January 10

January 10 is the tenth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 355 days remaining until the end of the year (356 in leap years).

Events

Up to 1900

49 BC – Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon which signalled civil war.
9 – Beginning of the Xin dynasty in China.
69 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is appointed by Galba as Deputy Roman Emperor.
236 – Fabian became Pope.
1072 – Robert Guiscard conquered Palermo.
1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeated the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
1776 – Thomas Paine published Common Sense.
1806 – Dutch in Cape Town surrendered to the British.
1810 – The marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine de Beauharnais is annulled.
1821 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen discovered an island near Antarctica which he names Tsar Peter I Island.
1840 – Isaac Pitman introduced long–distance learning; his students are able to send him their work by post.
1861 – Florida seceded from the United States.
1863 – The first section of the London Underground Railway opened (Paddington to Farringdon Street).
1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.

1901–2000

1901 – The first great Texas gusher – oil is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
1910 – British passenger ship Loodiana disappeared off Port Louis, Mauritius – a mystery that has not been solved to–date.
1916 – World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeated the Ottoman Empire.
1920 – League of Nations held its first meeting and ratifies the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I.
1922 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of the Irish Free State.
1923 – Lithuania seized and annexed Memel.
1927 – The movie Metropolis by Fritz Lang premiered.
1929 – Tintin, a comic book character created by Hergé, made his debut. He went on to be published in over 200 million comic books in 40 languages.
1941 – Lend-Lease is introduced into the U.S. Congress.
1946 – First General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. 51 nations are represented.
1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH. 106 Comet 1 aircraft, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea off Italy, killing 35 people.
1957 – Harold Macmillan becomes the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1962 – NASA announces plans to build what would become the Saturn V rocket.
1964 – Panama temporarily breaks off diplomatic relations with the United States. These are restored on April 3.
1969 – After 147 years, the last issue of the Saturday Evening Post is published.
1971 – Masterpiece Theatre debuts on PBS.
1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman becomes President of Bangladesh.
1984 – The United States and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations.
1985 – Daniel Ortega becomes President of Nicaragua.
1989 – Cuban troops begin withdrawing from Angola.
1990 – Time Warner is formed from the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc.
2000 – America Online announces an agreement to buy Time Warner for $162 billion, the largest corporate merger in history.

From 2001

2001 – Wikipedia started as part of Nupedia. It becomes a separate site five days later.
2005 – A ban on smoking in public places came into force in Italy.
2005 – A mudslide occurred in La Conchita, California, killing 10 people.
2007 – Daniel Ortega became President of Nicaragua for the second time.
2011 – 2010-2011 Queensland floods: Severe flooding occurred in the Lockyer Valley around Toowoomba, Queensland.
2013 – Over 100 people are killed in bomb attacks in Pakistan.
2015 – A mass poisoning at a funeral in Mozambique involves beer that was contaminated by crocodile bile. 56 people died and 200 hospitalized.
2015 – A traffic accident near Karachi, Pakistan, between an oil tanker truck and a passenger coach killed 62 people.
2016 – Singer, musician and actor David Bowie died of cancer two days after his 69th birthday.

Births

Up to 1800

1479 – Johann Cochlaeus, German humanist (d. 1552)
1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy, Regent of the Netherlands (d. 1530)
1493 – Miklos Olah, Hungarian archbishop (d. 1568)
1538 – Louise of Nassau (d. 1574)
1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer (d. 1624)
1607 – Isaac Joques, French priest and missionary (d. 1646)
1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1687)
1654 – Joshua Barnes, English scholar (d. 1712)
1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist (d. 1799)
1738 – Ethan Allen, American military leader (d. 1789)
1741 – Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain (d. 1759)
1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, British Lord Chancellor (d. 1823)
1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
1797 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German writer and composer (d. 1848)
1799 – Petrache Poenaru, Romanian revolutionary, engineer and mathematician (d. 1875)

1801–1900

1803 – Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen, Prussian politician and Prime Minister (d. 1890)
1810 – Ferdinand Barbedienne, French engineer (d. 1892)
1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, 23rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1883)
1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect (d. 1881)
1834 – John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, English historian, politician and writer (d. 1902)
1835 – Fukuzawa Yukichi, Japanese writer, teacher, translator, entrepreneur and journalist (d. 1901)
1836 – Charles Ingalls, father of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1902)
1840 – Louis Nazaire Bégin, Canadian archbishop and cardinal (d. 1925)
1842 – Luigi Pigorini, Italian archaeologist and ethnologist (d. 1925)
1843 – Frank James, American outlaw (d. 1915)
1847 – Jacob Schiff, American banker, businessman and philanthropist (d. 1920)
1848 – Reinhold Sadler, Prussian–born 9th Governor of Nevada (d. 1906)
1850 – John Welborn Root, American architect (d. 1891)
1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1925)
1859 – Francesc Ferrer i Guardia, Catalan free thinker (d. 1909)
1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
1865 – Mary Ingalls, sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1928)
1873 – George Orton, Canadian athlete (d. 1958)
1875 – Issai Schur, German mathematician (d. 1941)
1879 – Bobby Walker, Scottish footballer (d. 1930)
1880 – Manuel Azaña, Spanish politician (d. 1940)
1881 – Leslie Rainey, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1962)
1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian writer (d. 1945)
1883 – Nadezhda Udaltsova, Russian artist (d. 1961)
1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet, dramatist and natural philosopher (d. 1962)
1890 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (d. 1957)
1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian actress (d. 1984)
1891 – Louis A. Johnson, American politician (d. 1966)
1893 – Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet (d. 1948)
1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, American scientist and inventor (d. 1979)

1901–1925

1901 – Henning von Tresckow, German general and Resistance activist (d. 1944)
1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor and director (d. 1993)
1908 – Bernard Lee, British actor (d. 1981)
1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
1911 – Prince Carl Bernadotte, Swedish royal (d. 2003)
1912 – Maria Mandl, Austrian Concentration camp overseer, convicted Nazi war criminal (d. 1948)
1913 – Gustav Husak, President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian politician (d. 1981)
1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Premier of Taiwan (d. 2000)
1915 – Dean Dixon, American conductor (d. 1976)
1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist (d. 2004)
1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
1917 – Jerry Wexler, American record producer and journalist (d. 2008)
1918 – Arthur Chung, President of Guyana (d. 2008)
1919 – Terukuni Manzo, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1977)
1920 – Georges Marchal, French actor (d. 1997)
1920 – Richard Nelson Frye, American orientalist and historian (d. 2014)
1920 – Rut Brandt, Norwegian–German writer, wife of Willy Brandt (d. 2006)
1921 – Rodger Ward, American racing driver (d. 2004)
1922 – Michel Henry, French philosopher and writer (d. 2002)
1922 – Billy Liddell, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2001)
1924 – Eduardo Chillida, Basque sculptor (d. 2002)
1924 – Max Roach, American musician and composer (d. 2007)
1925 – Peter Colotka, Slovakian academic, lawyer and politician (d. 2019)

1926–1950

1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss politician (d. 2012)
1927 – Megumu Tamura, Japanese footballer (d. 1986)
1928 – Philip Levine, American poet (d. 2015)
1929 – Derek Hammond-Stroud, English operatic baritone
1930 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
1931 – Massimo Vignelli, Italian designer (d. 2014)
1931 – Will McBride, American photographer (d. 2015)
1931 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian politician (d. 2015)
1931 – Ron Galella, American photographer
1932 – Louis Rwagasore, Burundian politician
1934 – Leonard Boswell, American politician (d. 2018)
1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, former President of Ukraine
1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and radio astronomer
1938 – Donald Knuth, American mathematician and computer scientist
1938 – Lois Capps, American politician
1939 – David Horowitz, American writer and political commentator
1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer (d. 2012)
1939 – Bill Toomey, American athlete
1939 – Davie Wilson, Scottish footballer
1940 – Walter Hill, American movie director
1940 – Yesudas, Indian singer and classical musician
1941 – Tom Clarke, Scottish politician
1942 – Walter Hill, American director
1943 – Jim Croce, American singer (d. 1973)
1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer (d. 2016)
1945 – Rod Stewart, British singer
1945 – Günther von Hagens, German anatomist
1945 – John Fahey, 38th Premier of New South Wales
1947 – Peer Steinbrück, German politician
1947 – Tiit Vahi, Estonian politician
1948 – Donald Fagan, American musician
1948 – Mischa Maisky, Latvian cellist
1949 – Walter Browne, Australian–American chess player (d. 2015)
1949 – George Foreman, American boxer and entrepreneur (George Foreman Grill)
1949 – Harald Hove, Norwegian politician (d. 2014)
1949 – Linda Lovelace, American pornographic actress (d. 2002)
1950 – Suchitra Bhattacharya, Indian novelist (d. 2015)
1950 – Roy Blunt, American politician
1950 – Barbara Orbison, German–born American record producer and music publisher (d. 2011)
1950 – Winfried Schaefer, German footballer
1950 – Ernie Wasson, American gardener and writer

1951–1975

1952 – Oleh Romanishin, Ukrainian chess player
1952 – Scott Thurston, American musician
1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer
1955 – Franco Tancredi, Italian footballer
1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist
1955 – Yasmina Khadra (real name Mohammed Moulessehoul), Algerian writer
1957 – Greg Walden, American politician
1958 – Eddie Cheever, American racing driver
1959 – Chandra Cheeseborough, American athlete
1959 – Samira Said, Moroccan singer
1959 – Maurizio Sarri, Italian football manager
1960 – Gurinder Chadha, British movie director
1960 – Brian Cowen, former Taoiseach of Ireland
1960 – Jurrie Koolhof, Dutch footballer (d. 2019)
1960 – Claudia Losch, German athlete
1961 – Evan Handler, American actor
1961 – Janet Jones, American actress
1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian–American violinist, writer and educator
1963 – Kira Ivanova, Russian figure skater (d. 2001)
1963 – Francesco Panetta, Italian runner
1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer
1965 – Hiroshi Hirakawa, Japanese footballer
1965 – Butch Hartman, American animator
1966 – Bert Cooper, American boxer (d. 2019)
1966 – Murali Nair, Indian movie director
1972 – Thomas Alsgaard, Norwegian cross–country skier
1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
1973 – Tanya Streeter, British freediver
1974 – Sabrina Setlur, German rapper
1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor, singer and guitarist (Flight of the Conchords)
1974 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
1974 – Bob Peeters, Belgian footballer

From 1976

1976 – Ian Poulter, English golfer
1977 – Michelle O'Neill, Northern Irish politician, leader of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland
1978 – Gavin McCann, English footballer
1979 – Edu, Brazilian footballer
1979 – Anna Lesko, Romanian singer
1980 – Nelson Cuevas, Paraguayan footballer
1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress
1981 – Jared Kushner, American real estate investor, developer and publisher
1982 – Ana Layevska, Russian–Mexican actress
1982 – Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (d. 2002)
1984 – Marouane Chamakh, Moroccan footballer
1986 – Abbey Clancy, English model
1986 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgian tennis player
1986 – Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
1986 – Chen Jin, Chinese badminton player
1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
1988 – Leonard Patrick Komon, Kenyan long–distance runner
1988 – Vladimir Zharkov, Russian ice hockey player
1989 – Emily Meade, American actress
1990 – Tao Li, Chinese swimmer
1990 – César Ruiz, Peruvian footballer
1990 – Mario Innauer, Austrian ski jumper
1991 – Romain Wattel, French golfer
1992 – Emmanuel Frimpong, Ghanaian footballer
1994 – Mohammed Aman, Ethiopian middle–distance runner
2004 – Kaitlyn Maher, American actress and singer

Deaths

Up to 1900

314 – Pope Miltiades
681 – Pope Agatho
976 – John I Tzimiskes, Greek Byzantine Emperor (b. 925)
1218 – Hugh I of Cyprus (b. 1195)
1276 – Pope Gregory X
1321 – Mary of Brabant, Queen of France (b. 1254)
1645 – William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1573)
1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer (b. 1618)
1662 – Prince Honoré of Monaco (b. 1597)
1778 – Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist (b. 1707)
1794 – Georg Forster, German scientist and revolutionary (b. 1754)
1811 – Marie-Joseph Chénier, French poet (b. 1764)
1824 – King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (b. 1759)
1825 – Ioannis Varvakis, Greek national hero (b. 1745)
1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician (b. 1752)
1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English writer and playwright (b. 1787)
1862 – Samuel Colt, American inventor (b. 1814)
1863 – Lyman Beecher, American Presbyterian clergyman (b. 1775)
1895 – Benjamin Godard, French composer (b. 1849)

1901–1950

1901 – James Dickson, Premier of Queensland (b. 1832)
1905 – Karlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
1917 – William F. Cody, American frontiersman (b. 1846)
1918 – August Oetker, German businessman (b. 1862)
1926 – Eino Leino, Finnish writer (b. 1878)
1934 – Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist, accused of Reichstag fire (b. 1909)
1935 – Edwin Flack, American athlete (b. 1873)
1941 – Frank Bridge, English composer (b. 1879)
1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian–born comedian and actor (b. 1904)
1941 – Issai Schur, German mathematician (b. 1875)
1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and polar scientist (b. 1865)

1951–2000

1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American writer (b. 1885)
1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (b. 1890)
1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet (b. 1889)
1959 – Michael Grzimek, German nature filmmaker (b. 1934)
1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1907)
1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American writer (b. 1894)
1968 – Ali Fuet Cebesoy, Turkish general and politician (b. 1882)
1969 – Sampurnanand, Indian politician, 2nd Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1891)
1969 – John Brownlee, American tenor (b. 1900)
1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1925)
1971 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer (b. 1883)
1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (b. 1897)
1976 – Howlin' Wolf, American musician (b. 1910)
1978 – Pedro Chamorro, Nicaraguan journalist (b. 1924)
1978 – Don Gillis, American composer and conductor (b. 1912)
1980 – George Meany, American labor leader (b. 1894)
1981 – Katherine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
1981 – Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian (b. 1915)
1982 – Paul Lynde, American comedian (b. 1926)
1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Prince and Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
1985 – Anton Karas, Austrian zither player and composer (b. 1906)
1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech writer (b. 1901)
1987 – Sir David Robinson, British philanthropist and entrepreneur (b. 1904)
1990 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1925)
1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American producer, actor and director (b. 1907)
1997 – Elspeth Huxley, British journalist and writer (b. 1907)
1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist (b. 1907)
2000 – Sam Jaffe, American producer (b. 1901)

From 2001

2003 – Julho Botelho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1929)
2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor, screenwriter, and monologue artist (b. 1941)
2004 – Alexandra Ripley, writer
2005 – Gene Baylos, comedian
2005 – Margherita Carosio, Italian soprano (b. 1908)
2005 – James Forman, American Civil Rights leader (b. 1928)
2005 – Erwin Hillier, British cinematographer (b. 1911)
2005 – Gordon John "Jack" Horner, sports journalist
2005 – Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1927)
2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian movie producer (b. 1912)
2008 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish–American actress (b. 1921)
2009 – Bill Stone, British World War I veteran (b. 1900)
2011 – John Dye, American actor (b. 1963)
2011 – Margaret Whiting, American actress (b. 1924)
2014 – Zbigniew Messner, former Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1929)
2014 – Larry Speakes, American journalist (b. 1939)
2014 – Allard van der Scheer, Dutch actor (b. 1928)
2014 – Marly Marley, Brazilian actress (b. 1938)
2015 – Francesco Rosi, Italian movie director (b. 1922)
2015 – Junior Malanda, Belgian footballer (b. 1994)
2015 – Taylor Negron, American writer, actor and painter (b. 1957)
2015 – Harry V. Jaffa, American political philosophy professor (b. 1918)
2015 – Walter Berns, American lawyer and political philosophy professor (b. 1919)
2015 – Frans Bolweg, Dutch sailor (b. 1950)
2015 – Robert Berner, American geoscientist (b. 1935)
2015 – Robert Stone, American writer (b. 1937)
2015 – Jorgelina Aranda, Argentine model, actress and singer (b. 1942)
2015 – Elemér Hankiss, Hungarian sociologist (b. 1928)
2015 – Inge Vermeulen, Brazilian–Dutch field hockey player (b. 1985)
2016 – Abbas Bahri, Tunisian mathematician (b. 1954)
2016 – Wim Bleijenberg, Dutch footballer (b. 1930)
2016 – Cornelis Zitman, Dutch sculptor (b. 1926)
2016 – Bob Oatley, Australian businessman, winemaker and yachtsman (b. 1928)
2016 – David Bowie, English singer, musician and actor (b. 1947)
2016 – Ann Z. Caracristi, American cryptographer (b. 1921)
2016 – Teofil Codreanu, Romanian footballer (b. 1941)
2016 – Jeanne Cordova, American LGBT activist (b. 1948)
2016 – Ulrich Hahnen, German politician (b. 1952)
2016 – Ralph Hauenstein, American philanthropist and businessman (b. 1912)
2016 – George Jonas, Hungarian–Canadian writer, poet and journalist (b. 1935)
2016 – Kalevi Lehtovirta, Finnish footballer (b. 1928)
2016 – Yusuf Zuayyin, Prime Minister of Syria (b. 1931)
2017 – Buddy Greco, American singer and actor (b. 1926)
2017 – Roman Herzog, President of Germany (b. 1934)
2017 – Clare Hollingworth, English journalist (b. 1911)
2017 – Oliver Smithies, English–American geneticist (b. 1925)
2017 – Hiag Akmakjian, American writer, painter and photographer (b. 1926)
2017 – Ronald Buxton, British politician (b. 1923)
2017 – Ryszard Parulski, Polish fencer (b. 1938)
2017 – Manlio Rocchetti, Italian make–up artist (b. 1943)
2017 – Tony Rosato, Italian–born Canadian actor (b. 1954)
2017 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1933)
2018 – Eddie Clarke, English guitarist (b. 1950)
2018 – Mikhail Derzhavin, Russian actor (b. 1936)
2018 – Tom Luken, American politician (b. 1925)
2018 – Doreen Tracey, English–born American actress (b. 1943)
2019 – Theo Adam, German opera singer (b. 1926)
2019 – Dianne Oxberry, English broadcaster (b. 1967)
2019 – Lionel Price, English basketball player (b. 1927)

Observances

Majority Rule Day (Bahamas)