January 3
The Perihelion, the point in the year when the Earth is closest to the Sun, occurs around this date.
Events
- 1431 – Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon.
- 1496 – Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine.
- 1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
- 1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
- 1777 – American general George Washington defeats British general Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
- 1782 – Sylhet District was established
- 1815 – Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia.
- 1823 – Stephen F. Austin receives a grant of land in Texas from the government of Mexico.
- 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of the independent African Republic of Liberia.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.
- 1868 – Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
- 1870 – The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.
- 1888 – The refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory, measuring 91 cm in diameter, is used for the first time. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time.
- 1921 – Turkey makes peace with Armenia.
- 1924 – British explorer Howard Carter discovers the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt.
- 1925 – Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
- 1932 – Martial law is declared in Honduras to stop revolt by banana workers fired by United Fruit.
- 1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first female elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first female to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
- 1938 – The March of Dimes is established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1944 – World War II: Top Ace Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington is shot down in his Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Zero.
- 1945 – World War II: Admiral Chester W Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan.
- 1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
- 1953 – Frances Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
- 1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
- 1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
- 1958 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
- 1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. State.
- 1961 – The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba.
- 1961 – The SL-1, a government-run reactor near Idaho Falls, Idaho, leaks radiation, killing three workers.
- 1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
- 1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
- 1988 – Margaret Thatcher becomes the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th Century.
- 1990 – Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces.
- 1993 – In Moscow, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
- 1994 – An Aeroflot Tupolev TU-154 crashes and explodes after takeoff from Irkutsk, Russia, killing 125 people including one on the ground.
- 1994 – More than seven million people from the former Apartheid Homelands, receives South African citizenship.
- 1997 – The People's Republic of China announces it will spend $27.7 billion USD to fight erosion and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow river valleys.
- 1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched.
- 1999 – Israel detains, and later expels, 14 members of Concerned Christians.
- 2004 – Flight 604, a Boeing 737 owned by Flash Airlines, an Egyptian airliner, plunges into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people on board.
- 2007 – National Express has its worst ever coach crash just outside Heathrow Airport.
Births
- 106 BC – Cicero, Roman statesman and philosopher (d. 43 BC)
- 1196 – Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1231)
- 1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet (d. 1782)
- 1710 – Richard Gridley, American Revolutionary soldier (d. 1796)
- 1719 – Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian (d. 1773)
- 1722 – Fredric Hasselquist, Swedish naturalist (d. 1752)
- 1733 – Sir Richard Arkwright, British industrialist and inventor (d. 1792)
- 1760 – John Storm, American Revolutionary soldier (d. 1835)
- 1778 – Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish bishop (d. 1861)
- 1793 – Lucretia Mott, American women's rights activist (d. 1880)
- 1802 – Charles Pelham Villiers, British House of Commons member (d. 1898)
- 1803 – Douglas William Jerrold, British playwright (d. 1857)
- 1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano (d. 1854)
- 1810 – Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, French geographer (d. 1897)
- 1819 – Charles Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal for Scotland (d. 1900)
- 1821 – Dragotin Dežman, Slovenian politician, archeologist and botanist (d. 1889)
- 1831 – Savitribai Phule, Female social activist, first female teacher in India, and first female poet in Marathi language (d. 1897)
- 1836 – Sakamoto Ryoma, Japanese revolutionary (d. 1867)
- 1840 – Father Damien, Flemish missionary (d. 1889)
- 1855 – Hubert Bland, British socialist (d. 1914)
- 1856 – R.C. Lehmann, English writer (d. 1929)
- 1861 – William Renshaw, British champion tennis player (d. 1904)
- 1862 – Sir Matthew Nathan, British Governor of Queensland and other places (d. 1939)
- 1865 – Henry Lytton, British actor and opera singer (d. 1936)
- 1870 – Henry Handel Richardson, Australian author (d. 1946)
- 1873 – Ichizo Kobayashi, Japanese businessman (d. 1957)
- 1875 – Alexandros Diomidis, governor of the Bank of Greece and Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1950)
- 1876 – Wilhelm Pieck, first President of East Germany (d. 1960)
- 1879 – Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (d. 1957)
- 1883 – Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1967)
- 1884 – Raoul von Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1948)
- 1885 – Harry Elkins Widener, book collector, businessman, victim of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and person after whom Harvard University's largest library is named (d. 1912)
- 1886 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet and author (d. 1950)
- 1886 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)
- 1887 – August Macke, German painter (d. 1914)
- 1887 – Helen Parkhurst, American educator (d. 1973)
- 1892 – J. R. R. Tolkien, British writer (d. 1973)
- 1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
- 1895 – Borys Lyatoshynsky, Ukrainian composer (d. 1968)
- 1897 – Marion Davies, American actress (d. 1961)
- 1898 – Carlos Keller, Chilean fascist politician (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Donald J. Russell, North American railroad executive (d. 1985)
- 1901 – Ngô Đình Diệm, President of South Vietnam (d. 1963)
- 1905 – Ray Milland, British actor (d. 1986)
- 1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
- 1909 – Victor Borge, Danish entertainer (d. 2000)
- 1910 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player (d. 2000)
- 1911 – John Sturges, American director (d. 1982)
- 1912 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and senator (d. 2002)
- 1912 – Armand Lohikoski, Finnish director (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Mady Rahl, German stage and film actress (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Jack Levine, American social realist painter
- 1916 – Maxene Andrews, American singer ( The Andrews Sisters) (d. 1995)
- 1916 – Betty Furness, American actress (d. 1994)
- 1916 – Bernard Greenhouse, American cellist
- 1917 – Roger W. Straus, Jr., American publisher (d. 2004)
- 1917 – General Vernon Walters, U.S. military officer, diplomat (d. 2002)
- 1920 – Renato Carosone, Italian musician (d. 2001)
- 1921 – John Russell, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Ronald Smith, British pianist (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Bill Travers, British actor and director (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Hank Stram, American football coach (d. 2005)
- 1923 – Charles Tingwell, Australian actor (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Doug Ellis, British entrepreneur
- 1924 – André Franquin, Belgian cartoonist ( Gaston Lagaffe) (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Nell Rankin, American singer (d. 2005)
- 1926 – George Martin, British producer
- 1929 – Sergio Leone, Italian director (d. 1989)
- 1929 – Ernst Mahle, Brazilian composer
- 1930 – Marcel Dubé, Quebec playwright
- 1930 – Robert Loggia, American actor
- 1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor
- 1932 – Coo Coo Marlin, American race car driver (d. 2005)
- 1932 – Tongolele, US-born dancer in Mexican movies
- 1934 – Carla Hills, American politician and lawyer
- 1935 – Raymond Garneau, French Canadian politician and businessman
- 1936 – David Vine, British sports commentator (d. 2009)
- 1937 – Seri Wangnaitham, Thai dancer and choreographer (d. 2007)
- 1939 – Nikos Alefantos, Greek football manager
- 1939 – Janice Crosio, Australian politician
- 1939 – Bobby Hull, Canadian hockey player
- 1939 – Ruben Reyes, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
- 1941 – Van Dyke Parks, American musician
- 1942 – John Marsden, Australian lawyer, gay activist (d. 2006)
- 1942 – John Thaw, British actor (d. 2002)
- 1943 – Jarl Alfredius, Swedish news anchor (d. 2009)
- 1944 – David Atherton, British conductor
- 1944 – Blanche d'Alpuget, Australian novelist, biographer
- 1945 – Stephen Stills, American musician
- 1946 – John Paul Jones, British musician ( Led Zeppelin)
- 1946 – Cissy King, American entertainer
- 1949 – Sylvia Likens, American torture victim (d. 1965)
- 1950 – Victoria Principal, American actress
- 1951 – Gary Nairn, Australian politician
- 1952 – Jim Ross, American wrestling announcer
- 1953 – Justin Fleming, Australian playwright and writer
- 1954 – Dean Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1990)
- 1954 – Ned Lamont, American businessman and political figure
- 1954 – Ross the Boss, American guitarist
- 1955 – Palmolive, British musician ( The Slits, The Raincoats)
- 1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor and director
- 1956 – Willy T. Ribbs, American race-car driver
- 1957 – Bojan Križај, Slovenian skier
- 1958 – Shim Hyung-rae, South Korean filmmaker
- 1958 – James J. Greco, American businessman
- 1962 – Francesca Lia Block, American author
- 1963 – Vic Grimes, American professional wrestler
- 1963 – Alex Wheatle, British novelist
- 1963 – Jerome Young, American professional wrestler
- 1964 – Bruce LaBruce, Canadian filmmaker
- 1965 – Steven A. LaChance, American Author
- 1966 – Martin Galway, Northern Ireland composer
- 1969 – Michael Schumacher, German seven-time racing driver
- 1969 – Gerda Weissensteiner, Italian bobsledder and luger
- 1970 – Christian Duguay, American comic actor
- 1970 – Mahaya Petrosian, Iranian actress
- 1970 – Matt Ross, American actor
- 1971 – Cory Cross, Canadian ice-hockey player
- 1971 – Sarah Alexander, English actress
- 1972 – Yoon Chan, South Korean actor
- 1972 – Nichole Nordeman, American singer
- 1974 – Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist
- 1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ ( Daft Punk)
- 1975 – Jason Marsden, American actor
- 1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress
- 1976 – Angelos Basinas, Greek footballer
- 1976 – Alisen Down, Canadian actress
- 1976 – Dinara Drukarova, Russian actress
- 1976 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor
- 1977 – Lee Bowyer, British footballer
- 1977 – A.J. Burnett, American baseball player
- 1977 – Michelle Stephenson, Former Spice Girl
- 1977 – Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress (seiyū)
- 1978 – Liya Kebede, Ethiopian model
- 1978 – Kimberley Locke, American singer
- 1978 – Park Sol-mi, South Korean actress
- 1978 – Dominic Wood, English children's television presenter
- 1978 – Mike York, American ice hockey player
- 1980 – Bryan Clay, American decathlete
- 1980 – Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player
- 1980 – David Tyree, American football player
- 1981 – Eli Manning, American football player
- 1983 – Antti Arst, Estonian footballer
- 1984 – Billy Mehmet, Irish footballer
- 1985 – John David Booty, American football player
- 1985 – Linas Kleiza, Lithuanian basketball player for the Denver Nuggets
- 1985 – Evan Moore, American football player
- 1986 – Lloyd Polite, American R&B singer
- 1986 – Jacob Timpano, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Jessica O'Rourke, American footballer
- 1987 – Leonidas Panagopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Rodrigo de la Cadena, Mexican artist and performer
- 1989 – Alex D. Linz, American actor
- 1989 – Julia Nunes, American singer and ukulele player
- 1989 – Anya Rozova, Russian model and America's Next Top Model contestant
- 1989 – Mustapha Hussein, Saddam Hussein's grandson, Qusay Hussein's son (d. 2003)
Deaths
- 235 – Pope St Anterus
- 1098 – Walkelin, first Norman bishop of Winchester
- 1322 – King Philip V of France (b. 1293)
- 1437 – Catherine of Valois, wife of Henry V of England (b. 1401)
- 1543 – Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer (b. 1499)
- 1571 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1505)
- 1641 – Jeremiah Horrocks, British astronomer (b. 1618)
- 1656 – Mathieu Molé, French statesman (b. 1584)
- 1670 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, British soldier (b. 1608)
- 1690 – Hillel ben Naphtali Zevi, Lithuanian rabbi (b. 1615)
- 1701 – Prince Louis I of Monaco (b. 1642)
- 1743 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect and designer (b. 1657)
- 1779 – Claude Bourgelat, French veterinary surgeon (b. 1712)
- 1785 – Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
- 1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, British potter (b. 1730)
- 1813 – Bennelong, Aborigine interlocutor (b. c.1764)
- 1826 – Louis Gabriel Suchet, French marshal (b. 1770)
- 1871 – Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Indian Saint (b. 1805)
- 1875 – Pierre Larousse, French editor (b. 1817)
- 1882 – William Harrison Ainsworth, British novelist (b. 1805)
- 1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer (b. 1824)
- 1903 – Alois Hitler, father of Adolf Hitler (b. 1837)
- 1911 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author (b. 1851)
- 1915 – James Elroy Flecker, British author (b. 1884)
- 1916 – Grenville M. Dodge, American Major General (b. 1831)
- 1923 – Jaroslav Hasek, Czech novelist (b. 1883)
- 1927 – Carle David Tolmé Runge, German physicist (b. 1856)
- 1931 – Joseph Joffre, French general (b. 1852)
- 1933 – Wilhelm Cuno, 6th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (b. 1876)
- 1933 – Jack Pickford, Canadian actor (b. 1896)
- 1943 – F. M. Cornford, English classical scholar and poet (b. 1874)
- 1943 – Sir Walter James, Premier of Western Australia (b. 1863)
- 1944 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (b. 1873)
- 1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic (b. 1877)
- 1945 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish writer (b. 1879)
- 1946 – William Joyce, American propagandist (b. 1906)
- 1950 – Emil Jannings, Swiss actor (b. 1884)
- 1956 – Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian composer (b. 1864)
- 1956 – Joseph Wirth, 5th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (b. 1876)
- 1959 – Edwin Muir, Orcadian poet, novelist and translator (b. 1887)
- 1967 – Mary Garden, British singer (b. 1874)
- 1967 – Jack Ruby, American killer of Lee Harvey Oswald (b. 1911)
- 1969 – Jean Focas, Greek-born astronomer (b. 1909)
- 1969 – Howard McNear, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1970 – Gladys Aylward, British missionary (b. 1902)
- 1974 – Gino Cervi, Italian actor (b. 1901)
- 1979 – Conrad Hilton, American hotelier (b. 1887)
- 1980 – Joy Adamson, Czech conservationist (b. 1910)
- 1980 – Lucien Buysse, Belgian cyclist (b. 1892)
- 1980 – George Sutherland Fraser, Scottish poet, literary critic and academic (b. 1915)
- 1981 – Princess Alice of Albany (b. 1883)
- 1988 – Rose Ausländer, German poet (b. 1901)
- 1988 – Joie Chitwood, American racing driver and stuntman (b. 1912)
- 1989 – Sergei Lvovich Sobolev, Russian mathematician (b. 1909)
- 1990 – Arthur Gold, American pianist (b. 1917)
- 1992 – Dame Judith Anderson, Australian actress (b. 1897)
- 1993 – Johnny Most, American sports announcer (b. 1923)
- 1994 – Heather Sears, British actress (b. 1935)
- 2002 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican band leader (b. 1918)
- 2002 – Freddy Heineken, Dutch president of Heinekin International (b. 1923)
- 2003 – Sid Gillman, American football coach (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Des Corcoran, Premier of South Australia (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Leon Wagner, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2005 – Koo Chen-fu, Chinese negotiator (b. 1917)
- 2005 – JN Dixit, Indian government official (b. 1936)
- 2005 – Will Eisner, American comic book artist (b. 1917)
- 2006 – Steve Rogers, Australian rugby league footballer (b. 1954)
- 2006 – Bill Skate, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
- 2007 – Janos Furst, Hungarian orchestral conductor (b. 1935)
- 2007 – Sergio Jiménez, Mexican actor (b. 1937)
- 2007 – Earl Reibel, Canadian hockey player (b. 1930)
- 2007 – William Verity Jr., American Secretary of Commerce (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Sir Cecil Walker, Member of Parliament for North Belfast (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Michael Yeats, Irish barrister, politician and son of W.B. Yeats (b. 1921)
- 2008 – Aleksandr Abdulov, Russian actor (b. 1953)
- 2008 – Natasha Collins, British actress and television presenter (b. 1976)
- 2008 – Yo-Sam Choi, South Korean boxer (b. 1972)
- 2008 – Werner Dollinger, German politician and economist (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Pat Hingle, American actor (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Ulf G. Lindén, Swedish entrepreneur (b. 1937)
- 2009 – Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
- 2010 – Professor Sir Ian Brownlie, International law specialist
- 2010 – Mary Daly, American theologian and feminist scholar (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances
- Christian Feast Day
- * Genevieve
- * January 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Tamaseseri Festival ( Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka)
- The tenth day of Christmas ( Western Christianity)