January 28

Events

 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate was effectively ended with the Assassination of Ali, the last caliph.
 * 814 – Charlemagne dies of pleurisy in Aachen as the first Holy Roman Emperor. He is succeeded by his son Louis the Pious as king of the Frankish Empire.
 * 1077 – Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted.
 * 1393 – King Charles VI of France is nearly killed when several dancers' costumes catch fire during a masquerade ball.
 * 1521 – The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
 * 1547 – Henry VIII dies. His nine-year-old son, Edward VI becomes King.
 * 1573 – Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
 * 1624 – Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.
 * 1701 – The Chinese storm Dartsedo.
 * 1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
 * 1813 – Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
 * 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast.
 * 1846 – The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
 * 1851 – Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.
 * 1855 – A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway, runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
 * 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
 * 1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first daily college newspaper in the United States.
 * 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph, thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph.
 * 1902 – The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
 * 1908 – Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d'état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.
 * 1909 – United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish–American War.
 * 1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.
 * 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Rebels seize control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
 * 1920 – Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
 * 1922 – Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C.'s biggest snowfall, causes the city's greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses.
 * 1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
 * 1933 – The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali Khan and is accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
 * 1934 – The first ski tow in the United States begins operation in Vermont.
 * 1935 – Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
 * 1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 km/h.
 * 1941 – Franco-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
 * 1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
 * 1956 – Elvis Presley makes his first US television appearance
 * 1958 – The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
 * 1960 – The National Football League announced expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for 1961 NFL season.
 * 1964 – An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
 * 1965 – The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament.
 * 1977 – The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 which dumps 10 ft of snow in one day in Upstate New York, with Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas are most affected.
 * 1979 – CBS News Sunday Morning debuts with original host and cocreator Charles Kuralt.
 * 1979  – Pope John Paul II starts his first pastoral visit to Mexico.
 * 1980 – USCGC Blackthorn (WLB-391) collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
 * 1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
 * 1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
 * 1984 – Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
 * 1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
 * 1986 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger explodes after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
 * 1988 – In R v Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws.
 * 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia, killing 92.
 * 2006 – The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Chorzów/Katowice, Poland, collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.

Births

 * 676 – Toneri, Japanese prince (d. 735)
 * 1312 – Joan II of Navarre (d. 1349)
 * 1457 – Henry VII of England (d. 1509)
 * 1540 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German-Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1610)
 * 1578 – Cornelius Haga, Dutch diplomat (d. 1654)
 * 1582 – John Barclay, French-Scottish poet and author (d. 1621)
 * 1600 – Pope Clement IX (d. 1669)
 * 1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
 * 1611 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (d. 1687)
 * 1622 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (d. 1691)
 * 1693 – Gregor Werner, Austrian composer (d. 1766)
 * 1701 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
 * 1706 – John Baskerville, English printer and typographer (d. 1775)
 * 1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (d. 1761)
 * 1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1774)
 * 1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German poet and critic (d. 1749)
 * 1719  – Christian Felix Weiße, German poet and playwright (d. 1802)
 * 1755 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, Polish-German physician, anthropologist, and paleontologist (d. 1830)
 * 1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
 * 1797 – Charles Gray Round, English lawyer and politician (d. 1867)
 * 1818 – George S. Boutwell, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905)
 * 1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian soldier, journalist, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
 * 1833 – Charles George Gordon, English general and politician (d. 1885)
 * 1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-American explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
 * 1843 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1890)
 * 1853 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and theorist (d. 1895)
 * 1853  – Vladimir Solovyov, Russian philosopher, poet, and critic (d. 1900)
 * 1857 – William Seward Burroughs I, American businessman, founded the Burroughs Corporation (d. 1898)
 * 1858 – Tannatt William Edgeworth David, Welsh-Australian geologist and explorer (d. 1934)
 * 1861 – Julián Felipe, Filipino composer and educator (d. 1944)
 * 1863 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (d. 1918)
 * 1864 – Charles Williams Nash, American businessman, founded Nash Motors (d. 1948)
 * 1864  – Herbert Akroyd Stuart, English engineer and academic, invented the hot-bulb engine and Hornsby-Akroyd oil engine (d. 1927)
 * 1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author and politician (d. 1928)
 * 1865  – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 1st President of Finland (d. 1952)
 * 1873 – Colette, French journalist and author (d. 1954)
 * 1873  – Monty Noble, Australian cricketer (d. 1940)
 * 1874 – Alex Smith, Scottish golfer (d. 1930)
 * 1875 – Julián Carrillo, Mexican violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1965)
 * 1878 – Walter Kollo, German composer and conductor (d. 1940)
 * 1880 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (d. 1970)
 * 1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (d. 1962)
 * 1885 – Vahan Terian, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1920)
 * 1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian-French author and poet (d. 1973)
 * 1886  – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (d. 1976)
 * 1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-American pianist and educator (d. 1982)
 * 1890 – Robert Stroud, American ornithologist and murderer (d. 1963)
 * 1897 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (d. 1986)
 * 1899 – Elias Simojoki, Finnish priest and activist (d. 1940)
 * 1900 – Alice Neel, American painter (d. 1984)
 * 1903 – Aleksander Kamiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1978)
 * 1906 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek general and politician (d. 1992)
 * 1908 – Paul Misraki, Turkish-French composer and historian (d. 1998)
 * 1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931)
 * 1911 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch academic and politician
 * 1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
 * 1913 – Maurice Gosfield, American actor (d. 1964)
 * 1915 – Nien Cheng, Chinese-American author (d. 2009)
 * 1918 – Harry Corbett, English puppeteer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
 * 1918  – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician (d. 2004)
 * 1919 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (d. 2002)
 * 1921 – Vytautas Norkus, Lithuanian–American basketball player (d. 2014)
 * 1922 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (d. 2014)
 * 1922  – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
 * 1924 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (d. 1976)
 * 1925 – Raja Ramanna, Indian physicist and politician (d. 2004)
 * 1927 – Eşref Kolçak, Turkish actor
 * 1927  – Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
 * 1927  – Ronnie Scott, English saxophonist (The Jazz Couriers) (d. 1996)
 * 1927  – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
 * 1927  – Vera Williams, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
 * 1928 – Shorty Castro, Puerto Rican-American actor, director, screenwriter, composer, musician, and dancer.
 * 1929 – Acker Bilk, English singer and clarinet player (d. 2014)
 * 1929  – Nikolai Parshin, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
 * 1929  – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American sculptor and illustrator
 * 1929  – Edith M. Flanigen, American chemist
 * 1930 – Kurt Biedenkopf, German academic and politician, 54th President of the German Bundesrat
 * 1930  – Roy Clarke, English screenwriter, comedian and soldier
 * 1933 – Jack Hill, American director and screenwriter
 * 1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1990)
 * 1934  – Mitr Chaibancha, Thai actor and producer (d. 1970)
 * 1935 – David Lodge, English author and critic
 * 1935  – Nicholas Pryor, American actor
 * 1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, director, and screenwriter
 * 1936  – Ismail Kadare, Albanian author and poet
 * 1937 – Karel Čáslavský, Czech historian and television host (d. 2013)
 * 1938 – Tomas Lindahl, Swedish-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
 * 1938  – Leonid Zhabotinsky, Ukrainian weightlifter and coach (d. 2016)
 * 1939 – John M. Fabian, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
 * 1940 – Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman and philanthropist, founded Grupo Carso
 * 1940  – Trebor Jay Tichenor, American pianist and composer (d. 2014)
 * 1941 – Joel Crothers, American actor (d. 1985)
 * 1941  – Cash McCall, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1941  – King Tubby, Jamaican DJ, producer, and engineer (d. 1989)
 * 1942 – Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater
 * 1942  – Erkki Pohjanheimo, Finnish director and producer
 * 1943 – John Beck, American actor
 * 1943  – Paul Henderson, Canadian ice hockey player and minister
 * 1943  – Dick Taylor, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
 * 1944 – Bobby Ball, English comedian, actor, and singer
 * 1944  – Tim Heald, English journalist and author
 * 1944  – Rosalía Mera, Spanish businesswoman, co-founded Inditex and Zara (d. 2013)
 * 1944  – John Tavener, English composer (d. 2013)
 * 1945 – Frank Doubleday, American actor
 * 1945  – Maxwell Fuller, Australian chess player (d. 2013)
 * 1945  – Karen Lynn Gorney, American actress
 * 1945  – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress and director
 * 1945  – John Perkins, American author and activist
 * 1945  – Robert Wyatt, English singer-songwriter and drummer
 * 1947 – Jeanne Shaheen, American educator and politician, 78th Governor of New Hampshire
 * 1948 – Bob Moses, American drummer
 * 1948  – Charles Taylor, Liberian politician, 22nd President of Liberia
 * 1949 – Mike Moore, New Zealand union leader and politician, 34th Prime Minister of New Zealand
 * 1949  – Gregg Popovich, American basketball player and coach
 * 1950 – Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahraini king
 * 1950  – Barbi Benton, American model and actress
 * 1950  – Bob Hay, American singer-songwriter
 * 1950  – David C. Hilmers, American colonel, physician, and astronaut
 * 1950  – Naila Kabeer, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic
 * 1951 – Brian Bilbray, American politician
 * 1951  – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut
 * 1952 – Richard Glatzer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
 * 1952  – Tomokazu Miura, Japanese actor
 * 1953 – Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
 * 1953  – Chris Carter, English DJ and producer
 * 1954 – Peter Lampe, German theologian and historian
 * 1954  – Bruno Metsu, French footballer and manager (d. 2013)
 * 1954  – Rick Warren, American pastor and author
 * 1955 – Vinod Khosla, Indian-American businessman, co-founded Sun Microsystems
 * 1955  – Nicolas Sarkozy, French lawyer and politician, 23rd President of France
 * 1956 – Richard Danielpour, American composer and educator
 * 1957 – Kent Kessler, American bassist
 * 1957  – Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
 * 1957  – Nick Price, South African-Zimbabwean golfer
 * 1957  – Frank Skinner, English comedian, actor, and author
 * 1959 – Frank Darabont, American director and producer
 * 1959  – Dave Sharp, English guitarist
 * 1960 – Loren Legarda, Filipino journalist and politician
 * 1960  – Robert von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American historian and academic
 * 1961 – Arnaldur Indriðason, Icelandic author
 * 1961  – Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
 * 1962 – Sam Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1963 – Dan Spitz, American guitarist and songwriter
 * 1964 – David Lawrence, English cricketer
 * 1964  – Juergen Teller, German-English photographer
 * 1964  – Park Hae-mi, South Korean actress
 * 1966 – Seiji Mizushima, Japanese director and producer
 * 1967 – Billy Brownless, Australian footballer and sportscaster
 * 1967 – Marvin Sapp, American singer-songwriter
 * 1968 – Rakim, American rapper
 * 1968  – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
 * 1969 – Mo Rocca, American comedian and television journalist
 * 1969  – Linda Sánchez, American lawyer and politician
 * 1971 – Anthony Hamilton, American singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1972 – Nicky Southall, English footballer and manager
 * 1972  – Léon van Bon, Dutch cyclist
 * 1974 – Tony Delk, American basketball player and coach
 * 1974  – Ramsey Nasr, Dutch author and poet
 * 1974  – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player and politician
 * 1974  – Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
 * 1975 – Shark Boy, American wrestler
 * 1975  – Tanya Chua, Singaporean singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1975  – Pedro Pinto, Portuguese-American journalist
 * 1975  – Junior Spivey, American baseball player and coach
 * 1976 – Sireli Bobo, Fijian rugby player
 * 1976  – Emiko Kado, Japanese wrestler (d. 1999)
 * 1976  – Mark Madsen, American basketball player and coach
 * 1976  – Rick Ross, American rapper and producer
 * 1976  – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
 * 1977 – Sandis Buškevics, Latvian basketball player and coach
 * 1977  – Daunte Culpepper, American football player
 * 1977  – Matt DeVries, American guitarist
 * 1977  – Joey Fatone, American singer, dancer, and television personality
 * 1977  – Takuma Sato, Japanese race car driver
 * 1978 – Sheamus, Irish wrestler and actor
 * 1978  – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
 * 1978  – Jamie Carragher, English footballer and sportscaster
 * 1978  – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
 * 1980 – Nick Carter, American singer-songwriter and actor
 * 1980  – Yasuhito Endō, Japanese footballer
 * 1980  – Brian Fallon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1980  – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
 * 1981 – Gen Hoshino, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
 * 1981  – Elijah Wood, American actor and producer
 * 1982 – Ryan Sheridan, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1982  – Annie Social, American wrestler
 * 1984 – Ben Clucas, English race car driver
 * 1984  – Stephen Gostkowski, American football player
 * 1984  – Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
 * 1984  – Anne Panter, English field hockey player
 * 1985 – Daniel Carcillo, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1985  – J. Cole, American rapper, songwriter and record producer.
 * 1985  – Lauris Dārziņš, Latvian ice hockey player
 * 1985  – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
 * 1985  – Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
 * 1986 – Jessica Ennis-Hill, English heptathlete and hurdler
 * 1986  – Nathan Outteridge, Australian sailor
 * 1986  – Antonis Petropoulos, Greek footballer
 * 1986  – Asad Shafiq, Pakistani cricketer
 * 1988 – Paul Henry, English footballer
 * 1988  – Seiya Sanada, Japanese wrestler
 * 1989 – Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
 * 1989  – Ronny Philp, Romanian-German footballer
 * 1990 – Kalifa Faifai Loa, New Zealand rugby player
 * 1990  – Zhang Kailin, Chinese tennis player
 * 1991 – Jordan Kahu, Australian rugby player
 * 1991  – Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player
 * 1992 – Sergio Araujo, Argentinian footballer
 * 1992  – Andrei Savchenko, Russian footballer
 * 1993 – Richmond Boakye, Ghanaian footballer
 * 1993  – Mitch Cornish, Australian rugby league player
 * 1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress

Deaths

 * 592 – Guntram, French king (b. 532)
 * 814 – Charlemagne, Roman emperor (b. 742)
 * 1061 – Spytihněv II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1031)
 * 1256 – William II, Count of Holland, King of Germany
 * 1271 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France (b. 1247)
 * 1443 – Robert le Maçon, French diplomat (b. 1365)
 * 1547 – Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)
 * 1613 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (b. 1545)
 * 1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
 * 1666 – Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (b. 1591)
 * 1672 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
 * 1681 – Richard Allestree, English priest and academic (b. 1619)
 * 1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (b. 1611)
 * 1697 – Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, English general and politician (b. 1645)
 * 1754 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian-Danish historian and philosopher (b. 1684)
 * 1832 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)
 * 1859 – F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
 * 1864 – Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (b. 1799)
 * 1903 – Augusta Holmès, French pianist and composer (b. 1847)
 * 1912 – Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist and theorist (b. 1819)
 * 1918 – John McCrae, Canadian soldier, physician, and author (b. 1872)
 * 1921 – Mustafa Suphi, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1883)
 * 1930 – Emmy Destinn, Czech soprano and poet (b. 1878)
 * 1935 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1859)
 * 1937 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and target shooter (b. 1862)
 * 1938 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German race car driver (b. 1909)
 * 1939 – W. B. Yeats, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
 * 1942 – Edward Siegler, American gymnast and triathlete (b. 1881)
 * 1945 – Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1924)
 * 1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-French composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1875)
 * 1948 – Hans Aumeier, German SS officer (b. 1906)
 * 1948  – Therese Brandl, German concentration camp guard (b. 1902)
 * 1948  – Arthur Liebehenschel, German SS officer (b. 1901)
 * 1949 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
 * 1950 – Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1883)
 * 1953 – James Scullin, Australian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
 * 1953  – Neyzen Tevfik, Turkish philosopher and poet (b. 1879)
 * 1959 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (b. 1899)
 * 1960 – Zora Neale Hurston, American anthropologist and author (b. 1891)
 * 1962 – Hermann Wlach, Austrian-Swiss actor (b. 1884)
 * 1963 – Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (b. 1884)
 * 1965 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)
 * 1965  – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (b. 1867)
 * 1968 – Aleksander Maaker, Estonian bagpipe player (b. 1890)
 * 1971 – Donald Winnicott, English paediatrician and psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
 * 1975 – Ola Raknes, Norwegian psychoanalyst and philologist (b. 1887)
 * 1976 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (b. 1924)
 * 1978 – Ward Moore, American author (b. 1903)
 * 1979 – Eileen Shanahan, Irish poet (b. 1901)
 * 1983 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
 * 1983  – Billy Fury, English singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
 * 1986 – crew of Space Shuttle Challenger
 * – Gregory Jarvis, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1944)
 * – Christa McAuliffe, American educator and astronaut (b. 1948)
 * – Ronald McNair, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1950)
 * – Ellison Onizuka, American engineer and astronaut (b. 1946)
 * – Judith Resnik, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1949)
 * – Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1939)
 * – Michael J. Smith, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1945)
 * 1988 – Klaus Fuchs, German physicist and politician (b. 1911)
 * 1989 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (b. 1938)
 * 1993 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, Canadian astronomer and academic (b. 1905)
 * 1996 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1940)
 * 1996  – Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist and author (b. 1911)
 * 1996  – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator, co-created Superman (b. 1914)
 * 1998 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1938)
 * 1999 – Valery Gavrilin, Russian composer (b. 1939)
 * 1999  – Markey Robinson, Irish painter and sculptor (b. 1918)
 * 2001 – Ranko Marinković, Croatian author and playwright (b. 1913)
 * 2002 – Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist and soldier (b. 1913)
 * 2002  – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
 * 2002  – Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, Turkish author and activist (b. 1946)
 * 2003 – Mieke Pullen, Dutch runner (b. 1957)
 * 2004 – José Miguel Agrelot, Puerto Rican-American radio host (b. 1923)
 * 2004  – Lloyd M. Bucher, American captain (b. 1927)
 * 2004  – Elroy Hirsch, American football player (b. 1923)
 * 2004  – Mel Pritchard, English drummer (Barclay James Harvest) (b. 1948)
 * 2005 – Jim Capaldi, English singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1944)
 * 2007 – Carlo Clerici, Swiss cyclist (b. 1929)
 * 2007  – Robert Drinan, American priest, lawyer, and politician (b. 1920)
 * 2007  – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (b. 1963)
 * 2007  – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer (b. 1938)
 * 2009 – Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1952)
 * 2012 – Roman Juszkiewicz, Polish astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1952)
 * 2012  – Don Starkell, Canadian adventurer and author (b. 1932)
 * 2013 – Florentino Fernández, Cuban-American boxer and coach (b. 1936)
 * 2013  – Hattie N. Harrison, American educator and politician (b. 1928)
 * 2013  – Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (b. 1940)
 * 2013  – Herbert Loebl, German-English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1923)
 * 2013  – Dan Massey, American activist and author (b. 1942)
 * 2013  – Ceija Stojka, Austrian-Romanian author and painter (b. 1933)
 * 2014 – John Cacavas, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
 * 2014  – Harry Gamble, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1930)
 * 2014  – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
 * 2014  – Nigel Jenkins, Welsh poet, journalist, and geographer (b. 1949)
 * 2014  – Gudō Wafu Nishijima, Japanese priest and educator (b. 1919)
 * 2014  – Jorge Obeid, Argentinian engineer and politician, Governor of Santa Fe (b. 1947)
 * 2015 – Suraj Abdurrahman, Nigerian general, architect, and engineer (b. 1954)
 * 2015  – Yves Chauvin, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1930)
 * 2015  – Lionel Gilbert, Australian historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
 * 2015  – Charles B. Peatross, American lawyer and judge (b. 1940)
 * 2016 – Signe Toly Anderson, American singer (b. 1941)
 * 2016  – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
 * 2016  – Franklin Gene Bissell, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
 * 2016  – Buddy Cianci, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Mayor of Providence (b. 1941)
 * 2016  – Aleš Debeljak, Slovenian poet and critic (b. 1961)
 * 2016  – Bob Tizard, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 6th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian feast day:
 * Julian of Cuenca
 * Thomas Aquinas
 * January 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Army Day (Armenia)
 * Data Privacy Day