January 15

Events

*588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah's reign. The siege lasts until July 23, 586 BC.
* 69 - Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but only rules for three months before committing suicide.
*1582 - Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to Poland.
*1759 - The British Museum opens.
*1777 - American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
*1782 - Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris goes before the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
*1822 - Greek War of Independence: Demetrius Ypsilanti is elected president of the legislative assembly.
*1844 - University of Notre Dame receives its charter from the state of Indiana.
*1865 - American Civil War - Fort Fisher North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
*1870 - A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the United States Democratic Party with a donkey ("A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion" by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly).
*1889 - The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.
*1892 - James Naismith publishes the rules for basketball.
*1908 - The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African-American college women.
*1919 - Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps.
*1936 - The first building to be completely covered in glass is completed in Toledo, Ohio (the building was for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company).
*1943 - World War II: The Japanese are driven off Guadalcanal.
* 1943 - World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
* 1943 - The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
*1947 - The brutalized corpse of Elizabeth Short ("The Black Dahlia") is found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California.
*1949 - The Chinese Communist Party forces took over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
*1951 - Ilse Koch, The "Bitch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in West Germany.
*1966 - The government of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in Nigeria is overthrown in a military coup d’état.
*1967 - The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles, California.
*1969 - The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
*1970 - After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafra surrenders.
* 1970 - Muammar al-Qaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
*1973 - Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
*1976 - Gerald Ford's would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
*1977 - The Kälvesta air disaster kills 22 people, the worst air crash in Sweden's history.
*1986 - The Living Seas opens at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World, Florida.
*1990 - AT&T's long distance telephone network suffers a cascade switching failure.
*1991 - The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
*1992 - The international community recognizes the independence of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
*1993 - Salvatore Riina, the Mafia boss known as 'The Beast', is arrested in Sicily after three decades as a fugitive
*1999 - The Racak incident: 45 Albanians in the Kosovo village of Racak are killed by Yugoslav security forces.
*2001 - Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
*2005 - An intense solar flare blasts X-rays across the solar system.
* 2005 - ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon.
*2007 - Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.

Births

*1342 - Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1404)
*1432 - King Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
*1481 - Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shogun (b. 1511)
*1538 - Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
*1622 - Molière, French playwright (d. 1673)
*1671 - Abraham de la Pryme, English antiquarian (d. 1704)
*1674 - Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French writer (d. 1762)
*1716 - Philip Livingston, American founding father (d. 1778)
*1747 - John Aikin, English doctor and writer (d. 1822)
*1754 - Richard Martin, Irish animal rights activist (d. 1834)
*1791 - Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (d. 1872)
*1795 - Alexandr Griboyedov, Russian playwright (d. 1829)
*1803 - Marjory Fleming, Scottish writer and poet (d. 1811)
*1809 - Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French anarchist (d. 1865)
*1812 - Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian writer (d. 1885)
*1816 - Marie LaFarge, French murderer (d. 1852)
*1824 - Marie Duplessis, French courtesan (d. 1847)
*1841 - Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
*1842 - Blessed Mary McKillop, Australian candidate for sainthood (d. 1909)
* 1842 - Josef Breuer, Austrian psychologist (d. 1925)
*1850 - Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (d. 1889)
* 1850 - Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician (d. 1891)
*1855 - Jacques Damala, Greek military officer and actor (d. 1889)
*1859 - Archibald Peake, Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
*1863 - Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
*1866 - Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1931)
*1869 - Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish dramatist (d. 1907)
*1870 - Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman (d. 1954)
*1872 - Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian writer (d. 1944)
*1875 - Tom Burke, American runner (d. 1929)
*1877 - Lewis Terman, American psychologist (d. 1956)
*1879 - Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author (d. 1961)
*1882 - Princess Margaret of Sweden (d. 1920)
*1885 - Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (d. 1973)
* 1885 - Huang Yuanyong, Chinese writer (d. 1915)
* 1885 - Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
*1890 - Tommy Fleming, American soccer player (d. 1965)
*1891 - Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
* 1891 - Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet (d. 1938)
*1892 - Rex Ingram, Irish director (d. 1950)
*1893 - Ivor Novello, Welsh composer and actor (d. 1951)
*1895 - Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1973)
*1897 - Xu Zhimo, Chinese poet (d. 1931)
*1899 - Goodman Ace, American actor (d. 1982)
*1902 - King Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
*1903 - Paul A. Dever, 58^th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
*1905 - Torin Thatcher, English actor (d. 1981)
*1906 - Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
*1908 - Edward Teller, Hungarian-born physicist (d. 2003)
*1909 - Jean Bugatti, German-born automobile designer (d. 1939)
* 1909 - Gene Krupa, American drummer (d. 1973)
*1912 - Michel Debré, French politician (d. 1996)
*1912 - Harry Hay, American gay rights activist (d. 2002)
*1913 - Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
*1913 - Miriam Hyde, Australian composer (d. 2005)
*1913 - Alexander Marinesko, captain of the S-13 submarine, which sank the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff (d. 1963)
*1914 - Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian (d. 2003)
*1918 - João Figueiredo, President of Brazil (d. 1999)
* 1918 - Édouard Gagnon, Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 2007)
* 1918 - Gamal Abdal Nasser, President of Egypt (d. 1970)
*1920 - John Cardinal O'Connor, American Catholic cardinal (d. 2000)
* 1920 - Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
*1921 - Frank Thornton, English actor
*1922 - Sir Eric Willis, Australian politician (d. 1999)
*1923 - Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet (d. 2006)
* 1923 - Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese politician
*1925 - Ruth Slenczynska, U.S. pianist
*1926 - Florence Buchsbaum, French theater director (d. 1996)
* 1926 - Maria Schell, Swiss actress (d. 2005)
*1927 - Phyllis Coates, American actress
*1929 - Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1968)
*1930 - Eddie Graham, American professional wrestler (d. 1985)
*1933 - Ernest J. Gaines, American author
*1937 - Margaret O'Brien, American actress
*1938 - Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
*1939 - Tony Bullimore, English sailor and adventurer
*1941 - Captain Beefheart, American musician and visual artist
* 1941 - Charo, Spanish entertainer
*1943 - Mike Marshall, American baseball player
*1945 - Vince Foster, American lawyer (d. 1993)
* 1945 - William R. Higgins, USMC colonel (d. 1990)
* 1945 - Princess Michael of Kent, British royal
*1947 - Andrea Martin, Canadian actress
*1948 - Ronnie Van Zant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
*1949 - Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 1987)
* 1949 - Panos Mihalopoulos, Greek actor
*1950 - Marius Trésor, French footballer
*1953 - Kent Hovind, American evangelist
* 1953 - Ta-Tanisha, American actress
* 1953 - Randy White, American football player
*1954 - Nikos Sarganis, Greek footballer
* 1954 - Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino writer
*1955 - Nigel Benson, English author
*1956 - Mayawati, Indian politician
*1957 - Patrick Dixon, English entrepreneur
* 1957 - Marty Lyons, American football player
* 1957 - Mario Van Peebles, American actor
*1958 - Boris Tadić, President of Serbia
*1959 - Pete Trewavas, English musician
* 1959 - Sister Carol, Jamaican reggae singer
* 1959 - Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian climber (d. 2008)
*1960 - Kelly Asbury, American director and actor
* 1960 - Aaron Jay Kernis, American composer
*1961 - Yves P. Pelletier, Canadian comedian and film director
*1962 - Creflo Dollar, American televangelist
*1962 - Conrad Lant, English musician
*1964 - Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
*1965 - Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
* 1965 - Bernard Hopkins, American boxer
* 1965 - Adam Jones, American musician (Tool)
* 1965 - James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
*1968 - Chad Lowe, American actor
* 1968 - Iñaki Urdangarín, Spanish royalty
*1969 - Delino DeShields, American baseball player
*1970 - Shane McMahon, American professional wrestler
*1971 - Max Beesley, English musician and actor
* 1971 - Teanna Kai, American porn star
* 1971 - Regina King, American actress
*1972 - Kobe Tai, American porn star
* 1972 - Claudia Winkleman, English television presenter
*1973 - Essam El-Hadary, Egyptian footballer
*1974 - Ray King, American baseball player
*1975 - Edith Bowman, Scottish television and radio presenter
* 1975 - Mary Pierce, French tennis player
*1976 - Corey Chavous, American football player
* 1976 - Dorian Missick, American actor
*1978 - Eddie Cahill, American actor
* 1978 - Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
*1979 - Drew Brees, American football player
* 1979 - Young Dro, American rapper
* 1979 - Ken Chu, Taiwanese singer-actor and taichi champ
*1979 - Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
*1980 - Matt Holliday, American baseball player
*1981 - Howie Day, American singer
* 1981 - El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer
* 1981 - Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby union footballer
*1982 - Benjamin Agosto, American skater
* 1982 - Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
* 1982 - Prince Philip and Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia
*1983 - Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
* 1983 - Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
*1984 - Megan Jendrick, American swimmer
* 1984 - Victor Rasuk, American actor
*1985 - Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
*1986 - Fred Davis, American football player
*1987 - Kelly Kelly, American WWE Diva
* 1987 - Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
* 1987 - Aria C Jalali, American musician
* 1987 - David Knight, English footballer
* 1987 - Michael Seater, Canadian actor
* 1988 - Sonny Moore, American musician From First to Last
*1990 - Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
* 1990 - Chris Warren Jr., American actor

Deaths

* 69 - Galba, Roman Emperor (b. 3 BC)
* 570 - Saint Ita, Irish nun (b. 475)
* 936 - King Rudolph of France
*1345 - Martin Zaccaria, Italo-Greek ruler
*1595 - Murat III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
*1623 - Fra Paolo Sarpi, Italian patriot, scholar, scientist and church reformer (b. 1552)
*1672 - John Cosin, English clergyman (b. 1594)
*1683 - Philip Warwick, English writer and politician (b. 1609)
*1775 - Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian composer (b. 1700 or 1701)
*1781 - Marianne Victoria of Borbón, queen regent of Portugal (b. 1718)
*1790 - John Landen, English mathematician (b. 1719)
*1804 - Dru Drury, English entomologist (b. 1725)
*1815 - Emma, Lady Hamilton, English mistress of Lord Nelson (b. 1761
*1864 - Isaac Nathan, UK-Australian composer (b. 1792)
*1876 - Eliza Johnson, U.S. First Lady (b. 1810)
*1885 - Leopold Damrosch, German-American orchestral conductor (b. 1832)
*1893 - Fanny Kemble, British actress and author (b. 1809)
*1896 - Mathew Brady, U.S. photographer (b. 1822)
*1909 - Arnold Janssen missionary (b. 1837)
*1916 - Modest Tchaikovsky, Russian writer (b. 1850)
*1919 - Rosa Luxemburg, German politician (b. 1870)
* 1919 - Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
*1926 - Enrico Toselli, Italian composer (b. 1883)
*1936 - Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
*1945 - Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian mathematician (b. 1865)
*1947 - Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia (b. 1924)
*1950 - Gen Henry "Hap" Arnold, U.S. General of the Air Force (b. 1886)
*1952 - Ned Hanlon, Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
*1955 - Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)
*1964 - Jack Teagarden, American musician (b. 1905)
*1967 - David Burliuk, Ukrainian artist (b. 1882)
*1968 - Bill Masterton, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
*1970 - William T. Piper, American aircraft designer (b. 1881)
*1972 - Daisy Ashford, English child writer ("The Young Visiters") (b. 1881)
*1973 - Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
* 1973 - Coleman Francis, American film director (b. 1919)
*1983 - Meyer Lansky, Russian-born gangster (b. 1902)
* 1983 - Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
*1987 - Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
*1988 - Seán MacBride, Irish statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1904)
*1990 - Dame Peggy van Praagh, British ballet dancer, choreographer, director (b. 1910)
*1992 - Dee Murray, English bassist (b. 1946)
*1993 - Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
*1994 - Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist (b. 1921
* 1994 - Harry Nilsson, American musician (b. 1941)
*1994 - Harilal Upadhyay, Gujarati-Indian Author, Poet, Astrologist (b. 1916)
*1995 - Vera Maxwell, American fashion designer (b. 1901)
*1996 - Minnesota Fats, American billiards player (b. 1913)
* 1996 - Les Baxter, American musician and composer (b. 1922)
* 1996 - Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
*1998 - Junior Wells, American musician (b. 1934)
*1999 - Betty Box, British film producer (b. 1915)
*2000 - Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
* 2000 - Fran Ryan, American actress (b. 1916)
* 2000 - Željko Ražnatović, aka Arkan, Serbian paramilitary leader (b. 1952)
*2001 - Ted Mann, American screenwriter (b. 1916)
*2002 - Steve Gromek, American baseball player (b. 1920)
*2003 - Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
*2005 - Elizabeth Janeway, American author (b. 1913)
* 2005 - Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1915)
* 2005 - Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
* 2005 - Victoria de los Angeles, Catalan soprano (b. 1923)
* 2005 - Deem Bristow, American video game voice actor (b. 1947)
* 2005 - Dan Lee, Canadian animator (b. 1969)
*2006 - Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926)
*2007 - Bo Yibo, Chinese politician (b. 1908)
* 2007 - James Hillier, Canadian inventor of electron microscope (b. 1915)
* 2007 - Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Iraqi Revolutionary Court (b. 1945) (executed)
* 2007 - Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein (b. 1951) (executed)
* 2007 - David Vanole, American soccer player (b. 1963)
* 2007 - Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino writer and diplomat (b. 1905)
*2008 - Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, Game Designer (b. 1964)
* 2008 - Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)

Holidays and observances

* Roman Empire - Second day of the Carmentalia in honor of Carmenta.
* Malawi - John Chilembwe Day.
* North Korea - Korean Alphabet Day.
* United States - Traditionally, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
* Kerala in India - Makaravilakku or Makara Sankranthy at Sabarimala.
* Jallikattu in South India.
* St. Abeluzius in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
* Roman Catholic Church - Saint Ita, virgin, died January 15, 570.
* St. Macarius of Egypt
* St. Paul the Hermit
* January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/15 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jan&day=15 On this day in Canada] ----