January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 337 days remaining until the end of the year (338 in leap years).
Up to 1900
- 98 - Trajan becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire.
- 814 - Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne dies.
- 1393 - King Charles VI of France narrowly escapes death when several dancers' costumes catch fire during a masquerade ball.
- 1521 - The Diet of Worms begins.
- 1547 – As a nine-year-old, Edward VI becomes King of England, following the death of his father, King Henry VIII of England.
- 1573 - Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
- 1624 – Thomas Warner founds a colony on Saint Kitts.
- 1724 – The Russian Academy of the Sciences is founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia.
- 1754 – Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to Horace Mann.
- 1813 – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is first published.
- 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen first sights the Antarctic continent.
- 1821 - Bellingshausen's Antarctic expedition discovers an island just off the coast of Antarctica, which later becomes known as Alexander Island.
- 1841 – James Clark Ross' Antarctic expedition discovers the Ross Ice Shelf.
- 1846 - The Battle of Aliwal in India is won by British forces under Harry Smith.
- 1855 – In Panama, a locomotive travels from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
- 1870 - After leaving Halifax, Nova Scotia, British passenger steamer City of Boston disappears without trace in the North Atlantic Ocean, along with the 191 people on board.
- 1871 - Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in a French defeat and an armistice.
- 1878 - The Yale Daily News becomes the first daily (meaning it is published every day) college newspaper in the United States.
- 1878 - The first telephone box opens in New Haven, Connecticut.
- 1887 – The world's largest snowflakes are recorded at Fort Keogh, Montana.
- 1887 – Building of the Eiffel Tower begins.
- 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent is the first person convicted of a speeding offence.
- 1897 – The Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 was amended on the 28th of January by the British Raj within British India respectively.
- 1900 - The DFB, German Football Federation, is founded.
1901 – 2000
- 1908 - Some members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup against the dictatorship of Joao Franco.
- 1909 - US troops leave Cuba, except for Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, having been there since 1898.
- 1915 - An Act of Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
- 1917 - City-owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco for the first time.
- 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Rebels seize Helsinki.
- 1922 – The Knickerbocker Storm causes Washington, DC's biggest snowfall.
- 1932 - Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
- 1933 – Choudhary Rahmat Ali Khan chooses the name "Pakistan" on this date. Today it is one of the official national holidays of the 'Islamic Republic'.
- 1933 – Kurt von Schleicher resigns as Chancellor of Germany and suggests to Paul von Hindenburg to name Adolf Hitler as the next Chancellor.
- 1934 – The first ski tow in the United States begins operation in Vermont.
- 1935 – Iceland legalises abortion.
- 1938 - Rudolf Caracciola sets the World Land Speed Record on a public road, with 432.7 kilometers per hour (268.9 miles per hour).
- 1941 - French-Thai War: A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect.
- 1945 - World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly re-opened Burma Road.
- 1956 - Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on US television.
- 1958 – The Lego company patents its now-famous toy bricks.
- 1958 - The last episode of British radio show The Goon Show is broadcast.
- 1959 – Thailand adopts a new constitution.
- 1964 - An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training misiion is shot down over Erfurt, then-East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
- 1965 – The design for the current Flag of Canada is chosen in an Act of Parliament.
- 1977 – The Great Lakes Blizzard (snowstorm), lasting until February 1, affects parts of upstate New York.
- 1979 - Pope John Paul II visits Mexico.
- 1980 - The ship USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn off Tampa, Florida, killing 23 people.
- 1982 - United States Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorist forces.
- 1984 - Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in Mozambique, where it causes widespread flooding and kills 214 people.
- 1985 - Supergroup USA for Africa records the hit single We Are the World to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
- 1986 – The Space Shuttle Challenger breaks up 73 seconds after lift off at Cape Canaveral, Florida, killing all 7 astronauts on board.
- 1987 - Mikhail Gorbachev, in a speech, sets out plans for liberal reforms, including Perestroika and Glasnost.
From 2001
- 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100, crashes in the Colombian Andes, killing 92 people.
- 2006 – At the Katowice International Fair in Poland, the roof of one of the buildings collapses, killing 65 people.
- 2011 – 2011 Egyptian protests: Hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets in Egypt, in protest against Hosni Mubarak, who cuts internet access on the same day.
- 2013 - Three days before her 75th birthday, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announces her intention to give up the throne on April 30 of the same year, when Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange becomes the Netherlands' first king since 1890.
- 2014 - After strong protests, Ukraine withdraws a controversial anti-protest law introduced over a week earlier.
- 2014 - The United Nations Court in The Hague defines the maritime border between Peru and Chile.
- 2017 - Serena Williams wins her 23rd Grand Slam tennis Singles title at the Australian Open, surpassing Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22.
- 2018 - Roger Federer wins his 20th Grand Slam singles tennis title, at the Australian Open.
Up to 1850
- 1225 – Saint Thomas of Aquinas (d. 1274).
- 1312 - Joan II of Navarre (d. 1349).
- 1453 - Simonetta Vespucci, Italian Renaissance figure (d. 1476).
- 1457 – King Henry VII of England (d. 1509).
- 1507 - Ferrante Gonzaga, Viceroy of Sicily (d. 1557).
- 1533 - Paul Luther, German physician and son of Martin Luther (d. 1593).
- 1540 - Ludolph von Ceulen, German mathematician (d. 1610).
- 1582 - John Barclay, Scottish writer (d. 1621).
- 1600 – Pope Clement IX (d. 1669).
- 1608 - Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679).
- 1611 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and Mayor of Gdansk (d. 1687).
- 1622 - Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (d. 1691).
- 1701 - Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774).
- 1706 – John Baskerville, English writer and printmaker (d. 1775).
- 1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (d. 1761).
- 1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1774).
- 1719 - Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (d. 1749).
- 1768 – King Frederick VI of Denmark and Norway (d. 1669).
- 1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860).
- 1806 - William Aitken, Jr., Governor of South Carolina (d. 1887).
- 1807 - Robert McClure, Irish seafarer and explorer (d. 1873).
- 1809 - Theodor Benfey, German philologist (d. 1881).
- 1815 - Andrew Jackson Hamilton, 12th Governor of Texas (d. 1875).
- 1818 - George S. Boutwell, 20th Governor of Massachusetts and 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905).
- 1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892).
- 1833 – Charles George Gordon, British general (d. 1885).
- 1838 - James Craig Watson, American astronomer (d. 1880).
- 1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-born explorer, journalist and colonialist (d. 1904).
1851 – 1900
- 1853 - Jose Marti, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1891).
- 1853 - Vladimir Solovyov, Russian philosopher (d. 1890).
- 1858 - Tannatt William Edgworth David, Welsh-born Australian geologist and explorer (d. 1934).
- 1858 - Stoyan Danev, Prime minister of Bulgaria (d. 1949).
- 1863 - Ernest William Christmas, Australian painter (d. 1918).
- 1864 - Charles W. Nash, American automobile entrepreneur (d. 1948).
- 1864 - Herbert Akroyd Stuart, English inventor (d. 1927).
- 1865 – Kaarlo Juho Stahlberg, 1st President of Finland (d. 1952).
- 1865 - Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1928).
- 1872 - Otto Braun, Prussian politician (d. 1955).
- 1873 – Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, French writer (d. 1954).
- 1875 - Julian Carrillo, Mexican composer, conductor, violinist and music theorist (d. 1965).
- 1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss scientist (d. 1962).
- 1884 – Jean Piccard, Swiss scientist (d. 1963).
- 1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (d. 1973).
- 1886 - Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese electrical engineer (d. 1976).
- 1887 - Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist (d. 1982).
- 1889 - Ramon Iglesias i Navarri, Catalan Bishop of Urgel, Spanish Co-Prince Andorra (d. 1972).
- 1890 - Robert Stroud, American convict, "Birdman of Alcatraz" (d. 1963)
- 1891 – Bill Doak, American baseball player (d. 1954).
- 1892 – Ernst Lubitsch, German director (d. 1947).
- 1897 - Valentin Kataev, Soviet dramatist (d. 1986).
1901 – 1950
- 1902 - Alfred H. Barr, Jr., American art historian (d. 1981).
- 1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931).
- 1910 – John Banner, Austrian-born actor (d. 1973).
- 1911 - Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician (d. 2018).
- 1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956).
- 1918 - Sandro Puppo, Italian footballer (d. 1986).
- 1919 - Francis Gobreski, American fighter pilot (d. 2002).
- 1922 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist (d. 1993).
- 1923 – Richard Herrmann, German footballer (d. 1962).
- 1924 - Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian artist (d. 1976).
- 1926 - Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili, former Interim President of Iran (d. 2016).
- 1926 - Harry L. Ettlinger, German-American engineer (d. 2018).
- 1927 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (d. 2001).
- 1927 - Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor (d. 2010).
- 1929 – Acker Bilk, English jazz clarinettist (d. 2014).
- 1929 - Edith M. Flanigen, American chemist.
- 1929 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American artist.
- 1930 – Kurt Biedenkopf, German politician.
- 1930 - Jasraj, Indian classical singer (d. 2020).
- 1930 - Roy Clarke, English television scriptwriter.
- 1934 - Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentine racing driver (d. 1990).
- 1935 – David Lodge, British writer.
- 1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, director and writer.
- 1936 - Waldyr Boccardo, Brazilian basketball player (d. 2018).
- 1936 – Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer (d. 2024).
- 1937 - Donald Crothers, American academic and educator (d. 2014).
- 1938 - Tomas Lindahl, Swedish biologist and geneticist.
- 1938 - Leonid Zhabotinsky, Ukrainian weightlifter (d. 2016).
- 1939 - John M. Fabian, American pilot and astronaut.
- 1940 – Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman.
- 1941 - Joel Crothers, American actor (d. 1985).
- 1941 - King Tubby, Jamaican musician (d. 1989).
- 1942 - Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater.
- 1943 - Paul Henderson, Canadian ice hockey player.
- 1943 – Dick Taylor, British musician.
- 1944 – Susan Howard, American actress.
- 1944 – John Tavener, English composer (d. 2013).
- 1945 - Marthe Keller, Swiss actress.
- 1945 - Robert Wyatt, English musician.
- 1947 - Jeanne Shaheen, American politician, United States Senator for New Hampshire
- 1948 – Charles Taylor, former President of Liberia.
- 1948 – Heinz Flohe, German footballer (d. 2013).
- 1949 - Mike Moore, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand.
- 1949 - Thomas Downey, American politician.
- 1949 - Gregg Popovich, American basketball coach.
- 1950 - David C. Hilmers, American astronaut.
- 1950 – Hamad Ibn Isa al Khalifah, King of Bahrain.
1951 – 1975
- 1951 - Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian cosmonaut (d. 2018).
- 1953 - Richard Anconina, French actor.
- 1954 - Bruno Metsu, French footballer and coach (d. 2013)
- 1954 - Robin Smith, Canadian voice actor
- 1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, former President of France.
- 1955 - Vinod Khosla, Indian-American businessman, co-founded Sun Microsystems.
- 1957 - Frank Skinner, English comedian.
- 1957 - Nick Price, Zimbabwean golfer.
- 1961 – Arnaldur Indridason, Icelandic writer.
- 1961 - Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player.
- 1962 - Joan McAlpine, Scottish politician.
- 1964 - Dave McPherson, Scottish footballer
- 1964 - Juergen Teller, German artist and photographer.
- 1966 - Andrea Berg, German singer.
- 1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer/songwriter
- 1968 – DJ Muggs, American musician
- 1969 - Kathryn Morris, American actress.
- 1971 - Anthony Hamilton, American singer
- 1972 - Nicky Southall, English footballer and manager
- 1974 – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1975 - Lee Latchford-Evans, English singer (Steps)
From 1976
- 1976 - Lee Ingleby, English actor.
- 1976 - Rick Ross, American rapper.
- 1977 - Daunte Culpepper, American football player.
- 1977 – Joey Fatone, American singer (*NSYNC)
- 1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer
- 1978 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
- 1979 - Ali Boulala, Swedish skateboarder
- 1980 – Nick Carter, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- 1980 – Yasuhito Endo, Japanese footballer
- 1980 - Michael Hastings, American journalist (d. 2013)
- 1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor
- 1984 - Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
- 1984 - Anne Panter, English field hockey player
- 1985 - Daniel Carcillo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 - Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
- 1985 - Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
- 1985 - J. Cole, American rapper
- 1985 - Andras Kallay-Saunders, American-Hungarian singer
- 1986 - Shruti Haasan, Indian actress
- 1986 – Jessica Ennis-Hill, British athlete
- 1989 - Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
- 1991 - Calum Worthy, Canadian actor
- 1991 - Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1992 - Andrei Savchenko, Russian footballer
- 1993 - Richmond Boakye, Ghanaian footballer
- 1993 - John Anthony Brooks, German-American soccer player
- 1993 - Will Poulter, English actor
- 1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress and singer
Up to 1950
- 592 - Guntram, King of the Franks (b. 532)
- 814 – Charlemagne, King of the Franks (b. early 700s)
- 1271 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France (b. 1247)
- 1443 - Robert Le Masson, Chancellor of France
- 1547 – Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)
- 1596 – Francis Drake, English naval officer, explorer and pirate (b. 1540)
- 1613 - Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (b. 1545)
- 1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
- 1672 - Pierre Seguier, Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
- 1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and Mayor of Gdansk (b. 1611)
- 1697 - John Fenwick, English conspirator
- 1754 - Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (b. 1684)
- 1859 – Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
- 1859 - Carl Adolph Agardh, Swedish botanist (b. 1785)
- 1864 - Emile Chappeyron, English engineer and physicist (b. 1799)
- 1912 - Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist (b. 1819)
- 1918 – John McCrae, Canadian poet (b. 1872)
- 1924 - Teofilo Braga, Portuguese statesman (b. 1843)
- 1928 - Vicente Blasco Ibanez, Spanish writer (b. 1867)
- 1936 - Oscar K. Allen, Governor of Louisiana (b. 1882)
- 1937 - Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (b. 1862)
- 1938 - Bernd Rosemeyer, German racing driver (b. 1909)
- 1939 – William Butler Yeats, Irish writer (b. 1865)
- 1947 - Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-French composer, conductor and critic (b. 1875)
- 1949 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French racing driver (b. 1908)
- 1950 - Nicolai Luzin, Russian mathematician (b. 1883)
1951 – 2000
- 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, President of Finland (b. 1867)
- 1953 – Derek Bentley, British victim of a miscarriage of justice (b. 1933) (hanged)
- 1953 – James Scullin, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
- 1953 - Neyzen Tefvik, Turkish poet and satirist (b. 1879)
- 1956 - Marie Juchacz, German social reformer (b. 1883)
- 1959 - Walter Beall, American baseball (b. 1899)
- 1960 - Zora Neale Hurston, American writer (b. 1891)
- 1963 – Jean Piccard, Swiss scientist (b. 1884)
- 1963 - John Farrow, Australian screenwriter and director (b. 1904)
- 1965 - Maxime Weygand, French military (b. 1867)
- 1973 – John Banner, Austrian-born actor (b. 1910)
- 1975 – Ola Raknes, Norwegian psychoanalyst and philologist (b. 1887)
- 1976 - Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian artist (b. 1924)
- 1983 – Frank Forde, shortest-serving Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
- 1983 – Billy Fury, British singer (b. 1940)
- 1985 - Alfredo Foni, Italian footballer (b. 1911)
- 1986 - Deaths in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster:
- Greg Jarvis, American astronaut (b. 1944)
- Christa McAuliffe, American teacher and astronaut (b. 1948)
- Ronald McNair, American astronaut (b. 1950)
- Ellison Onizuka, American astronaut (b. 1946)
- Judith Resnik, American astronaut (b. 1949)
- Francis R. Scobee, American astronaut (b. 1939)
- Michael J. Smith, American astronaut (b. 1949)
- 1988 – Klaus Fuchs, German atomic spy (b. 1911)
- 1989 - Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama, Tibetan religious leader (b. 1938)
- 1991 – Red Grange, American football player (b. 1903)
- 1993 - Helen Sawyer Hogg, Canadian astronomer (b. 1905)
- 1994 - Hal Smith, American actor (b. 1916)
- 1996 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian poet (b. 1940)
- 1996 – Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (b. 1914)
- 1998 - Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese writer (b. 1938)
- 1999 - Torgny Torgnysson Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (b. 1908)
From 2001
- 2002 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish writer (b. 1907)
- 2005 – Jim Capaldi, British musician (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Christodoulos I, Archbishop of Athens (b. 1939)
- 2008 – Marie Takvam, Norwegian writer (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Billy Powell, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (b. 1952)
- 2009 - Glenn Davis, American athlete (b. 1934)
- 2011 - Margaret Price, Welsh soprano (b. 1941)
- 2014 - Jorge Obeid, Argentine politician (b. 1947)
- 2014 - Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
- 2015 - Yves Chauvin, French chemist (b. 1930)
- 2015 - Suraj Abdurrahman, Nigerian army officer (b. 1954)
- 2016 - Buddy Cianci, American politician (b. 1941)
- 2016 - Paul Kantner, American rock musician (b. 1941)
- 2016 - Signe Toly Anderson, American singer (b. 1941)
- 2016 - Yisroel Belsky, American rabbi (b. 1938)
- 2017 - Christopher Bland, British businessman (b. 1938)
- 2017 - Many Clouds, British racehorse (b. 2007)
- 2017 - Geoff Nicholls, British musician (b. 1948)
- 2017 - Lennart Nilsson, Swedish cinematographer (b. 1922)
- 2017 - Alexander Tikhanovich, Belarusian singer (b. 1952)
- 2017 - Bobby Freeman, American singer-songwriter and record producer (b. 1940)
- 2017 - Guitar Gable, American singer-songwriter and record producer (b. 1937)
- 2017 - Sang Chul Lee, Russian-born Canadian Christian minister (b. 1924)
- 2017 - John N. Mather, American mathematician (b. 1942)
- 2017 - Bharati Mukherjee, American writer (b. 1940)
- 2017 - Richard Portman, American sound engineer (b. 1934)
- 2017 - Thomas Joseph Simpson, Canadian World War II veteran (b. 1921)
- 2017 - Dan Spiegle, American comic book artist (b. 1920)
- 2017 - Darryl Sutton, Australian rules footballer (b. 1952)
- 2017 - Stuart Timmons, American historian and activist (b. 1957)
- 2018 - Dharmasena Pathiraja, Sri Lankan movie director and screenwriter (b. 1943)
- 2018 - Coco Schumann, German jazz guitarist (b. 1924)
- 2018 - Gene Sharp, American political scientist (b. 1928)
- 2019 - Jurrie Koolhof, Dutch footballer (b. 1960)
- 2019 - Mourad Medelci, Algerian politician (b. 1943)
- 2019 - Pepe Smith, Filipino rock guitarist (b. 1947)
- Army Day (Armenia)
- EU Data Privacy Day
- Unofficial Day commemorating Charlemagne in some Christian groups.
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