Sembawang Hot Spring Park in Singapore reopened after being redeveloped by the National Parks Board.
A passenger train collided with a truck and derailed in the Free State, South Africa, killing 21 people and injuring 254 others.
The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure, officially opened in Dubai.
Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.
Spirit (artist's impression depicted), the first of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission, successfully landed on Mars.
Two American F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers that appeared to be attempting to engage them over the Gulf of Sidra.
The English punk-rock band Sex Pistols' lewd and disruptive behaviour at Heathrow Airport prompted the record label EMI to end their contract.
Last of the Summer Wine, the longest-running sitcom in the world, premiered as an episode of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse.
Rose Heilbron (pictured) became the first female judge to sit at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.
A magnitude-7.1 earthquake occurred in Tonghai County, China, killing at least 15,000 people.
Korean War: Chinese and North Korean troops captured Seoul from United Nations forces.
Billboard published its first music hit parade.
British explorer Aeneas Mackintosh (pictured), a member of the Nimrod Expedition, escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
Solomon Northup (pictured) regained his freedom after having been sold into slavery in the American South; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later became a bestseller.
After his appointment as Prince of Wallachia, Constantine Hangerli arrived in Bucharest to assume the throne.
Most of London's Palace of Whitehall, the main residence of English monarchs since 1530, was destroyed by fire.
A fire in an escape room in Koszalin, Poland, kills five teenagers through carbon monoxide poisoning.
Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash: A passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collides with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Twenty people are killed and 260 injured.
A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.
The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai.
A Let L-410 Turbolet crashes in the Los Roques Archipelago in Venezuela, killing 14 people.
The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
A Norwegian passenger train departing from Trondheim, collides with a local train coming from Hamar in Åsta in Åmot Municipality; 19 people are killed and 68 injured in the accident.
Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States.
A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
In Pakistan's deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
Second Gulf of Sidra incident: A pair of Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
The Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, United States, killing 16 people.
The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen would shoot dead ten Protestant civilians nearby in retaliation.
This date overflowed the 12-bit field that had been used in TOPS-10. There were numerous problems and crashes related to this bug while an alternative format was developed.
Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK.
Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 crashes on approach to Alma-Ata Airport, killing 64 people.
Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.
The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time.
Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming an independent republic.
The first day of a three-day "disastrous" tornado outbreak across the south-central United States leaves 41 people dead and at least 412 others injured.
World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.
The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by royal charter.
Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.
Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.
Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule.
The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.
The first issue of the Swedish-languaged Saima newspaper founded by J. V. Snellman is published in Kuopio, Finland.
Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
Great Britain declares war on Spain, which meant the entry of Spain into the Seven Years' War.
The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance.
English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
English Civil War: King Charles I, accompanied by 400 soldiers, attempts to arrest five members of Parliament for treason, only to discover the men had been tipped off and fled.
Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
Marc Guiu, Spanish footballer
Dafne Keen, British-Spanish actress
Rob Dillingham, American basketball player
Victor Wembanyama, French basketball player
Jaeden Martell, American actor
Odilon Kossounou, Ivorian footballer
Lola Young, English singer and songwriter
Max Aarons, English footballer
Daniel Arzani, Iranian-Australian footballer
Nico Hischier, Swiss ice hockey player
Jaeman Salmon, Australian rugby league player
Collin Sexton, American basketball player
Coco Jones, American singer-songwriter and actress
Arnoldas Kulboka, Lithuanian basketball player
Rodrigo Garro, Argentine footballer
Liza Soberano, Filipina actress
Angeliño, Spanish footballer
Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player
Michael Dickson, Australian gridiron football player
Jackson Hastings, Australian rugby league player
Marcus Ingvartsen, Danish footballer
Jasmine Paolini, Italian tennis player
Sarah Nurse, Canadian ice hockey player
Adam Webster, English footballer
Derrick Henry, American football player
James Michael McAdoo, American basketball player
Mahmoud Metwalli, Egyptian footballer
Kris Bryant, American baseball player
Quincy Promes, Dutch footballer
Charles Melton, American actor
Iago Falque, Spanish footballer
Raisel Iglesias, Cuban baseball player
Toni Kroos, German footballer
Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer
Kevin Pillar, American baseball player
Graham Rahal, American race car driver
Anestis Argyriou, Greek footballer
Maximilian Riedmüller, German footballer
Marissa Coleman, American basketball player
Przemysław Tytoń, Polish footballer
Danny Simpson, English footballer
Kay Voser, Swiss footballer
Younès Kaboul, French footballer
Andrei Krauchanka, Belarusian decathlete
Russell Martin, Scottish footballer and manager
James Milner, English footballer
Charlyne Yi, American actor, comedian, musician, and writer
Lenora Crichlow, British actress
Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Norwegian handball player
Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer
Al Jefferson, American basketball player
Jung Sung-ryong, South Korean footballer
Ross Turnbull, English footballer and coach
Jiří Hudler, Czech ice hockey player
Will Bynum, American basketball player
Richard Rankin, Scottish film, television and theatre actor
Richard Logan, English footballer
Danny Sullivan, Australian rugby league player
Kang Hye-jung, South Korean actress
D'Arcy Carden, American actress and comedian
Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
Justin Ontong, South African cricketer
Shergo Biran, German footballer
Tristan Gommendy, French racing driver
Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player
Ted Lilly, American baseball player
Shane Carwin, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
Paul Watson, English footballer
Danilo Hondo, German cyclist
Frank Høj, Danish cyclist
Shane Walker, Australian rugby league player
Colin Ward, Australian rugby league player
Josh Stamberg, American actor
Corie Blount, American basketball player
Kees van Wonderen, Dutch footballer and manager
Johnny Nelson, English boxer and sportscaster
David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist
David Wilson, Australian rugby player
Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Guy Forget, French tennis player
Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director
Julia Ormond, English actress and producer
Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player
Dot-Marie Jones, American actress and athlete
Adrian Shelford, New Zealand rugby league player (died 2003)
Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer
Till Lindemann, German singer, songwriter, and poet
Martina Proeber, German diver
Joe Kleine, American basketball player and coach
Sidney Green, American basketball player and coach
Cliff Levingston, American basketball player and coach
Graham McTavish, Scottish actor and author
Gavin Miller, Australian rugby league player
Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer
Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor
Julian Sands, English actor (died 2023)
Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Tom Borton, American jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer (died 2011)
Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician
Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist
Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Rob Kerin, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of South Australia
Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon
Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer
Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (died 2013)
Mick Mills, English footballer and manager
Bwanga Tshimen, Congolese footballer
Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (died 1992)
Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (died 2021)
Chris Cutler, English percussionist, lyricist and music theorist
Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic
Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (died 2003)
Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish actor, musician and comedian (died 2022)
Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Gary Stevens, Australian rugby league player
Alan Sutherland, New Zealand rugby player (died 2020)
Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author
Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator
Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician
Jim Downing, American race car driver and inventor
John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (died 2005)
Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (died 1999)
Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
Jim Norton, Irish stage, film and television actor
Eberhard Wagner, German academic, linguist and author
Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano (died 2023)
Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
Floyd Patterson, American boxer (died 2006)
Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia
Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter (died 2023)
Clint Hill, American Secret Service agent (died 2025)
William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia
Nora Iuga, Romanian poet, writer and translator
Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (died 1994)
Don Shula, American football player and coach (died 2020)
Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (died 2015)
Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (died 2013)
Barbara Rush, American actress (died 2024)
Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (died 2003)
Marianne Werner, German shot putter (died 2023)
William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (died 1996)
Rosalie Crutchley, British actress (died 1997)
Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (died 1989)
Robert Parrish, American actor and director (died 1995)
Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (died 2007)
Georg Elser, German carpenter and attempted assassin of Adolf Hitler (died 1945)
John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (died 1991)
C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (died 1989)
James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (died 1989)
Chen Cheng, Chinese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (died 1965)
Everett Dirksen, American politician (died 1969)
André Masson, French painter and illustrator (died 1987)
Leroy Grumman, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. (died 1982)
Edward Brooker, English-Australian sergeant and politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (died 1948)
M. Patanjali Sastri, Indian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of India (died 1963)
Guy Pène du Bois, American painter, critic, and educator (died 1958)
Max Eastman, American author and poet (died 1969)
Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch pathologist and academic (died 1961)
Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (died 1919)
A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (died 1957)
Augustus John, Welsh painter and illustrator (died 1961)
Gibson Gowland, English film actor (died 1951)
Marsden Hartley, American painter and poet (died 1943)
Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (died 1935)
Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and umpire (died 1960)
Clara Emilia Smitt, Swedish doctor and author (died 1928)
Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (died 1946)
Katsura Tarō, Japanese general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1913)
Carl Humann, German archaeologist, architect, and engineer (died 1896)
General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (died 1883)
George Tryon, English admiral (died 1893)
Isaac Pitman, English linguist and educator (died 1897)
Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (died 1852)
Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (died 1863)
Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, chemist (died 1816)
Karl Abraham Zedlitz, Prussian minister of education (died 1793)
Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (died 1774)
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (died 1736)
Hugh Boulter, English-Irish archbishop (died 1742)
Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (died 1742)
James Ussher, Irish archbishop and historian (died 1656)
Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (died 1538)
Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (died 1383)
Emperor Zhezong of China (died 1100)
Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (died680)
Glynis Johns, British actress and singer (born 1923)
David Soul, American-British actor and singer (born 1943)
Christian Oliver, German actor (born 1972)
Rosi Mittermaier, German alpine skier and Olympic champion (born 1950)
Tanya Roberts, American actress (born 1949)
Tom Long, Australian actor (born 1968)
Harold Brown, 14th United States Secretary of Defense (born 1927)
Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (born 1918)
Georges Prêtre, French orchestral and opera conductor (born 1924)
S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (born 1947)
Stephen W. Bosworth, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (born 1939)
Pino Daniele, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1955)
Anwar Shamim, Pakistani general (born 1931)
Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1951)
Eve Arnold, American photographer and journalist (born 1912)
Rod Robbie, English-Canadian architect, designed the Canadian Pavilion and Rogers Centre (born 1928)
Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (born 1937)
Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (born 1947)
Salmaan Taseer, Pakistani businessman and politician, 26th Governor of Punjab, Pakistan (born 1944)
Johan Ferrier, Surinamese educator and politician, 1st President of Suriname (born 1910)
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese engineer (born 1916)
Gert Jonke, Austrian poet, playwright, and author (born 1946)
Xavier Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist (born 1932)
Helen Hill, American director and producer (born 1970)
Marais Viljoen, South African politician, 5th State President of South Africa (born 1915)
Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (born 1912)
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emirati politician, 1st Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (born 1946)
Milton Himmelfarb, American sociographer, author, and academic (born 1918)
Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1924)
Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (born 1921)
Humphrey Carpenter, English radio host and author (born 1946)
Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (born 1919)
Brian Gibson, English director and screenwriter (born 1944)
Joan Aiken, English author (born 1924)
John Toland, American historian and author (born 1912)
Les Brown, American bandleader and composer (born 1912)
Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (born 1904)
Mae Questel, American actress (born 1908)
Harry Helmsley, American businessman (born 1909)
Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor and composer (born 1942)
Sol Tax, American anthropologist and academic (born 1907)
R. D. Burman, Indian film composer and music director (born 1939)
Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (born 1903)
Henry Bolte, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (born 1908)
Lily Laskine, French harp player (born 1893)
Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (born 1904)
Phil Lynott, Irish singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (born 1949)
Brian Horrocks, Indian-English general (born 1895)
Carlo Levi, Italian painter, author, and activist (born 1902)
Paul Chambers, American bassist and composer (born 1935)
Donald Campbell, English racing driver and world speed record holder (born 1921)
T. S. Eliot, American-English poet, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1888)
Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1887)
Albert Camus, French novelist, philosopher, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913)
Kaj Munk, Danish playwright and pastor (born 1898)
Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, Greek-Polish swimmer and water polo player (born 1911)
Marina Raskova, Russian pilot and navigator (born 1912)
Henri Bergson, French philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1859)
Art Acord, American actor and stuntman (born 1890)
Louise, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (born 1867)
Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Indian Muslim activist (born 1878)
Süleyman Nazif, Turkish poet and civil servant (born 1870)
Nellie Cashman, American nurse, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and gold prospector (born 1845)
Alfred Grünfeld, Austrian pianist and composer (born 1852)
Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (born 1843)
Georg von Hertling, German academic and politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (born 1843)
Clarence Dutton, American geologist and soldier (born 1841)
Léon Delagrange, French pilot and sculptor (born 1873)
Anna Winlock, American astronomer and academic (born 1857)
Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (born 1827)
Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (born 1821)
Antoine Labelle, Canadian priest (born 1833)
Antoine Chanzy, French general (born 1823)
John William Draper, English-American physician, chemist, and photographer (born 1811)
Anselm Feuerbach, German painter and educator (born 1829)
Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (born 1811)
Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1794)
Thomas Gregson, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (born 1798)
Roger Hanson, American general (born 1827)
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (born 1751)
Elizabeth Ann Seton, American nun and saint (born 1774)
Charlotte Lennox, English author and poet (born 1730)
Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher and theologian (born 1729)
Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect, designed École Militaire (born 1698)
Stephen Hales, English clergyman and physiologist (born 1677)
François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (born 1628)
Ferenc Nádasdy, Hungarian noble (born 1555)
Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (born 1539)
Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (born 1370)
Muzio Sforza, Italian condottiero (born 1369)
Nicholas Eymerich, Catalan theologian and inquisitor
Robert de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle, English peer (born 1288)
Sancho II of Portugal (born 1209)
Hasan al-Askari, eleventh of the Twelve Imams (probable; b. 846)
Æthelwulf, Saxon ealdorman
Christian feast day: Angela of Foligno
Christian feast day: Elizabeth Ann Seton
Christian feast day: Ferréol of Uzès
Christian feast day: Mavilus
Christian feast day: Pharaildis of Ghent
Christian feast day: Rigobert
Christian feast day: January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Western Christianity)
Independence Day (Myanmar), celebrates the independence of Myanmar from the United Kingdom in 1948.
Colonial Martyrs Repression Day (Angola)
Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Ogoni Day (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People)
Tokyo Dome Show: The annual Wrestle Kingdom event run by New Japan Pro-Wrestling
World Braille Day