Historical Events
Tragedy for Pierce
Jan 6 US President-elect Franklin Pierce and his family are involved in a train wreck in Massachusetts that kills his 11-year-old son Benny
"Il Trovatore"
Jan 19 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" premieres in Rome
John Wilkes Booth Baptized
Jan 23 John Wilkes Booth is baptized at St. Timothy's Protestant Episcopal Church
- Jan 27 US whaling and sealing vessel the Levant captained by Mercator Cooper, makes the first known landing on mainland Antarctica at Oates Coast, Victoria land
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Hans Koessler, German composer, conductor and music teacher, born in Waldeck, Kingdom of Bavaria (d. 1926)
- Jan 3 Iwan Knorr, German composer, born in Mewe, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1916)
- Jan 7 Nikolai Arkas, Ukrainian composer (Katerina), and musicologist, born in Nikolayev, Russian Empire (d. 1909)
- Jan 11 Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter (d. 1926)
- Jan 11 Gustav Falke, German author and poet (Der Mann im Nebel), born in the Free Imperial City of Lübeck (d. 1916)
- Jan 12 Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, Italian mathematician (tensor analysis), born in Lugo di Romagna, Italy (d. 1925)
André Michelin (1853-1931)
Jan 16 French industrialist, tire manufacturer (Michelin) and publisher of the Michelin Guide, born in Paris
- Jan 16 Ian Hamilton, British military commander (Boer Wars, Gallipoli Campaign), born in Corfu, United States of the Ionian Islands (d. 1947)
- Jan 16 Johnston Forbes-Robertson, British actor and theatre director (Kathleen), born in London, England (d. 1937)
- Jan 16 Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov, Russian philosopher, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1900)
- Jan 17 Alva Belmont, American socialite & suffragette (d. 1933)
- Jan 28 Jose Martí y Perez, Cuban poet, essayist and politician (fought for independence from Spain), born in Havana, Cuba (d. 1895)
- Jan 30 Leland Hone, Irish cricket wicketkeeper (1 Test; first Irishman to represent England; MCC), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1896)
Famous Weddings
Napoleon III
Jan 30 Emperor and French President Napoleon III marries Eugenie de Montijo, Countess of Teba