Daily historical facts, events, famous birthdays, world history. Discover what happened today in history.
Day History: January-22

Famous Birthdays
1263- Ibn Taymiyyah -Syirian scholar and theologian (d. 1328)
1440- Ivan III of Russia -(d. 1505)
1552- Walter Raleigh -English poet, soldier, courtier, spy and explorer (d. 1618)
1553- Mōri Terumoto -Japanese warlord (d. 1625)
1561- Francis Bacon -English philosopher (d. 1626)
1570- Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington -English politician, founded the Cotton library (d. 1631)
1592- Pierre Gassendi -French mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (d. 1655)
1654- Richard Blackmore -English physician and poet (d. 1729)
1690- Nicolas Lancret -French painter (d. 1743)
1729- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing -German author and philosopher (d. 1781)
1733- Philip Carteret -English admiral (d. 1796)
1740- Noah Phelps -American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 1809)
1781- François Habeneck -French violinist and conductor (d. 1849)
1788- Lord Byron -English poet (d. 1824)
1796- Karl Ernst Claus -Russian chemist (d. 1864)
1797- Maria Leopoldina of Austria -(d. 1826)
1799- Ludger Duvernay -Canadian journalist, publisher, and politician (d. 1852)
1831- Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein -(d. 1917)
1831- Joseph Alfred Slade -American businessman (d. 1864)
1840- Ernest Roland Wilberforce -English bishop (d. 1907)
1849- August Strindberg -Swedish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1912)
1858- Beatrice Webb -English economist (d. 1943)
1869- José Vicente de Freitas -Portuguese colonel and politician, 97th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1952)
1869- Grigori Rasputin -a Russian peasant, mystic, adviser and healer (d. 1916)
1874- Edward Harkness -American philanthropist (d. 1940)
1874- Jay Hughes -American baseball player (d. 1924)
1875- D. W. Griffith -American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1948)
1876- Warren McLaughlin -American baseball player (d. 1923)
1877- Tom Jones (baseball)|Tom Jones -American baseball player (d. 1923)
1879- Francis Picabia -French painter and poet (d. 1953)
1880- Bill O'Neill (baseball)|Bill O'Neill -American baseball player (d. 1920)
1880- Frigyes Riesz -Hungarian mathematician (d. 1956)
1881- Ira Thomas -American baseball player (d. 1958)
1882- Theodore Kosloff -Russian-American actor, ballet dancer, and choreographer (d. 1956)
1886- John J. Becker -American composer (d. 1961)
1887- Helen Hoyt -American poet (d. 1972)
1889- Henri Pélissier -French cyclist (d. 1935)
1889- Amos Strunk -American baseball player (d. 1979)
1890- Fred M. Vinson -American politician and judge, 13th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1953)
1890- Vinko Žganec -Croatian ethnomusicologist (d. 1976)
1891- Antonio Gramsci -Italian philosopher and politician (d. 1937)
1892- Marcel Dassault -French businessman, founded Dassault Aviation (d. 1986)
1893- Conrad Veidt -German actor (d. 1943)
1897- Blind Willie Johnson -American singer and guitarist (d. 1945)
1897- Rosa Ponselle -American soprano (d. 1981)
1898- Ross Barnett -American politician, 52nd Governor of Mississippi (d. 1987)
1898- Denise Legeay -French actress (d. 1968)
1899- Martti Haavio -Finnish poet (d. 1973)
1900- Ernst Busch (actor)|Ernst Busch -German actor and singer (d. 1980)
1902- Daniel Kinsey -American hurdler (d. 1970)
1903- Fritz Houtermans -Polish physicist (d. 1966)
1903- Robin Milford -English composer (d. 1959)
1904- George Balanchine -Russian-American choreographer and director, co-founded the New York City Ballet (d. 1983)
1904- Arkady Gaidar -Russian author (d. 1941)
1904- John Milligan (baseball)|John Milligan -American baseball player (d. 1972)
1905- Willy Hartner -German physicist, historian, and academic (d. 1981)
1906- Joe Gladwin -English actor (d. 1987)
1906- Robert E. Howard -American author (d. 1936)
1907- Douglas Corrigan -American pilot (d. 1995)
1907- Dixie Dean -English footballer (d. 1980)
1907- Mary Dresselhuys -Dutch actress (d. 2004)
1908- Lev Landau -Russian physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
1908- Prince Oana -American baseball player (d. 1976)
1909- Porfirio Rubirosa -Dominican diplomat (d. 1965)
1909- Ann Sothern -American actress (d. 2001)
1909- U Thant -Burmese diplomat, 3rd United Nations Secretary General (d. 1974)
1911- Bruno Kreisky -Austrian politician, 22nd Chancellor of Austria (d. 1990)
1913- Henry Bauchau -Belgian psychoanalyst and author (d. 2012)
1913- William Conway (cardinal)|William Conway -Irish cardinal (d. 1977)
1913- Carl F. H. Henry -American theologian and publisher (d. 2003)
1914- Dimitris Dragatakis -Greek composer (d. 2001)
1914- Jacques Nguyễn Văn Mầu -Vietnamese bishop (d. 2013)
1915- Heinrich Albertz -German theologian and politician, List of mayors of Berlin|Mayor of Berlin (d. 1993)
1916- Bill Durnan -Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1972)
1916- Henri Dutilleux -French composer (d. 2013)
1916- Harilal Upadhyay -Gujarati author, poet, and astrologist (d. 1994)
1917- Huck Geary -American baseball player (d. 1981)
1918- Elmer Lach -Canadian ice hockey player
1919- Diomedes Olivo -Dominican baseball player (d. 1977)
1920- Irving Kristol -American journalist, author and academic, founded ''The National Interest'' (d. 2009)
1920- Alf Ramsey -English footballer and manager (d. 1999)
1921- Arno Babajanian -Armenian pianist and composer (d. 1983)
1922- Howard Moss -American poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1987)
1923- Diana Dill -Bermudian actress
1924- J. J. Johnson -American trombonist and composer (d. 2001)
1924- Betty Lockwood, Baroness Lockwood -English activist and academic
1924- Ortvin Sarapu -New Zealand chess player (d. 1999)
1925- Johnny Bucha -American baseball player (d. 1996)
1925- Bobby Young -American baseball player (d. 1985)
1927- Lou Creekmur -American football player (d. 2009)
1928- Yoshihiko Amino -Japanese historian (d. 2004)
1928- Alan Grieve -English lawyer
1928- Shozo Shimamoto -Japanese painter (d. 2013)
1930- Mariví Bilbao -Spanish actress (d. 2013)
1930- Éamon de Buitléar -Irish accordion player and director (d. 2013)
1931- Sam Cooke -American singer-songwriter (The Soul Stirrers and The Highway Q.C.'s) (d. 1964)
1932- Berthold Grünfeld -Norwegian psychiatrist and sexologist (d. 2007)
1932- Piper Laurie -American actress
1933- Yuri Chesnokov (volleyball)|Yuri Chesnokov -Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2010)
1934- Vijay Anand (Hindi film maker)|Vijay Anand -Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
1934- Bill Bixby -American actor (d. 1993)
1934- Graham Kerr -English chef
1935- Seymour Cassel -American actor
1936- Ong Teng Cheong -Singaporean politician, 5th President of Singapore (d. 2002)
1936- Alan J. Heeger -American chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize laureate
1936- Nyree Dawn Porter -New Zealand-born actress (d. 2001)
1936- Peter Steen -Danish actor (d. 2013)
1937- Edén Pastora -Nicaraguan politician
1937- Joseph Wambaugh -American police officer and author
1938- Peter Beard -Australian photographer and author
1938- Altair Gomes de Figueiredo -Brazilian footballer
1939- Jørgen Garde -Danish admiral (d. 1996)
1939- Alfredo Palacio -Ecuadoran politician, President of Ecuador
1939- Jeff Smith (chef)|Jeff Smith -American chef and author (d. 2004)
1939- J.C. Tremblay -Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1994)
1940- John Hurt -English actor
1940- George Seifert -American football player and coach
1940- Gillian Shephard -English politician, life peer
1941- Jaan Kaplinski -Estonian poet, philosopher, and critic
1942- Mimis Domazos -Greek footballer
1943- Marília Pêra -Brazilian actress
1943- Michael Spicer, Baron Spicer -English politician
1944- Khosrow Golsorkhi -Iranian journalist, poet, and activist (d. 1974)
1945- Arthur Beetson -Australian rugby player and coach (d. 2011)
1945- Jophery Brown -American baseball player, actor, and stuntman (d. 2014)
1945- Jean-Pierre Nicolas -French race car driver
1945- Christoph Schönborn -Bohemian-Austrian cardinal
1946- Malcolm McLaren -English singer-songwriter and manager (d. 2010)
1946- Serge Savard -Canadian ice hockey player
1947- Vladimir Oravsky -Czech-Swedish author and director
1948- Northern Calloway -American actor (d. 1990)
1948- Gilbert Levine -American conductor
1948- Roger Williams (British politician)|Roger Williams -Welsh politician
1949- Mike Caldwell (baseball)|Mike Caldwell -American baseball player
1949- Phil Miller -English guitarist (National Health, In Cahoots, Matching Mole, and Hatfield and the North)
1949- Steve Perry (musician)|Steve Perry -American singer-songwriter and producer (Journey (band)|Journey)
1949- Mike Westhues -American-Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1950- Paul Bew -Irish historian and academic
1950- Pamela Salem -English actress
1951- Ondrej Nepela -Slovak figure skater (d. 1989)
1951- Leon Roberts -American baseball player
1951- Steve J. Spears -Australian playwright, actor, and singer (d. 2007)
1952- Ramón Avilés -Puerto Rican baseball player
1952- Ace Vergel -Filipino actor (d. 2007)
1953- Winfried Berkemeier -German footballer
1953- Myung-whun Chung -South Korean pianist and conductor
1953- Jim Jarmusch -American director and screenwriter
1954- Tully Blanchard -American wrestler
1954- Chris Lemmon -American actor
1954- Peter Pilz -Austrian politician
1955- Timothy R. Ferguson -American politician
1955- Thomas David Jones -American captain, pilot, and astronaut
1956- Steve Riley (drummer)|Steve Riley -American drummer (L.A. Guns, W.A.S.P., Keel (band)|Keel, and Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf)
1956- John Wesley Shipp -American actor
1957- Mike Bossy -Canadian ice hockey player
1957- Brian Dayett -American baseball player
1957- Rene Requiestas -Filipino comedian and actor (d. 1993)
1957- Godfrey Thoma -Nauruan politician
1957- Francis Wheen -English journalist
1958- Nikos Anastopoulos -Greek footballer and manager
1959- Linda Blair -American actress
1960- Michael Hutchence -Australian singer-songwriter and actor (INXS and Max Q (Australian band)|Max Q) (d. 1997)
1961- Quintin Dailey -American basketball player (d. 2010)
1961- Daniel Johnston -American singer-songwriter
1962- Dajan Ahmet -Estonian actor (d. 2006)
1962- Sirous Ghayeghran -Iranian footballer (d. 1998)
1962- Jimmy Herring -American guitarist (Widespread Panic)
1962- Huw Irranca-Davies -Welsh politician
1962- Eric Schaeffer -American actor and director
1963- Nicola Duffett -English actress
1963- Javier Ortiz (baseball)|Javier Ortiz -American baseball player
1963- Andrei Tchmil -Ukrainian-Belgian cyclist
1963- Jeff Treadway -American baseball player
1964- Nigel Benn -English boxer
1964- Joe Dudek -American football player
1964- Wayne Kirby -American baseball player
1964- Stojko Vranković -Croatian basketball player
1965- Steven Adler -American drummer and songwriter (Guns N' Roses, Adler's Appetite, Hollywood Rose, and Road Crew)
1965- DJ Jazzy Jeff -American DJ, producer, and actor (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince)
1965- Diane Lane -American actress
1965- Brian McCardie -Scottish actor
1965- Andrew Roachford -English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Mike + The Mechanics)
1965- Chintara Sukapatana -Thai actress
1967- Nick Gillingham -English swimmer
1967- Eleanor McEvoy -Irish singer-songwriter
1967- Manabu Nakanishi -Japanese wrestler
1967- Ecaterina Szabo -Romanian gymnast
1968- Guy Fieri -American chef, author, and television host
1968- Heath (musician)|Heath -Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player (X Japan)
1968- Frank Lebœuf -French footballer
1968- Raquel Cassidy -English actress
1968- Mauricio Serna -Colombian footballer
1969- Olivia d'Abo -English-American actress
1969- Keith Gordon (baseball)|Keith Gordon -American baseball player
1970- Abraham Olano -Spanish cyclist
1971- Stan Collymore -English footballer
1971- Jan Kaus -Estonian author
1971- Sergei Zamorski -Russian-Estonian footballer
1972- Katie Barberi -Mexican actress
1972- Gabriel Macht -American actor
1972- Romi Park -Japanese voice actress
1972- Gonzalo Rodríguez (racing driver)|Gonzalo Rodríguez -Uruguayan race car driver (d. 1999)
1972- Namrata Shirodkar -Indian actress
1973- Larry Birkhead -American photographer
1973- Rogério Ceni -Brazilian footballer
1974- Ava Devine -American porn actress
1974- Cameron McConville -Australian race car driver
1974- Joseph Muscat -Maltese politician, 13th Prime Minister of Malta
1975- Balthazar Getty -American actor and musician (Ringside)
1975- Felipe Giaffone -Brazilian race car driver
1975- James Murray (English actor)|James Murray -English actor
1975- David Výborný -Czech ice hockey player
1976- Jimmy Anderson (baseball)|Jimmy Anderson -American baseball player
1976- James Dearth -American football player
1977- Vazgen Azrojan -Armenian ice dancer
1977- Mario Domm -Mexican singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (Camila (band)|Camila)
1977- Jono Gibbes -New Zealand rugby player
1977- Tõnis Kimmel -Estonian architect
1977- Anna Linkova -Russian tennis player
1977- Hidetoshi Nakata -Japanese footballer
1977- Matthew Newton -Australian actor
1977- Aaron Rakers -American baseball player
1977- Luciano Andrade Rissutt -Brazilian footballer
1978- Chone Figgins -American baseball player
1979- Aidan Burley -New Zealand-English politician
1979- Carlos Ruiz (baseball)|Carlos Ruiz -Panamanian baseball player
1980- Jake Grove -American football player
1980- Christopher Masterson -American actor
1980- Subhash Ram Prajapati -Nepalese author and scholar
1980- Jonathan Woodgate -English footballer
1981- Willa Ford -American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1981- Beverley Mitchell -American actress and singer
1981- Ben Moody -American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (Evanescence and We Are the Fallen)
1981- Ibrahima Sonko -French footballer
1981- Guy Wilks -English race car driver
1982- Fabricio Coloccini -Argentinian footballer
1982- Jason Peters -American football player
1983- Shaun Cody -American football player
1984- Ben Eager -Canadian ice hockey player
1984- Ubaldo Jiménez -Dominican baseball player
1984- Raica Oliveira -Brazilian model
1984- Leon Powe -American basketball player
1984- Maceo Rigters -Dutch footballer
1985- Orianthi -Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1985- Fotios Papoulis -Greek footballer
1985- Mohamed Sissoko -Malian footballer
1986- Lee Pa-ni -South Korean model
1986- Maher Magri -Tunisian footballer
1986- Matt Simon -Australian footballer
1986- Daniel Wayne Smith -American son of Anna Nicole Smith (d. 2006)
1987- Astrid Jacobsen -Norwegian skier
1987- Shane Long -Irish footballer
1987- Ray Rice -American football player
1988- Asher Allen -American football player
1988- Greg Oden -American basketball player
1989- Theo Robinson -English-Jamaican footballer
1989- Nick Simmons -American actor and singer
1990- Alizé Cornet -French tennis player
1991- Stefan Kolb -German footballer
1991- Alex MacDowall -English race car driver
1992- Kimberly Ann Voltemas -Thai actor
1993- Rio Haryanto -Indonesian race car driver
1993- Tommy Knight -English actor
1993- Alex Marques -Portuguese footballer (d. 2013)