January 3

January 3 is the third day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 362 days remain until the end of the year (363 in leap years).

• 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor.
• 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to make sacrifices to the Roman gods.
• 1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.

• 1653 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.
• 1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
• 1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under General George Washington defeat British forces at the Battle of Princeton, helping boost patriot morale.
• 1815 – Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance against Prussia and Russia.
• 1833 – Captain James Onslow, in the Clio, reasserts British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
• 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president 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 – Construction work begins on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, United States.
• 1871 – In the Battle of Bapaume, an engagement in the Franco-Prussian War, General Louis Faidherbe's forces bring about a Prussian retreat.
• 1885 – Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop.

• 1911 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.
• 1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London leaves two dead. It sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
• 1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading (955.0 mb (28.20 inHg)) for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.
• 1913 – First Balkan War: Greece completes its capture of the eastern Aegean island of Chios, as the last Ottoman forces on the island surrender.
• 1920 – Over 640 are killed after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes the Mexican states Puebla and Veracruz.
• 1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
• 1944 – World War II: US flying ace Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
• 1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf suffers a concussion during a freak racing accident; he dies from the injury the following day. The annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.
• 1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
• 1949 – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established.
• 1953 – Frances P. 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 – Cold War: After a series of economic retaliations against one another, the United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba.
• 1961 – The SL-1 nuclear reactor, near Idaho Falls, Idaho, is destroyed by a steam explosion in the only reactor incident in the United States to cause immediate fatalities.
• 1961 – A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
• 1961 – Aero Flight 311 crashes into the forest in Kvevlax, Finland, killing 25 people.
• 1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
• 1976 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, comes into force.
• 1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
• 1987 – Varig Flight 797 crashes near Akouré in the Ivory Coast, resulting in 50 deaths.
• 1990 – United States invasion of Panama: Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.
• 1992 – CommutAir Flight 4821 crashes on approach to Adirondack Regional Airport, in Saranac Lake, New York, killing two people.
• 1993 – In Moscow, Russia, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
• 1994 – Baikal Airlines Flight 130 crashes near Mamoney, Irkutsk, Russia, resulting in 125 deaths.
• 1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.
• 2002 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.
• 2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history.
• 2009 – The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, is established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
• 2015 – Boko Haram militants destroy the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, starting the Baga massacre and killing as many as 2,000 people.
• 2016 – In response to the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Iran ends its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
• 2018 – For the first time in history, all five major storm surge gates in the Netherlands are closed simultaneously in the wake of a storm.
• 2019 – Chang'e 4 makes the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, deploying the Yutu-2 lunar rover.
• 2020 – Iranian General Qasem Soleimani is killed by an American airstrike near Baghdad International Airport, igniting global concerns of a potential armed conflict.
• 2023 – Singapore's Jurong Bird Park permanently closes.
• 2024 – At least 91 people are killed in bombings in Kerman, Iran, during a ceremony commemorating the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani four years earlier.

• 106 BC – Cicero, Roman philosopher, lawyer, and politician (d. 43 BC)
• 1509 – Gian Girolamo Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1591)

• 1611 – James Harrington, English political theorist (d. 1677)
• 1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet and songwriter (d. 1782)
• 1710 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (d. 1796)
• 1722 – Fredrik Hasselqvist, Swedish biologist and explorer (d. 1752)
• 1731 – Angelo Emo, Venetian admiral and statesman (d. 1792)
• 1760 – Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Indian ruler (d. 1799)
• 1775 – Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont (d. 1863)
• 1778 – Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish archbishop (d. 1861)
• 1793 – Lucretia Mott, American activist (d. 1880)
• 1802 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (d. 1898)
• 1803 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (d. 1857)
• 1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano and actress (d. 1854)
• 1810 – Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, French geographer, ethnologist, linguist, and astronomer (d. 1897)
• 1816 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (d. 1891)
• 1819 – Charles Piazzi Smyth, Italian-Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 1900)
• 1831 – Savitribai Phule, Indian poet, educator, and activist (d. 1897)
• 1836 – Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese samurai and rebel leader (d. 1867)
• 1840 – Father Damien, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1889)
• 1847 – Ettore Marchiafava, Italian physician (d. 1935)
• 1853 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish writer (d. 1921)
• 1855 – Hubert Bland, English businessman (d. 1914)
• 1861 – Ernest Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1899)
• 1861 – William Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1904)
• 1862 – Matthew Nathan, English soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Queensland (d. 1939)
• 1865 – Henry Lytton, English actor (d. 1936)
• 1870 – Henry Handel Richardson, Australian-English author (d. 1946)
• 1873 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman and art collector, founded the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (d. 1957)
• 1875 – Alexandros Diomidis, Greek banker and politician, 145th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Wilhelm Pieck, German carpenter and politician, 1st President of the German Democratic Republic (d. 1960)
• 1877 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)
• 1880 – Francis Browne, Irish Jesuit priest and photographer (d. 1960)
• 1883 – Clement Attlee, English soldier, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1967)
• 1883 – Duncan Gillis, Canadian discus thrower and hammer thrower (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Raoul Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1948)
• 1885 – Harry Elkins Widener, American businessman (d. 1912)
• 1886 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet and author (d. 1950)
• 1886 – Arthur Mailey, Australian cricketer (d. 1967)
• 1887 – August Macke, German-French painter (d. 1914)
• 1892 – J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, and philologist (d. 1973)
• 1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
• 1897 – Eithne Coyle, Irish republican revolutionary, (d. 1985)
• 1897 – Marion Davies, American actress and comedian (d. 1961)
• 1898 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (d. 1990)
• 1900 – Donald J. Russell, American businessman (d. 1985)

• 1901 – Ngô Đình Diệm, Vietnamese lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Vietnam (d. 1963)
• 1905 – Dante Giacosa, Italian engineer (d. 1996)
• 1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
• 1907 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 1986)
• 1909 – Victor Borge, Danish-American pianist and conductor (d. 2000)
• 1910 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (d. 2000)
• 1910 – John Sturges, American director and producer (d. 1992)
• 1912 – Federico Borrell García, Spanish soldier (d. 1936)
• 1912 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2002)
• 1912 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1915 – Jack Levine, American painter and soldier (d. 2010)
• 1916 – Betty Furness, American actress and television journalist (d. 1994)
• 1916 – Fred Haas, American golfer (d. 2004)
• 1917 – Albert Mol, Dutch author and actor (d. 2002)
• 1917 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American journalist and publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Herbie Nichols, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
• 1920 – Siegfried Buback, German lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Germany (d. 1977)
• 1921 – Isabella Bashmakova, Russian historian of mathematics (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
• 1923 – Hank Stram, American football coach and sportscaster (d. 2005)
• 1924 – Otto Beisheim, German businessman and philanthropist, founded Metro AG (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Enzo Cozzolini, Italian football player (d. 1962)
• 1924 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1997)
• 1924 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and educator (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Jill Balcon, English actress (d. 2009)
• 1926 – W. Michael Blumenthal, American economist and politician, 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury
• 1926 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2016)
• 1928 – Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Sarawak (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
• 1929 – Ernst Mahle, German-Brazilian composer and conductor
• 1929 – Gordon Moore, American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation (d. 2023)
• 1930 – Stephen Fabian, American illustrator.
• 1930 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (d. 2015)
• 1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor (d. 2024)
• 1932 – Eeles Landström, Finnish pole vaulter and politician (d. 2022)
• 1933 – Geoffrey Bindman, English lawyer
• 1933 – Anne Stevenson, American-English poet and author (d. 2020)
• 1934 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2008)
• 1934 – Carla Anderson Hills, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• 1935 – Raymond Garneau, Canadian businessman and politician
• 1937 – Glen A. Larson, American director, producer, and screenwriter, created Battlestar Galactica (d. 2014)
• 1938 – Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, English academic and politician
• 1938 – K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (d. 2006)
• 1939 – Arik Einstein, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2013)
• 1939 – Bobby Hull, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2023)
• 1940 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2007)
• 1940 – Leo de Berardinis, Italian actor and director (d. 2008)
• 1941 – Malcolm Dick, New Zealand rugby player
• 1942 – John Marsden, Australian lawyer and activist (d. 2006)
• 1942 – John Thaw, English actor and producer, played Inspector Morse (d. 2002)
• 1943 – Van Dyke Parks, American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, author, and actor
• 1944 – Blanche d'Alpuget, Australian author
• 1944 – Doreen Massey, English geographer and political activist (d. 2016)
• 1945 – Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1946 – John Paul Jones, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
• 1946 – Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (d. 2002)
• 1947 – Fran Cotton, English rugby player
• 1947 – Zulema, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1948 – Ian Nankervis, Australian footballer
• 1950 – Victoria Principal, American actress and businesswoman
• 1950 – Linda Steiner, American journalist and academic
• 1950 – Vesna Vulović, Serbian plane crash survivor and Guinness World Record holder (d. 2016)
• 1951 – Linda Dobbs, English lawyer and judge
• 1951 – Gary Nairn, Australian surveyor and politician, 14th Special Minister of State (d. 2024)
• 1952 – Esperanza Aguirre, Spanish civil servant and politician, 3rd President of the Community of Madrid
• 1952 – Gianfranco Fini, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1952 – Jim Ross, American professional wrestling commentator
• 1953 – Justin Fleming, Australian playwright and author
• 1953 – Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Maldivian educator and politician, 5th President of the Maldives
• 1953 – Peter Taylor, English footballer and manager
• 1955 – Denis Walter, Australian radio host and singer
• 1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1957 – Dave Dobbyn, New Zealand singer-songwriter and producer
• 1960 – Russell Spence, English racing driver
• 1962 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (d. 2017)
• 1962 – Gavin Hastings, Scottish rugby player
• 1963 – Stewart Hosie, Scottish businessman and politician
• 1963 – Aamer Malik, Pakistani cricketer
• 1963 – Alex Wheatle, English author and playwright (d. 2025)
• 1963 – New Jack, American wrestler (d. 2021)
• 1964 – Bruce LaBruce, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1964 – Cheryl Miller, American basketball player and coach
• 1966 – Chetan Sharma, Indian cricketer
• 1969 – James Carter, American musician
• 1969 – Jarmo Lehtinen, Finnish racing driver
• 1969 – Michael Schumacher, German racing driver
• 1969 – Gerda Weissensteiner, Italian luger and bobsledder
• 1971 – Sarah Alexander, English actress
• 1971 – Cory Cross, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1971 – Lee Il-hwa, South Korean actress
• 1974 – Robert-Jan Derksen, Dutch golfer
• 1974 – Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist
• 1974 – Todd Warriner, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ, musician, and producer
• 1975 – Jason Marsden, American actor
• 1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress and mathematician
• 1976 – Angelos Basinas, Greek footballer
• 1976 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor and producer
• 1977 – Lee Bowyer, English footballer and coach
• 1977 – A. J. Burnett, American baseball player
• 1978 – Dimitra Kalentzou, Greek basketball player
• 1978 – Kimberley Locke, American singer, songwriter, and television personality
• 1978 – Mike York, American ice hockey player
• 1979 – Kate Levering, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1980 – Bryan Clay, American decathlete
• 1980 – Eli Crane, U.S. representative for Arizona's 2nd congressional district
• 1980 – Telly Leung, American actor, director, singer and songwriter
• 1980 – Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player
• 1980 – David Tyree, American football player
• 1980 – Kurt Vile, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1980 – Mary Wineberg, American sprinter
• 1981 – Eli Manning, American football player
• 1982 – Peter Clarke, English footballer
• 1982 – Park Ji-yoon, South Korean singer and actress
• 1982 – Lasse Nilsson, Swedish footballer
• 1983 – Katie McGrath, Irish actress
• 1984 – Billy Mehmet, English-Irish footballer
• 1985 – Nicole Beharie, American actress
• 1985 – Linas Kleiza, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1985 – Evan Moore, American football player
• 1985 – Noelle Quinn, American basketball player and coach
• 1986 – Dana Hussain, Iraqi sprinter
• 1986 – Lloyd, American singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Greg Nwokolo, Indonesian footballer
• 1986 – Nikola Peković, Montenegrin basketball player and executive
• 1986 – Cedric Simmons, American-Bulgarian basketball player
• 1986 – Dmitry Starodubtsev, Russian pole vaulter
• 1987 – Adrián, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Reto Berra, Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender
• 1987 – Kim Ok-vin, South Korean actress and singer
• 1988 – Ikechi Anya, Scottish-Nigerian footballer
• 1988 – The Completionist, American YouTuber
• 1988 – Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer
• 1988 – Matt Frattin, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1989 – Jordi Masip, Spanish footballer
• 1989 – Eric Sim, American baseball player and YouTuber
• 1989 – Kōhei Uchimura, Japanese artistic gymnast
• 1990 – Yoichiro Kakitani, Japanese footballer
• 1991 – Jerson Cabral, Dutch footballer
• 1991 – Özgür Çek, Turkish footballer
• 1991 – Ryan Ellis, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1991 – Sébastien Faure, French footballer
• 1991 – Dane Gagai, Australian rugby league player
• 1991 – Goo Hara, South Korean singer and actress (d. 2019)
• 1991 – Darius Morris, American basketball player (d. 2024)
• 1991 – Joonas Nättinen, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1992 – Doug McDermott, American basketball player
• 1992 – Sio Siua Taukeiaho, New Zealand-Tongan rugby league player
• 1994 – Isaquias Queiroz, Brazilian sprint canoeist
• 1995 – Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, American-Jordanian basketball player
• 1995 – Jisoo, South Korean singer and actress
• 1995 – Paddy Pimblett, English mixed martial artist
• 1995 – Kim Seol-hyun, South Korean singer and actress
• 1995 – Tonny Vilhena, Dutch footballer
• 1996 – Léo Ortiz, Brazilian footballer
• 1996 – Florence Pugh, English actress
• 1997 – Fodé Ballo-Touré, French-Senegalese footballer
• 1997 – Jérémie Boga, French-Ivorian footballer
• 1997 – Kyron McMaster, British Virgin Islands hurdler
• 1998 – Patrick Cutrone, Italian footballer
• 1998 – Emiru, American online streamer
• 2000 – Leandro Barreiro, Luxembourgish footballer
• 2001 – Deni Avdija, Israeli-Serbian basketball player
• 2002 – Nico González, Spanish footballer
• 2003 – Kyle Rittenhouse, American conservative personality
• 2003 – Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist
• 2003 – Alan Virginius, French footballer
• 2004 – Carlos Baleba, Cameroonian footballer
• 2004 – Toby Collyer, English footballer
• 2004 – Habib Diarra, Senegalese footballer

• 236 – Anterus, pope of the Catholic Church
• 323 – Emperor Yuan of Jin, Chinese emperor (b. 276)
• 1027 – Fujiwara no Yukinari, Japanese calligrapher (b. 972)
• 1028 – Fujiwara no Michinaga, Japanese nobleman (b. 966)
• 1098 – Walkelin, Norman bishop of Winchester
• 1322 – Philip V, king of France (b. 1292)
• 1437 – Catherine of Valois, queen consort of Henry V (b. 1401)
• 1501 – Ali-Shir Nava'i, Turkic poet, linguist, and mystic (b. 1441)
• 1543 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer and navigator (b. 1499)
• 1571 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1505)

• 1641 – Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer and mathematician (b. 1618)
• 1656 – Mathieu Molé, French politician (b. 1584)
• 1670 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1608)
• 1701 – Louis I, prince of Monaco (b. 1642)
• 1705 – Luca Giordano, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1634)
• 1743 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian painter and architect (b. 1657)
• 1777 – William Leslie, Scottish captain (b. 1751)
• 1779 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and lawyer (b. 1712)
• 1785 – Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
• 1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (b. 1730)
• 1826 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (b. 1770)
• 1871 – Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Indian priest and saint (b. 1805)
• 1875 – Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1817)
• 1882 – William Harrison Ainsworth, English author (b. 1805)
• 1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman, co-founded Currier and Ives (b. 1824)

• 1903 – Alois Hitler, Austrian civil servant (b. 1837)
• 1911 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (b. 1851)
• 1915 – James Elroy Flecker, English poet, author, and playwright (b. 1884)
• 1916 – Grenville M. Dodge, American general and politician (b. 1831)
• 1922 – Wilhelm Voigt, German criminal (b. 1849)
• 1923 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech journalist and author (b. 1883)
• 1927 – Carl David Tolmé Runge, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1856)
• 1931 – Joseph Joffre, French general (b. 1852)
• 1933 – Wilhelm Cuno, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
• 1933 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1896)
• 1943 – Walter James, Australian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1863)
• 1944 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (b. 1873)
• 1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic and author (b. 1877)
• 1945 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and explorer (b. 1879)
• 1946 – William Joyce, American-British pro-Axis propaganda broadcaster (b. 1906)
• 1956 – Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1864)
• 1956 – Dimitrios Vergos, Greek wrestler, weightlifter, and shot putter (b. 1886)
• 1956 – Joseph Wirth, German educator and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
• 1958 – Cafer Tayyar Eğilmez, Turkish general (b. 1877)
• 1959 – Edwin Muir, Scottish poet, author, and translator (b. 1887)
• 1960 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1884)
• 1962 – Hermann Lux, German footballer and manager (b. 1893)
• 1965 – Milton Avery, American painter (b. 1885)
• 1966 – Sammy Younge Jr., American civil rights activist (b. 1944)
• 1967 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (b. 1874)
• 1967 – Reginald Punnett, British scientist (b. 1875)
• 1967 – Jack Ruby, American businessman and murderer (b. 1911)
• 1969 – Jean Focas, Greek-French astronomer (b. 1909)
• 1969 – Tzavalas Karousos, Greek-French actor (b. 1904)
• 1970 – Gladys Aylward, English missionary and humanitarian (b. 1902)
• 1972 – Mohan Rakesh, Indian author and playwright (b. 1925)
• 1975 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1880)
• 1975 – James McCormack, American general (b. 1910)
• 1977 – William Gropper, American lithographer, cartoonist, and painter (b. 1897)
• 1979 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (b. 1887)
• 1980 – Joy Adamson, Austrian-Kenyan painter and conservationist (b. 1910)
• 1980 – George Sutherland Fraser, Scottish poet and academic (b. 1915)
• 1981 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (b. 1883)
• 1988 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-German poet and author (b. 1901)
• 1989 – Sergei Sobolev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1909)
• 1992 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (b. 1897)
• 2002 – Satish Dhawan, Indian engineer (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Sid Gillman, American football player and coach (b. 1911)
• 2004 – Des Corcoran, Australian politician, 37th Premier of South Australia (b. 1928)
• 2005 – Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese businessman and diplomat (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1918)
• 2005 – Jyotindra Nath Dixit, Indian diplomat, 2nd Indian National Security Adviser (b. 1936)
• 2006 – Bill Skate, Papua New Guinean politician, 5th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
• 2007 – William Verity, Jr., American businessman and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Jimmy Stewart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1931)
• 2008 – Choi Yo-sam, South Korean boxer (b. 1972)
• 2009 – Betty Freeman, American philanthropist and photographer (b. 1921)
• 2009 – Pat Hingle, American actor (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
• 2010 – Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt, Chilean-German composer and academic (b. 1925)
• 2010 – Mary Daly, American theologian and scholar (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Robert L. Carter, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Winifred Milius Lubell, American author and illustrator (b. 1914)
• 2012 – Josef Škvorecký, Czech-Canadian author and publisher (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Alfie Fripp, English soldier and pilot (b. 1913)
• 2013 – Ivan Mackerle, Czech cryptozoologist, explorer, and author (b. 1942)
• 2013 – William Maxson, American general (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romanian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (b. 1939)
• 2014 – George Goodman, American economist and author (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Saul Zaentz, American film producer (b. 1921)
• 2015 – Martin Anderson, American economist and academic (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Edward Brooke, American captain and politician, 47th Massachusetts Attorney General (b. 1919)
• 2016 – Paul Bley, Canadian-American pianist and composer (b. 1932)
• 2016 – Peter Naur, Danish computer scientist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1928)
• 2016 – Bill Plager, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1945)
• 2016 – Igor Sergun, Russian general and diplomat (b. 1957)
• 2017 – H. S. Mahadeva Prasad, Indian politician (b. 1958)
• 2018 – Colin Brumby, Australian composer (b. 1933)
• 2019 – Herb Kelleher, American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Airlines (b. 1931)
• 2020 – Qasem Soleimani, Iranian major general, commander of the Iranian Quds Force (b. 1957)
• 2021 – Eric Jerome Dickey, American author (b. 1961)
• 2023 – Elena Huelva, Spanish cancer activist and influencer (b. 2002)
• 2025 – Jeff Baena, American filmmaker (b. 1977)
• 2025 – Brenton Wood, American R&B singer-songwriter and keyboard player (b. 1941)

• Anniversary of the 1966 Coup d'état (Burkina Faso)
• Christian feast day:
  • Daniel of Padua
  • Genevieve
  • Holy Name of Jesus
  • Kuriakose Elias Chavara (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
  • Pope Anterus
  • William Passavant (Episcopal Church)
  • January 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Ministry of Religious Affairs Day (Indonesia)
• Tamaseseri Festival (Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan)
• The tenth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)

Perihelion, the point during the year when the Earth is closest to the Sun, occurs on or around this date. In the Northern Hemisphere, ignoring the effects of daylight saving time, the latest sunrise of the year occurs on or around this date.

• BBC: On This Day Archived 2006-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Historical Events on January 3 Archived 2020-06-21 at the Wayback Machine