Born On This Day:

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756
• Lewis Carroll, 1832
• Samuel Gompers, 1850
• Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1859
• Jerome Kern, 1885
• Harry Ruby, 1895
• Hyman Rickover, 1900
• William Randolph Hearst Jr., 1908
• Skitch Henderson, 1918
• Donna Reed, 1921
• Mordecai Richler, 1931
• Mohammad Al Fayed, 1933
• Edith Cresson, 1934
• Troy Donahue, 1937
• Mikhail Baryshnikov, 1948
• Briget Fonda, 1964

Died On This Day:

• John James Audubon, 1851
• Giuseppe Verdi, 1901
• Thomas Crapper, 1910
• Nellie Bly, 1922
• Benjamin Tillett, 1943
• Virgil Gus Grissom/Edward Higgins White/Roger Chaffee, 1967
• Mahalia Jackson, 1972
• Lilli Palmer, 1986
• Sir Thomas Sopwith, 1989
• Andre the Giant, 1993
• Claude Akins, 1994
• Hugh, Lord Scanlon, 2004
• Jack Paar, 2004
• President Suharto of Indonesia, 2008
• John Updike, 2009
• J. D. Salinger, 2010
• Pete Seeger, 2014

Today's Events:

• 1822 - Greek Independence formally proclaimed.
• 1865 - Treaty between Spain and Peru recognizes Peruvian Independence.
• 1870 - First Sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, founded at Indiana Asbury University (now De Pauw).
• 1880 - Patent granted to Thomas Alva Edison for the electric incandescent lamp.
• 1888 - National Geographic Society founded in Washington D.C.
• 1915 - Babe Ruth, playing for the Boston Red Sox, hits his first major league home run.
• 1945 - Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp; 5,000 Jewish prisoners freed.
• 1967 - Beatles sign nine-year contract with EMI Records.
• 1967 - First astronauts die in a spacecraft in a launch pad fire at Cape Kennedy, FL.
• 1973 - North Vietnam and USA sign cease-fire agreement at Paris ending first lost war in U.S. history.
• 1992 - Macy's files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• 1993 - Chad Rowan, known as Akebono, becomes first non-Japanese to become yokozuna-grand Sumo champ.
• 2013 - Second deadliest nightclub fire in history in Santa Maria, Brazil kills 233.

Feast Day of Saint:

• John Chrysostom

Non-Specific Holiday:

• YÜAN TAN. Chinese New Year's Day. Based on lunar calendar - starts sunset on day of 2nd New Moon.
• CHINESE LANTERN FESTIVAL 15th day of first month of lunar calendar marks end of Chinese New Year.
• TU BI-SHEBAT (Judaism) New Year for Trees, celebrated on 15th of lunar month Shebat.
• MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY 3rd Monday in January
• ADULTS DAY in Japan - second Monday in January - 'Seijin no hi'
• SNOW FESTIVAL - Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
• GANESHA CHATURTHI, Hindu Festival of the Elephant God
• VASANT PANCHAMI, Hindu Festival of Spring and of Saraswati, Goddess of Learning (end of January)
• PONGAL AND MAKARA SANKRANTI, mid-January, Harvest festival celebrated in Southern India and Singapore
• LAILAT AL MIRAJ Muslim Festival celebrating ascent of Muhammad into Heaven
• JAPANESE NEW YEAR - 3 day festival
• LOHRI, the Hindu Bonfire Festival, celebrated early January