January 7

Events

• 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal.
• 1558 - French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of England.
• 1608 - Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia.
• 1610 - Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following day.
• 1738 - A peace treaty is signed between Peshwa Bajirao and Jai Singh II following Maratha victory in the Battle of Bhopal.
• 1782 - The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens.
• 1785 - Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.
• 1835 -, with Charles Darwin on board, drops anchor off the Chonos Archipelago.
• 1894 - Thomas Edison makes a kinetoscopic film of someone sneezing. On the same day, his employee, William Kennedy Dickson, receives a patent for motion picture film.
• 1904 - The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS".
• 1919 - Montenegrin guerrilla fighters rebel against the planned annexation of Montenegro by Serbia, but fail.
• 1920 - The New York State Assembly refuses to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen.
• 1922 - Dáil Éireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by a 64–57 vote.
• 1927 - The first transatlantic telephone service is established from New York City to London.
• 1928 - A disastrous flood of the River Thames kills 14 people and causes extensive damage to much of riverside London.
• 1931 - Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast.
• 1935 - Benito Mussolini and French Foreign minister Pierre Laval sign the Franco-Italian Agreement.
• 1940 - Winter War: Battle of Raate Road - The Finnish 9th Division finally defeat the numerically superior Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road.
• 1948 - Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of a supposed UFO.
• 1954 - Georgetown-IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York at the head office of IBM.
• 1955 - Contralto Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.
• 1959 - The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
• 1968 - Surveyor Program: Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off from launch complex 36A, Cape Canaveral.
• 1973 - In his second shooting spree of the week, Mark Essex fatally shoots seven people and wounds five others at Howard Johnson's Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, before being shot to death by police officers.
• 1979 - Third Indochina War: Cambodian–Vietnamese War: Phnom Penh falls to the advancing Vietnamese troops, driving out Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
• 1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.
• 1984 - Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
• 1985 - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches Sakigake, Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union.
• 1991 - Roger Lafontant, former leader of the Tonton Macoute in Haiti under François Duvalier, attempts a coup d'état, which ends in his arrest.
• 1993 - The Fourth Republic of Ghana is inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings as President.
• 1993 - Bosnian War: The Bosnian Army executes a surprise attack at the village of Kravica in Srebrenica.
• 1999 - The Senate trial in the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton begins.
• 2012 - A hot air balloon crashes near Carterton, New Zealand, killing all 11 people on board.
• 2015 - Two gunmen commit mass murder at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, shooting twelve people execution style, and wounding eleven others.
• 2015 - A car bomb explodes outside a police college in the Yemeni capital Sana'a with at least 38 people reported dead and more than 63 injured.
• 2020 - The 6.4 2019–20 Puerto Rico earthquakes kill four and injure nine in southern Puerto Rico.

  Births

• 889 - Li Bian, emperor of Southern Tang
• 1355 - Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, English politician, Lord High Constable of England
• 1502 - Pope Gregory XIII
• 1634 - Adam Krieger, German organist and composer
• 1647 - William Louis, Duke of Württemberg
• 1685 - Jonas Alströmer, Swedish agronomist and businessman
• 1706 - Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher
• 1713 - Giovanni Battista Locatelli, Italian director and manager
• 1718 - Israel Putnam, American general
• 1746 - George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith, Scottish admiral and politician
• 1768 - Joseph Bonaparte, Italian king
• 1797 - Mariano Paredes, Mexican general and 16th president
• 1800 - Millard Fillmore, American politician, 13th President of the United States
• 1814 - Robert Nicoll, Scottish poet
• 1815 - Elizabeth Louisa Foster Mather, American writer
• 1827 - Sandford Fleming, Scottish-Canadian engineer, created Universal Standard Time
• 1830 - Albert Bierstadt, American painter
• 1831 - Heinrich von Stephan, German postman, founded the Universal Postal Union
• 1832 - James Munro, Scottish-Australian publisher and politician, 15th Premier of Victoria
• 1834 - Johann Philipp Reis, German physicist and academic, invented the Reis telephone
• 1837 - Thomas Henry Ismay, English businessman, founded the White Star Line Shipping Company
• 1844 - Bernadette Soubirous, French nun and saint
• 1858 - Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Belarusian lexicographer and journalist
• 1863 - Anna Murray Vail, American botanist and first librarian of the New York Botanical Garden
• 1871 - Émile Borel, French mathematician and politician
• 1873 - Charles Péguy, French poet and journalist
• 1873 - Adolph Zukor, Hungarian-American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures
• 1875 - Gustav Flatow, German gymnast
• 1876 - William Hurlstone, English pianist and composer
• 1877 - William Clarence Matthews, American baseball player, coach, and lawyer
• 1889 - Vera de Bosset, Russian-American ballerina
• 1891 - Zora Neale Hurston, American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist
• 1895 - Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited
• 1899 - Al Bowlly, Mozambican-English singer-songwriter
• 1899 - Francis Poulenc, French pianist and composer
• 1900 - John Brownlee, Australian actor and singer
• 1906 - Red Allen, American trumpet player
• 1910 - Orval Faubus, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Arkansas
• 1912 - Charles Addams, American cartoonist, created The Addams Family
• 1913 - Johnny Mize, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1916 - W. L. Jeyasingham, Sri Lankan geographer and academic
• 1916 - Babe Pratt, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1920 - Vincent Gardenia, Italian-American actor
• 1921 - Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian politician
• 1921 - Chester Kallman, American poet and translator
• 1922 - Alvin Dark, American baseball player and manager
• 1922 - Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flute player
• 1923 - Hugh Kenner, Canadian scholar and critic
• 1925 - Gerald Durrell, Indian-English zookeeper, conservationist and author, founded Durrell Wildlife Park
• 1926 - Kim Jong-pil, South Korean lieutenant and politician, 11th Prime Minister of South Korea
• 1928 - William Peter Blatty, American author and screenwriter
• 1929 - Robert Juniper, Australian painter and sculptor
• 1929 - Terry Moore, American actress
• 1931 - Mirja Hietamies, Finnish skier
• 1933 - Elliott Kastner, American-English film producer
• 1934 - Jean Corbeil, Canadian lawyer and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour
• 1934 - Tassos Papadopoulos, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 5th President of Cyprus
• 1935 - Li Shengjiao, Chinese diplomat and international jurist
• 1935 - Kenny Davern, American clarinet player and saxophonist
• 1935 - Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut
• 1941 - Iona Brown, English violinist and conductor
• 1941 - John E. Walker, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1942 - Vasily Alekseyev, Russian-German weightlifter and coach
• 1943 - Sadako Sasaki, Japanese survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, known for one thousand origami cranes
• 1944 - Mike McGear, British performing artist and rock photographer
• 1944 - Kotaro Suzumura, Japanese economist and academic
• 1945 - Raila Odinga, Kenyan engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Kenya
• 1946 - Jann Wenner, American publisher, co-founded Rolling Stone
• 1947 - Tony Elliott, English publisher, founded Time Out
• 1948 - Kenny Loggins, American singer-songwriter
• 1948 - Ichirou Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter
• 1950 - Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer-songwriter
• 1952 - Sammo Hung, Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and martial artist
• 1953 - Robert Longo, American painter and sculptor
• 1954 - Alan Butcher, English cricketer and coach
• 1955 - Mamata Shankar, Indian-Bengali actress
• 1956 - David Caruso, American actor
• 1957 - Katie Couric, American television journalist, anchor, and author
• 1959 - Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon, English accountant and politician
• 1959 - Kathy Valentine, American bass player and songwriter
• 1960 - Loretta Sanchez, American politician
• 1961 - John Thune, American lawyer and politician
• 1962 - Aleksandr Dugin, Russian political analyst and strategist known for his fascist views
• 1962 - Ron Rivera, American football player and coach
• 1964 - Nicolas Cage, American actor
• 1965 - Alessandro Lambruschini, Italian runner
• 1967 - Nick Clegg, English academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1969 - Marco Simone, Italian footballer and manager
• 1970 - Andy Burnham, English politician
• 1971 - Jeremy Renner, American actor
• 1972 - Donald Brashear, American-Canadian ice hockey player and mixed martial artist
• 1974 - Alenka Bikar, Slovenian sprinter and politician
• 1976 - Vic Darchinyan, Armenian-Australian boxer
• 1976 - Alfonso Soriano, Dominican baseball player
• 1977 - Sofi Oksanen, Finnish author and playwright
• 1979 - Aloe Blacc, American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, businessman and philanthropist.
• 1982 - Francisco Rodríguez, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1982 - Hannah Stockbauer, German swimmer
• 1983 - Edwin Encarnación, Dominican baseball player
• 1985 - Lewis Hamilton, English racing driver
• 1986 - Wayne Routledge, English footballer winger
• 1987 - Stefan Babović, Serbian footballer
• 1987 - Lyndsy Fonseca, American actress
• 1987 - Davide Astori, Italian footballer
• 1990 - Gregor Schlierenzauer, Austrian ski jumper
• 1991 - Eden Hazard, Belgian footballer
• 1991 - Caster Semenya, South African sprinter

  Deaths

• 312 - Lucian of Antioch, Christian martyr, saint, and theologian
• 838 - Babak Khorramdin, Iranian leader of the Khurramite uprising against the Abbasid Caliphate
• 856 - Aldric, bishop of Le Mans
• 1131 - Canute Lavard, Danish prince and saint
• 1285 - Charles I of Naples
• 1325 - Denis of Portugal
• 1355 - Inês de Castro, Castilian noblewoman
• 1400 - John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English Earl
• 1451 - Amadeus VIII of Savoy a.k.a. Antipope Felix V
• 1529 - Peter Vischer the Elder, German sculptor
• 1536 - Catherine of Aragon
• 1566 - Louis de Blois, Flemish monk and author
• 1619 - Nicholas Hilliard, English painter and goldsmith
• 1625 - Ruggiero Giovannelli, Italian composer and author
• 1655 - Pope Innocent X
• 1658 - Theophilus Eaton, American farmer and politician, 1st Governor of the New Haven Colony
• 1694 - Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire
• 1700 - Raffaello Fabretti, Italian scholar and author
• 1715 - François Fénelon, French archbishop, theologian, and poet
• 1758 - Allan Ramsay, Scottish poet and playwright
• 1767 - Thomas Clap, American minister and academic
• 1770 - Carl Gustaf Tessin, Swedish politician and diplomat
• 1812 - Joseph Dennie, American journalist and author
• 1830 - John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian public servant and politician
• 1830 - Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator
• 1858 - Mustafa Reşid Pasha, Ottoman politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
• 1864 - Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist and politician, 6th U.S. Secretary of the Interior
• 1892 - Tewfik Pasha, Egyptian ruler
• 1893 - Josef Stefan, Slovenian physicist and mathematician
• 1919 - Henry Ware Eliot, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Washington University in St. Louis
• 1920 - Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia
• 1927 - Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos, Greek politician, 99th Prime Minister of Greece
• 1931 - Edward Channing, American historian and author
• 1932 - André Maginot, French sergeant and politician
• 1936 - Guy d'Hardelot, French pianist and composer
• 1941 - Charles Finger, English journalist and author
• 1943 - Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American physicist and engineer
• 1951 - René Guénon, French-Egyptian philosopher and author
• 1960 - Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, English tennis player and coach
• 1963 - Arthur Edward Moore, New Zealand-Australian farmer and politician, 23rd Premier of Queensland
• 1964 - Reg Parnell, English racing driver and manager
• 1967 - David Goodis, American author and screenwriter
• 1967 - Carl Schuricht, German-Swiss conductor
• 1968 - J. L. B. Smith, South African chemist and academic
• 1972 - John Berryman, American poet and scholar
• 1981 - Alvar Lidell, English journalist and radio announcer
• 1981 - Eric Robinson, Australian businessman and politician, 2nd Australian Minister for Finance
• 1984 - Alfred Kastler, German-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1986 - Juan Rulfo, Mexican author, screenwriter, and photographer )
• 1988 - Zara Cisco Brough, American Nipmuc Indian chief and fashion designer
• 1988 - Trevor Howard, English actor
• 1989 - Hirohito, Japanese emperor
• 1990 - Bronko Nagurski, Canadian-American football player and wrestler
• 1992 - Richard Hunt, American puppeteer and voice actor
• 1995 - Murray Rothbard, American economist, historian, and theorist
• 1996 - Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary
• 1998 - Owen Bradley, American record producer
• 1998 - Vladimir Prelog, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 2000 - Gary Albright, American wrestler
• 2001 - James Carr, American singer
• 2002 - Avery Schreiber, American comedian and actor
• 2004 - Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress
• 2005 - Pierre Daninos, French author
• 2006 - Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer, geographer, and author
• 2007 - Bobby Hamilton, American race car driver and businessman
• 2007 - Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic journalist, author, and academic
• 2008 - Alwyn Schlebusch, South African academic and politician, Vice State President of South Africa
• 2012 - Tony Blankley, British-born American child actor, journalist and pundit
• 2014 - Run Run Shaw, Chinese-Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist, founded Shaw Brothers Studio and TVB
• 2015 - Mompati Merafhe, Botswana general and politician, Vice-President of Botswana
• 2015 - Rod Taylor, Australian-American actor and screenwriter
• 2015 - Georges Wolinski, Tunisian-French cartoonist
• 2016 - Bill Foster, American basketball player and coach
• 2016 - John Johnson, American basketball player
• 2016 - Kitty Kallen, American singer
• 2016 - Judith Kaye, American lawyer and jurist
• 2016 - Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Home Affairs
• 2017 - Mário Soares, Portuguese politician; 16th President of Portugal
• 2018 - Jim Anderton, Former New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister
• 2018 - France Gall, French singer

  Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
• * André Bessette
• * Canute Lavard
• * Charles of Sezze
• * Felix and Januarius
• * Lucian of Antioch
• * Raymond of Penyafort
• * Synaxis of John the Forerunner & Baptist
• * January 7
• Christmas
• * Christmas in Russia
• * Christmas in Ukraine
• * Remembrance Day of the Dead
• Distaff Day
• Earliest day on which Plough Monday can fall, while January 13 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after Epiphany.
• Nanakusa no sekku
• Pioneer's Day
• Tricolour day or Festa del Tricolore
• Victory from Genocide Day