January 21

Pre-1600

 * 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
 * 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz's mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
 * 1535 – Following the Affair of the Placards, the French king leads an anti-Protestant procession through Paris.

1601–1900

 * 1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
 * 1749 – The Teatro Filarmonico in Verona is destroyed by fire, as a result of a torch being left behind in the box of a nobleman after a performance. It is rebuilt in 1754.
 * 1774 – Abdul Hamid I becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
 * 1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston.
 * 1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
 * 1854 – The RMS Tayleur sinks off Lambay Island on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia with great loss of life.
 * 1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.

1901–present

 * 1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
 * 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.
 * 1915 – Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit.
 * 1919 – A revolutionary Irish parliament is founded and declares the independence of the Irish Republic. One of the first engagements of the Irish War of Independence takes place.
 * 1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
 * 1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
 * 1932 – Finland and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty.
 * 1941 – Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania the day before, members of the Iron Guard engaged in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews.
 * 1942 – The Jewish resistance organization, Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye, based in the Vilna Ghetto was established.
 * 1943 – As part of Operation Animals, British SOE saboteurs destroy the railway bridge over the Asopos River, and guerrillas of the Greek People's Liberation Army ambush and destroy a German convoy at the Battle of Sarantaporos.
 * 1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Québec Flag Day.
 * 1950 – American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
 * 1951 – The catastrophic eruption of Mount Lamington in Papua New Guinea claims 2,942 lives.
 * 1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
 * 1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board.
 * 1960  – Avianca Flight 671 crashes at Montego Bay, Jamaica airport, killing 37 people.
 * 1960  – A coal mine collapses at Holly Country, South Africa, killing 435 miners.
 * 1963 – The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad ends operation.
 * 1968 – Vietnam War, Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
 * 1968  – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
 * 1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
 * 1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
 * 1980 – Iran Air Flight 291 crashes in the Alborz Mountains while on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 128 people.
 * 1981 – Production of the DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
 * 1985 – Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashes near Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, killing 70 people.
 * 1997 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
 * 1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4300 kg of cocaine on board.
 * 2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
 * 2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
 * 2004 – NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
 * 2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
 * 2009 – Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, officially ending a three-week war it had with Hamas. However, intermittent fire by both sides continues in the weeks to follow.
 * 2011 – Anti-government demonstrations take place in Tirana, Albania. Four people died from gunshots, allegedly fired from armed police protecting the Prime Minister's office.
 * 2014 – Rojava conflict: The Jazira Canton declares its autonomy from the Syrian Arab Republic.
 * 2017 – Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women's march, on Donald Trump's first full day as President of the United States.
 * 2023 – Huu Can Tran, 72, opens fire in a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, killing eleven people and injuring nine others before later committing suicide. It is the worst mass shooting in Los Angeles County since the 2008 Covina massacre.

Pre-1600

 * 1264 – Alexander, Prince of Scotland (d. 1284)
 * 1277 – Galeazzo I Visconti, lord of Milan (d. 1328)
 * 1338 – Charles V of France (d. 1380)
 * 1493 – Giovanni Poggio, Italian cardinal and diplomat (d. 1556)
 * 1598 – Matsudaira Tadamasa, Japanese samurai and daimyō (d. 1645)

1601–1900

 * 1612 – Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz, count of Nassau-Dietz (d. 1640)
 * 1636 – Melchiorre Cafà, Maltese Baroque sculptor (baptised; d. 1667)
 * 1655 – Antonio Molinari, Italian painter (d. 1704)
 * 1659 – Adriaen van der Werff, Dutch painter (d. 1722)
 * 1675 – Duchess Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg, Margravine of Baden-Baden (d. 1733)
 * 1714 – Anna Morandi Manzolini, Italian anatomist (d. 1774)
 * 1717 – Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Spanish military officer and governor of Cuba (d. 1779)
 * 1721 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, Governor of Minorca (d. 1794)
 * 1732 – Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis (d. 1797)
 * 1738 – Ethan Allen, American general (d. 1789)
 * 1741 – Chaim of Volozhin, Orthodox rabbi (d. 1821)
 * 1763 – Augustin Robespierre, younger brother of French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre (d. 1794)
 * 1775 – Manuel Garcia, Spanish opera singer and composer (d. 1832)
 * 1784 – Peter De Wint, English painter (d. 1849)
 * 1788 – William Henry Smyth, Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist (d. 1865)
 * 1796 – Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel, consort of George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1880)
 * 1797 – Joseph Méry, French author and journalist (d. 1866)
 * 1800 – Theodor Fliedner, German Lutheran minister (d. 1864)
 * 1801 – John Batman, Australian entrepreneur and explorer (d. 1839)
 * 1804 – Moritz von Schwind, Austrian painter (d. 1871)
 * 1808 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, 16th President of Peru (d. 1875)
 * 1810 – Pierre Louis Charles de Failly, French general (d. 1892)
 * 1811 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, British statesman (d. 1885)
 * 1813 – John C. Frémont, American general, explorer, and politician, 5th Territorial Governor of Arizona (d. 1890)
 * 1813  – Giuseppe Montanelli, Italian statesman and author (d. 1862)
 * 1814 – Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, German bibliographer and historian (d. 1885)
 * 1815 – Horace Wells, American dentist (d. 1848)
 * 1820 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (d. 1899)
 * 1820  – Egide Walschaerts, Belgian mechanical engineer (d. 1901)
 * 1824 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (d. 1863)
 * 1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1900)
 * 1829 – Oscar II of Sweden (d. 1907)
 * 1839 – Caterina Volpicelli, Italian Roman Catholic nun (d. 1894)
 * 1840 – Sophia Jex-Blake, English physician and feminist (d. 1912)
 * 1841 – Édouard Schuré, French philosopher and author (d. 1929)
 * 1843 – Émile Levassor, French engineer (d. 1897)
 * 1845 – Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
 * 1846 – Pieter Hendrik Schoute, Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
 * 1846  – Albert Lavignac, French music scholar (d. 1916)
 * 1847 – Joseph Achille Le Bel, French chemist (d. 1930)
 * 1848 – Henri Duparc, French soldier and composer (d. 1933)
 * 1851 – Giuseppe Allamano, Italian Roman Catholic priest (d. 1926)
 * 1854 – Karl Julius Beloch, German classical and economic historian (d. 1929)
 * 1854  – Eusapia Palladino, Italian spiritualist (d. 1918)
 * 1855 – Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1874)
 * 1860 – Karl Staaff, Swedish lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)
 * 1864 – Israel Zangwill, British author (d. 1926)
 * 1865 – Heinrich Albers-Schonberg, German gynecologist and radiologist (d. 1921)
 * 1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German paramedic and author (d. 1921)
 * 1867  – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (d. 1965)
 * 1868 – Felix Hoffmann, German chemist (d. 1946)
 * 1869 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic (d. 1916)
 * 1871 – Olga Preobrajenska, Russian ballerina (d. 1962)
 * 1873 – Arturo Labriola, Italian revolutionary syndicalist (d. 1959)
 * 1874 – René-Louis Baire, French mathematician (d. 1932)
 * 1875 – Paul E. Kahle, German orientalist (d. 1964)
 * 1877 – Baldassarre Negroni, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1948)
 * 1878 – Vahan Tekeyan, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1948)
 * 1880 – George Van Biesbroeck, Belgian–American astronomer (d. 1974)
 * 1881 – Ernst Fast, Swedish runner (d. 1959)
 * 1881  – André Godard, French archaeologist, architect and historian (d. 1965)
 * 1881  – Ivan Ribar, Yugoslav politician (d. 1968)
 * 1882 – Pavel Florensky, Russian mathematician and theologian (d. 1937)
 * 1882  – Francis Gailey, Australian-American swimmer (d. 1972)
 * 1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet and educator (d. 1929)
 * 1883  – Oskar Baum, Bohemian writer (d. 1941)
 * 1883  – Mathias Hynes, British tug of war competitor (d. 1926)
 * 1885 – Duncan Grant, British painter and designer (d. 1978)
 * 1885  – Umberto Nobile, Italian engineer and explorer (d. 1978)
 * 1885  – Harold A. Wilson, English runner (d. 1932)
 * 1886 – John M. Stahl, American director and producer (d. 1950)
 * 1887 – Wolfgang Köhler, German psychologist and phenomenologist (d. 1967)
 * 1887  – Ernest Holmes, American New Thought writer (d. 1960)
 * 1887  – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1926)
 * 1889 – Pitirim Sorokin, American sociologist and political activist (d. 1968)
 * 1889  – Edith Tolkien, wife and muse of J. R. R. Tolkien (d. 1971)
 * 1891 – Albert Battel, German Army lieutenant and lawyer (d. 1952)
 * 1891  – Francisco Lázaro, Portuguese marathon runner (d. 1912)
 * 1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (d. 1972)
 * 1895  – Daniel Chalonge, French astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1977)
 * 1895  – Noe Itō, Japanese anarchist, author and feminist (d. 1923)
 * 1896 – Guy Gilpatric, American pilot and journalist (d. 1950)
 * 1896  – Paula Hitler, younger sister of Adolf Hitler (d. 1960)
 * 1896  – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (d. 1973)
 * 1896  – Masa Perttilä, Finnish wrestler (d. 1968)
 * 1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (d. 1954)
 * 1898 – Rudolph Maté, Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, producer and director (d. 1964)
 * 1898  – Ahmad Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia (d. 1930)
 * 1898  – Eduard Zintl, German chemist (d. 1941)
 * 1899 – John Bodkin Adams, British general practitioner and convict (d. 1983)
 * 1899  – Gyula Mándi, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1969)
 * 1899  – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian-American pianist and composer (d. 1977)
 * 1900 – Elof Ahrle, Swedish actor and director (d. 1965)
 * 1900  – Anselm Franz, Austrian engineer (d. 1994)
 * 1900  – Fernando Quiroga Palacios, Spanish Cardinal (d. 1971)

1901–present

 * 1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1978)
 * 1903 – William Lyon, American film editor (d. 1974)
 * 1903  – Raymond Suvigny, French weightlifter (d. 1945)
 * 1904 – John Porter, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1997)
 * 1904  – Puck van Heel, Dutch footballer (d. 1984)
 * 1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (d. 1957)
 * 1905  – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (d. 1978)
 * 1906 – Igor Moiseyev, Russian choreographer (d. 2007)
 * 1907 – Carlo Cavagnoli, Italian boxer (d. 1991)
 * 1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (d. 2004)
 * 1909  – Teofilo Spasojević, Serbian footballer (d. 1970)
 * 1910 – Rosa Kellner, German athlete (d. 1984)
 * 1910  – Albert Rosellini, American lawyer and politician, 15th Governor of Washington (d. 2011)
 * 1910  – Hideo Shinojima, Japanese footballer (d. 1975)
 * 1910  – Károly Takács, Hungarian shooter (d. 1976)
 * 1911 – Dick Garrard, Australian wrestler (d. 2003)
 * 1911  – Lee Yoo-hyung, Korean footballer and manager (d. 2003)
 * 1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
 * 1915 – André Lichnerowicz, French mathematician (d. 1998)
 * 1915  – Orazio Mariani, Italian sprinter (d. 1981)
 * 1916 – Pietro Rava, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
 * 1916  – Zypora Spaisman, Polish midwife; American and Yiddish-language actress; producer of the Yiddish stage (d. 2002)
 * 1917 – Erling Persson, H&M founder (d. 2002)
 * 1918 – Jimmy Hagan, English footballer (d. 1998)
 * 1918  – Antonio Janigro, Italian cellist and conductor (d. 1989)
 * 1918  – Richard Winters, American soldier (d. 2011)
 * 1919 – Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (d. 2016)
 * 1920 – Errol Barrow, first Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 1987)
 * 1922 – Lincoln Alexander, Canadian lawyer and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2012)
 * 1922  – Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
 * 1922  – Paul Scofield, English actor (d. 2008)
 * 1922  – Predrag Vranicki, Croatian Marxist humanist (d. 2002)
 * 1923 – Alberto de Mendoza, Argentine actor (d. 2011)
 * 1923  – Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer, and actress (d. 1995)
 * 1923  – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
 * 1924 – Shafiga Akhundova, Azerbaijani Composer, first professional female author of an opera in the East (d. 2013)
 * 1924  – Benny Hill, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
 * 1925 – Charles Aidman, American actor (d. 1993)
 * 1925  – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer (d. 2014)
 * 1925  – Eva Ibbotson, Austrian-English author (d. 2010)
 * 1925  – Arnold Skaaland, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
 * 1926 – Clive Donner, British director (d. 2010)
 * 1926  – Franco Evangelisti, Italian composer (d. 1980)
 * 1926  – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder and actor (d. 2000)
 * 1926  – Roger Taillibert, French architect (d. 2019)
 * 1926  – Robert J. White, American neurosurgeon (d. 2010)
 * 1927 – Rudolf Kraus, German footballer (d. 2003)
 * 1928 – Reynaldo Bignone, Argentinian general and politician, 41st President of Argentina (d. 2018)
 * 1928  – Gene Sharp, American political scientist and academic, founded the Albert Einstein Institution (d. 2018)
 * 1929 – Radley Metzger, American filmmaker (d. 2017)
 * 1930 – Mainza Chona, Zambian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2001)
 * 1930  – Valentin Filatyev, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1990)
 * 1931 – Yoshiko Kuga, Japanese actress
 * 1933 – Tony Marchi, English footballer (d. 2022)
 * 1933  – Habib Thiam, Senegalese politician (d. 2017)
 * 1934 – Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
 * 1934  – Antonio Karmany, Spanish cyclist
 * 1934  – Alfonso Portugal, Mexican footballer (d. 2016)
 * 1934  – Ann Wedgeworth, American actress (d. 2017)
 * 1936 – Dick Davies, American basketball player (d. 2012)
 * 1937 – Judit Ágoston-Mendelényi, Hungarian fencer (d. 2013)
 * 1937  – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, the youngest son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
 * 1938 – Romano Fogli, Italian footballer (d. 2021)
 * 1939 – Paul Genevay, French sprinter (d. 2022)
 * 1939  – Friedel Lutz, German footballer (d. 2023)
 * 1939  – Steve Paxton, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2024)
 * 1939  – Viacheslav Platonov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2005)
 * 1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer and sportscaster
 * 1940  – Patrick Robinson, English novelist
 * 1941 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (d. 2013)
 * 1941  – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor
 * 1941  – Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
 * 1941  – Mike Medavoy, Chinese-born American film producer, co-founded Orion Pictures
 * 1941  – Ivan Putski, Polish-American wrestler and bodybuilder
 * 1941  – Elaine Showalter, American author and critic
 * 1942 – Freddy Breck, German singer, producer, and news anchor (d. 2008)
 * 1942  – Eugène Camara, Prime Minister of Guinea (d. 2019)
 * 1942  – Mac Davis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2020)
 * 1942  – Han Pil-hwa, North Korean speed skater
 * 1942  – Edwin Starr, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
 * 1942  – Michael G. Wilson, American producer and screenwriter
 * 1943 – Zdravko Hebel, Croatian water polo player (d. 2017)
 * 1943  – Arnar Jónsson, Icelandic actor
 * 1943  – Alfons Peeters, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
 * 1943  – Kenzo Yokoyama, Japanese footballer
 * 1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist
 * 1945 – Pete Kircher, English drummer
 * 1945  – Martin Shaw, English actor and producer
 * 1946 – Ichiro Hosotani, Japanese footballer
 * 1946  – Nella Martinetti, Swiss singer (d. 2011)
 * 1946  – Tomás Pineda, El Salvadoran footballer
 * 1946  – Miguel Reina, Spanish footballer
 * 1947 – Andrzej Bachleda, Polish former alpine skier
 * 1947  – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
 * 1947  – Dorian M. Goldfeld, American mathematician
 * 1947  – Pye Hastings, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1947  – Michel Jonasz, French singer-songwriter and actor
 * 1947  – Joseph Nicolosi, American clinical psychologist (d. 2017)
 * 1947  – Giuseppe Savoldi, Italian footballer
 * 1947  – Roberto Zywica, Argentine footballer
 * 1948 – Zygmunt Kukla, Polish footballer (d. 2016)
 * 1948  – Hugo Tocalli, Argentine footballer
 * 1949 – Clifford Ray, American basketball coach and player
 * 1949  – Trương Tấn Sang, Vietnamese politician and 7th President of Vietnam
 * 1950 – Marion Becker, German javelin thrower
 * 1950  – Gary Locke, American politician and diplomat, 36th United States Secretary of Commerce
 * 1950  – José Marín, Spanish racewalker
 * 1950  – Billy Ocean, Trinidadian-English singer-songwriter
 * 1950  – Agnes van Ardenne, Dutch politician and diplomat, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation
 * 1951 – Eric Holder, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 82nd United States Attorney General
 * 1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss activist and murderer
 * 1952  – Werner Grissmann, Austrian alpine skier
 * 1952  – Mikhail Umansky, Russian chess player (d. 2010)
 * 1953 – Paul Allen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft (d. 2018)
 * 1953  – Felipe Yáñez, Spanish cyclist
 * 1954 – Thomas de Maizière, German politician of the Christian Democratic Union
 * 1954  – Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkinabé director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
 * 1954  – Phil Thompson, English footballer and coach
 * 1955 – Peter Fleming, American tennis player
 * 1955  – Jeff Koons, American painter and sculptor
 * 1955  – Nello Musumeci, Italian politician and President of Sicily
 * 1956 – Robby Benson, American actor and director
 * 1956  – Geena Davis, American actress and producer
 * 1958 – Hussein Saeed, Iraqi footballer
 * 1958  – Matt Salmon, American politician
 * 1958  – Sergei Walter, Ukrainian politician (d. 2015)
 * 1958  – Michael Wincott, Canadian actor
 * 1959 – Sergei Alifirenko, Russian pistol shooter
 * 1959  – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
 * 1960 – Sidney Lowe, American basketball player
 * 1960  – Mike Terrana, American hard rock and heavy metal drummer
 * 1961 – Kevin Cramer, American politician
 * 1961  – Cornelia Pröll, Austrian alpine skier
 * 1961  – Ivo Pukanić Croatian journalist (d. 2008)
 * 1961  – Gary Shaw, English footballer
 * 1961  – Piotr Ugrumov, Russian cyclist
 * 1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist and academic
 * 1962  – Isabelle Nanty, French actress, director and screenwriter
 * 1962  – Gabriele Pin, Italian footballer and coach
 * 1962  – Zoran Thaler, Slovenian politician
 * 1962  – Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
 * 1962  – Erik Verlinde, Dutch theoretical physicist
 * 1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball player
 * 1963  – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player and coach
 * 1964 – Andreas Bauer, German ski jumper
 * 1964  – Tony Dolan, English musician and actor
 * 1964  – Gérald Passi, French footballer
 * 1964  – Ricardo Serna, Spanish footballer
 * 1964  – Aleksandar Šoštar, Serbian water polo player
 * 1964  – Danny Wallace, English footballer
 * 1965 – Robert Del Naja, British artist, musician and singer
 * 1965  – Jam Master Jay, American DJ, rapper, and producer (d. 2002)
 * 1965  – Masahiro Wada, Japanese footballer
 * 1967 – Ulf Dahlén, Swedish ice hockey player
 * 1967  – Alfred Jermaniš, Slovenian footballer
 * 1967  – Artashes Minasian, Armenian chess player
 * 1967  – Gorō Miyazaki, Japanese film director and landscaper
 * 1968 – Artur Dmitriev, Russian ice skater
 * 1968  – Dmitry Fomin, Russian volleyball player
 * 1968  – Sébastien Lifshitz, French director
 * 1968  – Charlotte Ross, American actress
 * 1968  – Ilya Smirin, Israeli chess Grandmaster
 * 1969 – John Ducey, American actor
 * 1969  – Eduard Hämäläinen, Finnish-Belarusian decathlete
 * 1969  – Karina Lombard, French-American actress and singer
 * 1969  – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese comic artist
 * 1970 – Alen Bokšić, former Croatian footballer
 * 1970  – Marina Foïs, French actress
 * 1970  – Ken Leung, American actor
 * 1970  – Oren Peli, Israeli-American director, producer and screenwriter
 * 1971 – Uni Arge, Faroese footballer and entertainer
 * 1971  – Rafael Berges, Spanish footballer
 * 1971  – Doug Edwards, American basketball player
 * 1971  – Dmitri Khlestov, Russian footballer
 * 1971  – Sergey Klevchenya, Russian speed skater
 * 1971  – Dylan Kussman, American actor
 * 1971  – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player and coach
 * 1972 – Billel Dziri, Algerian footballer and manager
 * 1972  – Rick Falkvinge, Swedish businessman and politician
 * 1972  – Sead Kapetanović, Bosnian footballer
 * 1972  – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer and producer
 * 1972  – Cat Power, American singer, musician and actress
 * 1972  – Shawn Rojeski, American curler
 * 1972  – Sabina Valbusa, Italian cross-country skier
 * 1973 – Rob Hayles, English cyclist
 * 1973  – Chris Kilmore, American musician and DJ
 * 1973  – Edvinas Krungolcas, Lithuanian modern pentathlete
 * 1973  – Flavio Maestri, Peruvian footballer
 * 1974 – Malena Alterio, Spanish actress
 * 1974  – Maxwell Atoms, American animator, screenwriter and voice actor
 * 1974  – Kim Dotcom, German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and political activist
 * 1974  – Arthémon Hatungimana, Burundian middle-distance runner
 * 1974  – Vincent Laresca, American actor
 * 1974  – Ulrich Le Pen, French footballer
 * 1974  – Marco Zanotti, Italian cyclist
 * 1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer and coach
 * 1975  – Casey FitzRandolph, American speedskater
 * 1975  – Yuji Ide, Japanese race car driver
 * 1975  – Ito, Spanish footballer and manager
 * 1975  – Willem Korsten, Dutch footballer
 * 1975  – Jason Moran, American jazz pianist, composer and educator
 * 1975  – Florin Șerban, Romanian director
 * 1975  – Alyaksandr Yermakovich, Belarusian footballer and manager
 * 1976 – Aivaras Abromavičius, Lithuanian-Ukrainian banker and politician; 15th Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development
 * 1976  – Raivis Belohvoščiks, Latvian cyclist
 * 1976  – Emma Bunton, English singer
 * 1976  – Lars Eidinger, German actor
 * 1976  – Giorgio Frezzolini, Italian footballer
 * 1976  – Igors Stepanovs, Latvian footballer
 * 1977 – Hussein Abdulghani, Saudi Arabian footballer
 * 1977  – Bradley Carnell, South African footballer
 * 1977  – John DeSantis, Canadian actor
 * 1977  – Kirsten Klose, German hammer thrower
 * 1977  – Denis Lunghi, Italian cyclist
 * 1977  – Ulrike Maisch, German runner
 * 1977  – Phil Neville, English footballer and manager
 * 1977  – Michael Ruffin, American basketball player
 * 1977  – Jerry Trainor, American actor, director, and producer
 * 1978 – Faris Al-Sultan, German triathlete
 * 1978  – Hernán Rodrigo López, Uruguayan footballer
 * 1978  – Peter von Allmen, Swiss cross-country skier
 * 1978  – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
 * 1979 – Quinton Jacobs, Namibian footballer
 * 1979  – Melendi, Spanish singer
 * 1979  – Brian O'Driscoll, Irish rugby player
 * 1980 – Karsten Forsterling, Australian rower
 * 1980  – Lee Kyung-won, South Korean badminton player
 * 1980  – Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
 * 1980  – Xavier Pons, Spanish rally diver
 * 1981 – Gillian Chung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
 * 1981  – Wu Hanxiong, Chinese fencer
 * 1981  – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1981  – Andy Lee, South Korean singer and actor
 * 1981  – Izabella Miko, Polish actress, dancer, and producer
 * 1981  – Jung Ryeo-won, South Korean actress
 * 1981  – David F. Sandberg, Swedish filmmaker
 * 1981  – Michel Teló, Brazilian singer-songwriter
 * 1982 – Richard José Blanco, Venezuelan footballer
 * 1982  – Nicolas Mahut, French tennis player
 * 1982  – Adriano Ferreira Martins, Brazilian footballer
 * 1982  – Sarah Ourahmoune, French boxer
 * 1982  – Simon Rolfes, German footballer
 * 1983 – Alex Acker, American-Italian basketball player
 * 1983  – Svetlana Khodchenkova, Russian actress
 * 1983  – Asael Lubotzky, Israeli physician, author and molecular biologist
 * 1983  – Maryse Mizanin, Canadian-American wrestler
 * 1983  – Álvaro Quirós, Spanish golfer
 * 1983  – Francesca Segat, Italian swimmer
 * 1983  – Marieke van den Ham, Dutch water polo player
 * 1983  – Kelly VanderBeek, Canadian alpine skier
 * 1983  – Moritz Volz, German footballer
 * 1984 – Luke Grimes, American actor
 * 1984  – Haloti Ngata, American football player
 * 1985 – Artur Beterbiev, Russian boxer
 * 1985  – Aura Dione, Danish singer and songwriter
 * 1985  – Yumi Hara, Japanese voice actress and singer
 * 1985  – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model and actress
 * 1985  – Ri Se-gwang, North Korean artistic gymnast
 * 1985  – Dmitri Sokolov, Russian basketball player
 * 1985  – Ryan Suter, American ice hockey player
 * 1986 – César Arzo, Spanish footballer
 * 1986  – Edson Barboza, Brazilian mixed martial artist
 * 1986  – Peyton Hillis, American football player
 * 1986  – João Gomes Júnior, Brazilian swimmer
 * 1986  – Javi López, Spanish footballer
 * 1986  – Gina Mambrú, Dominican Republic volleyball player
 * 1986  – Jonathan Quick, American ice hockey player
 * 1986  – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor (d. 2020)
 * 1986  – Óscar Vílchez, Peruvian footballer
 * 1987 – Oskars Bārtulis, Latvian ice hockey player
 * 1987  – Brandon Crawford, American baseball player
 * 1987  – Aida Hadzialic, Swedish politician
 * 1987  – Darren Helm, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1987  – Shaun Keeling, South African rower
 * 1987  – Augustine Kiprono Choge, Kenyan runner
 * 1987  – Will Johnson, Canadian soccer player
 * 1987  – Dominik Roels, German cyclist
 * 1987  – Maša Zec Peškirič, Slovenian tennis player
 * 1987  – Ikumi Yoshimatsu, Japanese actress
 * 1988 – Glaiza de Castro, Filipino actress and singer
 * 1988  – Ashton Eaton, American decathlete
 * 1988  – Rolands Freimanis, Latvian basketball player
 * 1988  – Vanessa Hessler, Italian-American model and actress
 * 1988  – Aleksandar Lazevski, Macedonian footballer
 * 1988  – Ángel Mena, Ecuadorian footballer
 * 1988  – Valérie Tétreault, Canadian tennis player
 * 1988  – Pieter Timmers, Belgian swimmer
 * 1988  – Nemanja Tomić, Serbian footballer
 * 1989 – Doğuş Balbay, Turkish basketball player
 * 1989  – Kayla Banwarth, American indoor volleyball player
 * 1989  – Férébory Doré, Congolese footballer
 * 1989  – Sergey Fesikov, Russian swimmer
 * 1989  – Justin Houston, American football player
 * 1989  – Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian footballer
 * 1989  – Zhang Shuai, Chinese tennis player
 * 1990 – Knowledge Musona, Zimbabwean footballer
 * 1990  – Kelly Rohrbach, American model and actress
 * 1991 – Ali Al-Busaidi, Omani footballer
 * 1991  – Jan Hirt, Czech cyclist
 * 1991  – Brayden McNabb, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1991  – Marta Pagnini, Italian gymnast
 * 1992 – Sven Erik Bystrøm, Norwegian cyclist
 * 1992  – James Duckworth, Australian tennis player
 * 1992  – Quinton Howden, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1992  – Kwame Karikari, Ghanaian footballer
 * 1992  – Tom Kühnhackl, German ice hockey player
 * 1992  – Nicolás Mezquida, Uruguayan footballer
 * 1992  – Verónica Cepede Royg, Paraguayan tennis player
 * 1992  – Roland Szolnoki, Hungarian footballer
 * 1993 – Muralha, Brazilian footballer
 * 1994 – Amin Affane, Swedish footballer
 * 1994  – Laura Robson, Australian-English tennis player
 * 1994  – Booboo Stewart, American actor
 * 1995 – Jake Elliott, American football player
 * 1995  – Marine Johannès, French basketball player
 * 1995  – Alanna Kennedy, Australian soccer player
 * 1995  – Nguyễn Công Phượng, Vietnamese footballer
 * 1995  – Yuliya Stupak, Russian cross-country skier
 * 1996 – Marco Asensio, Spanish footballer
 * 1996   – Cristian Pavón, Argentine footballer
 * 1997 – Mamadi Diakite, Guinean basketball player
 * 1997  – Jeremy Shada, American actor, musician and singer
 * 1997  – Ilia Topuria, German-Georgian mixed martial artist
 * 1998 – Pervis Estupiñán, Ecuadorian footballer
 * 1999 – Rubina Ali, Indian actress
 * 1999  – Fūju Kamio, Japanese actor
 * 1999   – Alisha Lehmann, Swiss footballer
 * 2001 – Baek Jong-bum, South Korean footballer
 * 2003 – Hannibal Mejbri, Tunisian footballer
 * 2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
 * 2005 – IShowSpeed, American YouTuber
 * 2007 – Luke Littler, English darts player

Pre-1600

 * 420 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empire
 * 496 – Epiphanius of Pavia, Italian bishop and saint (b. 438)
 * 917 – Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (b. 880)
 * 918 – Liu Zhijun, Chinese general
 * 939 – Yang Pu, Chinese emperor (b. 900)
 * 942 – An Chongrong, Chinese general (Five Dynasties)
 * 945 – Yang Tan, Chinese general and governor
 * 1118 – Pope Paschal II (b. 1050)
 * 1203 – Agnes II, Abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1139)
 * 1320 – Árni Helgason, Icelandic bishop (b. c. 1260)
 * 1527 – Juan de Grijalva, Spanish explorer (b. 1489)
 * 1546 – Azai Sukemasa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1491)

1601–1900

 * 1609 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French historian and scholar (b. 1540)
 * 1638 – Ignazio Donati, Italian composer (b. 1570)
 * 1670 – Claude Duval, French highwayman (b. 1643)
 * 1683 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1621)
 * 1699 – Obadiah Walker, English historian and academic (b. 1616)
 * 1706 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)
 * 1710 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic and critic (b. 1638)
 * 1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1661)
 * 1731 – Ignjat Đurđević, Croatian poet and translator (b. 1675)
 * 1773 – Alexis Piron, French playwright and author (b. 1689)
 * 1774 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1717)
 * 1775 – Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel (b. 1742)
 * 1789 – Baron d'Holbach, French-German philosopher and author (b. 1723)
 * 1793 – Louis XVI of France (b. 1754)
 * 1795 – Samuel Wallis, English navigator and explorer (b. 1728)
 * 1809 – Josiah Hornblower, American engineer and politician (b. 1729)
 * 1814 – Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French botanist and author (b. 1737)
 * 1823 – Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentinian cleric, journalist, and poet (b. 1761)
 * 1831 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (b. 1781)
 * 1851 – Albert Lortzing, German actor and composer (b. 1801)
 * 1862 – Božena Němcová, Austrian-Czech author and poet (b. 1820)
 * 1870 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (b. 1812)
 * 1872 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright and poet (b. 1791)
 * 1881 – Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
 * 1891 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (b. 1842)

1901–present

 * 1901 – Elisha Gray, American engineer, co-founded Western Electric (b. 1835)
 * 1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1857)
 * 1918 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (b. 1857)
 * 1919 – Gojong of Korea (b. 1852)
 * 1919  – Ahmed Muhtar Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 277th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1839)
 * 1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)
 * 1926 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
 * 1928 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer (b. 1858)
 * 1931 – Felix Blumenfeld, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
 * 1932 – Lytton Strachey, English writer and critic (b. 1880)
 * 1933 – George Moore, Irish author, poet, and critic (b. 1852)
 * 1937 – Marie Prevost, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1896)
 * 1938 – Georges Méliès, French actor, director, and producer (b. 1861)
 * 1945 – Rash Behari Bose, founder of the Indian National Army (b. 1886)
 * 1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (b. 1876)
 * 1950 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (b. 1903)
 * 1955 – Archie Hahn, German-American runner and coach (b. 1880)
 * 1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1881)
 * 1959  – Frances Gertrude McGill, pioneering Canadian forensic pathologist (b. 1882)
 * 1959  – Carl Switzer, American child actor and hunting guide (b. 1927)
 * 1961 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss author and poet (b. 1887)
 * 1963 – Acharya Shivpujan Sahay, Indian author, poet, and academic (b. 1893)
 * 1963  – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (b. 1881)
 * 1967 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)
 * 1977 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet and journalist (b. 1906)
 * 1978 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (b. 1898)
 * 1983 – Lamar Williams, American bass player (b. 1949)
 * 1984 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek playwright and poet (b. 1893)
 * 1984  – Jackie Wilson, American singer (b. 1934)
 * 1985 – James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)
 * 1985  – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (b. 1930)
 * 1987 – Charles Goodell, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1926)
 * 1988 – Vincent Lingiari, Australian Aboriginal rights activist (b. 1919)
 * 1989 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (b. 1922)
 * 1989  – Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (b. 1914)
 * 1993 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1903)
 * 1994 – Bassel al-Assad, Son of the former President of the Syrian Arab Republic Hafez al-Assad (b. 1962)
 * 1998 – Jack Lord, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)
 * 1999 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
 * 2002 – Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
 * 2003 – Paul Haines, American-Canadian poet and songwriter (b. 1933)
 * 2003  – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1916)
 * 2004 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian author and playwright (b. 1929)
 * 2005 – Theun de Vries, Dutch author and poet (b. 1907)
 * 2005  – John L. Hess, American journalist and critic (b. 1917)
 * 2005  – Kaljo Raid, Estonian cellist, composer, and pastor (b. 1921)
 * 2006 – Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
 * 2009 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician and diplomat (b. 1946)
 * 2010 – Paul Quarrington, Canadian author, playwright, guitarist, and composer (b. 1953)
 * 2011 – Theoni V. Aldredge, Greek-American costume designer (b. 1922)
 * 2011  – Dennis Oppenheim, American sculptor and photographer (b. 1938)
 * 2011  – E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1958)
 * 2013 – Ahmet Mete Işıkara, Turkish geophysicist and academic (b. 1941)
 * 2013  – Chumpol Silpa-archa, Thai academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1940)
 * 2013  – Michael Winner, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
 * 2015 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian, and author (b. 1942)
 * 2015  – Leon Brittan, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1939)
 * 2015  – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (b. 1946)
 * 2015  – Canek Sánchez Guevara, Cuban author and dissident (b. 1974)
 * 2016 – Bill Johnson, American skier (b. 1960)
 * 2016  – Mrinalini Sarabhai, a 1992-Padma Bhushan award winner Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. (b. 1918)
 * 2019 – Kaye Ballard, American actress (b. 1925)
 * 2019  – Henri, Count of Paris, Head of the House of Orléans (b. 1933)
 * 2019  – Emiliano Sala, Argentine footballer (b. 1990)
 * 2019  – Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (b. 1926)
 * 2020 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
 * 2020  – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (b. 1931)
 * 2022 – Louie Anderson, American actor and comedian (b. 1953)
 * 2022  – Leonor Oyarzún, Chilean socialite, First Lady of Chile (b. 1919)

Holidays and observances

 * Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia)
 * Christian feast day:
 * Agnes
 * Demiana (Coptic Church)
 * Fructuosus
 * John Yi Yun-il (one of The Korean Martyrs)
 * Meinrad of Einsiedeln
 * January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Errol Barrow Day (Barbados)
 * Flag Day (Quebec)
 * Grandmother's Day (Poland)
 * Lady of Altagracia Day (Dominican Republic)
 * Lincoln Alexander Day (Canada)
 * National Hugging Day (United States)