Historical Events
1st Northwest Passage
Jan 20 HMS Investigator headed by Robert McClure leaves England, 1st expedition to make a Northwest passage (though some over ice)
Compromise of 1850
Jan 29 Senator Henry Clay drafts the Compromise of 1850 to defuse tensions between slave states and free states over territories won during the Mexican–American War
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 5 Theodoor Verstraete, Flemish painter and etcher, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1907)
- Jan 6 (Franz) Xaver Scharwenka, German pianist, educator, and composer (Mataswintha), born in Samter, Grand Duchy of Posen, Kingdom of Prussia (now Szamotuły, Poland) (d. 1924)
- Jan 6 Eduard Bernstein, German Marxist (New Era), born in Schöneberg, Prussia (d. 1932)
- Jan 10 John Wellborn Root, American architect, born in Lumpkin, Georgia (d. 1891)
- Jan 11 J. C. Arthur, American botanist (studied parasitic fungi rusts), born in Lowville, New York (d. 1842)
- Jan 11 Philipp von Ferrary, French philatelist (compiled world's most complete stamp collection), born in Paris, France (d. 1917)
- Jan 13 Leon Francis Victor Caron, French- Australian composer (Caron Opera Company), born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France (d. 1905)
- Jan 14 Jean de Reszke, Polish tenor, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1925)
- Jan 14 Pierre Loti, French naval officer and novelist, born in Rochefort, France (d. 1923)
- Jan 15 Mihail Eminesco [Eminovici], Romanian poet (Samanul Dionis), born in Botoșani, Romania (d. 1889)
- Jan 15 Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1891)
- Jan 17 Alexander Sergeyevich Taneyev, Russian composer, born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1918)
- Jan 18 Seth Low, American politician (d. 1916)
Edward Smith (1850-1912)
Jan 27 English naval captain of the RMS Titanic, born in Hanley, Staffordshire
- Jan 27 John Collier, English painter (Lady Godiva) and writer, born in Paddington, England (d. 1934)
Samuel Gompers (1850-1924)
Jan 27 American labor union leader (American Federation of Labor), born in London, England
- Jan 29 Ebenezer Howard, English pioneer of garden cities, born in London, England (d. 1928)
- Jan 29 Lawrence Hargrave, English-born aviation pioneer and inventor (box kite), born in London (d. 1915)
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Raphael G. Kiesewetter, Austria musicologist (Arab Music), dies at 76
- Jan 14 Anthony van Hoboken, Dutch merchant and ship owner, dies at 93
- Jan 20 Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet (b. 1779)
- Jan 22 Vincenzo Pallotti, Italian saint (founder of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate), dies at 54
- Jan 26 Francis Jeffrey, Baron Jeffrey, Scottish judge and literary critic, dies (b. 1773)
- Jan 27 Johann Gottfried Schadow, German sculptor (Brandenburg Gate chariot), dies at 85
- Jan 27 Philipp Roth, German composer, dies at 70
