Historical Events
Humboldt, Bonpland Reach Quito
Jan 6 Naturalists Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland reach Quito, Ecuador
- Jan 26 Congress passes an act calling for a US Capitol library
First Burns Night
Jan 29 First celebration of Burns Night, in honor of poet Robert Burns's birthday by The Mother Club in Greenock (later realized his actual birthday 25th January)
- Jan 29 John Beckley of Virginia appointed first Librarian of Congress
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 3 Charles Pelham Villiers, British House of Commons member (d. 1898)
- Jan 3 Feliks Ostrowski, Polish pianist and composer, born in Kraśnik, Russian Empire (d. 1860)
- Jan 6 Ion Heliade-Radulescu, Romanian writer (Gramatica), born in Târgoviște, Romania (d. 1872)
- Jan 9 Catharine Parr Traill, English-Canadian writer and naturalist (The Backwoods of Canada), born in Southwark, England (d. 1899) [1]
- Jan 13 Eduard von Bauernfeld, Austrian comedic playwright, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1890)
- Jan 19 Silvain van de Weyer, 1st Belgian foreign minister to Britain, born in Louvain, Belgium (d. 1874)
- Jan 22 Richard Upjohn, English-born American gothic architect (Trinity Chapel, NY), born in Shaftesbury, England (d. 1878)
- Jan 31 Jan van Speyk, Dutch naval hero (blew up own gunboat to avoid capture during Belgian Revolution), born in Amsterdam (d. 1831)
