Saturday, 24th January 2026 in Berbera
Welcome to your daily snapshot of Berbera! It's International Day of Education. Explore 42 historical events, birthdays, deaths, and milestones that shaped this day in Berbera. From remarkable moments in local and world history to the people who left their mark — find out what makes today special. Today's weather in Berbera brings cloudy with temperatures between 20°C and 27°C. Tonight's moon is in its waning gibbous phase, and the zodiac sign of the day is Aquarius. If you're curious about the history of a day — this page brings together everything worth knowing about this Saturday, 24th January in Berbera, SO.

Berbera is a port city in Somaliland on the Gulf of Aden, serving as the second-largest city in the territory. Saturday, 24 January 2026 will be cloudy in the region. The zodiac sign for this date is Aquarius, and the moon will be in its waning gibbous phase, having passed full and moving towards its last quarter.
On this day
On 24 January 1990, Japan achieved a significant milestone in space exploration by launching the Hiten spacecraft, becoming the first nation other than the Soviet Union or the United States to send a lunar probe into space. This mission demonstrated Japan's growing capabilities in space technology and marked an important shift in the geopolitical landscape of space exploration during the closing years of the Cold War.
In Europe, the date carries weight in Spain's transition to democracy. On 24 January 1977, neo-fascist assailants attacked a law office in Madrid, killing five people and injuring four others in an act of political violence during Spain's turbulent period of democratic change. Decades later, on the same date in 1972, Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was discovered in the jungles of Guam, where he had been hidden from the end of World War II, highlighting the far-reaching human consequences of global conflict.
International Day of Education
International Day of Education is observed on 24 January each year to recognise the critical role of education in achieving peace and sustainable development. The date was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 to honour education's transformative power and its contribution to reducing inequality. The day encourages countries and organisations to prioritise investment in education systems and teacher development. Since its inception, it has grown into a global observance highlighting the ongoing challenges of educational access and quality worldwide.
DayAtlas provides weather conditions for any specified date and location, alongside historical events that occurred on that day, as well as information about notable births and deaths associated with the date.
Find out what's happening today in Berbera.
What the Weather Had in Store for Berbera on 24th January 2026
Resistance sharpens; surrender clarifies.
Fortune of the Day
24th January in the Stars – Star Sign Aquarius
Personality Profile
Personality People born on January 24th embody a rare blend of ambitious drive and intellectual curiosity. Mercury's influence adds communication skills and analytical sharpness to their typical Capricorn discipline, setting them apart from other members of their sign.
Strengths & Weaknesses Their greatest strengths are strategic thinking, reliability, and practical execution of ideas. However, their high standards and perfectionism can sometimes lead to unnecessary self-criticism or impatience with others.
Love These individuals are loyal yet initially reserved partners who need time to warm emotionally. They value stability and intellectual compatibility, building relationships on trust and mutual respect.
Caree & Finance Their combination of discipline and intellect makes them valuable leaders in business, science, or management roles. Financial security matters deeply; they plan long-term and make thoughtful economic decisions.
Health Those born on this day should consciously manage their tendency to overwork and schedule regular breaks. Mental relaxation through creative hobbies or exercise helps balance their nervous energy.
That night, the moon was in its waning gibbous phase.
Chinese year of the Snake (Wood).
Fun Facts About 24th January
Name Days in Your Language: Oral, Orel, Tim, Timmy, Timon, Timothy, Vera, Verena
Someone born on this day would be just 136 days old today — roughly 3,284 hours, 197,077 minutes, or 11,824,674 seconds spent on Earth so far.
It's the 24. day of the year. In 2026, 24th January falls on a Saturday.
There are 341 days still to come.
We’re currently in Week 4 — the year marches on.
Famous Birthdays on 24th January
On this day, 220 notable people were born on 24th January — spanning from 76 to 2012. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
24/01/2012
Princess Athena of Denmark
Countess Athena of Monpezat is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the younger child and only daughter of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark. She is the youngest grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and the niece of King Frederik X. Athena is currently ninth in the line of succession to the Danish throne.
24/01/2003
Johnny Orlando, Canadian singer and songwriter
John Vincent Orlando is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and actor. He first received attention on social media by posting covers of pop songs by artists such as Austin Mahone, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and Shawn Mendes to his YouTube channel. In 2019, Orlando was nominated for the Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. He has also won an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Canadian Act four times in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
24/01/1999
Vitalie Damașcan, Moldovan footballer
Vitalie Damașcan is a Moldovan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Bnei Reineh and the Moldova national team.
Niki, Indonesian singer and songwriter
Nicole Zefanya, known professionally as Niki, is an Indonesian singer-songwriter. Having garnered global recognition for her songwriting and musicianship, she is currently based in the United States and signed with the record label 88rising. She is best known from her global hit "Every Summertime", which was part of the soundtrack for the film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and later was certified gold by the RIAA for selling over 500,000 copies.
Tristan Wirfs, American football player
Tristan Patrick Wirfs is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and was selected in the first round by Tampa Bay in the 2020 NFL draft. He has been selected to five consecutive Pro Bowls.
24/01/1991
Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler
Zhan Vensanovych Beleniuk is a Ukrainian politician and Greco-Roman wrestler. He is a three-time Olympic medalist and won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman 87 kg at the 2020 Summer Olympics, the silver medal in the Greco-Roman 85 kg at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal in the Greco-Roman 87 kg at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Beleniuk is also a two-time world champion, a three-time European champion and a European Games champion. In 2019, he became the first black member of the Ukrainian Parliament.
Tatiana Kashirina, Russian weightlifter
Tatiana Yuryevna Kashirina is a Russian Olympic weightlifter, Olympic silver medalist, five time World Champion and eight time European Champion competing in the +90 kg and +75 kg categories until 2018 and +87 kg starting in 2018 after the International Weightlifting Federation reorganized the categories. On 9 September 2023, the Court of Arbitration for Sport annulled over four years of her results due to drugs offenses, stating, "All the competitive results obtained by Tatiana Kashirina from 1 April 2013 until 19 June 2017 were disqualified, with all the resulting consequences, including the forfeiture of any titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance money."
Zack Kassian, Canadian ice hockey player
Zack Adam Kassian is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. He most recently played for HC Sparta Praha in the Czech Extraliga. During his major junior career, he won a Memorial Cup with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2010. Selected in the first round, 13th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2009 NHL entry draft, Kassian began his career within the Sabres organization before being traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 2012. He played parts of four seasons with the Canucks before being dealt to the Montreal Canadiens in 2015. Kassian never played for the Canadiens, however, as he was suspended for substance abuse issues, and was moved to the Edmonton Oilers several months later. After seven seasons in Edmonton, Kassian was traded yet again to the Arizona Coyotes, spending one season there before retiring from NHL play during the 2023–24 season.
24/01/1990
Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
Mao Abe is a Japanese singer-songwriter.
24/01/1989
Serdar Kesimal, Turkish footballer
Serdar Kesimal is a Turkish footballer who plays as a centre back. Kesimal is also a youth international, having been capped at the U-20 and U-21 levels.
Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
Gong Lijiao is a Chinese former Olympic shot putter and the 2020 Olympic champion in that event. A five-time Olympic player and a three-time Olympic medalist, she holds a record eight successive medals at the World Athletics Championships, including two world titles.
Whit Merrifield, American baseball player
Whitley David Merrifield is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves. Merrifield was a three-time All-Star and led the American League in stolen bases three times.
José Quintana, Colombian baseball player
José Guillermo Quintana is a Colombian-American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Milwaukee Brewers.
Ki Sung-yueng, South Korean footballer
Ki Sung-yueng is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for K League 1 club Pohang Steelers.
24/01/1988
Selina Jörg, German snowboarder
Selina Jörg is a German snowboarder.
DaJuan Summers, American basketball player
DaJuan Michael Summers is an American professional basketball player for Piratas de La Guaira of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). He played college basketball for the Georgetown Hoyas. In the 2009 NBA draft, he was drafted 35th overall by the Detroit Pistons.
24/01/1987
Brian Cushing, American football player
Brian Patrick Cushing is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, and was selected by the Texans in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. He played his entire nine-year career with Houston from 2009 to 2017 and became the team's all-time leading tackler.
Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest strikers of all time. Nicknamed "El Pistolero", individually, he has won two European Golden Shoes, an Eredivisie Golden Boot, a Premier League Golden Boot and a Pichichi Trophy. He ranks fourth for the all-time South American men's top goalscorers in international football (69), only trailing Pelé (77), Neymar (79), and Lionel Messi (116). He has also scored over 600 career goals and provided over 300 assists for club and country.
Kia Vaughn, American-Czech basketball player
Kia Vaughn is an American-born former professional basketball player. She last played for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) She attended high school at St. Michael's All Girls High School in New York, and later went on to star at Rutgers University.
Guan Xin, Chinese basketball player
Guan Xin is a basketball player for the China women's national basketball team. She was part of the squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
24/01/1986
Cristiano Araújo, Brazilian singer-songwriter (died 2015)
Cristiano de Melo Araújo was a Brazilian singer-songwriter.
Mischa Barton, English-American actress
Mischa Anne Marsden Barton is a British and American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's Slavs! and took the lead in James Lapine's Twelve Dreams at New York City's Lincoln Center. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the American soap opera All My Children (1995), and voicing Betty Ann Bongo on the Nickelodeon cartoon series KaBlam! (1996–97). Her first major film role was as the protagonist of Lawn Dogs (1997), a drama co-starring Sam Rockwell. She appeared in major pictures such as the romantic comedy Notting Hill (1999) and M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller The Sixth Sense (1999). She also starred in the indie crime drama Pups (1999).
Tyler Flowers, American baseball player
Cole Tyler Flowers is an American former professional baseball catcher. Flowers was drafted by the Braves in the 33rd round of the 2005 MLB draft. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox from 2009, when he made his MLB debut, to 2015 and for the Atlanta Braves from 2016 to 2020.
Vladislav Ivanov, Russian footballer
Vladislav Ivanov is a Russian former professional footballer. He played the position of midfielder and forward.
Michael Kightly, English footballer
Michael John Kightly is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger, most notably for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley FC.
Sean McVay, American football coach
Sean Patrick McVay is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 2017 at the age of 30 years and 353 days. McVay is also the youngest head coach to reach and win a Super Bowl as well as be named NFL Coach of the Year. Prior to his tenure in Los Angeles, McVay worked with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an offensive assistant, the Florida Tuskers as the wide receivers coach, and the Washington Redskins as an offensive assistant, the tight ends coach, and the offensive coordinator.
Ricky Ullman, Israeli-American actor
Raviv Chanan "Ricky" Ullman is an actor and director. He is best known for playing Phil Diffy, the main character in the Disney Channel series Phil of the Future.
24/01/1984
Justin Baldoni, American actor, director, and producer
Justin Louis Baldoni is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing Rafael Solano on the CW telenovela Jane the Virgin (2014–2019) and for starring in and directing the romantic drama film It Ends with Us (2024). He has also directed Five Feet Apart (2019) and Clouds (2020).
Paulo Sérgio, Portuguese footballer
Paulo Sérgio Moreira Gonçalves, known as Paulo Sérgio, is a Portuguese former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or right winger.
24/01/1983
Davide Biondini, Italian footballer
Davide Biondini is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Wyatt Crockett, New Zealand rugby player
Wyatt William Vogels Crockett is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played at prop for the Crusaders in Super Rugby, Canterbury and Tasman in the National Provincial Championship, and the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Crockett has played in 202 Super Rugby fixtures and is the second most-capped Super Rugby player of all time.
Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
Shaun Richard Maloney is a football coach, and former player who is currently interim assistant manager at Scottish Premiership side Celtic.
Scott Speed, American race car driver
Scott Andrew Speed is an American race car driver who has competed in numerous disciplines, including open-wheel, stock car, and rallycross racing.
24/01/1981
Carrie Coon, American actress
Carrie Alexandra Coon is an American actress. She is known for her leading performances in numerous prestige television dramas as well as her performances on film and stage. She has received a Critics' Choice Television Award, as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Tony Awards.
Mario Eggimann, Swiss footballer
Mario Eggimann is a Swiss former footballer who played as a defender. He also earned caps for the Swiss national team.
Zaur Hashimov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager
Zaur Hashimov is an Azerbaijani football manager and former player who played as a defender.
Elena Kolomina, Kazakhstani cross country skier
Elena Vladimirovna Kolomina is a Kazakhstani cross-country skier who has been competing since 1998. She finished fifth in the team sprint at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo and had her best individual finish of 21st in the sprint event at the 2001 championships in Lahti.
24/01/1980
Jofre Mateu, Spanish footballer
Jofre Mateu González, known simply as Jofre, is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a left midfielder.
Suzy, Portuguese singer
Susana Guerra, known professionally as Suzy Guerra and formerly Suzy, is a Portuguese singer. She represented Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark with the song "Quero ser tua".
24/01/1979
Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
Tatyana Marisol Ali is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996. She starred as Tyana Jones on the TV One original series Love That Girl!, and played a recurring role as Roxanne on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 2007 to 2013. In 2023, she starred in Giving Hope: The Ni'Cola Mitchell Story on Lifetime.
Leandro Desábato, Argentinian footballer
Leandro Desábato, nicknamed Chavo, is an Argentine football manager and former player. He is the manager of Almagro.
Busy Signal, Jamaican dancehall reggae artist
Reanno Devon Gordon, better known by his stage name Busy Signal, is a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist.
Nik Wallenda, American acrobat
Nikolas Wallenda is an American acrobat, aerialist, daredevil, high wire artist, and author. He is known for his high-wire performances without a safety net. He holds 11 Guinness World Records for various acrobatic feats, and is best known as the first person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls. Wallenda walked 1,800 feet (550 m) on a steel cable over Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, his longest walk, on March 4, 2020.
24/01/1978
Veerle Baetens, Belgian actress and singer
Veerle Baetens is a Belgian actress, filmmaker, and singer best known for her lead role as Elise / Alabama in the romantic drama film The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012), for which she won the Tribeca Film Festival Award for Best Actress. She is also known for her lead role as Detective Hannah Maes on the VTM crime drama series Code 37 (2009–12).
Mark Hildreth, Canadian actor and musician
Mark Hildreth is a Canadian actor and singer, appearing in movie and television roles. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, Mark Hildreth's theater credits include Hamlet , Bertram in All's Well that Ends Well , Richard of Gloucester in Richard III (NTSC) and Cale Blackwell in Fire . He also starred as Pastor Tom Hale in the ABC drama Resurrection.
Kristen Schaal, American actress, voice artist, comedian and writer
Kristen Joy Schaal is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Known for her distinctive high-pitched, childlike voice, she voices Louise Belcher in Bob's Burgers and voiced Mabel Pines in Gravity Falls. She also played Mel in Flight of the Conchords, The Guide in What We Do in the Shadows, Hurshe Heartshe in The Heart, She Holler, and Carol Pilbasian in The Last Man on Earth. She provided several voices for BoJack Horseman; for the character of Sarah Lynn, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance. Other roles include Amanda Simmons in The Hotwives of Orlando, Hazel Wassername in 30 Rock, Victoria Best in WordGirl, Trixie in the Toy Story franchise, Bobbi in My Spy, Shannon in Despicable Me 2, Number Two in The Mysterious Benedict Society, Barb in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Anne in Wilfred. She was an occasional commentator in The Daily Show from 2008 to 2016. She voiced Sayrna in the 2019 EA video game Anthem.
24/01/1977
Andrija Gerić, Serbian volleyball player
Andrija Gerić is a retired Serbian volleyball player who played on middle blocker position. Both in the club and in the national team he wore number 12.
Michelle Hunziker, Swiss-Dutch actress, model and singer
Michelle Yvonne Hunziker is a Swiss and Italian television presenter and former model. She hosted the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel alongside Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer.
24/01/1976
Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer, coach, and choreographer
Shae-Lynn Bourne is a Canadian ice dancer and choreographer. In 2003, she and partner Victor Kraatz became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. They competed at three Winter Olympic Games, placing 10th at the 1994 Winter Olympics, 4th at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and 4th at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
Cindy Pieters is a professional racing cyclist, who specialized in one day races She competed in the women's individual road race at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
24/01/1975
Gianluca Basile, Italian former professional basketball player
Gianluca Basile is an Italian former professional basketball player. At a height of 1.92 m tall and a weight of 95 kg (210 lbs.), he mainly played at the shooting guard position. He is considered one of the best 1990s and 2000s era Italian basketball players. He won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and the gold medal at the 1999 EuroBasket. He was also the captain of the men's Italy national team.
Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican footballer and manager
Rónald Gómez Gómez is a Costa Rican former football forward and manager. He is the current manager for Liga Nacional club Coatepeque Fútbol Club.
Reto Hug, Swiss triathlete
Reto Hug is a former athlete from Switzerland, who competed in the triathlon.
Henna Raita, Finnish alpine skier
Henna Raita is a former alpine skier.
24/01/1974
Cyril Despres, French rally racer
Cyril Despres is a French rally racer and resident of Andorra. He won the Dakar Rally five times, in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013, riding a KTM motorcycle. He also won the Red Bull Romaniacs, an enduro event, three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2007, and the Erzberg Rodeo in 2002 and 2003. In the 2018 season he is one of the official drivers of the Team Peugeot Total.
Ed Helms, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
Edward Parker Helms is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom The Office (2006–2013), and starred as Stuart "Stu" Price in The Hangover trilogy. He later starred in the comedy series Rutherford Falls (2021–2022), which he co-wrote.
Melissa Tkautz, Australian actress and singer
Melissa Natalie Tkautz is an Australian actress, singer, model, and presenter. She played the role of Nikki Spencer on the popular Australian TV soap opera E Street, from September 1990 to May 1993. During the early 1990s she had a solo music career, performing mononymously as Melissa, and had top 20 hits on the ARIA Singles Chart with "Read My Lips", "Sexy " and "Skin to Skin". "Read My Lips" also became a Number One hit in Sweden. Her debut album, Fresh, was released in June 1992 and peaked at No. 15 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Rokia Traoré, Malian singer
Rokia Traoré is a Malian-born singer, songwriter and guitarist.
24/01/1972
Beth Hart, American singer-songwriter and musician
Beth Hart is an American musician from Los Angeles, California. She rose to fame with the release of her 1999 single "L.A. Song " from her second album Screamin' for My Supper. The single was a number one hit in New Zealand, as well as reaching the top five of the US Adult Contemporary and Top 10 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 charts.
24/01/1971
José Carlos Fernandez, Bolivian footballer
José Carlos Fernández González is a Bolivian retired football goalkeeper who is currently active as director of football of Bolivian club Bolívar.
24/01/1970
Roberto Bonano, Argentine footballer
Roberto Oscar Bonano is an Argentine retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Luke Egan, Australian surfer
Luke Egan is an Australian former professional surfer from Newcastle, New South Wales.
Neil Johnson, Zimbabwean cricketer
Neil Clarkson Johnson is a former Zimbabwean international cricketer who played 13 Test matches and 48 One Day Internationals between 1998 and 2000. An all-rounder, he bowled right-arm fast-medium and played in the middle order in test matches as an aggressive left-handed batsman. He usually opened the batting in one-day cricket.
Matthew Lillard, American actor
Matthew Lyn Lillard is an American actor, director, and producer. His early film roles include the black comedy Serial Mom (1994) and the crime thriller Hackers (1995). He achieved a career breakthrough for his portrayal of Stu Macher in the slasher film Scream (1996), which bolstered Lillard into the mainstream as a scream king. Afterwards, he starred in prominent roles in SLC Punk! (1998), She's All That (1999), Thirteen Ghosts (2001), and Without a Paddle (2004).
24/01/1969
Yoo Ho-jeong, South Korean actress
You Ho-jeong is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1991 and has been starring in television and film since. Roles include a divorcee whose husband lives next door in daily drama Definitely Neighbors (2010), and the grown-up protagonist in box office hit Sunny (2011).
Carlos Rômulo Gonçalves e Silva, Brazilian religious leader, Bishop of Montenegro
Carlos Rômulo Gonçalves e Silva is the bishop of Montenegro, a suffragan Latin diocese in the ecclesiastical province of its mother see, the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul state, southernmost Brazil.
24/01/1968
Fernando Escartín, Spanish cyclist
Fernando Escartín Coti is a Spanish former road racing cyclist. Between 1995 and 2000 he came in the top 10 of the Tour de France five times and in that same time period finished on the podium in 2nd place at the Vuelta a España, twice.
Tymerlan Huseynov, Ukrainian footballer
Tymerlan Rustamovych Huseynov is a former Ukrainian footballer of Kumyk origin who is now sporting director of FC Dniester Ovidiopol. He was the Ukrainian Premier League's top goalscorer in the 1993–94 and 1995–96 seasons scoring 18 and 20 goals respectively, and scored 8 goals in 14 internationals.
Antony Garrett Lisi, American theoretical physicist
Antony Garrett Lisi, known as Garrett Lisi, is an American theoretical physicist. Lisi works as an independent researcher without an academic position.
Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
Mary Lou Retton is an American retired gymnast. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she won a gold medal in the individual all-around competition, as well as two silver medals and two bronze medals, which earned her the Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year award.
24/01/1967
Michael Kiske, German singer
Michael Kiske is a German singer who is the co-lead vocalist for the power metal band Helloween. Kiske has also released four solo albums, two albums with the hard rock band Unisonic, has participated on various metal and rock related projects such as Avantasia, Place Vendome and Kiske/Somerville, and has performed with numerous bands as a guest vocalist.
Phil LaMarr, American actor and comedian
Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series Mad TV, where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the title character of Samurai Jack, both John Stewart/Green Lantern and Virgil Hawkins/Static in the DC Animated Universe, Hermes Conrad in Futurama, Bolbi Stroganofsky in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Carver Descartes in The Weekenders, Ollie Williams and Judge Dignified Q. Blackman in Family Guy, and Wilt in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. LaMarr has also provided voices for video game franchises including Metal Gear, Jak and Daxter, Darksiders, Final Fantasy, Infamous, Dead Island, Kingdom Hearts, and Mortal Kombat. He also voiced Browntooth the Goblin Rogue in the Critical Role episode "The Goblins".
24/01/1966
Julie Dreyfus, French actress
Julie Dreyfus is a French actress. In Japan, she made her television debut on a French-language lesson program on NHK's educational channel in the late 1980s. She has appeared on the TV show Ryōri no Tetsujin as a guest and judge. She appeared in the Quentin Tarantino films Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Inglourious Basterds, portraying Sofie Fatale and Francesca Mondino respectively. Aside from her native French, she is fluent in English, German, and Japanese.
Karin Viard, French actress
Karin Viard is a French actress. She made her film debut in Tatie Danielle in 1990. She has appeared in films such as Delicatessen, L'Emploi du temps, Adultère, mode d'emploi and La parenthèse enchantée.
24/01/1965
Mike Awesome, American wrestler (died 2007)
Michael Lee Alfonso was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the American professional wrestling promotions Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) under the ring name Mike Awesome and for his appearances in Japan with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling as The Gladiator.
Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
Carlos Saldanha is a Brazilian animator, director, producer, and voice actor of animated films who collaborated with Blue Sky Studios until its closure in 2021. He was the director of Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Rio (2011), Rio 2 (2014), Ferdinand (2017), and Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024), and the co-director of Ice Age (2002) and Robots (2005). Saldanha was nominated in 2003 for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Gone Nutty and in 2018 for Best Animated Feature for Ferdinand.
Margaret Urlich, New Zealand singer-songwriter (died 2022)
Margaret Mary Urlich was a New Zealand singer who lived in Australia for most of her career.
Pagonis Vakalopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
Pagonis Vakalopoulos is a retired Greek footballer. He started his career in Polykastro, spent most of his career with Iraklis with which he won Balkans Cup and finished his playing career with Panionios. Currently he is the manager of Iraklis U20 team.
24/01/1963
Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
Arnold Petrus Maria Vanderlyde is a Dutch former amateur boxer, who participated in three Summer Olympics and won three bronze medals in the heavyweight division (≤91 kg). He started boxing at age fifteen. Although Vanderlyde was a three-time European champion and seven-time Dutch champion, he never turned professional. After ending his boxing career in 1992, he entered the corporate world as a motivational speaker.
24/01/1961
Jorge Barrios, Uruguayan footballer
Jorge Wálter Barrios Balestrasse is a retired football midfielder from Uruguay, who was nicknamed "Chifle" during his professional career. Having made his official debut on July 18, 1980 against Peru (0-0), Barrios obtained a total number of 60 international caps for the Uruguay national football team.
Guido Buchwald, German footballer and manager
Guido Ulrich Buchwald is a German former professional football player. Throughout his career he played as a defender. He is currently director of football of Stuttgarter Kickers.
Christa Kinshofer, German ski racer
Christa Kinshofer-Rembeck is a German former alpine ski racer and businesswoman. In her career she won three Olympic medals, one World Championship medal and seven World Cup races.
Nastassja Kinski, German-American actress and producer
Nastassja Aglaia Kinski is a German actress and former model who has appeared in more than 60 films in Europe and the United States. Her worldwide breakthrough was with Stay as You Are (1978). She then came to global prominence with her Golden Globe Award-winning performance as the title character in the Roman Polanski-directed film Tess (1979). Her other films include the Francis Ford Coppola musical romance film One from the Heart (1982), Paul Schrader's supernatural horror film Cat People (1982), and the Wim Wenders films Paris, Texas (1984) and Faraway, So Close! (1993). She also appeared in the biographical drama film An American Rhapsody (2001). She is the daughter of German actor Klaus Kinski.
William Van Dijck, Belgian runner
William Van Dijck is a Belgian former athlete, primarily active on the 3000m steeplechase.
24/01/1960
Jack Neo, Singaporean filmmaker, director and actor
Jack Neo Chee Keong is a Singaporean filmmaker, comedian and actor who was a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1983 to 2003. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was best known for his cross-dressing roles, as "Liang Po Po" and "Liang Xi Mei" in the long-running television comedy show Comedy Nite.
24/01/1959
Akira Maeda, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
Akira Maeda is a Japanese mixed martial arts promoter, writer and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Maeda was also known by the ring name Kwik-kik-Lee during his time on the British wrestling's slot on the sports show World of Sport (WoS). Maeda helped develop the shoot-style of professional wrestling during the late 1980s. He founded Fighting Network RINGS in 1991 which would become one of the top MMA promotions before it folded in 2002.
Michel Preud'homme, Belgian footballer and manager
Michel Georges Jean Ghislain Preud'homme is a Belgian retired footballer and manager who played as a goalkeeper. Currently, he is vice-president and sports director at Standard Liège.
24/01/1958
Kim Eui-kon, Korean wrestler (died 2014)
Kim Eui-kon was a Korean wrestler who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Jools Holland, English singer-songwriter and pianist
Julian Miles Holland is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the rock band Squeeze. From 1982 until 1987, he co-presented the Channel 4 music programme The Tube. Since 1992, he has hosted Later... with Jools Holland, a music show aired on BBC2, on which his annual show Hootenanny is based. Holland is a published author and appears on television shows besides his own. He regularly hosted the programme Jools Holland on BBC Radio 2.
Frank Ullrich, German biathlete
Frank Ullrich is a German politician of the SPD and former biathlete and trainer of the German national team. Since 2021, he has been a member of the Bundestag.
24/01/1957
Mark Eaton, American basketball player and sportscaster (died 2021)
Mark Edward Eaton was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he was twice voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and was a five-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team. The 7-foot-4-inch (2.24 m) Eaton became one of the best defensive centers in NBA history. He led the league in blocks four times and holds the NBA single-season records for blocks (456) and blocked shots per game average (5.6), as well as career blocked shots per game (3.5). His No. 53 was retired by the Jazz.
Ade Edmondson, English comedian and musician
Adrian Charles Edmondson is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter, who came to fame as part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s. He and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitcoms The Young Ones (1982–1984), Filthy Rich & Catflap (1987) and Bottom (1991–1995), the last of which was written by Edmondson and Mayall, as well as the comedy feature film Guest House Paradiso (1999), which Edmondson directed and co-wrote. Edmondson and Mayall also appeared in The Comic Strip Presents... series of films throughout the 1980s and 1990s. For two episodes of this they created the spoof heavy metal band Bad News, and for another Edmondson played his nihilistic alter-ego Eddie Monsoon, an offensive South African television star.
24/01/1956
Agus Martowardojo, governor of Bank Indonesia
Agus Dermawan Wintarto Martowardojo is an Indonesian economist and banker who served as Governor of Bank Indonesia, Indonesia's central bank, from 2013 to 2018. Previously, he served as Minister of Finance from 2010 to 2013 after succeeding former minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who resigned from the office and took position as Managing Director of the World Bank Group.
24/01/1955
Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
James Paul Montgomery is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Montgomery was the first man to break the 50-second barrier (49.99) in the 100-meter freestyle, at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, where he won three gold medals and one bronze.
Alan Sokal, American physicist and author
Alan David Sokal is an American professor of mathematics at University College London and professor emeritus of physics at New York University. He works with statistical mechanics and combinatorics.
Lynda Weinman, American businesswoman and author
Lynda Susan Weinman is an artist, American business owner, computer instructor, and author, who founded an online software training website, lynda.com, with her husband, Bruce Heavin. Lynda.com was acquired by online business network LinkedIn in April 2015 for $1.5 billion.
24/01/1954
Jo Gartner, Austrian race car driver (died 1986)
Josef Anton Gartner was a Formula One and sports car endurance driver from Austria. After a successful lower formula career, including a win in the Formula Two Pau Grand Prix, he participated in eight Formula One Grands Prix for Osella during the 1984 season, scoring no points. He was killed in an accident at the 1986 24 Hours of Le Mans.
24/01/1953
Yuri Bashmet, Russian violinist, viola player, and conductor
Yuri Abramovich Bashmet is a Russian conductor, violinist, and violist.
Moon Jae-in, South Korean politician, 19th President of South Korea
Moon Jae-in is a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), he was the party's leader from 2015 to 2016, and represented Sasang in the National Assembly from 2012 to 2016. Moon previously served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the chief of staff to President Roh Moo-hyun.
24/01/1951
Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American comedian and actor
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis, better known as Yakov Smirnoff, is an American comedian, actor and writer. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in the Soviet Union, then immigrated to the United States in 1977 in order to pursue an American show business career, not yet knowing any English.
24/01/1950
Daniel Auteuil, French actor, director, and screenwriter
Daniel Auteuil is a French actor and director who has appeared in a wide range of film genres, including period dramas, romantic comedies, and crime thrillers. In 1996 he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival together with Belgian actor Pascal Duquenne for their work in The Eighth Day. He is also the winner of two César Awards for Best Actor, one in 1987 as Ugolin Soubeyran in Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources and one for his role in Girl on the Bridge. For his role in Jean de Florette he also won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Auteuil is considered one of France's most respected actors.
24/01/1949
John Belushi, American actor and screenwriter (died 1982)
John Adam Belushi was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He was one of seven Saturday Night Live cast members of the first season. Belushi had a partnership with Dan Aykroyd; they had first met while at Chicago's the Second City comedy club, remaining together as cast members on Saturday Night Live.
Bart Gordon, American lawyer
Barton Jennings Gordon is an American politician and former U.S. representative for Tennessee's 6th congressional district, serving from 1985 until 2011. The district includes several rural areas and fast-growing suburbs east of Nashville. He was Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He announced on December 14, 2009, that he would not seek re-election in 2010.
Nadezhda Ilyina, Russian athlete and mother of Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova (died 2013)
Nadezhda Ilyina was a Russian athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.
Rihoko Yoshida, Japanese voice actress
Rihoko Yoshida is a Japanese businesswoman and a former voice actress. Among her most noteworthy roles are Megu-chan in Majokko Megu-chan, Monsley in Future Boy Conan, Maria Grace Fleed in UFO Robo Grendizer, Michiru in Getter Robo, Klara in Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Rosalie Lamorliere in The Rose of Versailles, Miwa Uzuki in Steel Jeeg, Kurama in Urusei Yatsura, and Machiko in Maicchingu Machiko-sensei. She retired from voice acting in 1998.
24/01/1948
Michael Des Barres, the 26th Marquis Des Barres, English musician, actor, and DJ
Michael Philip Des Barres, 26th Marquis Des Barres, is an English actor and rock singer. He appeared as Murdoc in the original MacGyver, Lenny Stoke in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Murdoc's mentor Nicholas Helman in MacGyver (2016). He replaced Robert Palmer in the band The Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert.
24/01/1947
Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (died 2012)
Giorgio Chinaglia was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to play for Massese, Internapoli and S.S. Lazio in 1969. Chinaglia led Lazio to the club's first league championship in the 1973–74 season, during which he was also the league's leading scorer. He played international football for Italy, making 14 appearances and scoring 4 goals between 1972 and 1975, including two appearances at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Chinaglia was the first player in Italian football history to be called up internationally from the second division.
Michio Kaku, American physicist and academic
Michio Kaku is an American theoretical physicist, science communicator, futurologist, and writer of popular science. He is a professor of theoretical physics at the City College of New York and the CUNY Graduate Center. Kaku is the author of several books about physics and related topics and has made frequent appearances on radio, television, and film. He is also a regular contributor to his own blog, as well as other popular media outlets. For his efforts to bridge science and science fiction, he is a 2021 Sir Arthur Clarke Lifetime Achievement Awardee.
Masashi Ozaki, Japanese baseball player and golfer
Masashi Ozaki was a Japanese professional golfer. Ozaki is often known as Jumbo Ozaki on account of his height and length off the tee. He featured in the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings for almost 200 weeks between 1989 and 1998. He is the most successful player of all time on the Japan Golf Tour, having led the money list a record 12 times and won 94 tournaments, over 40 more than the second highest player. Ozaki was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.
Warren Zevon, American singer-songwriter (died 2003)
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer and songwriter. His most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". All three songs are featured on his third album, Excitable Boy (1978), the title track of which is also well-known. He also wrote major hits that were recorded by other artists, including "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Mohammed's Radio", "Carmelita" and "Hasten Down the Wind". Per The New York Times, "Mr. Zevon had a pulp-fiction imagination" which yielded "terse, action-packed, gallows-humored tales that could sketch an entire screenplay in four minutes and often had death as a punchline. But there was also vulnerability and longing in Mr. Zevon's ballads, like 'Mutineer,' 'Accidentally Like a Martyr' and 'Hasten Down the Wind'."
24/01/1946
Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
Michael Ontkean is a Canadian retired actor.
24/01/1945
John Garamendi, American football player and politician, 1st United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
John Raymond Garamendi is an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party who has represented areas of Northern California between San Francisco and Sacramento, including the cities of Fairfield and Vacaville in the United States House of Representatives since 2009. Garamendi was the California insurance commissioner from 1991 to 1995 and 2003 to 2007, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 1995 to 1998, and the 46th lieutenant governor of California from 2007 until his election to Congress in late 2009.
Subhash Ghai, Indian director, producer and screenwriter
Subhash Ghai is an Indian film director, producer, actor, lyricist, music director and screenwriter, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema. He was one of the most prominent Hindi filmmakers in the 1980s and 1990s. His notable films include Kalicharan (1976), Vishwanath (1978), Karz (1980), Krodhi (1981), Vidhaata (1982), Hero (1983), Meri Jung (1985), Karma (1986), Ram Lakhan (1989), Saudagar (1991), Khalnayak (1993), Pardes (1997), Taal (1999).
Eva Janko, Austrian javelin thrower
Eva Janko, née Eva Egger, is a former javelin thrower from Austria.
24/01/1944
David Gerrold, American science fiction screenwriter and author
David Gerrold is an American science fiction screenwriter and novelist. He wrote the script for the original Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles", created the Sleestak race on the TV series Land of the Lost, and wrote the novelette The Martian Child, which won both Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was adapted into a 2007 film starring John Cusack.
Gian-Franco Kasper, Swiss ski official (died 2021)
Gian Franco Kasper was a Swiss ski official who was president of the International Ski Federation (FIS) from 1998 to 2021. He also served as a member of the International Olympic Committee from 2000 to 2018 and member of the World Anti-Doping Agency from 2003 to 2021.
24/01/1943
Barry Mealand, English footballer (died 2013)
Kenneth Barry Mealand was an English professional footballer who played as a right back.
Peter Struck, German lawyer and politician, 13th German Federal Minister of Defence (died 2012)
Peter Struck was the German Minister of Defence under chancellor Gerhard Schröder from 2002 to 2005. A lawyer, Struck was a member of the Social Democratic Party.
Sharon Tate, American model and actress (died 1969)
Sharon Marie Tate Polanski was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she appeared in advertisements and small television roles before appearing in films as well as working as a model. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic and dramatic acting performances, Tate was hailed as one of Hollywood's most promising newcomers, being compared favorably with Marilyn Monroe.
Tony Trimmer, English race car driver
Anthony Hugh Leigh Trimmer is a British former racing driver from England, who won the Shell British Formula Three Championship and E.R. Hall Trophy in 1970.
Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (died 2016)
Manuel Velázquez Villaverde was a Spanish footballer who played as a central midfielder.
24/01/1942
Ingo Friedrich, German Member of the European Parliament
Ingo Friedrich is a former German (Bavarian) Member of the European Parliament. He was elected on the CSU ticket and sits with the EPP-ED Group. Friedrich holds a University degree in Economics. He was a member of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district council (1972–1996) and was the head of the CSU delegation to the European Parliament between 1992 and 1999. He has been awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit, and the Federal Cross of Merit, first class.
Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (died 2008)
Gary Richard Williams was an American professional wrestling manager, as well as a professional wrestler in his early career, best known by his ring name Gary Hart. Hart was one of the pivotal driving forces behind what is considered to be World Class Championship Wrestling's "golden years" in the early 1980s.
24/01/1941
Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 56.5 million records in the US alone, making him one of the best-selling musicians in history.
Aaron Neville, American singer
Aaron Joseph Neville is an American singer renowned for his distinctively smooth, vibrato-heavy tenor and a genre-crossing career that spans R&B, soul, gospel, jazz, country, and pop. He gained national prominence with his 1966 single "Tell It Like It Is", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Dan Shechtman is the Philip Tobias Professor of Materials Science at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, an Associate of the US Department of Energy's Ames National Laboratory, and Professor of Materials Science at Iowa State University. On April 8, 1982, while on sabbatical at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., Shechtman discovered the icosahedral phase, which opened the new field of quasiperiodic crystals, also referred to as "quasicrystals." For this discovery, he was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, making him one of six Israelis who have won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
24/01/1940
Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany
Joachim Wilhelm Gauck is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2012 to 2017. A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany.
24/01/1939
Renate Garisch-Culmberger, German shot putter (died 2023)
Renate Boy was a German shot putter, who in 1961 became the first German woman to throw over 17 meters. Garisch-Culmberger competed at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics representing the United Team of Germany and at the 1968 Olympics representing East Germany, and finished in sixth, second and fifth place, respectively. At the European Championships she won a silver medal in 1962, and finished fifth in 1969. In 1964, Garisch-Culmberger set a new indoor world record at 17.18m, and nationally she won East German titles in 1961 to 1965, and 1967.
Ray Stevens, American singer-songwriter and actor
Harold Ray Ragsdale, known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty hits including "Ahab the Arab", Gitarzan" and "The Streak". Stevens has earned gold albums and has worked as a producer, music arranger, and television host. He was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Christian Music Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
24/01/1938
Julius Hemphill, American saxophonist and composer (died 1995)
Julius Arthur Hemphill was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone, less often on soprano and tenor saxophones and flute.
24/01/1937
Trevor Edwards, Welsh footballer
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24/01/1936
Doug Kershaw, American fiddle player and singer
Douglas James Kershaw is an American fiddle player, singer, and songwriter from Louisiana. Active since 1948, he began his career as part of the duo Rusty and Doug, along with his brother, Rusty Kershaw. He had an extensive solo career that included 15 albums and singles that charted on the Hot Country Songs charts. He is also a member of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2009.
24/01/1935
Shivabalayogi, Indian religious leader (died 1994)
Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj was an Indian yogi and spiritual teacher. Devotee and biographical accounts state that he undertook twelve years of tapas, meditating in samādhi for extended periods, and later led public meditation programs in India, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
24/01/1934
Leonard Goldberg, American producer (died 2019)
Leonard J. Goldberg was an American film and television producer. He had his own production company, Panda Productions. He served as head of programming for ABC, and was president of 20th Century Fox. Goldberg was also the executive producer of the CBS series Blue Bloods.
Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (died 1976)
Stanisław Antoni Grochowiak, pen-name "Kain" was a Polish poet and dramatist. His is often classified as a representative of turpism, because of his interest in the physical, ugly and brutal, but he also exhibits strong tendencies toward formal, rhymed poetry, reaching on many occasions the ornamental grace of a baroque style. Grochowiak was born in Leszno and died, aged 42, in Warsaw.
24/01/1931
Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician and academic (died 2012)
Lars Valter Hörmander was a Swedish mathematician who has been called "the foremost contributor to the modern theory of linear partial differential equations". Hörmander was awarded the Fields Medal in 1962 and the Wolf Prize in 1988. In 2006 he was awarded the Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition for his four-volume textbook Analysis of Linear Partial Differential Operators, which is considered a foundational work on the subject.
24/01/1930
Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (died 2016)
Terence Bayler was a New Zealand film, television, and stage actor. His most memorable roles were in Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001).
Mahmoud Farshchian, Iranian-Persian painter and academic (died 2025)
Mahmoud Farshchian was an Iranian painter and educator. He was a master of Persian miniature painting.
John Romita Sr., American comic book artist (died 2023)
John Victor Romita was an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man and for co-creating characters including Mary Jane Watson, the Punisher, Kingpin, Wolverine, and Luke Cage. Romita was the father of John Romita Jr., also a comic book artist, and the husband of Virginia Romita, who was for many years Marvel's traffic manager.
24/01/1928
Desmond Morris, English zoologist, ethologist, and painter (died 2026)
Desmond John Morris FLS hon. caus. was an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology. He was known for his 1967 book The Naked Ape, and for his television programmes such as Zoo Time.
Michel Serrault, French actor (died 2007)
Michel Serrault was a French stage and film actor who appeared from 1954 until 2007 in more than 130 films.
24/01/1927
Paula Hawkins, American politician (died 2009)
Paula Hawkins was an American politician and community activist who represented the state of Florida in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1987. A member of the Republican Party, she was Florida's first female U.S. senator and the only woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida, as of 2025. She was the first woman elected to a full Senate term without having a close family member who previously served in major public office, and the second woman ever elected to the Senate from the American South.
24/01/1926
Ruth Asawa, American sculptor (died 2013)
Ruth Aiko Asawa was an American modernist artist primarily known for her abstract looped-wire sculptures inspired by natural and organic forms. In addition to her three-dimensional work, Asawa created figurative and abstract drawings and prints influenced by nature, particularly flowers and plants.
Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter (died 2013)
Georges Lautner (French: [lotnɛʁ]; 24 January 1926 – 22 November 2013 was a French film director and screenwriter, known primarily for his comedies created in collaboration with screenwriter Michel Audiard.
24/01/1925
Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2015)
James Angus Gerald "Old Hardrock" Mortson was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks, and Detroit Red Wings, winning four Stanley Cups with Toronto. He also played in eight NHL All-Star Games.
Maria Tallchief, American ballerina and actress (died 2013)
Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief, was an Osage ballerina. She was America's first major prima ballerina and the first Native American to hold the rank. Together with Georgian-American choreographer George Balanchine, she is widely considered to have revolutionized American ballet.
24/01/1924
Brian Bevan, Australian rugby league player (died 1991)
Brian Eyrl Bevan, also known by the nickname of "Wing Wizard", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He became the only player ever to be inducted into both the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and British Rugby League Hall of Fame. An Other Nationalities representative wing and the record try scorer in the history of the Rugby League European Championship, Bevan scored a world record 796 tries, mainly for Warrington. In 2008, the centenary year of rugby league in Australia, he was named on the wing of Australia's Team of the Century (1908–2007). Bevan was the only player chosen in the team who had never represented Australia in a test match.
Karpoori Thakur, Indian politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (died 1988)
Karpoori Thakur was an Indian politician who twice served as the 11th Chief Minister of Bihar, first from December 1970 to June 1971, and then from June 1977 to April 1979. He was popularly known as Jan Nayak. On 26 January 2024, he was posthumously awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, by the Government of India. This was announced by the President of India Draupadi Murmu on 23 January 2024.
24/01/1922
Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (died 2014)
Daniel Boulanger was a French novelist, playwright, poet and screenwriter.
Neil Franklin, English footballer (died 1996)
Cornelius "Neil" Franklin was an English footballer who played for Crewe Alexandra, Hull City, Stockport County and Stoke City as well as the England national team.
24/01/1920
Jimmy Forrest, American saxophonist (died 1980)
James Robert Forrest Jr. was an American jazz musician who played tenor saxophone throughout his career.
Jerry Maren, American actor (died 2018)
Jerry Maren was an American actor who played a Munchkin member of the Lollipop Guild in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of Oz. He became the last surviving adult Munchkin following the death of Ruth Duccini in 2014, and was also the last surviving cast member with a specifically identifiable speaking or singing role.
24/01/1919
Coleman Francis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1973)
Coleman Chambers Francis was an American actor, writer, producer and director. He was best known for his film trilogy consisting of The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961), The Skydivers (1963) and Red Zone Cuba (1966), all three of which were filmed in the general vicinity of Santa Clarita, California.
Leon Kirchner, American composer and educator (died 2009)
Leon Kirchner was an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he won a Pulitzer Prize for his String Quartet No. 3.
24/01/1918
Oral Roberts, American evangelist, founded Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (died 2009)
Granville Oral Roberts was an American Charismatic Christian televangelist, who was one of the first to propagate Prosperity Gospel Theology. He was ordained in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church from 1936 until his transfer to the United Methodist church in 1968, a controversial relationship that ended in 1987 when his credentials were revoked. He is considered one of the forerunners of the Charismatic movement, and at the height of his career was one of the most recognized preachers in the US. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University.
Gottfried von Einem, Austrian pianist and composer (died 1996)
Gottfried von Einem was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ.
24/01/1917
Ernest Borgnine, American actor (died 2012)
Ernest Borgnine was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular performer, he appeared as a guest on numerous talk shows and as a panelist on several game shows.
Wilhelmus Demarteau, Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church (died 2012)
Wilhelmus Demarteau, M.S.F. was a Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was one of the oldest Roman Catholic bishops and Dutch bishops.
24/01/1916
Rafael Caldera, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, 65th President of Venezuela (died 2009)
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was a Venezuelan politician and academician who was the 46th and 51st president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999, thus becoming the longest serving democratically elected politician to govern the country in the twentieth century.
Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player and actor (died 2013)
Constantine "Gene" Mako was an American tennis player and art gallery owner. He was born in Budapest, Hungary. He won four Grand Slam doubles titles in the 1930s. Mako was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1973.
24/01/1915
Vítězslava Kaprálová, Czech composer and conductor (died 1940)
Vítězslava Kaprálová was a Czech composer and conductor of 20th-century classical music.
Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (died 1991)
Robert Motherwell was an American abstract expressionist painter, printmaker, and editor of The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology. He was one of the youngest of the New York School, which also included Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko.
24/01/1913
Norman Dello Joio, American organist and composer (died 2008)
Norman Dello Joio was an American composer active for over half a century. Best known for his choral music, he won a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1957.
Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1983)
Raymond Ernest Stehr was an Australian rugby league footballer, a state and national representative player whose club career was played at Sydney's Eastern Suburbs club. He has been named as one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.
24/01/1912
Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (died 2005)
Frederick Lincoln "Dick" Ashworth was a United States Navy officer who served as the weaponeer on the B-29 Bockscar that dropped a Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945 during World War II.
24/01/1910
Doris Haddock, American political activist (died 2010)
Doris "Granny D" Haddock was an American political activist from New Hampshire. Haddock achieved national fame when, between the ages of 88 and 90, starting on January 1, 1999, and culminating on February 29, 2000, she walked over 3,200 miles (5,100 km) across the continental United States to advocate for campaign finance reform. In 2004, she ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican Judd Gregg in the U.S. Senate election in New Hampshire. At age 94 at the time, Haddock was the oldest congressional candidate in U.S. history.
24/01/1909
Martin Lings, English author and scholar (died 2005)
Martin Lings, also known as Abū Bakr Sirāj ad-Dīn, was an English writer, Islamic scholar, and philosopher. A student of the Swiss metaphysician Frithjof Schuon and an authority on the work of William Shakespeare, he is best known as the author of Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources.
Ester Šimerová-Martinčeková, Slovak painter (died 2005)
Ester Šimerová-Martinčeková was a Slovak painter, scenic designer and journalist.
24/01/1907
Maurice Couve de Murville, French soldier and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1999)
Jacques-Maurice Couve de Murville was a French diplomat and politician who was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1958 to 1968 and Prime Minister from 1968 to 1969 under the presidency of General de Gaulle. As foreign minister he played the leading role in the critical Franco-German treaty of cooperation in 1963, he laid the foundation for the Paris-Bonn axis that was central in building a united Europe.
Jean Daetwyler, Swiss composer and musician (died 1994)
Jean Daetwyler was a Swiss composer and musician. He is barely remembered, mostly for his largely forgotten works for alphorn inspired by Jozsef Molnar beginning in 1970. Also inspired by trombonist Branimir Slokar and other aspects of Swiss culture.
Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (died 1979)
Ismail Nasiruddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Haji Zainal Abidin III Mu’azzam Shah was the Sultan of Terengganu from 1945 until his death in 1979, and the fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong, from 1965 to 1970.
24/01/1906
Wilfred Jackson, American animator and composer (died 1988)
Wilfred Emmons Jackson was an American animator, musical arranger and director best known for his work with Walt Disney Productions.
24/01/1905
J. Howard Marshall, American lawyer and businessman (died 1995)
James Howard Marshall II was an American businessman, government official, lawyer, and legal scholar. He was involved with and invested in the petroleum industry via his academic, government and commercial endeavors. He owned 16 percent of Koch Industries and was married to American model Anna Nicole Smith during the last 14 months of his life. His estate became the subject of protracted litigation, which was reviewed by the Supreme Court in Marshall v. Marshall and Stern v. Marshall.
24/01/1901
Harry Calder, South African cricketer (died 1995)
Harry Lawton Calder was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1918, then a 17 year old schoolboy. Calder is the youngest person to receive this accolade, one of the game's top honours, and the only Wisden Cricketer of the Year that never played first-class cricket.
Cassandre, French painter (died 1968)
Cassandre, pseudonym of Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron, was a French painter, commercial poster artist, and typeface designer.
Edward Turner, English engineer (died 1973)
Edward Turner was an English motorcycle designer. He was born in Camberwell in the London Borough of Southwark, on the day King Edward VII was proclaimed King. In 1915, Turner had his first ride on a motorcycle, a Light Tourist New Imperial.
24/01/1900
René Guillot, French writer (died 1969)
René Paul Guillot was a French writer of children's books who lived, worked and travelled in French West Africa.
24/01/1899
Hoyt Vandenberg, U.S. Air Force general (died 1954)
Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg was a United States Air Force general. He served as the second Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the second Director of Central Intelligence.
24/01/1897
Paul Fejos, Hungarian-born American director (died 1963)
Pál Fejős, known professionally as Paul Fejos, was a Hungarian-American director of feature films and documentaries who worked in a number of countries including the United States. He also studied medicine in his youth and became a prominent anthropologist later in life. During World War I, Fejos worked as a medical orderly for the Imperial Austrian Army on the Italian front lines and also managed a theater that performed for troops. After the war, he returned to Budapest and eventually worked for the Orient-Film production company. He began to direct films in 1919 or 1920 for Mobil Studios in Hungary until he escaped in 1923 to flee the White Terror and the Horthy regime. He made his way to New York City and then eventually to Hollywood where he began production on his first American feature film, The Last Moment, in October 1927. The film proved to be popular, which allowed him to sign with Universal Studios. After a number of other successful films, Fejos left America in 1931 to direct sound films in France. In 1941, he stopped making films altogether and became the director of research and the acting head of the Viking Fund.
24/01/1895
Eugen Roth, German poet and songwriter (died 1976)
Eugen Roth was a Bavarian poet who wrote mostly humorous verse.
24/01/1892
Franz Aigner, Austrian weightlifter (died 1970)
Franz Aigner was an Austrian weightlifter who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the heavyweight class.
24/01/1891
Walter Model, German field marshal (died 1945)
Otto Moritz Walter Model was a German Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defensive warfare. His relative success as commander of the Ninth Army in the battles of 1941–1942 determined his future career path.
24/01/1889
Victor Eftimiu, Romanian poet and playwright (died 1972)
Victor Eftimiu was a Romanian poet and playwright. He was a contributor to Sburătorul, a Romanian literary magazine. His works have been performed in the State Jewish Theater of Romania.
Charles Hawes, American historian and author (died 1923)
Charles Boardman Hawes was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction sea stories, best known for three historical novels. He died suddenly at age 34, after only two of his five books had been published. He was the first U.S.-born winner of the annual Newbery Medal, recognizing his third novel The Dark Frigate (1923) as the year's best American children's book. Reviewing the Hawes Memorial Prize Contest in 1925, The New York Times observed that "his adventure stories of the sea caused him to be compared with Stevenson, Dana and Melville".
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, German general of paratroop forces during World War II (died 1968)
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke was a German general of paratroop forces during World War II. He led units in Crete, North Africa, Italy, the Soviet Union and France, and was captured by American forces at the conclusion of the Battle for Brest in September 1944. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, one of only 27 people in the German military so decorated. Ramcke's career was unusual in that he served in all three branches of the German Wehrmacht.
24/01/1888
Vicki Baum, Austrian author and screenwriter (died 1960)
Hedwig "Vicki" Baum was an Austrian writer. She is known for the novel Menschen im Hotel, one of her first international successes. It was made into a 1932 film and a 1989 Broadway musical.
Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman, founded the Heinkel Aircraft Manufacturing Company (died 1958)
Dr. Ernst Heinkel was a German aircraft designer, manufacturer, Wehrwirtschaftsführer in Nazi Germany, and member of the Nazi Party. His company Heinkel Flugzeugwerke produced the Heinkel He 178, the world's first turbojet-powered aircraft, and the Heinkel He 176, the first rocket aircraft.
24/01/1887
Jean-Henri Humbert, French botanist (died 1967)
Jean-Henri Humbert was a French botanist born in Paris.
24/01/1886
Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1982)
Henry King was an American actor and film director. Widely considered one of the finest and most successful filmmakers of his era, King was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Director and directed seven films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
24/01/1885
Marjory Stephenson, British biochemist (died 1948)
Marjory Stephenson was a British biochemist. In 1945, she was one of the first two women elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the other being Kathleen Lonsdale.
24/01/1869
Helena Maud Brown Cobb, American educator and missionary (died 1922)
Helena B. Cobb was an American educator and missionary from Georgia. Born in Monroe County, Georgia, she attended Atlanta University and served as an educator and principal at many schools for African Americans in the state. She was also active in organizing and pushing for greater missionary opportunities for women within the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. In the early 1900s she founded Helena B. Cobb Institute in Barnesville, Georgia.
24/01/1866
Jaan Poska, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1920)
Jaan Poska VR III/1 was a lawyer, politician and the foreign minister of Estonia in 1918–1919.
24/01/1864
Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (died 1936)
Marguerite Durand was a French stage actress, journalist, and a leading suffragette. She founded her own newspaper, and ran for election. She is also known for having a pet lion. The Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand was named in her honour for her contributions to the women's suffrage movement in France.
24/01/1862
Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (died 1937)
Edith Newbold Wharton was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of upper-class New York society to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gilded Age. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Age of Innocence. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1996. Her other well-known works are The House of Mirth, the novella Ethan Frome, and several notable ghost stories.
24/01/1858
Constance Naden, English poet and philosopher (died 1889)
Constance Caroline Woodhill Naden was an English writer, poet and philosopher. She studied, wrote and lectured on philosophy and science, alongside publishing two volumes of poetry. Several collected works were published following her death at the young age of 31. In her honour, Robert Lewins established the Constance Naden Medal and had a bust of her installed at Mason Science College. William Ewart Gladstone considered her one of the nineteenth century's foremost female poets.
24/01/1848
Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (died 1916)
Vasily Ivanovich Surikov was a Russian Realist painter, active in Moscow during Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II's reigns, renowned for his large history pictures. Many of his works have become familiar to the general public through their use as illustrations.
24/01/1843
Josip Stadler, Croatian archbishop (died 1918)
Josip Stadler was a Bosnian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the first archbishop of Vrhbosna, from 1881 to his death in 1918. He was the founder of the religious order of the Servants of the Infant Jesus.
24/01/1776
E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist, author, and composer (died 1822)
Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was a German Romantic author of fantasy and gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist. His short story "The Sandman" is seen as a pioneering work of horror fiction, while his novella Mademoiselle de Scuderi is regarded as one of the earliest examples of crime fiction.
24/01/1763
Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Ukrainian general and politician (died 1831)
Count Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron was a French military figure in the service of, first, the Kingdom of France, and later the Russian Empire.
24/01/1754
Andrew Ellicott, American soldier and surveyor (died 1820)
Andrew Ellicott was an American land surveyor who helped map many of the territories west of the Appalachians, surveyed the boundaries of the District of Columbia, continued and completed Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant's work on the plan for Washington, D.C., and served as a teacher in survey methods for Meriwether Lewis.
24/01/1749
Charles James Fox, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (died 1806)
Charles James Fox, styled The Honourable from 1762, was a British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-rival of the Tory politician William Pitt the Younger; his father Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, a leading Whig of his day, had similarly been the great rival of Pitt's famous father, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.
24/01/1746
Gustav III of Sweden (died 1792)
Gustav III, also called Gustavus III, was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden.
24/01/1739
Jean Nicolas Houchard, French General of the French Revolution (died 1793)
Jean Nicolas Houchard (24 January 1739 – 17 November 1793) was a French Army officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars.
24/01/1732
Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and financier (died 1799)
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French playwright and diplomat of the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watchmaker, inventor, musician, spy, publisher, arms dealer, and revolutionary.
24/01/1712
Frederick the Great, Prussian king (died 1786)
Frederick II was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled King in Prussia, declaring himself King of Prussia after annexing Royal Prussia from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772. His most significant accomplishments include military successes in the Silesian wars, reorganisation of the Prussian Army, the First Partition of Poland, and patronage of the arts and the Enlightenment. Prussia greatly increased its territories and became a major military power in Europe under his rule. He became known as Frederick the Great and was nicknamed "Old Fritz".
24/01/1709
Dom Bédos de Celles, French monk and organist (died 1779)
François-Lamathe Dom Bédos de Celles de Salelles was a French Benedictine monk best known for being a master pipe organ builder.
24/01/1705
Farinelli, Italian castrato singer (died 1782)
Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi, who performed under the stage name Farinelli, was a celebrated Italian castrato singer, composer, and musician. He was a soprano with a range from approximately F3-D6, and is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of opera.
24/01/1684
Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, German noble (died 1737)
Charles Alexander of Württemberg first became a Württemberg Duke in 1698 after his father's death and then went on to govern the Kingdom of Serbia as regent from 1720 until 1733, and then assumed the position of Duke of Württemberg, which he held until his death.
24/01/1679
Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (died 1754)
Christian Wolff was a German philosopher. Wolff is characterized as one of the most eminent German philosophers between Leibniz and Kant. His life work spanned almost every scholarly subject of his time, displayed and unfolded according to his demonstrative-deductive, mathematical method, which some deem the peak of Enlightenment rationality in Germany.
24/01/1674
Thomas Tanner, English bishop (died 1735)
Thomas Tanner was an English antiquary and prelate. He was Bishop of St Asaph from 1732 to 1735.
24/01/1672
Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt, German Lieutenant General (died 1731)
Albert Frederick, Prince of Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, was a Lieutenant General in the army of the Electorate of Brandenburg-Prussia and Grand Master of the Order of Saint John. In his lifetime he held the courtesy title of Margrave of Brandenburg. His elder brother Philip William held the town and lands of Schwedt.
24/01/1670
William Congreve, English playwright and poet (died 1729)
William Congreve was an English playwright and poet. He played a major role in shaping English comedy, and is regarded by literary critics as one of the greatest playwrights of the Restoration period. The popularity of his plays in the late 17th and early 18th centuries was central to the development of satirical comedy of manners, and he became recognised as a seminal figure of Restoration literature. Although he wrote several commercially successful works, Congreve is best remembered today for his quotes, such as, "O fie, miss, you must not kiss and tell", and "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".
24/01/1664
John Vanbrugh, English architect and dramatist (died 1726)
Sir John Vanbrugh was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse (1696) and The Provoked Wife (1697), which have become enduring stage favourites but originally occasioned much controversy. He was knighted in 1714.
24/01/1643
Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and politician, Lord Chamberlain of Great Britain (died 1706)
Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset was an English politician, courtier and poet.
24/01/1619
Yamazaki Ansai, Japanese philosopher (died 1682)
Yamazaki Ansai was a Japanese philosopher and scholar. He began his career as a Buddhist monk, but eventually came to follow the teachings of Neo-Confucian Zhu Xi. He combined Neo-Confucian ideas with Shinto to create Suika Shinto.
24/01/1602
Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, English politician (died 1666)
Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, styled Lord le Despenser between 1624 and 1628, was an English nobleman, politician and writer.
24/01/1547
Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Austrian Archduchess (died 1578)
Joanna of Austria was an Archduchess of Austria. By marriage to Francesco I de' Medici, she was the Grand Princess of Tuscany and later the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. One of her daughters was Marie de' Medici, second wife of King Henry IV of France.
24/01/1444
Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (died 1476)
Galeazzo Maria Sforza was the fifth Duke of Milan from 1466 until 1476. He was born to Francesco Sforza, a popular condottiero and ally of Cosimo de' Medici who would gain the Duchy of Milan in 1450, and Bianca Maria Visconti, Duchess of Milan on her own right. Sforza was betrothed into the Gonzaga family; after the engagement with Dorotea Gonzaga was called off, he married Bona of Savoy.
24/01/1287
Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (died 1345)
Richard de Bury, also known as Richard Aungerville or Aungervyle, was an English priest, teacher, bishop, writer, and bibliophile. He was a patron of learning and one of the first English collectors of books. He is chiefly remembered for his Philobiblon, written to inculcate in the clergy the pursuit of learning and the love of books. The Philobiblon is considered one of the earliest books to discuss librarianship in-depth. Completed shortly before de Bury's death in 1345, the book wasn't published until 1473, and this "little treatise" as he described it, has been regularly reprinted in every century following.
24/01/0076
Hadrian, Roman emperor (died 138)
AD 76 (LXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Titus and Vespasianus. The denomination AD 76 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Lives Remembered on 24th January
On 24th January, 67 remarkable people passed away — from 41 to 2025. Remember the lives and legacies of those we lost on this day.
24/01/2025
Iris Cummings, American swimmer and aviator (born 1920)
Iris Cummings, also known by her married name Iris Critchell, was an American aviator and competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. After an active athletic career in swimming, which included a reign as U.S. national 200-meter breaststroke champion from 1936 to 1939, she was accepted into the University of Southern California's first Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1939. After graduation, she worked as a flight instructor prior to being selected to serve her country during World War II as a member of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). Following the conflict, she returned to California, where she developed and taught a curriculum on civilian flight for veterans returning from the war at the University of Southern California.
24/01/2019
Rosemary Bryant Mariner, American United States Naval Aviator (born 1953)
Captain Rosemary Bryant Mariner was an American pilot and one of the first six women to earn their wings as a United States Naval Aviator in 1974. She was the first female military pilot to fly a tactical jet and the first to achieve command of an operational aviation squadron.
24/01/2018
Mark E. Smith, British singer-songwriter (born 1957)
Mark Edward Smith was an English singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the Sex Pistols' 20 July 1976 gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, and was its leader until his death. During their 42-year existence, the Fall's line-up included some sixty musicians, with whom Smith released 32 studio albums and numerous singles and EPs.
24/01/2017
Helena Kmieć, Polish Roman Catholic missionary (born 1991)
Helena Agnieszka Kmieć was a Polish Catholic missionary who was awarded the Polish Gold Cross of Merit. In May 2024, her sainthood cause was opened and she was named a Servant of God.
Butch Trucks, American drummer (born 1947)
Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks was an American drummer. He was best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Trucks was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida.
24/01/2016
Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (born 1928)
Thomas Fredrik Weybye Barth was a Norwegian social anthropologist who published several ethnographic books with a clear formalist view. He was a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Boston University, and previously held professorships at the University of Oslo, the University of Bergen, Emory University and Harvard University. He was appointed a government scholar in 1985.
Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist and academic (born 1927)
Marvin Minsky was an American mathematician who did research in cognitive and computer science aspects of artificial intelligence (AI). After three years as a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows, Minsky joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1958 and spent the rest of his career at that institution. There, he co-founded MIT's AI laboratory, among other initiatives, and wrote extensively about AI and philosophy. He, computer scientist John McCarthy, and others have been called the "fathers of AI". At the time he was made emeritus, Minsky was the Toshiba Professor of Media Art & Sciences at MIT.
Henry Worsley, English colonel and explorer (born 1960)
Lieutenant Colonel Alastair Edward Henry Worsley, was a British explorer and British Army officer. He was part of a 2009 expedition that retraced Ernest Shackleton's footsteps in the Antarctic.
24/01/2015
Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (born 1922)
Otto Carius was a German tank commander in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He fought on the Eastern Front in 1943 and 1944 and on the Western Front in 1945. Carius is considered a "panzer ace", some sources credited him with destroying more than 150 enemy tanks, although Carius, in an interview claims he had around 100 kills or less. This was also due to the fact that he did not count kills as a commander, and rather only as a gunner. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
24/01/2014
Shulamit Aloni, Israeli lawyer and politician, 11th Israeli Minister of Education (born 1928)
Shulamit Aloni was an Israeli politician. She founded the progressive Ratz party, was leader of the Meretz party, Leader of the Opposition from 1988 to 1990, and served as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993. In 2000, she won the Israel Prize. Throughout her decades-long political career, Aloni advocated for secularism, a peaceful solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, equal treatment of Arab citizens of Israel and Palestinians and introduced the law that decriminalised homosexuality.
Rafael Pineda Ponce, Honduran academic and politician (born 1930)
Rafael Pineda Ponce was a Honduran professor and politician in the Liberal Party of Honduras and President of the National Congress of Honduras from 1998 to 2002.
24/01/2011
Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (born 1949)
Bernd Eichinger was a German film producer, screenwriter, and director.
24/01/2010
Pernell Roberts, American actor (born 1928)
Pernell Elven Roberts Jr. was an American stage, film, and television actor, activist, and singer. In addition to guest-starring in over 60 television series, he was best known for his roles as Ben Cartwright's eldest son Adam Cartwright on the Western television series Bonanza (1959–1965), and as chief surgeon John McIntyre, the title character on Trapper John, M.D. (1979–1986).
24/01/2008
Usha Narayanan, Burmese-born First Lady of India (born 1922)
Usha Narayanan, born Tint Tint, was the First Lady of India from 1997 to 2002. She was married to K. R. Narayanan, the tenth President of India. Usha Narayanan was India's second foreign-born first lady after Janaki Venkataraman. She played a key role in women social welfare activities initiated by the presidency.
24/01/2007
Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (born 1916)
Krystyna Zofia Feldman was a Polish actress.
İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1940)
İsmail Cem was a Turkish centre-leftist politician, intellectual, writer, author and journalist who served as the Minister of Culture of Turkey from 7 July to 26 October 1995, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey from 30 June 1997 to 11 July 2002.
Guadalupe Larriva, Ecuadorian academic and politician (born 1956)
Guadalupe Larriva was an Ecuadorian politician.
Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican-American soldier (born 1891)
Emiliano Mercado del Toro was a Puerto Rican supercentenarian and military veteran who was, at age 115, the world's oldest person following the death of 116-year-old Elizabeth Bolden on December 11, 2006, until his own death on January 24, 2007. He had already been the world's oldest man from November 19, 2004, upon the death of Fred Harold Hale. At the time of his death in January 2007, aged 115 years and 156 days, Mercado was the second oldest fully validated male ever, behind Danish-American Christian Mortensen's record of 115 years 252 days. Japanese man, Shigechiyo Izumi, was still believed to be older at the time of Mercado's death, but his record was withdrawn by Guinness World Records in 2010.
24/01/2006
Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician (born 1930)
Schafik Jorge Hándal Hándal was a Salvadoran politician.
24/01/2004
Leônidas, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1913)
Leônidas da Silva was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the most important players of the first half of the 20th century. At the height of his career, Leônidas was very popular amongst the people of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro. Leônidas played for Brazil national team in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, and was the top scorer of the latter tournament. He was known as the "Black Diamond" and the "Rubber Man" due to his agility.
24/01/2003
Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (born 1921)
Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli, nicknamed L'Avvocato, was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research. He was the richest man in modern Italian history.
24/01/2002
Elie Hobeika, Lebanese commander and politician (born 1956)
Elie Hobeika was a Lebanese militia commander in the Lebanese Forces militia during the Lebanese Civil War and one of Bachir Gemayel's close confidants. He became infamous for his overseeing of the 1982 Sabra and Shatilla massacre. Hobeika initially supported the IDF during their invasion, but later switched sides and supported the Syrians. He became head of the Lebanese Forces until he was ousted in 1986. He then founded the Promise Party and was elected to serve two terms in the Parliament of Lebanon. In January 2002, he was assassinated in a car bombing at his house in Beirut, shortly before he was to testify about the Sabra and Shatila massacre in a Belgian court.
24/01/2001
Gaffar Okkan, Turkish police chief (born 1952)
Ali Gaffar Okkan was a Turkish police chief who was assassinated in an ambush in Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey.
24/01/1993
Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor (born 1908)
Gustav Ernesaks was an Estonian composer and a choir conductor.
Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd United States Solicitor General (born 1908)
Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-American justice. Before his judicial service, he was an attorney who fought for civil rights, leading the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Marshall was a prominent figure in the movement to end racial segregation in American public schools. He won 29 of the 32 civil rights cases he argued before the Supreme Court, culminating in the Court's landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which rejected the separate but equal doctrine and held segregation in public education to be unconstitutional. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court in 1967. A staunch liberal, he frequently dissented as the Court became increasingly conservative.
Uğur Mumcu, Turkish investigative journalist (born 1942)
Uğur Mumcu was a Turkish investigative journalist for the daily Cumhuriyet. He was assassinated by a bomb placed in his car outside his home.
24/01/1992
Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (born 1909)
Kenneth Lorin Darby was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. Darby is also notable as the author of The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe (1983), a biography of the home of Rex Stout's fictional detective.
24/01/1991
Jack Schaefer, American journalist and author (born 1907)
Jack Warner Schaefer was an American writer known for his Westerns. His best-known works are the 1949 novel Shane, considered the greatest western novel by the Western Writers of America, and the 1964 children's book Stubby Pringle's Christmas.
24/01/1990
Madge Bellamy, American actress (born 1899)
Madge Bellamy was an American stage and film actress. She was a popular leading lady in the 1920s and early 1930s. Bellamy's career declined in the sound era and ended following a romantic scandal in the 1940s.
24/01/1989
Ted Bundy, American serial killer (born 1946)
Theodore Robert Bundy was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered dozens of young women and girls throughout 1974, 1975, and 1978. His modus operandi typically consisted of convincing his target that he was in need of assistance or duping them into believing he was an authority figure. He would then lure his victim to his vehicle, at which point he would bludgeon them unconscious, then restrain them with handcuffs before driving them to a remote location to be sexually assaulted and killed.
24/01/1988
Werner Fenchel, German-Danish mathematician and academic (born 1905)
Moritz Werner Fenchel was a German-Danish mathematician known for his contributions to geometry and to optimization theory. Fenchel established the basic results of convex analysis and nonlinear optimization theory which would, in time, serve as the foundation for nonlinear programming. A German-born Jew and early refugee from Nazi suppression of intellectuals, Fenchel lived most of his life in Denmark. Fenchel's monographs and lecture notes are considered influential.
24/01/1986
L. Ron Hubbard, American religious leader and author, founded the Church of Scientology (born 1911)
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was an American author and the founder of Scientology. A prolific writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels in his early career, in 1950 he authored the pseudoscientific book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health and established organizations to promote and practice Dianetics techniques. Hubbard created Scientology in 1952 after losing the intellectual rights to his literature on Dianetics in bankruptcy. He would lead the Church of Scientology – variously described as a cult, a new religious movement, or a business – until his death in 1986.
Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (born 1921)
Albert Gordon MacRae was an American actor, singer, and television and radio host. He appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! (1955) and Carousel (1956), and played the leading man opposite Doris Day in On Moonlight Bay (1951) and its sequel, By The Light of the Silvery Moon (1953).
24/01/1983
George Cukor, American director and producer (born 1899)
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director and producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's head of production, assigned Cukor to direct several of RKO's major films, including What Price Hollywood? (1932), A Bill of Divorcement (1932), Our Betters (1933), and Little Women (1933). When Selznick moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1933, Cukor followed and directed Dinner at Eight (1933) and David Copperfield (1935) for Selznick, and Romeo and Juliet (1936) and Camille (1936) for Irving Thalberg.
24/01/1982
Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (born 1918)
Alfredo Ovando Candia was a Bolivian military officer and political leader who served as the 48th president of Bolivia from 1965 to 1966 and 1969 to 1970. During his first term, he shared power with René Barrientos as co-president of a military junta.
24/01/1975
Larry Fine, American comedian (born 1902)
Larry Fine was an American actor, comedian and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges and was often called "The Middle Stooge".
24/01/1973
J. Carrol Naish, American actor (born 1896)
Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 films during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
24/01/1971
Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (born 1895)
William Griffith Wilson, also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was an American businessman who co-conceived and co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), with fellow co-founder Bob Smith.
24/01/1970
Caresse Crosby, American fashion designer and publisher, co-founded the Black Sun Press (born 1891)
Caresse Crosby was an American publisher and writer. Time called her the "literary godmother to the Lost Generation of expatriate writers in Paris." As an American patron of the arts, she and her second husband, Harry Crosby, founded the Black Sun Press, which was instrumental in publishing some of the early works of many authors who would later become famous, among them Anaïs Nin, Kay Boyle, Ernest Hemingway, Archibald MacLeish, Henry Miller, Charles Bukowski, Hart Crane, and Robert Duncan. She was also the recipient of a patent for the first successful modern bra.
24/01/1966
Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist and academic (born 1909)
Homi Jehangir Bhabha, FNI, FASc, FRS was an Indian nuclear theoretical physicist who is widely credited as the "father of the Indian nuclear programme". He was the founding director and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), as well as the founding director of the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) which was renamed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. TIFR and AEET served as the cornerstone to the Indian nuclear energy and weapons programme. He was the first chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). By supporting space science projects which initially derived their funding from the AEC, he played an important role in the birth of the Indian space programme.
24/01/1965
Winston Churchill, English statesman, soldier, and writer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1874)
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. For some 62 of the years between 1900 and 1964, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) and represented a total of five constituencies over that time. Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.
24/01/1962
André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (born 1885)
André Lhote was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes, and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art.
Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish author, poet, and scholar (born 1901)
Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar was a Turkish poet, novelist, literary scholar and essayist, widely regarded as one of the most important representatives of modernism in Turkish literature. In addition to his literary and academic career, Tanpınar was also a member of the Turkish Parliament between 1944 and 1946.
24/01/1961
Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (born 1884)
Alfred Carlton Gilbert was an American inventor, athlete, magician, toy maker and businessman. As the founder of A. C. Gilbert Company, Gilbert was known for inventing the Erector Set and American Flyer Trains.
24/01/1960
Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (born 1886)
Edwin Fischer was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century.
24/01/1946
Morris Alexander, South African politician (born 1877)
Morris Alexander was a South African lawyer and politician who was a leading figure of Cape Town's Jewish community. He is best known for his successful campaign to have Yiddish recognized as a European language by colonial authorities, allowing thousands of Jews to immigrate to South Africa. A prominent liberal, Alexander served in the South African House of Assembly from 1910 until his death in 1946.
24/01/1939
Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician, created Muesli (born 1867)
Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, M.D. was a Swiss physician and a pioneer nutritionist credited for popularizing muesli and raw food vegetarianism.
24/01/1920
Percy French, Irish songwriter, entertainer and artist (born 1854)
William Percy French was an Irish songwriter, author, poet, entertainer and painter.
Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (born 1884)
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterised by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and figures — works that were not received well during his lifetime, but later became much sought after. Modigliani was born and spent his youth in Italy, where he studied the art of antiquity and the Renaissance. In 1906, he moved to Paris, where he came into contact with such artists as Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brâncuși. By 1912, Modigliani was exhibiting highly stylised sculptures with Cubists of the Section d'Or group at the Salon d'Automne.
24/01/1895
Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1849)
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill was a British aristocrat and politician. He was a Tory radical who coined the term "Tory democracy" and participated in the creation of the "National Union of the Conservative Party".
24/01/1883
Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (born 1812)
Friedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera Martha, which was popular in the 19th century and the early part of the 20th.
24/01/1881
James Collinson, English painter (born 1825)
James Collinson was a Victorian painter who was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood from 1848 to 1850. Collinson was known for the paintings,The Renunciation of St Elizabeth of Hungary, To Let and For Sale. Engaged at one time to the poet Christina Rossetti, their broken engagement also influenced many of her poems.
24/01/1877
Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist and journalist (born 1796)
Johann Christian Poggendorff was a German physicist born in Hamburg. Poggendorff is best known for his work related to electricity and magnetism, most notably the electrostatic motor which is analogous to Wilhelm Holtz's electrostatic machine. In 1841 he described the use of the potentiometer for measurement of electrical potentials without current draw.
24/01/1709
George Rooke, English admiral and politician (born 1650)
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke was an Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain, he conveyed Prince William of Orange to England and took part in the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland.
24/01/1666
Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer and theorist (born 1588)
Johann Andreas Herbst was a German composer and music theorist of the early Baroque era. He was a contemporary of Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz, and like them, assisted in importing the grand Venetian style and the other features of the early Baroque into Protestant Germany.
24/01/1639
Jörg Jenatsch, Swiss pastor and politician (born 1596)
Jörg Jenatsch, also called Jürg or Georg Jenatsch, was a Swiss political leader during the Thirty Years' War, one of the most striking figures in the troubled history of the Grisons in the 17th century.
24/01/1626
Samuel Argall, English captain and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (born 1572)
Sir Samuel Argall was an English sea captain, navigator, and Deputy-Governour of Virginia, an English colony.
24/01/1595
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (born 1529)
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria was ruler of Further Austria and Imperial Count of Tyrol since 1564. The son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, he first married Philippine Welser, and later Anna Caterina Gonzaga. Through his second marriage he was the father of Anna of Tyrol, the future Holy Roman Empress.
24/01/1525
Franciabigio, Florentine painter (born 1482)
Franciabigio was an Italian painter of the Florentine Renaissance. His true name may have been Francesco di Cristofano; he is also referred to as either Marcantonio Franciabigio or Francia Bigio.
24/01/1473
Conrad Paumann, German organist and composer (born 1410)
Conrad Paumann was a German organist, lutenist and composer of the early Renaissance. Born blind, he became one of the most talented musicians of the 15th century, and his performances created a sensation wherever he went. He is grouped among the composers known as the Colorists.
24/01/1376
Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English commander (born 1306)
Richard Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel, 8th Earl of Surrey was an English nobleman and medieval military leader and distinguished admiral. Arundel was one of the wealthiest nobles, and most loyal noble retainer of the chivalric code that governed the reign of Edward III of England.
24/01/1336
Alfonso IV of Aragon (born 1299)
Alfonso IV, called the Kind, was King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1327 to his death. His reign saw the incorporation of the County of Urgell, Duchy of Athens, and Duchy of Neopatria into the Crown of Aragon.
24/01/1125
David IV of Georgia (born 1073)
David IV, also known as David IV the Builder, of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king (mepe) of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125.
24/01/1046
Eckard II, Margrave of Meissen (born c. 985)
Eckard II was Margrave of Lusatia from 1034 and Margrave of Meissen from 1038 until his death. He was the last of his dynasty, with his death the line of Ekkeharding margraves descending from Eckard I of Meissen became extinct.
24/01/0901
Liu Jishu, general of the Tang Dynasty
Liu Jishu (劉季述) was a eunuch late in the Chinese Tang dynasty who, as a powerful commander of the Shence Armies, briefly deposed Emperor Zhaozong in 900 and replaced Emperor Zhaozong with Emperor Zhaozong's son Li Yu, Prince of De, but was soon killed in a countercoup, allowing Emperor Zhaozong to return to the throne.
24/01/0817
Pope Stephen IV (born 770)
Pope Stephen IV was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from June 816 to his death on 24 January 817. Stephen belonged to a noble Roman family. In October 816, he crowned Louis the Pious as emperor at Reims, and persuaded him to release some Roman political prisoners he held in custody. He returned to Rome, by way of Ravenna, sometime in November and died the following January.
24/01/0041
Caligula, Roman emperor (born 12)
AD 41 (XLI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of C. Caesar Augustus Germanicus and Cn. Sentius Saturninus. The denomination AD 41 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Celebrations & Special Days Worldwide on 24th January
Christian feast day: Babylas of Antioch
Babylas of Antioch was a Syrian patriarch of Antioch (237–253), who died in prison during the Decian persecution. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine rite his feast day is 4 September, in the Roman Rite, 24 January. He has the distinction of being the first saint recorded as having had his remains translated (moved) for religious purposes; a practice that was to become extremely common in later centuries.
Christian feast day: Exuperantius of Cingoli
Exuperantius of Cingoli was a 5th-century bishop of Cingoli,, in the Marche region of Italy.
Christian feast day: Felician of Foligno
Felicianus of Foligno is the patron saint of Foligno.
Christian feast day: Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales, C.O., O.M. was a Savoyard Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Geneva from 1602 to 1622. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God. He was canonized in 1665.
Christian feast day: Blessed Marie Poussepin
Marie Poussepin was a French Dominican who founded the congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Charity of the Presentation.
Christian feast day: Pratulin Martyrs (Greek Catholic Church)
The Martyrs of Pratulin were a group of 13 Polish Greek Catholic men and boys who were killed by soldiers of the Imperial Russian Army on January 24, 1874, in the village of Pratulin, near Biała Podlaska.
Christian feast day: January 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
January 23 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - January 25
Day of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities (Romania)
The Day of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities or, unofficially, the Little Union Day, is a public holiday of Romania celebrated every 24 January to commemorate the unification of the Romanian Principalities, also known as the "Little Union", on 24 January 1859 under prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza. This event is deemed as important as it is considered the first step towards the goal of achieving a unitary Romanian state, something that is considered to have been achieved on 1 December 1918, when the Romanian National Assembly declared the union of Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș with the Kingdom of Romania.
Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances: Feria de Alasitas (La Paz)
The largest Alasitas fair is an annual month-long cultural event starting on 24 January in La Paz, Bolivia. It honours Ekeko, the Aymara god of abundance, and is noted for the giving of miniature items. Other fiestas and ferias throughout Bolivia incorporate alasitas into religious observances: The Fiesta of the Virgin of Copacabana and the Fiesta of the Virgin of Urkupiña, for example.
Uttar Pradesh Day (Uttar Pradesh, India)
Uttar Pradesh Day is celebrated as foundation day of Indian state, Uttar Pradesh. It is observed on 24 January.
National Girl Child Day (India)
The National Girl Child Day is celebrated in India every year on January 24. It was initiated in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India, to spread public awareness about inequities that girls face in Indian society. The day is celebrated with organized programs including awareness campaigns about Save the Girl Child, child sex ratios, and the creation of a healthy and safe environment for girls. In 2019, the day was celebrated with the theme, 'Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow'.
What Happened on 24th January?
42 significant events took place on Monday, 24th January — stretching from 41 to 2026. Explore the moments that shaped history on this day.
24/01/2026
At least 70 people are killed and 10 others missing after major landslides in West Java, Indonesia.
On the early morning of January 24, 2026, heavy rains caused major landslides in West Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The landslide buried at least 53 homes, and killed up to 80 people, and 20 others missing.
24/01/2024
An Ilyushin Il-76 crashes in Russia's Korochansky District, killing all 74 people on board.
On 24 January 2024, at around 11:15 MSK, a Russian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane crashed near the Ukrainian border in Russia's Korochansky district in Belgorod Oblast, killing everyone on board. Russia stated that the plane was shot down by Ukraine while it was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) captured during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as six crew members and three guards, and that the prisoners of war were to be exchanged in a swap. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not directly take responsibility for shooting down the airplane, but stated that it was a legitimate military target and that it was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles for bombing Kharkiv Oblast.
24/01/2018
Former doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to sexually abuse female gymnasts.
Lawrence Gerard Nassar is an American convicted serial sex offender and former family medicine osteopathic physician. He served as a team doctor for the United States women's national gymnastics team from 1996 to 2014, where he used his position to exploit and sexually assault hundreds of young athletes as part of the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports history. Nassar was a team physician at Michigan State University under William Strampel from 1997 to 2016, and multiple student athletes reported his inappropriate behavior.
24/01/2011
At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.
The Domodedovo International Airport bombing was a suicide bombing in the international arrival hall of Moscow Domodedovo Airport, in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, on 24 January 2011.
24/01/2009
Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
Cyclone Klaus was a European windstorm or cyclone that made landfall over large parts of central and southern France, Spain and parts of Italy in January 2009. The storm was the most damaging since Lothar and Martin in December 1999. The storm caused widespread damage across France and Spain, especially in northern Spain.
24/01/2003
The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, comparable to interior ministries abroad. Its missions involve anti-terrorism, civil defense, immigration and customs, border control, cybersecurity, transportation security, maritime security and sea rescue, and the mitigation of weapons of mass destruction.
24/01/1990
Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
The Hiten spacecraft, given the English name Celestial Maiden and known before launch as MUSES-A, part of the MUSES Program, was built by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan and launched on January 24, 1990. It was Japan's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States. The spacecraft was named after flying heavenly beings in Buddhism.
24/01/1988
An Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40 crashes at Nizhnevartovsk Airport, killing 27 people.
PJSC Aeroflot – Russian Airlines, commonly known as Aeroflot, is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo International Airport. The Federal Agency for State Property Management, an agency of the Government of Russia, owns 73.77% of the company, with the rest of the shares being public float.
24/01/1987
About 20,000 protestors march in a civil rights demonstration in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States.
The 1987 Forsyth County protests were a series of civil rights demonstrations held in Forsyth County, Georgia, in the United States. The protests consisted of two marches, held one week apart on January 17 and January 24, 1987. The marches and accompanying counterdemonstrations by white supremacists drew national attention to the county. The second march was attended by many prominent civil rights activists and politicians, including both of Georgia's U.S. senators, and attracted about 20,000 marchers, making it one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in United States history.
24/01/1986
The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus.
Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, as a part of the Voyager program. It was launched on a trajectory towards the gas giants and enabled further encounters with the ice giants. The only spacecraft to have visited either of the ice giant planets, it was the third of five spacecraft to achieve Solar escape velocity, which allowed it to leave the Solar System. Launched 16 days before its twin Voyager 1, the primary mission of the spacecraft was to study the outer planets and its extended mission is to study interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere.
24/01/1978
Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. It was the world's third-most populous country, the largest by area, and bordered twelve countries. A diverse multinational state, it was organized as a federal union of national republics, with the largest and most populous being the Russian SFSR. In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized. As a one-party state governed by the Communist Party, it was the flagship communist state. Its capital and largest city was Moscow.
24/01/1977
The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.
The 1977 Atocha massacre was an attack by right-wing extremists in the center of Madrid on 24 January 1977, which saw the assassination of five labor activists from the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and the workers' federation Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO). The act occurred within the wider context of far-right reaction to Spain's transition to constitutional democracy following the death of dictator Francisco Franco. Intended to provoke a violent left-wing response that would provide legitimacy for a subsequent right-wing counter coup d'état, the massacre had an immediate opposite effect, generating mass popular revulsion of the far-right and accelerating the legalization of the long-banned Communist Party.
24/01/1972
Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
Shōichi Yokoi was a Japanese soldier who served as a sergeant in the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during the Second World War and was one of the last four Japanese holdouts to be found after the end of hostilities in 1945. He was discovered in the jungles of Guam on 24 January 1972, almost 28 years after U.S. forces had regained control of the island in 1944.
24/01/1968
Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa.
The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct US military involvement escalated from 1965 until US forces were withdrawn in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian and Cambodian civil wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.
24/01/1966
Air India Flight 101 crashes into Mont Blanc.
Air India Flight 101 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight from Bombay to London, via Delhi, Beirut, and Geneva. On the morning of 24 January 1966 at 8:02 CET, on approach to Geneva, the Boeing 707-437 operating the flight accidentally crashed into Mont Blanc in France, killing all 117 people on board. Among the victims was Homi Jehangir Bhabha, the founder and chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.
24/01/1961
Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
The 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash was an aviation accident that occurred near Goldsboro, North Carolina, United States, on 24 January 1961. A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress carrying two 3.8-megaton Mark 39 nuclear bombs broke up in mid-air, dropping its nuclear payload in the process. Five crewmen successfully ejected or bailed out of the aircraft and landed safely; another ejected, but did not survive the landing, and two of them were killed in the crash.
24/01/1960
Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution, the Franco-Algerian War, or the Algerian War of Independence, was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria winning its independence from France. An important decolonization war, it was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare and war crimes. The conflict also became a civil war between the different communities and within the communities. The war took place mainly on the territory of French Algeria, with repercussions in metropolitan France.
24/01/1946
The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 80th session, its powers, composition, functions, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter.
24/01/1943
World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving US president and the only one to have served more than two terms. His first two terms were centered on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth focused on US involvement in World War II. A member of the Democratic Party, Roosevelt served in the New York State Senate from 1911 to 1913 and as the 44th governor of New York from 1929 to 1932.
24/01/1942
World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
24/01/1939
The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.
The 1939 Chillán earthquake occurred in south-central Chile on 24 January with a surface-wave magnitude of 8.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). With a death toll of around 28,000, compared to the 2,231–6,000 of the Great Chilean earthquake of 1960, it is the single deadliest earthquake in Chile.
24/01/1935
Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company starts selling the first canned beer.
The Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company was a brewery in Newark, New Jersey founded by Gottfried Krueger and John Laible in 1858. The company produced Krueger's Special Beer, the first beer to be sold in cans, in November 1933.
24/01/1933
The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.
The Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution moved the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president from March 4 to January 20, and of members of Congress from March 4 to January 3. It also has provisions that determine what is to be done when there is no president-elect. The Twentieth Amendment was adopted on January 23, 1933.
24/01/1918
The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective February 14 (New Style).
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull Inter gravissimas issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years slightly differently to make the average calendar year 365.2425 days long rather than the Julian calendar's 365.25 days, thus more closely approximating the 365.2422-day "tropical" or "solar" year that is determined by the Earth's revolution around the Sun.
24/01/1916
In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 240 U.S. 1 (1916), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the validity of a tax statute called the Revenue Act of 1913, also known as the Tariff Act, Ch. 16, 38 Stat. 166, enacted pursuant to Article I, section 8, clause 1 of, and the Sixteenth Amendment to, the United States Constitution, allowing a federal income tax. The Sixteenth Amendment had been ratified earlier in 1913. The Revenue Act of 1913 imposed income taxes that were not apportioned among the states according to each state's population.
24/01/1915
World War I: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank.
World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million military and civilian casualties and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.
24/01/1908
The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.
Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the 20th century.
24/01/1900
Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.
The Second Boer War, also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the Boer republics over Britain's influence in Southern Africa.
24/01/1859
The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia. The union was formed on 5 February [O.S. 24 January] 1859 when Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected as the Domnitor of both principalities. Their separate autonomous vassalage in the Ottoman Empire continued with the unification of both principalities. On 3 February [O.S. 22 January] 1862, Moldavia and Wallachia formally united to create the Romanian United Principalities or Romania the core of the Romanian nation state.
24/01/1857
The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia.
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (CU), is a public state research university located in Kolkata, also known as Calcutta, in West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate colleges and 16 institutes in Kolkata and nearby areas. It was established on 24 January 1857 and is the oldest multidisciplinary university of the Indian Subcontinent and the Southeast Asian Region. Today, the university's jurisdiction is limited to a few districts of West Bengal, but at the time of its establishment, it had a catchment area ranging from Kabul to Myanmar. It is accredited as an "A" grade university by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
24/01/1848
California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento.
The California gold rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush in California, which began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people from the rest of the United States and abroad to California, which had recently been conquered from Mexico. The sudden influx of gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy; the sudden population increase allowed California to grow rapidly into statehood in the Compromise of 1850. The gold rush had severe effects on Native Californians and accelerated the Native American population's decline from factors including disease, starvation, and according to certain sources, acts of unprovoked aggression.
24/01/1835
Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
Salvador is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine, music, and architecture. The African influence in many cultural aspects of the city makes it a center of Afro-Brazilian culture. As the first capital of Colonial Brazil, the city is one of the oldest in the Americas. Its foundation in 1549 by Tomé de Sousa took place on account of the implementation of the General Government of Brazil by the Portuguese Empire.
24/01/1817
Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the action of Picheuta.
The Crossing of the Andes was one of the most important feats in the Argentine and Chilean wars of independence. A combined army of Argentine soldiers and Chilean exiles crossed the Andes mountains, which separate Argentina from Chile, to invade Chile, leading to its liberation from Spanish rule.
24/01/1758
During the Seven Years' War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a global war fought by numerous great powers, primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and the Indian subcontinent. The warring states were Great Britain and Prussia fighting against France and Austria, with other countries joining these coalitions: Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Russia, plus Saxony and many other minor states of the Holy Roman Empire. Related conflicts include the Third Silesian War, French and Indian War, Third Carnatic War, Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763), and Spanish–Portuguese War. Winston Churchill later famously referred to the conflict as the "First World War" due to its truly global scale, with major campaigns spanning five continents.
24/01/1742
Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
Charles VII was elector of Bavaria from 26 February 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 to his death. He was also King of Bohemia from 1741 to 1743. Charles was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and his reign as Holy Roman Emperor thus marked the end of three centuries of uninterrupted Habsburg imperial rule, although he was related to the Habsburgs by both blood and marriage.
24/01/1679
King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
24/01/1651
Arauco War: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet in the Parliament of Boroa renewing the fragile peace established at the parliaments of Quillín in 1641 and 1647.
The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía region of Chile. The conflict began at first as a reaction by the Mapuche to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force the natives into servitude. It subsequently evolved over time into phases comprising drawn-out sieges, slave-hunting expeditions, pillaging raids, punitive expeditions, and renewed Spanish attempts to secure lost territories. Abduction of women and war rape was common on both sides.
24/01/1536
King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.
Henry VIII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 22 April 1509, and King of Ireland from 18 June 1542, until his death in 1547.
24/01/1458
Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary.
Matthias Corvinus was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and adopted the title Duke of Austria in 1487. He was the son of John Hunyadi, Regent of Hungary, who died in 1456. In 1457, Matthias was imprisoned along with his older brother, Ladislaus Hunyadi, on the orders of King Ladislaus the Posthumous. Ladislaus Hunyadi was executed, causing a rebellion that forced King Ladislaus to flee Hungary. After the King died unexpectedly, Matthias's uncle Michael Szilágyi persuaded the Estates to unanimously proclaim the 14-year-old Matthias as king on 24 January 1458. He began his rule under his uncle's guardianship, but he took effective control of government within two weeks.
24/01/1438
The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.
The Council of Florence was the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the Holy Roman Empire. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council after a gap of about two centuries. It was convoked in Basel as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in the context of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. At stake was the greater conflict between the conciliar movement and the principle of papal supremacy.
24/01/0914
Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
The first Fatimid invasion of Egypt occurred in 914–915, soon after the establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya in 909. The Fatimids launched an expedition east, against the Abbasid Caliphate, under the Berber General Habasa ibn Yusuf. Habasa succeeded in subduing the cities on the Cyrenaican coast between Ifriqiya and Egypt, and captured Alexandria. The Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, then arrived to take over the campaign. Attempts to conquer the Egyptian capital, Fustat, were beaten back by the Abbasid troops in the province. A risky affair even at the outset, the arrival of Abbasid reinforcements from Syria and Iraq under Mu'nis al-Muzaffar doomed the invasion to failure, and al-Qa'im and the remnants of his army abandoned Alexandria and returned to Ifriqiya in May 915. The failure did not prevent the Fatimids from launching another unsuccessful attempt to capture Egypt four years later. It was not until 969 that the Fatimids conquered Egypt and made it the centre of their empire.
24/01/0041
Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
AD 41 (XLI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of C. Caesar Augustus Germanicus and Cn. Sentius Saturninus. The denomination AD 41 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.