January 5

Pre-1600

 * 1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.

1601–1900

 * 1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French army beats Brandenburg.
 * 1757 – Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, who becomes the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering (the traditional form of capital punishment used for regicides).
 * 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by former American general Benedict Arnold.
 * 1822 – The government of Central America votes for total annexation to the First Mexican Empire.
 * 1875 – The Palais Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, is inaugurated in Paris.
 * 1895 – Dreyfus affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.
 * 1900 – Irish nationalist leader John Edward Redmond calls for revolt against British rule.

1901–present

 * 1911 – Kappa Alpha Psi, the world's third-oldest and largest black fraternity, is founded at Indiana University.
 * 1912 – The sixth All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Prague Party Conference) opens. In the course of the conference, Vladimir Lenin and his supporters break from the rest of the party to form the Bolshevik movement.
 * 1913 – First Balkan War: The Battle of Lemnos begins; Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war.
 * 1914 – The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and minimum daily wage of $5 in salary plus bonuses.
 * 1919 – The German Workers' Party, which would become the Nazi Party, is founded in Munich.
 * 1925 – Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female governor in the United States.
 * 1933 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
 * 1941 – Amy Johnson, a 37-year-old pilot and the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia, disappears after bailing out of her plane over the River Thames, and is presumed dead.
 * 1944 – The Daily Mail becomes the first major London newspaper to be published on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
 * 1945 – The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland.
 * 1949 – In his State of the Union address, United States President Harry S. Truman unveils his Fair Deal program.
 * 1953 – The play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett receives its première in Paris.
 * 1957 – In a speech given to the United States Congress, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces the establishment of what will later be called the Eisenhower Doctrine.
 * 1967 – Cultural Revolution: The Shanghai People's Commune is established following the seizure of power from local city officials by revolutionaries.
 * 1968 – Alexander Dubček comes to power in Czechoslovakia, effectively beginning the "Prague Spring".
 * 1969 – The Venera 5 space probe is launched at 06:28:08 UTC from Baikonur.
 * 1969 – Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes in Fernhill, West Sussex, while on approach to Gatwick Airport, killing 50 people.
 * 1970 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 10,000 and 15,000 people are known to have been killed and about another 26,000 are injured.
 * 1972 – US President Richard Nixon announces the Space Shuttle program.
 * 1975 – The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
 * 1976 – The Khmer Rouge announce that the new Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea is ratified.
 * 1976 – The Troubles: Gunmen shoot dead ten Protestant civilians after stopping their minibus at Kingsmill in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, UK, allegedly as retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before.
 * 1991 – Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, Georgia, opening the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.
 * 1991 – Somali Civil War: The United States Embassy to Somalia in Mogadishu is evacuated by helicopter airlift days after the outbreak of violence in Mogadishu.
 * 1993 – The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.
 * 2005 – The dwarf planet Eris is discovered by Palomar Observatory-based astronomers, later motivating the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the term planet for the first time.
 * 2014 – A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV MK.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic engine.
 * 2022 – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismisses Prime Minister Asqar Mamin and declares state of emergency over the 2022 Kazakh unrest.

Pre-1600

 * 1209 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English prince, nominal King of Germany (d. 1272)
 * 1530 – Gaspar de Bono, monk of the Order of the Minims (d. 1571)
 * 1548 – Francisco Suárez, Spanish priest, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1617)
 * 1587 – Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer and explorer (d. 1641)
 * 1592 – Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor (d. 1666)

1601–1900

 * 1620 – Miklós Zrínyi, Croatian military commander (d. 1664)
 * 1640 – Paolo Lorenzani, Italian composer (d. 1713)
 * 1735 – Claude Martin, French-English general and explorer (d. 1800)
 * 1767 – Jean-Baptiste Say, French economist and academic (d. 1832)
 * 1779 – Stephen Decatur, American commander (d. 1820)
 * 1779 – Zebulon Pike, American general and explorer (d. 1813)
 * 1781 – Gaspar Flores de Abrego, three terms mayor of San Antonio, in Spanish Texas (d. 1836)
 * 1793 – Harvey Putnam, American lawyer and politician (d. 1855)
 * 1808 – Anton Füster, Austrian priest and activist (d. 1881)
 * 1834 – William John Wills, English surgeon and explorer (d. 1861)
 * 1838 – Camille Jordan, French mathematician and academic (d. 1922)
 * 1846 – Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
 * 1846 – Mariam Baouardy, Syrian Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1878)
 * 1855 – King Camp Gillette, American businessman, founded the Gillette Company (d. 1932)
 * 1864 – Bob Caruthers, American baseball player and manager (d. 1911)
 * 1867 – Dimitrios Gounaris, Greek lawyer and politician, 94th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1922)
 * 1871 – Frederick Converse, American composer and academic (d. 1940)
 * 1874 – Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
 * 1876 – Konrad Adenauer, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of West Germany (d. 1967)
 * 1879 – Hans Eppinger, Austrian physician and academic (d. 1946)
 * 1880 – Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1951)
 * 1881 – Pablo Gargallo, Spanish sculptor and painter (d. 1934)
 * 1882 – Herbert Bayard Swope, American journalist (d. 1958)
 * 1882 – Edwin Barclay, 18th president of Liberia (d. 1955)
 * 1885 – Humbert Wolfe, Italian-English poet and civil servant (d. 1940)
 * 1886 – Markus Reiner, Israeli physicist and engineer (d. 1976)
 * 1892 – Agnes von Kurowsky, American nurse (d. 1984)
 * 1893 – Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian-American guru and philosopher (d. 1952)
 * 1897 – Kiyoshi Miki, Japanese philosopher and author (d. 1945)
 * 1900 – Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (d. 1955)

1901–present

 * 1902 – Hubert Beuve-Méry, French journalist (d. 1989)
 * 1902 – Stella Gibbons, English journalist and author (d. 1989)
 * 1903 – Harold Gatty, Australian pilot and navigator (d. 1957)
 * 1904 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer and psychic (d. 1997)
 * 1904 – Erika Morini, Austrian violinist (d. 1995)
 * 1906 – Kathleen Kenyon, English archaeologist and academic (d. 1978)
 * 1907 – Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish athlete (d. 1969)
 * 1908 – George Dolenz, Italian-American actor (d. 1963)
 * 1909 – Lucienne Bloch, Swiss-American sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1995)
 * 1909 – Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 1994)
 * 1910 – Jack Lovelock, New Zealand runner and journalist (d. 1949)
 * 1911 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2001)
 * 1914 – Doug Deitz, Australian rugby league player (d. 1994)
 * 1914 – George Reeves, American actor and director (d. 1959)
 * 1915 – Arthur H. Robinson, Canadian geographer and cartographer (d. 2004)
 * 1917 – Francis L. Kellogg, American businessman and diplomat (d. 2006)
 * 1917 – Wieland Wagner, German director and producer (d. 1966)
 * 1917 – Jane Wyman, American actress (d. 2007)
 * 1919 – Hector Abhayavardhana, Sri Lankan theorist and politician (d. 2012)
 * 1919 – Severino Gazzelloni, Italian flute player (d. 1992)
 * 1920 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist and educator (d. 1995)
 * 1921 – Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1990)
 * 1921 – Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Luxembourgish soldier and aristocrat (d. 2019)
 * 1921 – John H. Reed, American politician and diplomat, 67th Governor of Maine (d. 2012)
 * 1922 – Anthony Synnot, Australian admiral (d. 2001)
 * 1923 – Sam Phillips, American radio host and producer, founded Sun Records (d. 2003)
 * 1926 – Veikko Karvonen, Finnish runner (d. 2007)
 * 1926 – W. D. Snodgrass, American poet (d. 2009)
 * 1926 – Hosea Williams, American businessman and activist (d. 2000)
 * 1927 – Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, American guru and author, founded Iraivan Temple (d. 2001)
 * 1928 – Imtiaz Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2016)
 * 1928 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th President of Pakistan (d. 1979)
 * 1928 – Denise Bryer, English actress (d. 2021)
 * 1928 – Walter Mondale, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 42nd Vice President of the United States (d. 2021)
 * 1929 – Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
 * 1930 – Kevin Considine, Australian rugby league player (d. 2023)
 * 1931 – Alvin Ailey, American dancer and choreographer, founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (d. 1989)
 * 1931 – Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist, poet, and author
 * 1931 – Walt Davis, American athlete (d. 2020)
 * 1931 – Robert Duvall, American actor and director
 * 1932 – Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (d. 2016)
 * 1932 – Chuck Noll, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
 * 1934 – Murli Manohar Joshi, Indian politician
 * 1934 – Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (d. 2013)
 * 1936 – Florence King, American journalist and memoirist (d. 2016)
 * 1936 – Terry Lineen, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2020)
 * 1938 – Juan Carlos I of Spain
 * 1938 – Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenyan author and playwright
 * 1939 – M. E. H. Maharoof, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1997)
 * 1940 – Athol Guy, Australian singer-songwriter and bassist
 * 1941 – Bob Cunis, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2008)
 * 1941 – Chuck McKinley, American tennis player (d. 1986)
 * 1941 – Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
 * 1941 – Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian cricketer and coach (d. 2011)
 * 1942 – Maurizio Pollini, Italian pianist and conductor (d. 2024)
 * 1942 – Charlie Rose, American journalist and talk show host
 * 1943 – Mary Gaudron, Australian lawyer and judge
 * 1943 – Murtaz Khurtsilava, Georgian footballer and manager
 * 1944 – Carolyn McCarthy, American nurse and politician
 * 1944 – Ed Rendell, American politician, 45th Governor of Pennsylvania
 * 1946 – Diane Keaton, American actress, director, and businesswoman
 * 1947 – Mike DeWine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Ohio
 * 1948 – Ted Lange, American actor, director, and screenwriter
 * 1950 – Ioan P. Culianu, Romanian historian, philosopher, and author (d. 1991)
 * 1950 – Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales
 * 1950 – John Manley, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
 * 1950 – Chris Stein, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
 * 1952 – Uli Hoeneß, German footballer and manager
 * 1953 – Pamela Sue Martin, American actress
 * 1953 – Mike Rann, English-Australian journalist and politician, 44th Premier of South Australia
 * 1953 – George Tenet, American civil servant and academic, 18th Director of Central Intelligence
 * 1954 – Alex English, American basketball player and coach
 * 1954 – László Krasznahorkai, Hungarian author and screenwriter
 * 1955 – Mamata Banerjee, Indian lawyer and politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal
 * 1956 – Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German academic and politician, 14th Vice-Chancellor of Germany
 * 1957 – Kevin Hastings, Australian rugby league player
 * 1957 – George Moroko, Australian rugby league player
 * 1958 – Jiří Hrdina, Czech ice hockey player
 * 1958 – Ron Kittle, American baseball player and manager
 * 1959 – Clancy Brown, American actor
 * 1959 – Nancy Delahunt, Canadian curler
 * 1960 – Glenn Strömberg, Swedish footballer and sportscaster
 * 1961 – Iris DeMent, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1962 – Suzy Amis, American actress and model
 * 1962 – Danny Jackson, American baseball player and manager
 * 1963 – Jeff Fassero, American baseball player and coach
 * 1965 – Vinnie Jones, British footballer and actor
 * 1965 – Stuart Raper, Australian rugby league player and coach
 * 1965 – Patrik Sjöberg, Swedish high jumper
 * 1967 – Joe Flanigan, American actor
 * 1968 – Carrie Ann Inaba, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
 * 1968 – Joé Juneau, Canadian ice hockey player and engineer
 * 1969 – Marilyn Manson, American singer-songwriter, actor, and director
 * 1969 – Paul McGillion, Scottish actor
 * 1969 – Shaun Micheel, American golfer
 * 1969 – Shea Whigham, American actor
 * 1970 – Nigel Gaffey, Australian rugby league player
 * 1971 – Stian Carstensen, Norwegian multi-instrumentalist and composer
 * 1972 – Sakis Rouvas, Greek singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
 * 1973 – Derek Cecil, American actor
 * 1973 – Uday Chopra, Indian actor and filmmaker
 * 1974 – Jessica Chaffin, American actress, comedian, and writer
 * 1974 – Iwan Thomas, Welsh sprinter and coach
 * 1975 – Bradley Cooper, American actor and producer
 * 1975 – Warrick Dunn, American football player
 * 1975 – Mike Grier, American ice hockey player and scout
 * 1976 – Diego Tristán, Spanish footballer
 * 1977 – Gavin Lester, Australian rugby league player
 * 1978 – January Jones, American actress
 * 1979 – Kyle Calder, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1979 – Giuseppe Gibilisco, Italian pole vaulter
 * 1979 – Scott Kremerskothen, Australian cricketer
 * 1980 – Luke Bailey, Australian rugby league player
 * 1980 – Brad Meyers, Australian rugby league player
 * 1981 – Deadmau5, Canadian musician
 * 1981 – Brooklyn Sudano, American actress
 * 1982 – Nori Aoki, Japanese baseball player
 * 1982 – Janica Kostelić, Croatian skier
 * 1984 – Derrick Atkins, Bahamian sprinter
 * 1984 – Matt Ballin, Australian rugby league player
 * 1984 – Bronx Goodwin, Australian rugby league player
 * 1985 – Filinga Filiga, New Zealand rugby league player
 * 1985 – Anthony Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1985 – Diego Vera, Uruguayan footballer
 * 1986 – Deepika Padukone, Indian actress
 * 1987 – Dexter Bean, American race car driver
 * 1987 – Kristin Cavallari, American television personality
 * 1987 – Stuart Flanagan, Australian rugby league player
 * 1987 – Jason Mitchell, American actor
 * 1987 – Alexander Salák, Czech ice hockey player
 * 1988 – Azizulhasni Awang, Malaysian track cyclist
 * 1988 – Luke Daniels, English footballer
 * 1988 – Mandip Gill, English actress
 * 1988 – Miroslav Raduljica, Serbian basketball player
 * 1989 – Eduardo Escobar, Venezuelan-American baseball player
 * 1989 – Krisztián Németh, Hungarian footballer
 * 1990 – C. J. Cron, American baseball player
 * 1990 – José Iglesias, Cuban-American baseball player
 * 1990 – Mark Nicholls, Australian rugby league player
 * 1991 – Denis Alibec, Romanian footballer
 * 1991 – Eric Fisher, American football player
 * 1992 – Mike Faist, American actor, singer, and dancer
 * 1992 – Suki Waterhouse, English actress, singer-songwriter, and model
 * 1993 – Phillip Dorsett, American football player
 * 1993 – Franz Drameh, English actor
 * 1993 – Stefan Rzadzinski, Canadian race car driver
 * 1994 – Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Australian rugby league player
 * 1994 – Zemgus Girgensons, Latvian ice hockey player
 * 1994 – Matt Grzelcyk, American ice hockey player
 * 1994 – Tyrone Phillips, Australian rugby league player
 * 1995 – Toafofoa Sipley, New Zealand rugby league player
 * 1996 – James Fisher-Harris, New Zealand rugby league player
 * 1996 – Tyler Ulis, American basketball player and coach
 * 1998 – Corey Horsburgh, Australian rugby league player
 * 2004 – Shane Wright, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 2009 – Walker Scobell, American actor

Pre-1600

 * 842 – Al-Mu'tasim, Abbasid caliph (b. 796)
 * 941 – Zhang Yanhan, Chinese chancellor (b. 884)
 * 1066 – Edward the Confessor, English king (b. 1004)
 * 1173 – Bolesław IV the Curly, High Duke of Poland (b. 1120)
 * 1382 – Philippa Plantagenet, Countess of Ulster (b. 1355)
 * 1400 – John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English politician (b. 1350)
 * 1430 – Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (b. 1394)
 * 1477 – Charles, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1433)
 * 1524 – Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (b. 1450)
 * 1527 – Felix Manz, Swiss martyr (b. 1498)
 * 1578 – Giulio Clovio, Dalmatian painter (b. 1498)
 * 1580 – Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (b. 1542)
 * 1589 – Catherine de' Medici, queen of Henry II of France (b. 1519)

1601–1900

 * 1713 – Jean Chardin, French explorer and author (b. 1643)
 * 1740 – Antonio Lotti, Italian composer and educator (b. 1667)
 * 1762 – Empress Elizabeth of Russia (b. 1709)
 * 1771 – John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1710)
 * 1796 – Samuel Huntington, American jurist and politician, 18th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1731)
 * 1823 – George Johnston, Scottish-Australian colonel and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales (b. 1764)
 * 1845 – Robert Smirke, English painter and illustrator (b. 1753)
 * 1846 – Alfred Thomas Agate, American painter and illustrator (b. 1812)
 * 1858 – Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Austrian field marshal (b. 1766)
 * 1860 – John Neumann, Czech-American bishop and saint (b. 1811)
 * 1883 – Charles Tompson, Australian poet and public servant (b. 1806)
 * 1885 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (b. 1812)
 * 1888 – Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1803)
 * 1889 – Konstanty Schmidt-Ciążyński, Polish collector and art connoisseur who donated a large collection to the National Museum in Kraków (b. 1818)
 * 1899 – Ezra Otis Kendall, American professor, astronomer and mathematician (b. 1818)

1901–present

 * 1904 – Karl Alfred von Zittel, German paleontologist and geologist (b. 1839)
 * 1910 – Léon Walras, French-Swiss economist and academic (b. 1834)
 * 1917 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (b. 1865)
 * 1922 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish sailor and explorer (b. 1874)
 * 1933 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (b. 1872)
 * 1942 – Tina Modotti, Italian photographer, model, actress, and activist (b. 1896)
 * 1943 – George Washington Carver, American botanist, educator, and inventor (b. 1864)
 * 1951 – Soh Jaipil, South Korean-American journalist and activist (b. 1864)
 * 1951 – Andrei Platonov, Russian journalist and author (b. 1899)
 * 1952 – Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, Scottish colonel and politician, 46th Governor-General of India (b. 1887)
 * 1952 – Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian-Italian physician and activist (b. 1869)
 * 1954 – Rabbit Maranville, American baseball player and manager (b. 1891)
 * 1956 – Mistinguett, French actress and singer (b. 1875)
 * 1963 – Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1896)
 * 1970 – Max Born, German physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
 * 1970 – Roberto Gerhard, Catalan composer and scholar (b. 1896)
 * 1971 – Douglas Shearer, Canadian-American sound designer and engineer (b. 1899)
 * 1974 – Lev Oborin, Russian pianist and educator (b. 1907)
 * 1976 – John A. Costello, Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1891)
 * 1978 – Wyatt Emory Cooper, American author and screenwriter (b. 1927)
 * 1979 – Billy Bletcher, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
 * 1979 – Charles Mingus, American bassist, composer, bandleader (b. 1922)
 * 1981 – Harold Urey, American chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1893)
 * 1981 – Lanza del Vasto, Italian poet and philosopher (b. 1901)
 * 1982 – Hans Conried, American actor (b. 1917)
 * 1982 – Edmund Herring, Australian general and politician, 7th Chief Justice of Victoria (b. 1892)
 * 1985 – Robert L. Surtees, American cinematographer (b. 1906)
 * 1987 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (b. 1926)
 * 1987 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian skier (b. 1875)
 * 1990 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (b. 1914)
 * 1991 – Vasko Popa, Serbian poet and academic (b. 1922)
 * 1994 – Tip O'Neill, American lawyer and politician, 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1912)
 * 1997 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1924)
 * 1997 – Burton Lane, American composer and songwriter (b. 1912)
 * 1998 – Sonny Bono, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician (b. 1935)
 * 2000 – Kumar Ponnambalam, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1938)
 * 2003 – Roy Jenkins, Welsh politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1920)
 * 2004 – Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist, co-developed penicillin (b. 1911)
 * 2006 – Merlyn Rees, Welsh educator and politician, Home Secretary (b. 1920)
 * 2007 – Momofuku Ando, Taiwanese-Japanese businessman, founded Nissin Foods (b. 1910)
 * 2009 – Griffin Bell, American lawyer and politician, 72nd United States Attorney General (b. 1918)
 * 2010 – Willie Mitchell, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer (b. 1928)
 * 2010 – Kenneth Noland, American painter (b. 1924)
 * 2012 – Isaac Díaz Pardo, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
 * 2012 – Frederica Sagor Maas, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
 * 2013 – Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Pakistani scholar and politician (b. 1938)
 * 2014 – Eusébio, Mozambican-Portuguese footballer and manager (b. 1942)
 * 2014 – Carmen Zapata, American actress (b. 1927)
 * 2015 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French racing driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1937)
 * 2015 – Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, American bishop (b. 1912)
 * 2016 – Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1925)
 * 2017 – Jill Saward, English rape victim and activist (b. 1965)
 * 2018 – Asghar Khan, Pakistani three star general and politician (b. 1921)
 * 2018 – Thomas Bopp, American astronomer best known as the co-discoverer of comet Hale–Bopp (b. 1949)
 * 2018 – Karin von Aroldingen, German ballerina (b. 1941)
 * 2019 – Bernice Sandler, American women's rights activist (b. 1928)
 * 2019 – Dragoslav Šekularac, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1937)
 * 2020 – Tafazzul Haque Habiganji, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician (b. 1938)
 * 2021 – Colin Bell, English footballer (b. 1946)
 * 2021 – John Georgiadis, English violinist and composer (b. 1939)
 * 2022 – Kim Mi-soo, South Korean actress and model (b. 1992)
 * 2024 – Joseph Lelyveld, American journalist and executive editor of The New York Times (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian Feast day:
 * Charles of Mount Argus
 * John Neumann (Catholic Church)
 * Pope Telesphorus
 * Simeon Stylites (Latin Church)
 * January 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (Harbin, China)
 * Joma Shinji (Japan)
 * National Bird Day (United States)
 * The Twelfth day of Christmas and the Twelfth Night of Christmas. (Western Christianity)