Historical Events
Assassination Attempt on Napoleon III
Jan 14 French Emperor Napoleon III escapes attempt on his life by Felice Orsini, an Italian patriot who is later executed
Wedding March
Jan 25 Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" first played, at wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, to crown prince of Prussia
- Jan 30 Charles Hallé founds Halle Orchestra in Manchester, England
- Jan 30 William Wells Brown published 1st Black drama, "Leap to Freedom"
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 5 Gustaf af Geijerstam, Swedish author (Boken om Lillebror), born in Hed socken (d. 1909)
- Jan 7 Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, key figure in the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language (d. 1922)
- Jan 10 Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer, born in Radeburg, Germany (d. 1929)
- Jan 11 Harry Gordon Selfridge, American retailer (d. 1947)
- Jan 13 Oskar Minkowski, German physiologist and physician (Diabetes research), born in Aleksotas (d. 1931)
- Jan 15 Giovanni Segantini, Italian painter, born in Arco, Italy (d. 1899)
- Jan 17 Tomas Carrasquilla, Colombian author (Frutos de mi Tierra), born in Santo Domingo, Colombia (d. 1940)
Daniel Hale Williams (1858-1931)
Jan 18 American heart surgeon who performed the 1st open heart surgery, born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania
- Jan 19 Eugene Brieux, French playwright (Blanchette, Lesson Avaries), born in Paris, France (d. 1932)
- Jan 22 Beatrice Potter Webb, English sociologist, economist (founded London School of Economics) and writer (My Apprenticeship), born in Standish (d. 1943)
- Jan 22 Frederick Lugard, British Colonial administrator, mercenary and explorer (Congo, Governor of Nigeria and Hong Kong), born in Madras, British India (d. 1945)
- Jan 25 Giuseppe Radiciotti, Italian musicologist and composer, born in Iesi, Papal States (d. 1931)
- Jan 25 Kōkichi Mikimoto, Japanese inventor and entrepreneur (cultured pearls), born in Toba, Japan (d. 1954)
- Jan 27 Neel Doff, Dutch born Belgian writer (Days of Hunger and Distress)and artist's model, born in Buggenum, Netherlands (d. 1842)
- Jan 28 Eugène Dubois, Dutch palaeontologist who discovered human ancestor Pithecanthropus erectus "Java Man", born in Eisden, Netherlands (d. 1940) [1]
- Jan 31 André Antoine, French actor and stage manager (founded Théâtre-Libre), born in Limoges, France (d. 1943)
Famous Weddings
Cyrus McCormick
Jan 26 Inventor Cyrus McCormick (48) weds Nancy Fowler
Famous Deaths
- Jan 3 Henry Darcy, French hydraulic engineer (Darcy's Law), dies at 54
- Jan 3 Rachel Félix, Swiss-born French singer and actress in tragedies (mistress of Napoleon III), dies of tuberculosis at 36
- Jan 5 Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Czech field marshal, dies at 91
- Jan 7 Willem Broes, Dutch vicar and theologist (Textenrol), dies at 91
- Jan 8 Friedrich Karl Kuhmstedt, composer, dies at 48
- Jan 9 Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas commits suicide at 59
- Jan 27 Gerrit van der Linde "The Schoolmaster" Dutch poet, dies at 49
- Jan 30 Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist (b. 1778)
