Events 1760 - Afghans defeat Marathas in Battle of Barari Ghat. 1768 - Philip Astley stages the first modern circus (London). 1788 - Connecticut becomes the fifth state to join the United States. 1793 - Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first to fly in a balloon in the United States. 1806 - Lord Horatio Nelson is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral. 1839 - The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process. 1861 - Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union, preceding the American Civil War. 1878 - Humbert I becomes King of Italy. 1894 - New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts. 1912 - Marines invade Honduras. 1923 - Juan de la Cierva makes first autogiro flight. 1929 - The Seeing Eye is established with the mission to train dogs to assist the blind (Nashville, Tennessee). 1937 - The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States. 1945 - The United States invades Luzon in the Philippines. 1951 - United Nations headquarters officially opens in New York City. 1956 - First "Dear Abby" column appears in newspapers. 1960 - Construction of the Aswan Dam begins in Egypt. 1972 - RMS Queen Elizabeth is destroyed by fire (Hong Kong harbor). 1977 - Super Bowl XI: Oakland Raiders defeat Minnesota Vikings, 32-14. 1984 - Clara Peller is featured in the "Where's the Beef?" commercial campaign for Wendy's Restaurants for the first time. 1986 - After losing a patent battle with Polaroid, Kodak leaves the instant camera business. 1989 - The Sega Genesis is released in New York, New York and Los Angeles, California. 1991 - The Soviets storm Vilnius to stop Lithuanian independence. 1995 - Valeri Poliakov completes 366 days in space while aboard the Mir space station, breaking a duration record. 1997 - A Comair Embraer 120 crashes during approach into Detroit Metro. Airport killing 29 1996 - Sun Microsystems announced the formation of JavaSoft. 2002 - The United States Department of Justice announces it is going to pursue a criminal investigation of Enron. Births 1554 - Gregory XV, Pope († 1623) 1574 - Christoph Buel, composer 1620 - Johann Weichmann, composer 1685 - Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist († 1766) 1695 - John E Loovens, lawyer 1699 - Robert J Pothier, French lawyer 1728 - Thomas Warton, poet laureate of England († 1790) 1748 - Stefan Paluselli, composer 1790 - Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet 1811 - Gilbert Abbott a Beckett, English writer († 1856) 1815 - William Jackson, composer 1820 - Pavel Krizkovsky, composer 1829 - Thomas William Robertson, English playwright 1829 - Adolf von Schlagintweit, German explorer 1839 - John Knowles Paine, composer 1843 - Christiaan A Ulder, composer 1851 - Giuseppi Gallignani, composer 1851 - Luis Coloma, Spanish Jesuit writer, theologian 1854 - Jennie Jerome, American society beauty († 1921) 1856 - Anton Askerc, priest, poet 1856 - Lizette Woodworth Reese, poet 1856 - Stevan Mokranjac, composer 1857 - Henry B. Fuller, writer 1859 - Carrie Lane Chapman Catt, women's rights leader, founder of the League of Women Voters 1859 - Frederik Pijper, Dutch vicar, church historian 1864 - Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician († 1926) 1866 - Albert Baertsoen, Flemish painter, etcher 1867 - Jacques Urlus, Dutch opera singer 1868 - S. P. L. Sørensen, Danish chemist († 1939) 1870 - Joseph B Strauss, civil engineer, builder of the Golden Gate Bridge 1873 - Hayyim Nahman Bialik, Hebrew poet, translator 1875 - Gertrude Whitney, sculptor († 1942) 1876 - Hans Bethge, writer 1879 - John Broadus Watson, behaviorist psychologist († 1958) 1881 - Lascelles Abercrombie, British poet, critic († 1938) 1881 - Giovanni Papini, Italian, writer 1890 - Karel Capek, Czech writer († 1938) 1890 - Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist, writer, satirist, social critic († 1935) 1891 - August Gailit, Estonian, writer 1892 - Eva Bowring, American politician († 1985) 1894 - Henryk Stazewski, Polish abstract painter, graphic artist 1897 - Luis Gianneo, composer 1898 - Gracie Fields, English music hall/vaudeville performer († 1979) 1899 - Alexander Tcherepnin, composer 1900 - Joseph Frederick Wagner, composer 1901 - Chic Young, cartoonist (Blondie) († 1973) 1902 - Rudolph Bing, opera manager (New York Metropolitan Opera) 1902 - Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish religious author († 1975) 1904 - George Balanchine, dancer, choreographer, ballet producer († 1983) (O.S.) 1908 - Simone de Beauvoir, French author († 1986) 1911 - Richard Selwyn Francis Schiling, professor of occupational health 1911 - Stafford William Somerfield, British newspaper editor 1912 - Ralph Tubbs, architect 1913 - Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States († 1994) 1913 - Lavad 'Dr Hepcat' Durst, musician 1913 - Peter John Norton, diplomat, artist 1914 - Kenny (Klook) Clarke, jazz drummer, composer 1914? - Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque actress († 1970) 1915 - Fernando Lamas, actor († 1982) 1915 - Les Paul, guitarist, inventor 1916 - Vic Mizzy, orchestra leader 1917 - Herbert Lom, actor 1921 - Seymour Barab, composer 1921 - Patricia Highsmith, Americann novelist († 1995) 1922 - Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea 1922 - Har Gobind Khorana, biochemist (1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) 1924 - Julián B Coco, guitarist, bassist 1925 - Lee Van Cleef, actor († 1989) 1925 - Abdelhamid Benhadugah, novelist 1928 - Judith Krantz, author 1928 - Domenico Modugno, musician 1929 - Heiner Muller, dramatist († 1995) 1929 - Dorothea Puente, American serial killer 1931 - Algis Budrys, science fiction author 1931 - Geoffrey Wragg, British reorganizer 1933 - Sonia Garmers, author 1934 - Bart Starr, American football star 1935 - Bob Denver, actor 1935 - Dick Enberg, sportscaster 1935 - Kenneth 'Buddy' Scott, blues guitarist, singer 1936 - Peter Fletcher, music teacher 1937 - K Schlesinger, writer 1937 - Judith Krantz, author 1938 - Aad Kosto, theologian, actor, assistant Secretary of Justice of the Netherlands 1940 - Jimmy Boyd, actor, singer 1940 - Barbara Buczek, composer († 1993) 1940 - Ruth Dreifuss, Swiss politician 1941 - Joan Baez, American folk music singer, activist 1941 - Susannah York, British actress 1943 - Dick Yount, rock musician 1943 - Kenneth Kelley, American singer 1943 - Rob Hoeke, pianist, singer 1944 - Scott Engel, singer 1944 - Jimmy Page, rock musician, guitarist ("Led Zeppelin") 1945 - Frank J. Biondi Jr, president of HBO 1945 - Harun Farocki, actor, director 1946 - Leo Gullotta, actor 1948 - Paul King, musician (Blue Oyster Cult) 1950 - David Johansen (Buster Poindexter),singer 1950 - Rio Reiser, German singer († 1996) 1951 - Crystal Gayle, country music singer 1951 - Rosalyn Kind, , singer 1952 - Eveline L Herfkens, Dutch MP (PvdA) 1952 - Hugh Bayley, British politician 1954 - Lance Hoppens, musician 1956 - David Smith, cricket player 1956 - Kimberly Beck, American actress 1958 - Mehmet Ali Agca, attempted assassin of Pope John Paul II 1959 - Cristi Minculescu, Romanian musician 1959 - Rigoberta Menchú - Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1962 - Phil Lewis, musician 1965 - Carin Garbarra, football player 1965 - Cindy Brooks, rower 1965 - Joely Richardson, actress 1967 - Dave Matthews, singer, musician 1968 - Jimmy Adams, cricket player 1974 - Craig Wishart, cricketer 1978 - AJ McLean, singer ("Backstreet Boys") 1982 - Paolo Ferracin 2002 - Morgan Kay Beamer, daughter of Todd Beamer, who died on United Airlines flight 93 Deaths 1283 - Wu Tian Xiang Chinese patriot, executed in Beijing. 1324 - Marco Polo, explorer 1499 - Johan Cicero, elector of Brandenburg 1571 - Nicolas Durand de Villegagnon, French naval officer 1677 - Aernout van der Neer, cartoonist, landscape painter 1679 - Werner Fabricius, composer 1766 - Thomas Birch, British historian 1798 - Pedro Pablo Abarca d Bolea, Spanish officer 1799 - Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian scientist 1800 - Jean Étienne Championnet, French general 1828 - Pieter Hoen, Dutch journalist, patriot 1843 - Caroline Herschel, astronomer 1849 - Jan Kops, agriculturist, vicar 1853 - Juan N Gallego, Spanish poet, interpreter 1854 - Filippo Traetta, composer 1863 - Ferdinand Huber, composer 1873 - Emperor Napoleon III of France 1876 - Samuel Gridley Howe, American abolitionist 1878 - King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy 1879 - Don Joaquin BF Espartero, Field Marshal, viceroy of Navarre 1886 - Jakob Eduard Schmolzer, composer 1893 - Mohara, slave trader 1901 - Richard Copley Christie, English scholar 1902 - Gustaaf Rolin-Jaequemyns, lawyer, Interior Minister of Belgium 1904 - Alfred Richard, cricketer 1908 - Abraham Goldfaden, Yiddish stage performer 1908 - Wilhelm Busch, German painter 1911 - Edwin Arthur Jones, composer 1918 - Émile Reynaud, French scientist 1923 - Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand writer 1927 - Houston S Chamberlain, race theorist 1929 - Heiner Müller, writer 1930 - Edward W Buck, editor (Ladies Home Journal) 1931 - Claude Anet, French writer 1936 - John Gilbert, actor 1939 - Johann Strauss III, conductor 1941 - Ko Boezeman, Dutch resistance fighter 1943 - Robin Collingwood, philosopher 1946 - Countee Cullen, poet 1947 - Karl Mannheim, German sociologist 1947 - Lambertus Zijl, sculptor 1949 - Amilcare Zanella, composer 1953 - Hans Aanrud, Norwegian author (Storken) 1957 - Mary Carr Moore, composer 1958 - Paul Fechter, German writer, historian 1959 - Paul Malengreau, composer 1961 - Emily Green Balch, American author, Nobel laureate 1962 - LeRoy B Shield, pianist, composer 1966 - Haro Levoni Step'anyan, composer 1968 - Louis-François-Marie Aubert, composer 1969 - Ladislav Vycpalek, composer 1972 - Ted Shawn, dancer 1975 - John Slater, actor 1975 - Pierre Fresnay, actor 1977 - Alexey Kozlovsky, composer 1978 - Eddie Gilbert, cricketer 1979 - Avery Claflin, composer 1979 - Sara Carter, singer, guitarist 1981 - Kazimierz Serocki, composer 1984 - Wolfgang Staudte, director 1985 - Don Brennan, cricketer 1985 - Robert Mayer, British businessman, philantropist 1992 - Steve Brodie, actor 1992 - William JF Naughton, playwright 1993 - Svetoslav Roerich, Russian painter 1994 - Silas Hogan, blues singer, guitarist, 1995 - Peter Cook, actor. satirist, writer, comedian 1995 - Souphanouvong, President of Laos 1996 - Mary Nadia Wadia, actress 1996 - Kurt Schmucker, Minister of Economy of Germany 1996 - Michael Lynn Synar, politician 1997 - Edward Osobka-Morawski, Prime Minister of Poland 1997 - Jesse White, actor 1997 - Junaidu ibn Buhari, scholar 1998 - Kenichi Fukui, Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1981) 2000 - Nigel Tranter, historian and author 2003 - Wilfried Hasselmann, German politician Holidays and observances 1788 - Ratification Day in Connecticut 1964 - Memorial day of Patriotic Panamanians for the Panama Canal (Martyrs' Day/Dia de los Martires) Roman Catholic - Feast of St Adrian Eastern Orthodox - Feast of Saint Theophan the Recluse See Also: January 8 - January 10 - December 9 - February 9 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
January 8 - January 10 - December 9 - February 9 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December