- 0754 Pope Stefanus II arrives in Ponthion
- 1325 Afonso IV succeeds Dionysius as king of Portugal
- 1325 Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal.
- 1536 Catherine o fAragon, the divorced first wife of King Henry VIII of England dies
- 1558 Calais, last English possession in France, retaken by French under Francois, Duke of Guise
- 1558 France takes Calais, the last continental possession of England.
- 1566 Antonio Michaele Ghislieri is elected Pope Pius V
- 1579 England signs an offensive & defensive alliance with the Netherlands
- 1598 Boris Godunov seizes the Russian throne on death of Feodore I
- 1601 Robert, Earl of Essex leads revolt in London against Queen Elizabeth
- 1608 Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia
- 1610 Galileo Galilei observes the four largest moons of Jupiter for the first time. He named them and in turn the four are called the Galilean moons.
- 1618 Francis Bacon becomes English lord chancellor
- 1622 Germany & Transylvania sign Peace of Nikolsburg
- 1630 Composer Pier Cavalli marries rich widow Maria Sosomeno
- 1654 Fire after heavy storm destroys 2/3 of De Rijp Netherlands, 1 dies
- 1698 Russian Czar Peter the Great departs Netherlands to England
- 1714 Typewriter patented by Englishman Henry Mill (built years later)
- 1735 Hieronimus de Salis marries hon. Mary ffane, at St. Margaret's Westminster.
- 1761 Afghans defeat Mahrattas at Paniput in India.
- 1761 Battle at Panipat India Afghan army beats Mahratten
- 1782 The first American commercial bank, Bank of North America, opens.
- 1784 The first US seed business established by David Landreth, Philadelphia
- 1785 Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.
- 1785 The first balloon flight across English Channel (Blanchard & Jeffries)
- 1789 George Washington is voted in as U.S. president in the first nationwide election
- 1797 The current flag of Italy is first used.
- 1807 A British Order in Council January 7 prohibits neutral nation ships from trading with France and her allies, but while the Royal Navy blockades Napoleon's ports, the French are agriculturally self-sufficient and suffer less than do the British
- 1817 2nd Bank of the United States opens
- 1822 Liberia colonized by Americans
- 1830 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co begins carrying revenue traffic - first US Railroad Station (Baltimore MD)
- 1835 HMS Beagle anchors off Chonos Archipelago
- 1842 Gioacchino Rossini's opera "Stabat Mater" premieres in Paris
- 1861 Florida troops takeover Fort Marion at St Augustine
- 1862 Battle of Manassas Junction VA
- 1867 Private Timothy O'Hea is awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in 1866, protecting the lives of 800 emigrants on a Grand Trunk train menaced by a fire in a boxcar carrying explosives. This is the only VC awarded for a brave deed not done in the face of the enemy
- 1868 Arkansas constitutional convention meets in Little Rock
- 1868 Mississippi constitutional convention meets in Jackson
- 1879 Dutch King Willem II marries Emma von Waldeck-Pyrmont
- 1890 Nellie Bly boards the S.S. Oceanic at Yokohama January 7 and sails for San Francisco after having crossed the Atlantic, Europe, and Asia in her well-publicized attempt to girdle the earth in less than 80 days
- 1890 W B Purvis patents fountain pen
- 1892 Mine explosion kills 100, Krebs OK-blacks trying to help rescue white survivors, driven away with guns
- 1893 Hermann Sudermanns "Heimat," premieres in Berlin
- 1894 Motion picture experiment of comedian Fred Ott filmed sneezing
- 1894 W.K. Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film.
- 1896 Fanny Farmer publishes her first cookbook
- 1903 Vincent d'Indy's opera "L'etranger," premieres in Brussel
- 1904 Marconi Co establishes "CQD" as first international radio distress signal
- 1904 The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS."
- 1907 Clyde Fitch' "Truth," premieres in New York City NY
- 1907 UK hist Selborne Memorandum, reviewing the situation in favour of a Union in South Africa (see 1910)
- 1910 Ottawa Senators sweep Galt in 2 games for the Stanley Cup
- 1911 Dutch Scouts Organization established in Amsterdam
- 1911 First airplane bombing experiments with explosives, San Francisco
- 1913 William M Burton patents a process to "crack" petroleum
- 1914 The first steam powered boat passes through the Panama Canal
- 1922 Dil ireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by a 64-57 vote.
- 1923 Baltimore Sun warns of Ku Klux Klan
- 1924 George Gershwin completes Rhapsody in Blue.
- 1924 The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is founded in Paris by seven member states: Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Spain, and Switzerland.
- 1925 Musical "Big Boy" with Al Jolson premieres in New York City NY
- 1926 Comics George Burns and Gracie Allen are married in Cleveland, Ohio.
- 1927 Commercial transatlantic telephone service inaugurated between New York & London
- 1927 Harlem Globetrotters play first game (Hinckley IL)
- 1929 "Buck Rogers," first sci-fi comic strip, premieres
- 1929 The first telephone connection between Netherlands & East Indies
- 1930 Edwin Justus Mayer's "Children of Darkness," premieres in New York City NY
- 1933 Australian aviation pioneer Bert Hinkler killed when his DH80A Puss Moth crashes in mountains in Italy en route from England to Australia.
- 1933 First edition of People & Fatherland published in Netherlands
- 1934 "Flash Gordon" comic strip (by Alex Raymond) debuts
- 1934 Princess Juliana marries German prince Bernhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld
- 1935 Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval sign the FrancoItalian Agreement.
- 1935 Zöe Akins' "Old Maid," premieres in New York City NY
- 1936 Tennis champs Helen Moody & Howard Kinsley volley 2,001 times (1h18m)
- 1939 US worker's union leader Tom Mooney freed (jailed since 1916)
- 1942 WWII siege of Bataan starts
- 1944 Air Force announces production of first US jet fighter, the Bell P-59
- 1945 Lord Haw-Haw reports total German victory at Ardennen
- 1945 World War II: British General Bernard Montgomery holds a press conference in which he claims credit for victory in the Battle of the Bulge.
- 1946 Cambodia becomes autonomous state inside French Union
- 1947 Australia vs England at MCG drawn in 6 days, first cricket draw in Australia since 1882
- 1948 US President Truman raises taxes for Marshall-plan
- 1949 First photo of genes taken at University of Southern California by Pease & Baker
- 1950 "Happy as Larry" closes at Coronet Theater New York City NY after 3 performances
- 1950 A fire at the Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa, kills 41 people.
- 1950 Hank Snow's first appearance on "Grand Ole Opry"
- 1950 Mental health wing of Mercy Hospital burns, kills 41 (Davenport IA)
- 1951 Music Chart Toppers: Tennessee Waltz - Patti Page, The Thing - Phil Harris, Nevertheless - Jack Denny, I Love You a Thousand Ways - Lefty Frizzell
- 1952 French Plevin government falls
- 1954 Georgetown-IBM experiment, the first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held in New York at the head office of IBM.
- 1955 In Ottawa The Speech from the Throne and the opening ceremonies of the second session of the 22nd Canadian Parliament are broadcast live on television for the first time.
- 1955 Marian Anderson becomes first black singer to perform at the Met (New York City NY)
- 1957 Visitor posting - Arlene Catalano Brochhausen Is born - USA
- 1958 USSR shrinks army to 300,000
- 1959 Music Chart Toppers: The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - The Platters, Problems - The Everly Brothers, City Lights - Ray Price
- 1959 The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
- 1959 US recognizes Fidel Castro's Cuban government
- 1961 Trucial States (now UAE) issue their first postage stamps
- 1963 First class postage raised from 4¢ to 5¢
- 1964 Bahamas achieves internal self-government & cabinet responsibility
- 1964 Nicolas Cage is born
- 1965 France announces it will convert $150 million of its currency to gold
- 1966 Canadian Gene Kiniski defeats veteran champion Lou Thesz two falls to one to become the world professional heavyweight champion
- 1966 Close to 200 passengers and crew from a Canadian Nationla pass. train are evacuated by helicopter after being trapped bvy snow slides in the Fraser Canyon in British Columbia
- 1966 Dance Theatre of Harlem debuts
- 1966 Gene Kiniski a Canadian, beats Lou Thesz in St Louis MO, to become NWA champ
- 1967 "Newlywed Game" premieres on ABC TV
- 1967 Fighting is reported between Chinese Red Guards and workers in Nanking.
- 1967 Music Chart Toppers: I'm a Believer - The Monkees, Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron - The Royal Guardsmen, Tell It Like It Is - Aaron Neville, There Goes My Everything - Jack Greene
- 1968 "GE College Bowl" quiz show premieres on NBC TV
- 1968 CN suspends Turbo train service to Toronto after a month of operations because of technical problems related to cold weather
- 1968 Surveyor 7 lands on the Moon
- 1968 U.S. postage rates increase today; it now costs six cents to send an ounce of first class mail.
- 1969 US Congress doubles presidential salary
- 1970 Farmers sue Max Yasgur for $35,000 in damages caused by "Woodstock"
- 1971 -40ºF (-40ºC), Hawley Lake AZ (state record)
- 1972 Iberia Airlines Caravelle 6-R crashed into Mont San Jose on approach to Ibiza Airport killing all 104 on board.
- 1972 Iberian Airlines crashes into 800' peak on island of Ibiza, 104 die
- 1972 Lewis F Powell Jr becomes a Supreme Court Justice
- 1972 William Hubbs Rehnquist, sworn in as Supreme Court Justice
- 1973 British Darts Organization founded in North London
- 1974 Dutch government rations gasoline
- 1975 Gary Geld & Peter Udell's musical "Shenandoah" premieres at Alvin Theater New York City NY for 1050 performances
- 1975 Led Zeppelin fans riot before Boston concert, causing $30,000 damage
- 1975 Music Chart Toppers: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Elton John, You're the First, the Last, My Everything - Barry White, Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas, The Door - George Jones
- 1977 Human Rights Charter '77 established in Prague
- 1978 Angola revises its constitution
- 1979 Phnom Penh fell to the advancing Vietnamese troops, driving out Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
- 1979 Vietnamese forces capture Phnom Penh from Khmer Rouge
- 1980 Minnesota ends Philadelphia Flyers' NHL record 35 game unbeaten streak ends
- 1982 "Fame" premieres on NBC TV
- 1983 Music Chart Toppers: Maneater - Daryl Hall & John Oates, The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson /Paul McCartney, Dirty Laundry - Don Henley, Wild and Blue - John Anderson
- 1983 Reagan ends US arms embargo against Guatemala
- 1984 Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
- 1984 Train wreck near Medicine Hat, Alberta releases dangerous gases, forcing evacuation of 800 people
- 1985 Japanese space probe Sakigake launched to Halley's comet
- 1985 Lou Brock & Hoyt Wilhelm, elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
- 1986 STS 61-C mission scrubbed at T -9m because of weather problems
- 1986 US President Reagan proclaims economic sanctions against Libya
- 1987 French airplanes harass Libyan positions in Duadi Doum
- 1989 Akhito becomes emperor of Japan
- 1989 British Midland Boeing 737 crashes on Motorway
- 1989 International Conference on Limitation of Chemical Weapons opens in Paris
- 1989 Number one hit on UK music charts - Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan - Especially For You
- 1990 The interior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public due to safety concerns.
- 1990 Tower Of Pisa closed to the public after leaning too far
- 1991 Haiti coup defeated
- 1991 Music Chart Toppers: Justify My Love - Madonna, High Enough - Damn Yankees, Love Will Never Do (Without You) - Janet Jackson, I've Come to Expect It From You - George Strait
- 1991 Soviet paratroopers sent to Baltic Republics
- 1991 The TV series Blossom debuts
- 1992 AT& T releases video-telephone ($1499)
- 1992 In Los Angeles Capitol Records decides not to renew Anne Murray's contract;
- 1993 The Fourth Republic of Ghana is inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings as President.
- 1993 The U.S. EPA classifies environmental tobacco smoke as a carcinogen.
- 1994 About 3.4 million litres of heating oil blacken beaches on Puerto Rico when a barge runs aground.
- 1994 United Express commuter plane crashes in Ohio, killing 5
- 1994 Visitor posting - Courtney Danise was born. - USA
- 1995 The New Brunswick Southern Railway commences operation over former CP trackage from McAdam to Saint John, N.B. with a branch from McAdam to St. Stephen.
- 1996 16th United Negro College Fund raises $12,600,000
- 1996 Keiko the killer whale star from the movie Free Willy retures from performing
- 1996 The North American blizzard of 1996 pounds the east coast of the U.S. with 1-4 feet of snow.
- 1997 Newt Gingrich, narrowly re-elected speaker of the House
- 1999 The impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton begins.
- 1999 Visitor posting - McKenna is born. - USA
- 2000 An exhausted 14-year-old Tibetan Buddhist leader reaches India after trekking across the snowy Himalayas, a defection that embarrassed Chinese leaders who used him as a symbol of their rule over Tibet.
- 2001 A general practitioner in Manchester, England may have killed more than 200 patients over almost 24 years, says a new clinical study of his medical practice. Dr Harold Shipman is currently serving 15 life sentences for the deaths of 15 patients.
- 2009 Important Islamic date - Aashura: January 7, 2009