- 1129 Formal approval of the Order of the Knights Templar at the Council of Troyes.
- 1236 English king Henry III marries Eleonora of Provence
- 1301 Andrew III of Hungary dies, ending the Arpad dynasty in Hungary.
- 1501 Martin Luther, 17, enters the University of Erfurt.
- 1514 Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery.
- 1526 Charles V & Francis I sign Treaty of Madrid; Francis I forced to give up claims in Burgundy, Italy & Flanders
- 1539 Spain annexes Cuba.
- 1601 Church authorities burn Hebrew books in Rome
- 1639 Rodger Ludlow publishes"Fundamental Orders of Connecticut"
- 1639 The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government, was adopted in Connecticut.
- 1641 United East Indian Company conquerors city of Malakka, 7,000 killed
- 1659 Battle at Elvas Portuguese beat Spanish
- 1690 Clarinet is invented, in Nüremberg, Germany
- 1699 Massachusetts holds day of fasting for wrongly persecuting "witches"
- 1717 German mob leader "Sjako" sentenced to death in Amsterdam
- 1724 King Philip V of Spain abdicates the throne.
- 1724 Spanish King Philip V abdicates throne
- 1739 England & Spain signs 2nd Convention of Pardo
- 1742 English astronomer Edmond Halley, discoverer of the comet now named after him, dies at age 85.
- 1761 The Third Battle of Panipat was fought in India between the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Marhatas. The Afghan victory changed the course of Indian History.
- 1783 Congress ratifies peace treaty between US & England
- 1784 Revolutionary War ends; Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris
- 1784 The Revolutionary War officially ends as the U.S. and England ratify their peace treaty.
- 1794 Dr Jessee Bennet of Edom VA, performs first successful Cesarean section operation on his wife
- 1799 Eli Whitney receives government contract for 10,000 muskets
- 1799 King of Naples flees before the advancing French armies
- 1813 Gideon Hawley becomes first state school superintendent in US (NY)
- 1814 King of Denmark cedes Norway to King of Sweden by treaty of Kiel
- 1814 Treaty of Kiel: Frederick VI of Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden in return for Pomerania.
- 1814 Visitor posting - London's last 'Frost Fair' held on the frozen Thames - United Kingdom
- 1815 HMS Endymion, Tenedos and Pomone capture USS President
- 1822 Greek War of Independence: Acrocorinth is captured by Theodoros Kolokotronis and Demetrius Ypsilanti.
- 1830 Explorer Charles Sturt discovers river joining Murrumbidgee system which he calls the Murray (unaware same river had already been found by Hamilton and William Hume in 1824 and called the Hume.)
- 1832 American author Edgar Allan Poe publishes his first short story, "Metzengerstein."
- 1847 Conspiracy in New Mexico against US
- 1858 French Emperor Napoleon III escapes attempt on his life by Felice Orsini, an Italian patriot who was later executed
- 1858 Napoleon III of France escapes an assassination attempt.
- 1858 Several people are killed when Italian revolutionary Felice Orsini throws bombs at Napoleon III in Paris in a failed assassination attempt.
- 1861 Fort Pikens FL falls into state hands
- 1863 Battle between gunboats at Bayou Teched LA
- 1864 Battle of Cosby Creek TN
- 1864 General Sherman begins his march to the South
- 1868 North Carolina constitutional convention meets in Raleigh
- 1868 South Carolina constitutional convention, meets with a black majority
- 1873 "Celluloid" registered as a trademark
- 1878 The first private connection by telephone in Great Britain is made on the Isle of Wight when Queen Victoria speaks to Thomas Biddulph.
- 1897 6,960-m (22,834') Cerro Aconcagua (Argentina) first climbed
- 1898 Death of Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, British author of Alice in Wonderland.
- 1898 Joe Darling hits the first six in Tests (out of the ground)
- 1907 An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000.
- 1908 Roger Hartigan scores century on Test debut vs England Adelaide (116)
- 1909 Coöp Far Central Management forms
- 1912 Raymond Poincaré becomes premier of France
- 1913 First Balkan War: The Greek army defeats the Turks at Bizani.
- 1914 Henry Ford introduces assembly line, for T-Fords
- 1916 Dutch South Sea dike cracks
- 1918 Finland & USSR adopts New Style (Gregorian) calendar
- 1924 Allies direct Fiume (Rijeka) in Italy
- 1929 Afghan King Amanullah forced to resign
- 1930 Visitor posting - George Bazer was born on this day! - USA
- 1932 Horse racing legend Eddie Arcaro won his first race
- 1935 Oil pipeline Iraq-Mediterranean goes into use
- 1936 L M (Mario) Giannini elected president of Bank of America
- 1938 National Society for the Legalization of Euthanasia formed (NY)
- 1938 Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.
- 1939 All commercial ferry service to East Bay ends
- 1940 Commissioner Kenesaw Landis gives free agency to 91 Detroit Tigers
- 1942 Japanese troops land at oil center Balikpapan in Borneo
- 1943 Alex Smart (Montreal) is first NHLer to score hat trick in his first game
- 1943 FDR & Winston Churchill confer in Casablanca concerning WWII
- 1943 Heinrich Himmler views Warsaw
- 1943 World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill begin Casablanca Conference to discuss strategy and study the next phase of the war.
- 1944 Soviet army begins offensive at Oranienbaum/Wolchow
- 1945 Death marches to the interior of Germany begin, taking 250,000 Jewish lives.
- 1946 2 jetties collapse in Ganges-160 Hindu pilgrims are crushed
- 1946 Visitor posting - Mary Joyce Sachs born 1/14/46 - USA
- 1948 Visitor posting - Sally Wiegand was born in Scotland on this date! - United Kingdom
- 1949 Black/Indian race rebellion in Durban, South Africa; 142 die
- 1949 Visitor posting - January 14, 1949 Steve is born in Baraboo WI.
- 1949 Visitor posting - Keith was born
- 1950 US recalls all consular officials from China
- 1952 Rationing of coffee in Netherlands ends
- 1952 Snow storm in Sierra NV kills 26
- 1952 The Today show on NBC-TV makes its debut.
- 1953 President Josip Broz Tito is elected president of Yugoslavia.
- 1953 Yugoslavia elects its first president (Marshal Tito)
- 1954 Marilyn Monroe marries baseball star, New York Yankee, Joe DiMaggio
- 1956 Jordan government refuses to join Pact of Baghdad
- 1956 Little Richard releases "Tutti Frutti"
- 1958 Qantas begins round-world service with two Super Constellation aircraft.
- 1958 Visitor posting - Teresa B. is born to Pauline and Doc in Hawaii
- 1960 Elvis Presley is promoted to sergeant in the U.S. Army.
- 1960 Tuindorp-Oostzaan in Northern Amsterdam, flooded
- 1960 US Army promoted Elvis Presley to Sergeant
- 1963 George C Wallace sworn in as Governor of Alabama, his address states "segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!"
- 1964 Bapu Nadkarni 32-27-5-0 vs England, 21 maiden overs in a row
- 1964 Jacqueline Kennedy's first public appearance (TV) since assassination
- 1964 The Beatles release their single I Wanna Hold Your Hand in the U.S.
- 1965 Number one hit on UK music charts - Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames - Yeh Yeh
- 1966 David Bowie releases his first record (Can't Help Thinking About Me)
- 1967 20,000 attend the Human Be-In, San Francisco
- 1967 Counterculture of the 1960s: The Human Be-In, takes place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love. Between 20,000 to 30,000 people attend.
- 1967 Earthquake in Sicily kills 231
- 1967 New York Times reports Army is conducting secret germ warfare experiments
- 1967 Sonny & Cher release "The Beat Goes On"
- 1968 Visitor posting - James A. Willis was born! - USA
- 1969 25 members of US aircraft carrier Enterprise die during maneuvers
- 1969 An explosion aboard the USS Enterprise near Hawaii kills 27 people.
- 1969 Soyuz 4 launched; rendezvous with Soyuz 5 two days later
- 1969 Twenty-five crewmen aboard the carrier Enterprise are killed in an explosion off the coast of Hawaii.
- 1970 The farewell concert of Diana Ross and the Supremes takes place at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.
- 1971 John Snow takes 7-40 for England to beat Australia by 299 runs
- 1971 Visitor posting - Danny Kukuc born - USA
- 1972 "Sanford & Son" starring Redd Foxx premieres on NBC TV
- 1972 Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ascends the throne, the first Queen of Denmark since 1412 and the first Danish monarch not named Frederick or Christian since 1513.
- 1973 Grateful Dead bass player, Phil Lesh, busted for drugs in California
- 1973 Super Bowl VII: The Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins. The Dolphins become the first NFL team to go undefeated in a season.
- 1973 Tap dancer Ray Castle measured at 1440 taps/minutes on BBC TV
- 1973 The Miami Dolphins become the first NFL team to have a perfect season, remaining undefeated after beating the Washington Redskins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII.
- 1975 Teenage heiress Lesley Whittle is kidnapped by Donald Neilson, aka "the Black Panther".
- 1975 USSR breaks trade agreement with US
- 1976 "The Bionic Woman" with Lindsay Wagner debuts on ABC (later NBC)
- 1976 Ted Turner becomes CEO of Atlanta Braves
- 1977 Visitor posting - Mike & Debbie were married in Buffalo, NY - USA
- 1977 Visitor posting - Kevin McPhillips was born on this day! - USA
- 1978 Sex Pistols' final concert (Winterland, San Francisco)
- 1978 The Sex Pistols perform their last concert, at San Francisco's Winterland Theater.
- 1979 President Carter proposes Martin Luther King's birthday be a holiday
- 1980 "Blues Brothers" movie with Dan Akroyd & John Belushi opens
- 1981 FCC frees stations to air as many commercials an hour as they wish
- 1983 Visitor posting - Ashley Vanhook was born on this day in Greenville, SC - USA
- 1983 Visitor posting - Richard and Mary Anne Peterson married at St. John Catholic Church in Seattle, WA
- 1984 Madonna first sings "Holiday" on American Bandstand
- 1984 Number one hit on UK music charts - Paul McCartney - Pipes Of Peace
- 1985 16 indicted by US for granting sanctuary to Central American refugees
- 1985 British pound (£) sinks to record low-$1.11
- 1985 Martina Navratilova is 3rd to win 100 tennis tournaments (Connors & Evert)
- 1986 Constitution of Guatemala takes effect
- 1989 1,000 muslims burn Rushdies' "Satanic Verses" in Bradford England
- 1989 29 year old French woman gives birth to sextuplets in Paris
- 1989 Former Belgian premier Paul Vanden Boeynants kidnapped
- 1990 "Simpsons" premiered on Fox-TV
- 1990 11th ACE Cable Awards
- 1990 Perez de Cuellar says he has lost all hope for peace in the Gulf
- 1991 "Barbara DeAngelis Show" premieres on CBS-TV
- 1991 Jorge Serrano Elías sworn in as President of Guatemala
- 1991 Tyne Daly arrested for drunk driving in Van Nuys CA
- 1991 Valentin Pavlov become new premier of USSR
- 1993 David Letterman announces his show is moving from NBC to CBS
- 1993 Polish ferry boat capsizes in storm, 50 die
- 1994 Kathleen Kinmont files for divorce from Lorenzo Lamas
- 1995 10,000s South Africans attend state funeral of Joe Slovo
- 1997 Visitor posting - Gage Bregitzer of Lee's Summit, MO is born today!!! - USA
- 1998 100th episode of "Ellen," airs
- 1998 An Afghan cargo plane crashes into a mountain in southwest Pakistan killing more than 50 people.
- 1998 Charles Barkley pleads not guilty to an assault charge
- 1998 Researchers in Dallas, Texas present findings about an enzyme that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis).
- 1998 Visitor posting - Heather Amanda Dalton was born - USA
- 1999 House prosecutors request U.S. President Bill Clinton's removal from office, during post-impeachment proceedings in the Senate.
- 2000 A United Nations tribunal sentences five Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years for the 1993 killing of over 100 Muslims in a Bosnian village.
- 2004 Goatse.cx is suspended by the Christmas Island Internet Administration following a massive grassroots movement to close the site forever.
- 2004 The national flag of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag", was restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years.
- 2005 Landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan.
More historical events added daily - keep checking back