/year

January 25 in history

218 sourced entries recorded on January 25, from 41 CE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 41After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as emperor by the Senate.source
  • 42The Apostle Paul is converted to Christianity (the exact date is not provided in texts, but the Roman Catholic Church chooses to commemorate this date).source
  • 750Battle of the Zab: Abbasid forces under Abdallah ibn Ali defeat the Umayyads near the Great Zab River. Members of the Umayyad house are hunted down and killed. Defeated by his rivals, Caliph Marwan II flees westward to Egypt, perhaps attempting to reach Al-Andalus (Iberian Peninsula), where there are still significant Umayyad armies.source
  • 863Emperor Louis II claims Provence, after the death of his brother Charles. King Lothair II receives Lower Burgundy and a part of the Jura Mountains.source
  • 901Sugawara no Michizane, a Japanese poet, is demoted from his aristocratic rank and is exiled to a minor official post at Dazaifu (Chikuzen Province).source
  • 1077Walk to Canossa: Emperor Henry IV travels to the Castle of Canossa near Reggio Emilia (Northern Italy), to visit Pope Gregory VII. He waits (with his wife Bertha of Savoy and son Conrad) at the gates for three days, for absolution of his excommunication. Gregory lifts the sentence, imposing on Henry a vow to comply with certain conditions (see Investiture Controversy).source
  • 1139Godfrey II, Count of Louvain becomes Duke of Lower Lorraine.source
  • 1160Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, captures Crema, Lombardy after a 6-month siege, as part of his campaign against the independent Italian city-states. Some 20,000 survivors are allowed to leave the city with whatever they could carry before Crema is looted and burnt to the ground. The expense of the siege (over 2,000 silver marks) and Frederick's determination to enforce it over the winter, demonstrates his ability to hold troops in the field and to keep his allies on side.source
  • 1262Richard of Chichester in England (died 1253) is canonized as a saint; he is best known for authoring the prayer adapted into the song "Day by Day" in the musical Godspell (1971).source
  • 1301Second Mongol invasion of Burma: The forces of Temür Khan, Mongol leader who also serves as the Emperor Chengzong of China, reach Myinsaing, capital of the Myinsaing Kingdom in central Burma, and begin a siege of the city that will last for almost three months before the invasion leaders are paid to leave.source
  • 1308King Edward II marries the 13-year-old Isabella of France, daughter of King Philip IV of France ("Philip the Fair"). The marriage takes place at Boulogne and Edward leaves his friend and favourite, Piers Gaveston, as regent in his absence. Isabella's wardrobe indicates her wealth and style – she has dresses of silk, velvet, taffeta and cloth along with numerous furs; she has over 72 headdresses and coifs. Isabella brings with her two gold crowns, gold and silver dinnerware and 419 yards of linen. Meanwhile, Edward alienates the nobles by placing Gaveston in such a powerful position, who react by signing the Boulogne agreement on January 31.source
  • 1323Vilnius, now the capital of Lithuania is first mentioned as a city, when the second of the Letters of Grand Duke Gediminas of the Duchy of Lithuania are sent to German cities inviting German Jews and other Germans to resettle in the city of "Vilna".source
  • 1327The 14-year-old Crown Prince, Edward, is proclaimed King of England in London, with his mother Isabella serving as his regent.source
  • 1348The 6.9-magnitude 1348 Friuli earthquake centered in Northern Italy is felt across Europe. Contemporary minds link the quake with the Black Death, fueling fears that the Biblical Apocalypse has arrived.source
  • 1369King Charles of France sends a summons to Edward the Black Prince, who is residing at Bordeaux, demanding that Edward appear before the King in Paris to answer for Edward's assessment of taxes on the people of Aquitaine. The Black Prince reportedly responds with the threat "We will willingly attend at Paris on the day appointed since the King of France sends for us, but it shall be with our helmet on our head and 60,000 men in our company".source
  • 1381King Charles VI the Beloved re-confirms the 1315 Charter to the Normans (Charte aux Normands), recognizing the rights and privileges of the residents of the Duchy of Normandy to self-government within France. The Charter had lapsed in 1364 when King Charles V the Wise declined to confirm it after ascending the throne.source
  • 1412Ernest, Duke of Austria, marries Cymburgis of Masovia.source
  • 1420The civil war in Switzerland, which has pitted the cantons of Lucerne, Uri and Unterwalden, supporting rebels in Valais against the Baron of Valais and against the Canton of Bern, is ended by the signing of a treaty at the neutral town of Zug, after mediation by Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy.source
  • 1442The English Parliament opens at Westminster for a 60-day session, and the House of Commons re-elects William Tresham as its speaker.source
  • 1442The Treaty of Nürtingen is signed between the two counts of Württemberg, the brothers Ludwig and Ulrich, dividing the German territory between them.source
  • 1442Two months after the death of the Burmese King Minye Kyawswa I of Ava, his brother-in-law Thihapate of Mohnyin turns down an offer to rule the kingdom, and recommends that Kyswswa's younger brother, Thihathu, Viceroy of Prome, become the new King.source
  • 1442John Fortescue becomes the new Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, replacing the late John Hody.source
  • 1479The Treaty of Constantinople is signed between the Ottoman Empire and Republic of Venice, ending 16 years of war between the two powers; Venice will cede Negroponte, Lemnos and Shkodër, and pay an annual sum of 10,000 gold ducats.source
  • 1482(5 Adar 5242) The first printing of the Torah by movable type, in the original Hebrew language, is made in Bologna, marking the first use of the Hebrew alphabet rather than the Roman alphabet in printing.source
  • 1494Alfonso II becomes King of Naples.source
  • 1515François, is crowned King of France in the Cathedral of Reims, with his wife Claude, daughter of the late King Louis XII, crowned as Queen consort.source
  • 1533King Henry VIII of England formally but secretly marries Anne Boleyn, who becomes his second queen consort.source
  • 1554São Paulo, Brazil, is founded.source
  • 1556A Russian attack on Viborg is repelled.source
  • 1563In Italy, Instituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino, a constituent of the major financial group Sanpaolo IMI, is founded.source
  • 1576Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais founds the settlement of São Paulo da Assumpção de Loanda on the southwestern coast of Africa, modern Luanda, capital of Angola.source
  • 1590Luis de Velasco y Castilla, Marquess of Salinas, becomes the new Viceroy of New Spain, a colony comprising most of Central America, Mexico and what is now a large part of the southwestern United States. Velasco will govern until 1595, and then again from 1607 to 1611.source
  • 1593Siamese King Naresuan, in combat on elephant back, kills Burmese Crown Prince Mingyi Swa on Monday, Moon 2 Waning day 2, Year of the Dragon, Chulasakarat 954, reckoned as corresponding to January 25, 1593, of the Gregorian calendar, and commemorated as Royal Thai Armed Forces Day.source
  • 1594The siege of Enniskillen Castle in Ireland (at County Fermanagh) is started by English commander John Dowdall, but is abandoned after one month.source
  • 1625The Danish West India Company is granted an eight-year monopoly on trade with the West Indies, Virginia, Brazil and Guinea.source
  • 1632Gaston of Orleans arrives in Brussels to join Marie de Medici in exile.source
  • 1635King Thalun moves the capital of Burma from Pegu to Ava.source
  • 1660The first bridge to span the Sumida River in Tokyo, the Ryōgoku Bridge, is built to give people a means of escape from fires. (Traditional Japanese Date: Thirteenth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1659)source
  • 1672The Theatre Royal, located at the time on Bridges Street in London, burns down. A replacement structure is built on Drury Lane in 1674.source
  • 1672the Theatre Royal in Bridges Street in London burns down, forcing the King's Company to relocate to the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre while the Theatre Royal is rebuilt in Drury Lane.source
  • 1683Yaoya Oshichi sets fire to her home in the hopes of being able to meet a young priest with whom she fell in love while seeking shelter from a previous fire. The fire destroyed a large section of Edo (present day Tokyo). Oshichi was later caught and punished for her crime by being burned at the stake. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-eighth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1682)source
  • 1704January 25–26 – Apalachee massacre: English colonists from the Province of Carolina, and their native allies, stage a series of brutal raids against a largely pacific population of Apalachee, in Spanish Florida.source
  • 1723English-born pirate Edward Low intercepts the Portuguese ship Nostra Signiora de Victoria. After the Portuguese captain throws his treasure of 11,000 gold coins into the sea rather than surrendering it, Low orders the captain's brutal torture and execution, then has the rest of the Victoria crew murdered. Low commits more atrocities this year, but is not certainly heard of after the end of the year.source
  • 1725The Spanish corsair Amaro Pargo receives the title of Hidalgo (nobleman).source
  • 1777John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, is sworn in as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.source
  • 1791The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act 1791, splitting the old province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada.source
  • 1792The London Corresponding Society is founded.source
  • 1817The Scotsman is first published in Edinburgh as a liberal weekly newspaper by lawyer William Ritchie and customs official Charles Maclaren.source
  • 1819Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia.source
  • 1834The Agreement Regarding Compensation for the Kubo (Kabaw) Valley is signed.source
  • 1835January 24-25: The Muslim slave revolt, known as the Malê Revolt, takes place in Salvador, capital of the Province of Bahia.source
  • 1839H. Fox Talbot shows his "photogenic drawings" at the Royal Institution in London. Sara Anne Bright is also producing such photographic reproductions this year.source
  • 1858The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn becomes a popular wedding recessional, after it is played on this day at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter Victoria, Princess Royal, to Prince Friedrich of Prussia in St James's Palace, London.source
  • 1860HMS Prince of Wales, a 121-gun screw-propelled first-rate ship of the line is launched at Portsmouth Dockyard.source
  • 1881Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.source
  • 1886The first assembly of the Federal Council of Australasia is held in Hobart.source
  • 1887Italian troops move into the hinterland of Massawa, territory claimed by Ethiopia, brought her forces into conflict with those of Ethiopia, specifically those of Ras Alula, governor of Mareb Mellash. On 24 or 25 January 1887, Alula attacked the Italian fort at Saati. In the ensuing skirmish, his troops were beaten back.source
  • 1889Johan Lauritz Sundt, industrialist (born 1828).source
  • 1889Johan Jeremiassen, ship-owner, consul and politician (born 1843)source
  • 1890A territorial dispute between Argentina and Brazil over the eastern sector of Misiones ("Questão Palmas") is resolved by the signing of the Treaty of Montevideo by Quintino Bocaiuva, the minister of external affairs.source
  • 1890American journalist Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.source
  • 1890Journalist Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.source
  • 1890The United Mine Workers of America is founded.source
  • 1900Plague is officially declared in Rosario.source
  • 1904Halford Mackinder presents a paper on "The Geographical Pivot of History" to the Royal Geographical Society of London in which he formulates the Heartland Theory, originating the study of geopolitics.source
  • 1913Regular shipping routes between Keelung and Hualien Ports were opened; the Governor-General announced the "Taiwan Gunpowder Ban Rules", which came into effect on 1 February.source
  • 1915The first United States coast-to-coast long-distance telephone call is facilitated by a newly invented vacuum tube amplifier, ceremonially inaugurated by Alexander Graham Bell in New York City and his former assistant Thomas A. Watson, in San Francisco, California.source
  • 1917An anti-prostitution drive in San Francisco attracts huge crowds to public meetings. At one meeting attended by 7,000 people, 20,000 are kept out for lack of room. In a conference with Rev. Paul Smith, an outspoken foe of prostitution, 300 prostitutes make a plea for toleration, explaining they had been forced into the practice by poverty. When Smith asks if they will take other work at $8 to $10 a week, the ladies laugh derisively, which loses them public sympathy. The police close about 200 houses of prostitution shortly thereafter.source
  • 1917WWI: British armed merchantman SS Laurentic is sunk by mines off Lough Swilly (Ireland), with the loss of 354 of the 475 aboard.source
  • 1918January 18–25 – General strike in Austria-Hungarysource
  • 1919The League of Nations is founded in Paris, France.source
  • 1921Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci is righted in Taranto Harbour.source
  • 1924January 20–30 – Kuomintang in China holds its first National Congress, initiating a policy of alliance with the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party.source
  • 1924The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, open in Chamonix, in the French Alps.source
  • 1925Hjalmar Branting resigns as Prime Minister of Sweden because of ill health, and is replaced by the minister of trade, Rickard Sandler.source
  • 1925Hjalmar Branting resigns as Prime Minister because of ill health and is replaced by the minister of trade, Rickard Sandler.source
  • 1925The tomb of Tutankhamun is reopened to allow Howard Carter to resume his archaeological investigation. Some artefacts are found to be damaged as a result of careless storage by the antiquities department.source
  • 1931Mohandas Gandhi is again released from imprisonment in India.source
  • 1939Refik Saydam forms the new (11th) government of Turkey.source
  • 1942Temperatures reach 12 below zero Celsius.source
  • 1944A total solar eclipse is visible in Pacific Ocean, South America, Atlantic Ocean and Africa, the 48th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 130.source
  • 1949The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA or COMECON) is established by the Soviet Union and other communist nations.source
  • 1949In the first Israeli elections, David Ben-Gurion becomes Prime Minister.source
  • 1951Dutch author Anne de Vries releases the first volume of his children's novel Journey Through the Night (Reis door de nacht), set during World War II.source
  • 1954The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union meet at the Berlin Conference.source
  • 1954David Grossman, Israeli author.source
  • 1955The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union announces the end of the war between the USSR and Germany, which began during World War II in 1941.source
  • 1956January 25–26 – Finnish troops reoccupy Porkkala, after Soviet troops vacate its military base. Civilians can return February 4.source
  • 1959Pope John XXIII announces that the Second Vatican Council will be convened in Rome.source
  • 1959American Airlines begins the first U.S. domestic jet service with a Boeing 707 airliner flight between New York and Los Angeles.source
  • 1961Acting to halt 'leftist excesses', a junta composed of two army officers and four civilians takes over El Salvador, ousting another junta that had ruled for three months.source
  • 1961In Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential news conference. In it, he announces that the Soviet Union has freed the two surviving crewmen from the July 1 1960 RB-47 shootdown incident involving a USAF reconnaissance aircraft and a MiG-19 over the Barents Sea.source
  • 1963A large annular solar eclipse covers 99.5% of the Sun and a narrow path (at most 19.6 km (12.2 mi)). It is visible in Chile, Argentina, South Africa and Madagascar, and is the 26th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 140. Gamma has a value of -0.48984.source
  • 1966Saul Adler (born 1895), Russian (Belarus)-born Israeli physician, microbiologist and parasitology expert.source
  • 1967South Vietnamese junta leader and Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky forces his rival, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Nguyen Huu Co, into exile while overseas on a diplomatic visit.source
  • 1968Israeli submarine INS Dakar sinks in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 69.source
  • 1971Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state.source
  • 1971Intelsat IV (F2) is launched; it enters commercial service over the Atlantic Ocean March 26.source
  • 1971In Los Angeles, Charles Manson and 3 female "Family" members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate–LaBianca murders.source
  • 1974Bülent Ecevit of CHP forms the new government of Turkey (37th government, partner MSP).source
  • 1978January 25–27 – The Great Blizzard of 1978 strikes the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, killing 70.source
  • 1979Pope John Paul II arrives in Mexico City for his first visit to Mexico, mainly for 1979's Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) or Conference of Puebla.source
  • 198125 January and 7 February - Adrian Lim, a self-professed medium, Catherine Tan Mui Choo and Hoe Kah Hong murders two children as "sacrifices" in a case known as the Toa Payoh ritual murders. This case becomes the second-longest murder trial in Singapore at that time, taking 41 days to complete. The three suspects are found guilty and sentenced to hang. The sentences are carried out on 25 November 1988.source
  • 1981In South Africa the largest part of the town Laingsburg is swept away within minutes by one of the strongest floods ever experienced in the Great Karoo.source
  • 1983IRAS is launched from Vandenberg AFB, to conduct the world's first all-sky infrared survey from space.source
  • 1983January 24 – 25 members of the Red Brigades are sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1978 murder of Italian politician Aldo Moro.source
  • 1986Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army Rebel group takes over Uganda after leading a five-year guerrilla war in which up to half a million people are believed to have been killed. They will later use January 26 as the official date to avoid a coincidence of dates with Dictator Idi Amin's 1971 coup.source
  • 1986Mikhail Gorbachev proposes a 15-year plan on abolition of nuclear weapons.source
  • 1988While on his way to José María Córdova International Airport, Inspector General Carlos Mauro Hoyos is attacked and kidnapped. He is killed in captivity a few hours after.source
  • 1990Pope John Paul II begins an eight-day tour of Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad.source
  • 1990January 25–26 – The Burns' Day Storm kills 97 in northwestern Europe.source
  • 1990Avianca Flight 052 crashes into Cove Neck, New York after a miscommunication between the flight crew and JFK Airport officials, killing 73 people on board.source
  • 1990Avianca Flight 052: 73 people die after an Avianca plane flying from Medellín to New York City, United States crashes in Cove Neck, New York.source
  • 1993Social Democrat Poul Nyrup Rasmussen succeeds Conservative Poul Schlüter as Prime Minister of Denmark.source
  • 1995Norwegian rocket incident: A rocket launched from the space exploration centre at Andøya, Norway, is briefly interpreted by the Russians as an incoming attack.source
  • 1998Miss Chinese International Pageant 1998source
  • 1999The 6.2 Mw Colombia earthquake strikes western Colombia, killing at least 1,900 people.source
  • 1999The 6.2 Mw Armenia, Colombia earthquake kills at least 1,900.source
  • 2001Armenia and Azerbaijan join the Council of Europe.source
  • 2001January 21–27 – Taba Summit: Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority aimed at reaching the "final status" of negotiations. Ehud Barak temporarily withdraws from negotiations during the Israeli elections, subsequently Ariel Sharon refuses to continue negotiating in the face of the newly erupted violence.source
  • 2004NASA's Opportunity rover lands on the surface of Mars.source
  • 2006Hamas wins the 2006 Palestinian legislative election.source
  • 2006Nigerian militants attack the industrial facility of a subsidiary of the Italian oil giant, Nigerian Agip Oil Company in Port Harcourt killing eight policemen and a civilian worker.source
  • 2007The city council of Shushi, Nagorno-Karabakh has selected a new coat of arms for the city as part of a "Shushi Revival." The new coat of arms was designed by Rouben Arutchyan, an artist from Yerevan by descent from a famous Shushi family. The new coat features a guardian angel of "Sourp Amenaprkich Kazanchetsost" Church.source
  • 2007Vietnam's prime minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng becomes the first leader of the communist nation to meet and hold talks with the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Prime Minister Dũng met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican City in Rome.source
  • 2008A rear tire bursts on the landing gear of a Thai Airways International flight from Bangkok as it lands at Phnom Penh International Airport. There are no injuries among the 160 passengers and crew.source
  • 2009Gianh River boat accidentsource
  • 2010Houthi fighters in northern Yemen offer to leave Saudi Arabia after three months of fighting on the border.source
  • 2010Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean shortly after take-off from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on board.source
  • 2010The Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, scheduled from Beirut to Addis Ababa, crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Rafic Hariri International Airport.source
  • 2011The 2011 Egyptian revolution begins.source
  • 2015Legislative elections are held in Greece to elect all 300 members of the Hellenic Parliament and the SYRIZA party, led by Alexis Tsipras, comes out as the largest party winning 149 out of 300 seats.source
  • 2019A mine tailings dam breaks in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil. At least 248 people are killed, with 22 missing.source
  • 2021BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, and ING Group end financing for oil trading in the Amazon region of Ecuador.source
  • 2021Two in Eswatini die and thousands are homeless throughout Southern Africa as Cyclone Eloise causes extensive flooding.source
  • 2023Chris Hipkins succeeds Jacinda Ardern as Prime Minister of New Zealand, six days after she announced her resignation.source
  • 2023The United States bars former president Ricardo Martinelli from entering the country, accusing him of accepting bribes during his 2009–2014 administration.source
  • 2025The Dacian-era Helmet of Coțofenești, on loan from the National History Museum of Romania, is stolen along with three other gold artifacts from the Drents Museum in Assen by thieves who broke into the museum using explosives.source

Births

  • 750Leo IV, Byzantine emperor (died 780)source
  • 1223Maud de Lacy, English noblewoman (died 1289)source
  • 1408Katharina of Hanau, German countess regent (died 1460)source
  • 1459Paul Hofhaimer, Austrian organist and composer (died 1537)source
  • 1477Anne of Brittany, sovereign duchess of Brittany, queen of Charles VIII of France (died 1514)source
  • 1477Anne of Brittany, Duchess of Brittany (died 1514).source
  • 1493Maximilian Sforza, Duke of Milan (died 1530)source
  • 1507Johannes Oporinus, Swiss printer (died 1568)source
  • 1509Giovanni Morone, Italian Catholic cardinal (died 1580)source
  • 1540Edmund Campion, English Jesuit and Roman Catholic martyr (died 1581)source
  • 1559Aleixo de Menezes, Roman Catholic archbishop (died 1617)source
  • 1627Robert Boyle, Anglo-Irish scientist (died 1691)source
  • 1627Robert Boyle, chemist and physicist (died 1691)source
  • 1635Daniel Casper von Lohenstein, German writer, diplomat and lawyer (died 1683)source
  • 1640William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and statesman (died 1707)source
  • 1708Pompeo Batoni, Italian painter (died 1787)source
  • 1715Thomas Walker, distinguished Virginia physician, explorer (died 1794)source
  • 1727Aron Gustaf Silfversparre, Swedish baron (died 1818)source
  • 1736Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian-born mathematician (died 1813)source
  • 1739Charles François Dumouriez, French general (died 1823)source
  • 1743Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher (died 1819)source
  • 1759Robert Burns, Scottish poet (died 1796)source
  • 1825George Pickett, American Confederate general (died 1876)source
  • 1841John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, British admiral (died 1920)source
  • 1858Mikimoto Kōkichi (died 1954), businessmansource
  • 1860Charles Curtis, American politician, 31st Vice President (died 1936)source
  • 1882Virginia Woolf, English writer (died 1941)source
  • 1886Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (died 1954)source
  • 1888Abraham Leib Zissu, political essayist and writer (died 1956).source
  • 1933Corazon Aquino, 11th President of the Philippines (died 2009)source
  • 1938Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, poet and actor (died 1980)source
  • 1952Peter Tatchell, Australian-born British human rights activistsource
  • 1978Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian politician and comedian, President of Ukrainesource

Deaths

  • 390Gregory Nazianzus, theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople (born 329)source
  • 477Genseric, king of the Vandals and Alanssource
  • 477Genseric, ruler of the Vandal Kingdom, dies a natural death at Carthage, and is succeeded by his eldest son Huneric. He maintains control over the islands in the western Mediterranean Sea with his Vandal fleet, and rescinds his father's policy of persecuting the Roman Catholics in Africa.source
  • 536Ankan, emperor of Japan (born c. 466)source
  • 750Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, Umayyad caliphsource
  • 844Gregory IV, pope of the Catholic Churchsource
  • 844Pope Gregory IV dies after a 16-year reign, in which he has supported the Frankish policy of late emperor Louis the Pious, and established the observance of All Saints' Day. He is succeeded by Sergius II, as the 102nd pope of Rome. Sergius imprisons the antipope John VIII, and is elected by popular acclamation.source
  • 863Charles of Provence, Frankish king (born 845)source
  • 951Ma Xiguang, ruler of Chu (Ten Kingdoms)source
  • 954Ashot II, prince of Tao-Klarjeti (Georgia)source
  • 1003Lothair I, margrave of the Nordmarksource
  • 1042Abbad I dies after a 19-year reign as independent ruler of the Taifa of Seville in Al-Andalus (modern Spain). He is succeeded by his son Abbad II (until 1069).source
  • 1042Abbad I, founder of the Abbadid Dynasty (born 984)source
  • 1048Poppo, abbot of Stavelot-Malmedy (born 977)source
  • 1067Ying Zong, Chinese emperor (born 1032)source
  • 1067Emperor Yingzong (or Zhao Shu) of the Song dynasty dies after a 4-year reign. He is succeeded by his 18-year-old son Shen Zong as emperor of China.source
  • 1139Count Godfrey I of Louvain and Duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VI)source
  • 1214Taira no Tokuko, Japanese empress (born 1155)source
  • 1273Odo of Châteauroux, French bishop (born 1190)source
  • 1366Henry Suso, German mystic (born c. 1295)source
  • 1413Maud de Ufford, Countess of Oxford (born 1345)source
  • 1431Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (born 1365)source
  • 1494King Ferdinand I of Naples (born 1423)source
  • 149425 January 1494: king Ferdinand I of Naples dies and was succeeded by his son Alfonso II of Naples (who also laid claim to Milan). King Charles VIII of France disputed the succession, and began preparations for an invasion of Italy to enforce his claim on the Neapolitan kingship.source
  • 149425 January 1494: Ferdinand I of Naplessource
  • 1501Margaret of Bavaria, Electress Palatine, Princess of Bavaria-Landshut (born 1456)source
  • 1505Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Italian politician (born 1431)source
  • 1518Piri Mehmed Pasha is appointed as the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire by the Sultan Selim I, replacing Yunus Pasha, who was executed four months earlier on September 13.source
  • 1522Raffaello Maffei, Italian theologian (born 1451)source
  • 1559King Christian II of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (born 1481)source
  • 1559Christian II of Denmark and Sweden (born 1481)source
  • 1562Charles Wriothesley, English officer of arms (born 1508)source
  • 1578Mihrimah Sultan, Sultan Suleiman's daughter (born 1522)source
  • 1622Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland, prince (died 1601)source
  • 1640Robert Burton, English scholar (born 1577)source
  • 1650As part of the purges following the Great Potosí Mint Fraud of 1649 Francisco Gómez de la Rocha, a rich former corregidor of Potosí, is executed.source
  • 1692Shubael Dummer, American Congregational church minister (born 1636)source
  • 1726Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (born 1675)source
  • 1726Rowland Gwynne, politician, 67source
  • 1733Gilbert Heathcote, Mayor of London (born 1652)source
  • 1742Edmond Halley, English astronomer (born 1656)source
  • 1871Jeanne Villepreux-Power, French marine biologist (born 1794)source
  • 1906Joseph Wheeler, American general, politician (born 1836)source
  • 1947Al Capone, American gangster (born 1899)source
  • 1970Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese film director and special effects designer (born 1901)source
  • 1971Hermann Hoth, German general (born 1885)source
  • 2016January 16 – 30 people are killed and 56 injured in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, targeting a hotel and a nearby restaurant. A siege occurs and 176 hostages are released afterwards, by government forces.source