What happened on January 1 ?

766 - Ali ar-Rida, Shia Imam (d. 818)

1431 - Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503)

1449 - Lorenzo de Medici, Italian statesman (d. 1492)

1484 - Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss Protestant leader (d. 1531)

1516 - Margareta Leijonhufvud, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1551)

1557 - Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1606)

1600 - Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian (d. 1649)

1614 - John Wilkins, English Bishop of Chester (d. 1672)

1618 - Bartolom?steban Murillo, Spanish painter (d. 1682)

1638 - Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (d. 1685)

1648 - Elkanah Settle, English writer (d. 1724)

1655 - Christian Thomasius, German jurist (d. 1728)

1684 - Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (d. 1748)

1704 - Soame Jenyns, English writer (d. 1787)

1711 - Franz Freiherr von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)

1714 - Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1780)

1735 - Paul Revere, American silversmith and patriot (d. 1818)

1750 - Frederick Muhlenberg, 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1801)

1752 - Betsy Ross, American seamstress (d. 1836)

1774 - Andr?arie Constant Dum?l, French zoologist (d. 1860)

1823 - S?or Petfi, Hungarian poet and revolutionary (d. 1849)

1833 - Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (d. 1902)

1848 - John Goff, Irish lawyer

1854 - Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist (d. 1941)

1860 - George Washington Carver, American educator, inventor, and botanist (d. 1943)

1863 - Pierre de Coubertin, French initiator of the modern Olympic Games (d. 1937)

1864 - Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer (d. 1946)

1868 - Snitz Edwards, American actor (d. 1937)

1873 - Mariano Azuela, Mexican novelist (d. 1952)

1874 - Gustave Whitehead, German-born inventor (d. 1927)

1874 - Frank Knox, Former Secretary of the Navy and vice presidential candidate (d. 1944)

1876 - Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist (d. 1933)

1879 - E. M. Forster, English novelist (d. 1970)

1881 - Vajiravudh, King of Thailand (d. 1925)

1883 - Gabrielle Chanel, French Designer (d. 1971)

1887 - Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (d. 1945)

1890 - Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer (d. 1966)

1892 - Artur Rodzinski, Croatian conductor (d. 1958)

1894 - Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian mathematician (d. 1974)

1895 - J. Edgar Hoover, American Federal Bureau of Investigation director (d. 1972)

1900 - Xavier Cugat, Catalan-born musician, bandleader (d. 1990)

1900 - Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during the World War II (d. 1986)

1902 - Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (d. 1977)

1904 - Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani politician (d. 1982)

1906 - Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (d. 1974)

1909 - Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)

1909 - Barry M. Goldwater, U.S. Senator from Arizona and Presidential candidate (d. 1998)

1911 - Hank Greenberg, baseball player (d. 1986)

1912 - Kim Philby, British spy (d. 1988)

1917 - Jule Gregory Charney, meteorologist (d. 1981)

1917 - Albert Mol, Dutch actor (d. 2004)

1918 - Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 2000)

1919 - J. D. Salinger, American novelist

1920 - Virgilio Savona, Italian singer and songwriter (Quartetto Cetra)

1921 - Isma'il Raji' al-Faruqi, Palestinian-born philosopher and comparative religion scholar (d. 1986)

1922 - Rocky Graziano, American boxer (d. 1990)

1925 - Stymie Beard, American actor (d. 1981)

1927 - Vernon L. Smith, American economist, recipient of the Bank of Sweden Prize

1927 - Doak Walker, American football star (d. 1998)

1928 - Ernest Tidyman, American writer (d. 1984)

1933 - Frederick Lowy, Canadian medical educator, ethicist, and university president

1933 - Joe Orton, English writer (d. 1967)

1938 - Robert Jankel, British coachbuilder (d. 2005)

1940 - Frank Langella American actor

1942 - Martin Frost, American politician

1942 - Country Joe McDonald, American musician (Country Joe and the Fish)

1942 - Gennadi Sarafanov, cosmonaut

1943 - Don Novello, American actor, comedian, and writer

1945 - Jacky Ickx, Belgian race car driver

1946 - Rivelino, Brazilian football player

1947 - Jon Corzine, American politician

1947 - Paula Tsui, cantopop singer

1948 - Pavel Grachev, Russian general

1951 - Ashfaq Hussain, Urdu poet

1953 - Greg Carmichael, British guitarist

1954 - Robert Menendez, American politician

1956 - Mark R. Hughes, an American enterpeneur and a fouder of Herbalife (d. 2000)

1957 - Luis Guzm?/a>, Puerto Rican actor

1958 - Grandmaster Flash, Barbados-born musician

1959 - Azali Assoumani, Comorese president

1960 - Adelaide Ferreira, Portuguese singer

1961 - Mark Wingett, British actor

1964 - Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress

1966 - Anna Burke, Australian politician

1966 - Embeth Davidtz, American actress

1967 - Derrick Thomas, American football player (d. 2000)

1968 - Davor ?uker, Croatian footballer

1969 - Verne Troyer, American actor

1969 - Nate Dogg, American rapper

1970 - Gabriel Jarret, American actor

1971 - Paul Luscher, singer/songwriter

1972 - Neve McIntosh, Scottish actress

1975 - Joe Cannon, American soccer player

1975 - Robert Westerholt, Dutch guitarist (Within Temptation)

1977 - Hasan Salihamid?i, Bosnian footballer

1978 - Nina Bott, German actress

1978 - Jared Fogle, American personality

1978 - Phillip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer

1978 - Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda, Indian spiritual guru

1979 - Brody Dalle, Australian singer (The Distillers)

1979 - Koichi Domoto, Japanese artist

1980 - Elin Nordegren, Swedish model

1980 - Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer

1981 - Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian race car driver

1981 - Abdulkadir Kocak, Turkish boxer

1982 - David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player

1984 - Jose Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian football player

1985 - Steven Davis, Irish footballer

1992 - Martin Leung, Canadian trombone player

1996 - Mary Gibbs, American actress