Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia, was executed by the Saudi government along with 46 other people.
Sri Lankan civil war: The Sri Lankan army captured the town of Kilinochchi from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, concluding the Battle of Kilinochchi.
The Stardust space probe flew by the comet Wild 2 and collected particle samples from its coma, which were later returned to Earth.
Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as the mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first African-American woman to hold the position.
An extratropical cyclone began affecting parts of western Europe, resulting in coastal flooding around the southern portions of the North Sea and leading to at least 82 deaths.
Ronald Reagan began his career in government when he was sworn in as the 33rd governor of California.
Vietnam War: The Viet Cong won its first major victory at the Battle of Ap Bac.
The Soviet Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon, was launched by a Vostok rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
World War II: United States and Australian forces successfully landed in Papua New Guinea in an attempt to cut off a Japanese retreat.
Second World War: Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, was severely damaged by German bombing during the Cardiff Blitz.
Under the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer (pictured), U.S. Department of Justice agents launched a series of raids against radical leftists and anarchists in more than 30 cities and towns across 23 states.
Uruguayan War: Brazilian and Colorado Party forces captured the city of Paysandú from its Uruguayan defenders.
French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier (pictured) announced the putative discovery of the planet Vulcan at a meeting at the French Academy of Sciences in Paris.
American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.
Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram of Java and his courtiers stabbed Trunajaya to death a week after the rebel leader surrendered to VOC forces.
Mercurius, a Roman priest, was elected Pope John II; he was apparently the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.
Two aircraft collide on a runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, killing 5 and injuring 18.
Massive nationwide protests and unrest break out in Kazakhstan over the sudden increase of liquefied petroleum gas prices, leading to 238 people dead and thousands injured by January 11.
Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.
Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35–100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.
Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.
Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782 crashes near Seferihisar, Turkey, killing 16 people.
One of the largest investigations by a British police force ends when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
On the orders of the President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, paramilitary forces opened fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan, Pakistan; it is known as 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills.
The Gale of January 1976 begins, resulting in coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts, affecting countries from Ireland to Yugoslavia and causing at least 82 deaths and US$1.3 billion in damage.
At the opening of a new railway line, a bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.
The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress.
United States President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 mph in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football match.
Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.
Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.
Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
Following the assassination of the Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera, his deputy, José Ramón Guizado, takes power, but is quickly deposed after his involvement in Cantera's death is discovered.
India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.
Luis Muñoz Marín is inaugurated as the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) obtains the conviction of 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history; Also known as the Duquesne Spy Ring.
World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces, enabling them to control the Philippines.
World War II: The Cardiff Blitz severely damages the cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.
World premiere of the science fiction play R.U.R. by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in a theater in Hradec Králové.
The second Palmer Raid, ordered by the US Department of Justice, results in 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists being arrested and held without trial.
American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
Chicago Canal opens.
Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as the Brazilians and Coloradans capture Paysandú, Uruguay.
American Civil War: The three-day Battle of Stones River ends in a Union victory when the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg are repulsed for the final time by the Army of the Cumberland under General William S. Rosecrans.
The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded by a group of six engineers; Thomas Telford would later become its first president.
Northwest Indian War: The Big Bottom massacre is committed by Lenape and Wyandot warriors in the Ohio Country, North America.
Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of General George Washington repulse a British attack led by General Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.
Empress Maria Theresa of Austria amends the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana to include the abolition of torture throughout the Habsburg-ruled countries of Austria and Bohemia.
Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram and his bodyguards execute the rebel leader Trunajaya.
Reconquista: The Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.
Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.
The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire.
The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.
Claudio Echeverri, Argentine footballer
Cole Caufield, American ice hockey player
Luiz Henrique, Brazilian footballer
Spencer Arrighetti, American baseball player
Georgios Kalaitzakis, Greek basketball player
Fernando Tatís Jr., Dominican baseball player
Tfue, American online streamer
Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Dutch footballer
Carlos Soler, Spanish footballer
Jonah Bolden, Australian-American basketball player
Ronald Darby, American football player
Bryson Tiller, American singer and rapper
Paulo Gazzaniga, Argentine footballer
Alexey Marchenko, Russian ice hockey player
Teemu Pulkkinen, Finnish ice hockey player
Korbin Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
Ben Hardy, English actor
Germán Cano, Argentine footballer
Luke Harangody, American basketball player
Damien Tussac, French-German rugby player
Shelley Hennig, American actress and model
Robert Milsom, English footballer
Loïc Rémy, French footballer
Kate Bosworth, American actress
Anthony Carrigan, American actor
Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player
Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
David Gyasi, British actor
Jonathan Greening, English footballer
Brian Boucher, American ice hockey player and sportscaster
Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player
Paz Vega, Spanish actress
Dax Shepard, American actor
Jeff Suppan, American baseball player
Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby player
Ludmila Formanová, Czech runner
Juha Lind, Finnish ice hockey player
Tomáš Řepka, Czech footballer
Rodney MacDonald, Canadian educator and politician, 26th Premier of Nova Scotia
Shiraz Minwalla, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist
Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
Taye Diggs, American actor and singer
Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress
Eric Whitacre, American composer and conductor
István Bagyula, Hungarian pole vaulter
William Fox-Pitt, English horse rider and journalist
Róbert Švehla, Slovak ice hockey player
Christy Turlington, American model
Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer
Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion
Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
Tia Carrere, American actress
Jón Gnarr, Icelandic actor and politician; 20th Mayor of Reykjavík
Chris Welp, German-American basketball player (died 2015)
Pernell Whitaker, American boxer (died 2019)
David Cone, American baseball player and sportscaster
Edgar Martínez, American baseball player
Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
Paula Hamilton, English model
Todd Haynes, American film director, screenwriter, and producer
Craig James, American football player and sportscaster
Robert Wexler, American lawyer and politician
Henry Bonilla, American broadcaster and politician
Évelyne Trouillot, Haitian playwright and author
Indulis Emsis, Latvian biologist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Latvia
Wendy Phillips, American actress
Christopher Durang, American playwright and screenwriter (died 2024)
Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and academic (died 2006)
Judith Miller, American journalist
Deborah Watling, English actress (died 2017)
Jack Hanna, American zoologist and author
Calvin Hill, American football player
David Shapiro, American poet, historian, and critic (died 2024)
Charlie Davis, Trinidadian cricketer
Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor (died 2024)
Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian field marshal and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (died 2021)
Mohamed Ali Yusuf, Somali politician (died 2024)
Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer (died 2004)
Thomas Hammarberg, Swedish lawyer and diplomat
Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Jim Bakker, American televangelist
Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2015)
David Bailey, English photographer and painter
Lynn Conway, American computer scientist and electrical engineer (died 2024)
Robert Smithson, American sculptor and photographer (died 1973)
Roger Miller, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (died 1992)
John Hollowbread, English footballer, goalkeeper (died 2007)
Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese lawyer and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Japan (died 2022)
Charles Beaumont, screenwriter and American author of speculative fiction (died 1967)
Tellervo Koivisto, Finnish politician, former First Lady of Finland
Dan Rostenkowski, American politician (died 2010)
Gino Marchetti, American football player (died 2019)
Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2007)
Bob Feerick, American basketball player and coach (died 1976)
Ernest Bender, American Indologist (died 1996)
Beatrice Hicks, American engineer (died 1979)
Willi Graf, German physician and activist (died 1943)
Vera Zorina, German-Norwegian actress and dancer (died 2003)
Juanita Jackson Mitchell, American lawyer and activist (died 1992)
Anna Lee, English-American actress (died 2004)
Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (died 2009)
Barry Goldwater, American politician, businessman, and author (died 1998)
Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (died 1998)
Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1991)
Walter Heitler, German physicist and chemist (died 1981)
Kane Tanaka, Japanese Supercentenarian, Oldest Japanese person ever, Second oldest verified person in world history (died 2022)
Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (died 2007)
Bob Marshall, American activist, co-founded The Wilderness Society (died 1939)
Una Ledingham, British physician, known for research on diabetes in pregnancy (died 1965)
Theodore Plucknett, English legal historian (died 1965)
Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (died 1954)
Lawrence Wackett, Australian commander and engineer (died 1982)
Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (died 1948)
Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (died 1962)
Giovanni Michelucci, Italian architect and urban planner, designed the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station (died 1990)
Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (died 1973)
Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English explorer and author (died 1959)
Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1918)
Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli historian and politician, 4th Israeli Minister of Education (died 1973)
Jaakko Mäki, Finnish politician (died 1938)
Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, Indian activist, founded the Nair Service Society (died 1970)
Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer and theorist (died 1960)
Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (died 1897)
Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and playwright (died 1938)
Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and businessman (died 1929)
Gilbert Murray, Australian-English playwright and scholar (died 1957)
Dugald Campbell Patterson, Canadian engineer (died 1931)
William Corless Mills, American historian and curator (died 1928)
M. Carey Thomas, American educator and activist (died 1935)
Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist and composer (died 1910)
Mendele Mocher Sforim, Russian author (died 1917)
Queen Emma of Hawaii (died 1885)
Frederick A. Johnson, American banker and politician (died 1893)
Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Russian geographer and statistician (died 1914)
Rudolf Clausius, Polish-German physicist and mathematician (died 1888)
Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja, Italian mathematician and academic (died 1869)
Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor and educator (died 1857)
František Brixi, Czech organist and composer (died 1771)
James Wolfe, English general (died 1759)
Marie Dumesnil, French actress (died 1803)
Osman III, Ottoman sultan (died 1757)
Nathaniel Bacon, English-American rebel leader (died 1676)
Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (died 1693)
Henry of Stolberg, German nobleman (died 1572)
Piero di Cosimo, Italian painter (died 1522)
Yōzei, Japanese emperor (died 949)
Ágnes Keleti, Hungarian Olympic gymnast (born 1921)
Daryl Dragon, American musician (born 1942)
Julia Grant, British transgender activist (born 1954)
Bob Einstein, American actor and comedian (born 1942)
Gene Okerlund, American wrestling announcer (born 1942)
Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (born 1950)
Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1927)
Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (born 1933)
John Berger, English art critic, novelist and painter (born 1926)
Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian lawyer and politician (born 1924)
Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (born 1935)
Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (born 1959)
Gisela Mota Ocampo, mayor of Temixco, Morelos, Mexico, assassinated (born 1982)
Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (born 1929)
Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (born 1924)
Elizabeth Jane Howard, English author and screenwriter (born 1923)
Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American historian, author, and academic (born 1920)
Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (born 1944)
Gordon Hirabayashi, American-Canadian sociologist and academic (born 1918)
Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (born 1953)
William P. Carey, American businessman and philanthropist, founded W. P. Carey (born 1930)
Anne Francis, American actress (born 1930)
Bali Ram Bhagat, Indian politician; 16th Governor of Rajasthan (born 1922)
Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (born 1946)
David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (born 1958)
Inger Christensen, Danish poet and author (born 1935)
George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish journalist and author (born 1925)
Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician, Governor of Wisconsin (born 1926)
A. Richard Newton, Australian-American engineer and academic (born 1951)
Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian and author (born 1941)
Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (born 1911)
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Filipino lawyer and jurist (born 1913)
Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (born 1914)
Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist and physician (born 1911)
William P. Rogers, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (born 1913)
Elmo Zumwalt, American admiral (born 1920)
Patrick O'Brian, English author and translator (born 1914)
Rolf Liebermann, Swiss-French composer and manager (born 1910)
Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (born 1907)
Aaron Wiggins, American professional basketball player
Nancy Kelly, American actress (born 1921)
Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (born 1919)
Dixy Lee Ray, American biologist and politician; 17th Governor of Washington (born 1914)
Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, French lawyer and businessman (born 1915)
Alan Hale Jr., American film and television actor (born 1921)
Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence (born 1910)
Safdar Hashmi, Indian actor, director, and playwright (born 1954)
Harekrushna Mahatab, Indian journalist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Odisha (born 1899)
Una Merkel, American actress (born 1903)
Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (born 1921)
Siraj Sikder, Bangladesh revolutionary leader (born 1944)
Tex Ritter, American actor (born 1905)
Dick Powell, American actor, singer, and director (born 1904)
Jack Carson, Canadian-American actor (born 1910)
Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (born 1907)
Guccio Gucci, Italian businessman and fashion designer, founder of Gucci (born 1881)
William Campion, English colonel and politician, 21st Governor of Western Australia (born 1870)
Edith New, English militant suffragette (born 1877)
James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (born 1877)
Joe Darling, Australian cricketer and politician (born 1870)
Mischa Levitzki, Russian-American pianist and composer (born 1898)
Roman Dmowski, Polish politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1864)
Sabine Baring-Gould, English author and scholar (born 1834)
Paul Adam, French author (born 1862)
Léon Flameng, French cyclist (born 1877)
Karl Goldmark, Hungarian violinist and composer (born 1830)
Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (born 1855)
James Longstreet, American general and diplomat (born 1821)
George Biddell Airy, English mathematician and astronomer (born 1801)
Frederick William IV of Prussia (born 1795)
Manuel de la Peña y Peña, Mexican lawyer and 20th President (1847) (born 1789)
Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, French chemist and politician (born 1793)
John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English statesman (born 1690)
Domenico Zipoli, Italian organist and composer (born 1688)
Luisa Carvajal y Mendoza, Spanish mystical poet and Catholic martyr (born 1566)
Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (born 1539)
Morris Kyffin, Welsh soldier and writer (born c.1555)
Pontormo, Italian painter and educator (born 1494)
Francesco Canova da Milano, Italian composer (born 1497)
William Smyth, English bishop and academic (born 1460)
Svante Nilsson, Sweden politician (born 1460)
Heinrich Reuß von Plauen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
Lodomer, Hungarian prelate, Archbishop of Esztergom
Theodora Komnene, Duchess of Austria, daughter of Andronikos Komnenos
Bertrand de Blanchefort, sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar (born c. 1109)
William de St-Calais, Bishop of Durham and chief counsellor of William II of England
Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of the Later Han (born 931)
Su Fengji, Chinese official and chancellor
Ancestry Day (Haiti)
Berchtold's Day (Switzerland)
Christian feast day: Basil the Great (Catholic Church and Church of England)
Christian feast day: Gregory of Nazianzus (Catholic Church)
Christian feast day: Macarius of Alexandria
Christian feast day: Seraphim of Sarov (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Christian feast day: Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (Episcopal Church)
Christian feast day: January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
The Day after New Years Day is a Public Holiday in New Zealand
Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town, South Africa)
The first day of Blacks and Whites' Carnival, celebrated until January 7 (Colombia)
The ninth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
The Second of January is a Bank Holiday in Scotland