in Tite.

The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean.

After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela.

American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the "Frisbee".

The Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal, the evacuation of areas along the eastern Baltic coast.

World War II: Troops of the British Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army.

World War II: The Battle of Rabaul commences Japan's invasion of Australia's Territory of New Guinea.

Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.

The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime.

The first successful treatment with insulin is given to 14-year-old diabetic Leonard Thompson.

The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.

The First Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Velykomykhailivka.

The First International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.

RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day.

Ålesund Fire: The Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.

Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat.

The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic. Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as its first president.

Anglo-Zulu War: The Battle of Rorke's Drift ends.

In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre.

Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first female doctor.

Slavery in Tunisia is abolished.

After crossing the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry capture 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns, in a rare occurrence of surrender of naval vessels to land forces.

Second Partition of Poland.

Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.) when Bishop John Carroll, Rev. Robert Molyneux, and Rev. John Ashton purchase land for the proposed academy for the education of youth.

Moscow University is established (12 January 1755 O.S.).

The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.

Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.

The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.

The Royal Exchange opens in London.

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.

The Deccan Sultanates defeat Rama Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire at the Battle of Talikota, resulting in over 100,000 casualties and the destruction of the capital Vijayanagara.

The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.

Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.

Zhu Yuanzhang proclaims himself the Hongwu Emperor, beginning the Ming dynasty.

In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons' War.

The episcopal seat is moved from Nousiainen to Koroinen (located near the current centre of Turku) by the permission of Pope Gregory IX. The date is starting to be considered as the founding of Turku.

Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.

Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.

Julio Enciso, Paraguayan footballer

Joško Gvardiol, Croatian footballer

Nicola Zalewski, Polish footballer

Olga Danilović, Serbian tennis player

Fanni Pigniczki, Hungarian rhythmic gymnast

Alban Lafont, French footballer

XXXTentacion, American rapper (died 2018)

Keita Bates-Diop, American basketball player

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, English footballer

Addison Russell, American baseball player

Reina Triendl, Japanese model and actress

Steve Birnbaum, American soccer player

Alex Silva, Canadian wrestler

Leo Komarov, Estonian-Finnish ice hockey player

Gelete Burka, Ethiopian runner

Marc Laird, Scottish footballer

José Enrique, Spanish footballer

Steven Taylor, English footballer

Sandro Viletta, Swiss skier

San E, South Korean rapper

Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer

Doutzen Kroes, Dutch model and actress

Yevgeny Lukyanenko, Russian pole vaulter

Aselefech Mergia, Ethiopian runner

Jeff Samardzija, American baseball and football player

Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer

Irving Saladino, Panamanian long jumper

Oceana Mahlmann, German singer and songwriter

Wily Mo Peña, Dominican baseball player

Andrew Rock, American sprinter

Rob Friend, Canadian soccer player

Julia Jones, American actress

Scott Hannan, Canadian ice hockey player

Larry Hughes, American basketball player

Dawn O'Porter, Scottish-English fashion designer and journalist

Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player and coach

Maria Stepanova, Russian basketball player

Brandon Duckworth, American baseball player and scout

Anne Margrethe Hausken, Norwegian orienteering competitor

Alex Shaffer, American skier

Phil Dawson, American football player

Tito Ortiz, American mixed martial artist

Glen Chapple, English cricketer

Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress

Richard T. Slone, English painter

Tiffani Thiessen, American actress

Tomas Holmström, Swedish ice hockey player

Ewen Bremner, Scottish actor

Kevin Mawae, American football player and coach

Adam Parore, New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer

Claire Rankin, Canadian actress

Richard Šmehlík, Czech ice hockey player

Spyridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper

Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager

Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player and actor

Susen Tiedtke, German long jumper

Taro Hakase, Japanese violinist and composer

Petr Korda, Czech-Monégasque tennis player

Owen Cunningham, Australian rugby league player

Damien Hardman, Australian surfer

Haywoode Workman, American basketball player and referee

Louie Clemente, American drummer

Jonatha Brooke, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Mariska Hargitay, American actress and producer

Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyanese economist and politician, 7th President of Guyana

Gail O'Grady, American actress

David Arnold, English composer

Aivar Lillevere, Estonian footballer and coach

Elvira Lindo, Spanish journalist and author

Boris McGiver, American actor

Peter Mackenzie, American actor

Yelena Sinchukova, Russian long jumper

Greg Ritchie, Australian cricketer

Clive Bull, English radio host

Sergey Litvinov, Russian hammer thrower (died 2018)

Caroline, Princess of Hanover

Trevor Hohns, Australian cricketer

John Luther Adams, American composer

Alister McGrath, Irish priest, historian, and theologian

Antonio Villaraigosa, American politician, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles

Robin Zander, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Omar Henry, South African cricketer

Jaroslav Pouzar, Czech ice hockey player

Chesley Sullenberger, American airline pilot and safety expert

Richard Dean Anderson, American actor, producer, and composer

Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (died 2018)

Suzanne Scotchmer, American economist and academic (died 2014)

Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (died 2012)

Charlie Papazian, American nuclear engineer, brewer and author.

Anita Pointer, American singer-songwriter (died 2022)

Tom Carper, American captain and politician, 71st Governor of Delaware

Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian politician, 5th president of Indonesia

Arnoldo Alemán, Nicaraguan lawyer and politician, President of Nicaragua

Boris Berezovsky, Russian-English businessman and mathematician (died 2013)

Marie Charlotte Fayanga, Central African politician and diplomat (died 2021)

Mike Harris, Canadian politician, 22nd Premier of Ontario

Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (died 2019)

Gary Burton, American musician

Gil Gerard, American actor (died 2025)

Özhan Canaydın, Turkish basketball player and businessman (died 2010)

Laurie Mayne, Australian cricketer

Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, Mongolian politician, 1st President of Mongolia (died 2025)

Herman Tjeenk Willink, Dutch judge and politician

Jock R. Anderson, Australian economist and academic

João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (died 2014)

Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (died 2015)

Joe Dowell, American singer (died 2016)

Ed Roberts, American activist (died 1995)

Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (died 1999)

Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor (died 2026)

Jerry Kramer, American football player and sportscaster

Cécile Ousset, French pianist

Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (died 2016)

Tom Reamy, American author (died 1977)

Lou Antonio, American actor and director

Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (died 2003)

Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia (died 2023)

Chita Rivera, American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2024)

George Allen, English footballer (died 2016)

Larri Thomas, American actress and dancer (died 2013)

Tanya Savicheva, Russian child diarist (died 1944)

Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (died 2017)

Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2017)

Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish operatic soprano (died 2021)

Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (died 2008)

Filaret Denysenko, Ukrainian religious leader, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (died 2026)

Phillip Knightley, Australian journalist, author, and critic (died 2016)

John Polanyi, German-Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Jeanne Moreau, French actress (died 2017)

Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (died 1994)

Fred Williams, Australian painter (died 1982)

Bal Thackeray, Indian journalist, cartoonist, and politician (died 2012)

Marty Paich, American pianist, composer, producer, and conductor (died 1995)

Frank Lautenberg, American soldier, businessman, and politician (died 2013)

Horace Ashenfelter, American runner (died 2018)

Walter M. Miller, Jr., American soldier and author (died 1996)

Leon Golub, American painter and academic (died 2004)

Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (died 2016)

Gottfried Böhm, German architect (died 2021)

Henry Eriksson, Swedish runner (died 2000)

Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (died 2010)

Frances Bay, Canadian-American actress (died 2011)

Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (died 2013)

Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (died 1962)

Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (died 1996)

Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1999)

Charlie Kerins, Executed Irish Republican (died 1944)

Florence Rush, American social worker and theorist (died 2008)

David Douglas Duncan, American photographer and journalist (died 2018)

Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 1979)

Herma Bauma, Austrian javelin thrower and handball player (died 2003)

W. Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian-Barbadian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991)

Potter Stewart, American lawyer and judge (died 1985)

Jean-Michel Atlan, Algerian-French painter (died 1960)

Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (died 2007)

Boris Pokrovsky, Russian director and manager (died 2009)

Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (died 1953)

Dan Duryea, American actor and singer (died 1968)

Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1981)

Erich Borchmeyer, German sprinter (died 2000)

Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Minister of National Education of Colombia (died 1948)

Arthur Wirtz, American businessman (died 1983)

William Ifor Jones, Welsh organist and conductor (died 1988)

Glen Kidston, English racing driver and pilot (died 1931)

Georg Kulenkampff, German violinist (died 1948)

Randolph Scott, American actor (died 1987)

Freda Utley, English scholar and author (died 1978)

Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian freedom fighter and politician (died 1945)

Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (died 2000)

Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author (died 1978)

William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (died 1989)

Alf Blair, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1944)

Alf Hall, English-South African cricketer (died 1964)

Jyotirmoyee Devi, Indian author (died 1988)

Claribel Kendall, American mathematician (died 1965)

Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Mexican politician (died 1967)

Rutland Boughton, English composer (died 1960)

Otto Diels, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1954)

Paul Langevin, French physicist and academic (died 1946)

Jože Plečnik, Slovenian architect, designed Plečnik Parliament (died 1957)

David Hilbert, German mathematician and academic (died 1943)

Frank Shuman, American inventor and engineer (died 1918)

Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian meteorologist and seismologist (died 1936)

John Browning, American weapons designer, founded the Browning Arms Company (died 1926)

John Marks Moore, American politician (died 1902)

Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist and mathematician (died 1915)

Ernst Abbe, German physicist and engineer (died 1905)

Marianne Cope, German-American nun and saint (died 1918)

Muthu Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (died 1879)

Édouard Manet, French painter (died 1883)

Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai (died 1877)

Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (died 1895)

Surendra Sai, Indian activist (died 1884)

Alois Negrelli, Tyrolean engineer and railroad pioneer active in the Austrian Empire (died 1858)

Auguste de Montferrand, French-Russian architect, designed Saint Isaac's Cathedral and Alexander Column (died 1858)

Stendhal, French novelist (died 1842)

Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (died 1827)

Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1832)

William Jessop, English engineer, built the Cromford Canal (died 1814)

John Hancock, American general and politician, first Governor of Massachusetts (died 1793)

John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (died 1790)

Abraham Diepraam, Dutch painter (died 1670)

Mary Ward, English Catholic Religious Sister (died 1645)

Hai Rui, Chinese politician (died 1587)

Louis III, Elector Palatine (died 1436)

Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (died 1419)

Charles Osgood, American radio and television commentator, writer and musician (born 1933)

Melanie Safka, American Emmy winning singer-songwriter (born 1947)

Hal Holbrook, American actor and director (born 1925)

Larry King, American journalist and talk show host (born 1933)

Song Yoo-jung, South Korean actress and model (born 1994)

Aloysius Pang, Singaporean actor (born 1990)

Oliver Mtukudzi, Zimbabwean Afro Jazz musician (born 1952)

Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, composer and singer (born 1939)

Wyatt Tee Walker, American civil rights activist and pastor (born 1928)

Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (born 1931)

Prosper Ego, Dutch activist, founded the Oud-Strijders Legioen (born 1927)

Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (born 1924)

Yuri Izrael, Russian meteorologist and journalist (born 1930)

Elmira Nazirova, Azerbaijani composer (born 1928)

Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal (born 1929)

Robert W. Scott, American farmer and politician, 67th Governor of North Carolina (born 1929)

Syed Hussein Alatas, Malaysian sociologist and politician (born 1928)

Johnny Carson, American talk show host, television personality, and producer (born 1925)

Helmut Newton, German-Australian photographer (born 1920)

Nell Carter, American actress and singer (born 1948)

Paul Aars, American race car driver (born 1934)

Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (born 1930)

Robert Nozick, American philosopher, author, and academic (born 1938)

Joe D'Amato, Italian director and cinematographer (born 1936)

Jay Pritzker, American businessman, co-founded the Hyatt Corporation (born 1922)

Nikolai Ogarkov, Russian field marshal (born 1917)

Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (born 1929)

Keith Laumer, American soldier, author, and diplomat (born 1925)

Freddie Bartholomew, American actor (born 1924)

Northrop Frye, Canadian author and critic (born 1912)

Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (born 1952)

Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter and sculptor (born 1904)

Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish race car driver (born 1961)

Charles Glen King, American biochemist and academic (born 1896)

Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and painter (born 1921)

James Beard, American chef and cookbook author for whom the James Beard Foundation Awards are named (born 1905)

Muin Bseiso, Palestinian-Egyptian poet and critic (born 1926)

Fred Bakewell, English cricketer and coach (born 1908)

Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (born 1910)

Giovanni Michelotti, Italian engineer (born 1921)

Terry Kath, American guitarist and songwriter (born 1946)

Jack Oakie, American actor (born 1903)

Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor's Restaurant (born 1903)

Paul Robeson, American actor, singer, and activist (born 1898)

Alexander Onassis, American-Greek businessman (born 1948)

Kid Ory, American trombonist, composer, and bandleader (born 1886)

Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (born 1871)

T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (born 1895)

Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (born 1908)

Alexander Korda, Hungarian-English director and producer (born 1893)

Pierre Bonnard, French painter (born 1867)

Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter and illustrator (born 1863)

Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (born 1887)

Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (born 1903)

Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (born 1876)

Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina (born 1881)

Max Nordau, Austrian physician and author (born 1849)

René Beeh, Alsatian painter and draughtsman (born 1886)

Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor and academic (born 1855)

Mykola Leontovych, Ukrainian composer and conductor (born 1877)

Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, American lawyer and politician, 16th United States Secretary of the Interior (born 1825)

William Price, Welsh physician, Chartist, and neo-Druid (born 1800)

José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (born 1817)

Gustave Doré, French engraver and illustrator (born 1832)

Charles Kingsley, English priest and author (born 1819)

Thomas Love Peacock, English author and poet (born 1785)

John Field, Irish pianist and composer (born 1782)

Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (born 1757)

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (born 1767)

Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (born 1764)

Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German chemist and physicist (born 1776)

William Pitt the Younger, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1759)

Claude Chappe, French engineer (born 1763)

Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer, founded Guinness (born 1725)

Edward Rutledge, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of South Carolina (born 1749)

Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (born 1724)

John Cleland, English author (born 1709)

Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician and academic (born 1717)

Giambattista Vico, Italian historian and philosopher (born 1668)

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke (born 1584)

William Baffin, English explorer and navigator (born 1584)

John Croke, English politician and judge (born 1553)

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Scottish politician (born 1531)

Jiajing Emperor of China (born 1507)

Johannes Honter, Romanian-Hungarian cartographer and theologian (born 1498)

Bernardo Pisano, Italian priest, scholar, and composer (born 1490)

Ferdinand II of Aragon (born 1452)

Margaret of Bavaria, Burgundian regent (born 1363)

Florent of Hainaut, Prince of Achaea (born c. 1255)

Isabella, Queen of Armenia

Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, Moroccan caliph (born 1160)

Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (born 980)

Adalbero, archbishop of Reims

Ildefonsus, bishop of Toledo