This Day in History for 1st JanuaryFamous Deaths379 - Saint Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesare and theologian (Moralia), dies
404 - Telemachus, Roman monk, murdered
874 - Hasan al-Askari, eleventh Shia Imam (b. 846)
898 - Odo, earl of Paris/king of France (888-98), dies at about 39
962 - Boudouin III, count of Flanders, dies
1204 - King Haakon III of Norway (c. 1170)
1387 - Charles, The Bad, King of Navarra (1349-87) dies burnt alive
1515 - Louis XII, "the Justified" king of France (1498-1515), dies at 52
1517 - Hermann Vischer, the Younger, German bronze merchant, dies
1554 - Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador (b. 1500)
1557 - Jacques Cartier, French explorer (Canada), dies at 65
1559 - Christian III, king of Denmark/Norway (1534-59), dies
1560 - Guillaume du Bellay, Sieur de Langey, French soldier, dies
1617 - Hendrick Goltzius, Dutch painter/cartoonist/engraver, dies
1626 - Cornelis Pieterse Hoft, Amsterdam merchant/regent, dies at 68
1630 - Tetsugen, Zen teacher (Jodo sect converted to Obaku Zen), dies
1631 - Thomas Hobson, the "Cambridge Carrier", eponym of Hobson's Choice (b. 1544)
1661 - Pieter Claesz, Dutch still life painter, dies at about 64
1697 - Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine biographer/historian (b. 1624)
1701 - Pietro Sanmartini, composer, dies at 64
1716 - William Wycherley, dramatist (The Country Wife), dies at about 75
1730 - Daniel Finch, 2nd earl of Nottingham, dies at 82
1730 - Samuel Sewall, English judge (b. 1652)
1742 - Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (b. 1686)
1748 - Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1667)
1753 - Louis-Maurice de La Pierre, composer, dies at 55
1758 - Johann F von Cronegk, German playwright (Codrus), dies at 26
1759 - Jacques-Joachim Trotti, marquis de La Chétardie, French adventurer (b. 1705)
1766 - James III Edward, Old Pretender/king of Gt Britain/Ireland, dies at 77
1768 - Jean-Laurent Krafft, composer, dies at 73
1777 - Emanuele Barbella, composer, dies at 58
1782 - Johann Christian Bach, German composer/Mozarts tutor, dies at 46
1784 - Patrice F earl de Neney, South Neth Secret Council chairman, dies at 67
1787 - Arthur Middleton, US farmer (signed Decl of Independence), dies at 44
1789 - Christleib Siegmund Binder, composer, dies at 65
1789 - Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English politician (b. 1716)
1793 - Francesco Guardi, Italian painter, dies at 80
1796 - Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde, French mathematician (b. 1735)
1800 - Louis J M Daubenton, France, zoologist, dies at 83
1816 - Francois Alexander Sallantin, composer, dies at 60
1817 - Martin H Klaproth, German chemist (uranium), dies at 73
1818 - Fedele Fenaroli, composer, dies at 87
1850 - Raphael G Kiesewetter, Austria musicologist, dies at 76
1853 - Gregory Blaxland, Australian explorer (b. 1778)
1862 - Mikhail Vasilievich Ostrogradsky, Russian physicist (b. 1801)
1869 - Martin W. Bates, American politician (b. 1786)
1881 - Louis Auguste Blanqui, French political activist (b. 1805)
1887 - Johan Hendrik Koelman, portrait painter, dies at 66
1892 - Roswell B. Mason, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
1894 - Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, German physicist (b. 1857)
1896 - Alfred Ely Beach, American inventor (b. 1826)
1901 - Ignatius Donnelly, US attorney/lt-governor (Minnesota), dies at 69
1906 - Joseph Miroslav Weber, composer, dies at 51
1906 - Sir Hugh Nelson, Premier of Queensland (b. 1835)
1907 - Cyrill Kistler, composer, dies at 58
1919 - William W Campbell, Canadian poet (Ian of the Orcades), dies at 60
1919 - Mikhail Drozdovsky, Russian general (b. 1881)
1920 - Paul Adam, French writer (L'enfant d'Austerlitz), dies at 57
1931 - Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (b. 1851)
1932 - C P Scott, British journalist, publisher and politician (b. 1846)
1934 - Jakob Wassermann, writer, dies at 60
1940 - Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian writer and essayist (b. 1865)
1942 - Jaroslav Jezek, composer, dies at 35
1943 - Colonel Andrew Summers Rowan, U.S. military officer who gave "a message to Garcia" (b. 1857)
1944 - C T B Turner, cricket (17 Tests 1886-95, 101 wkt All time great), dies
1944 - Sir Edward Lutyens, British architect who designed New Delhi (b. 1869)
1944 - Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (b. 1862)
1945 - Vit Nejedly, composer, dies at 33
1948 - Hermann K J Zilcher, German pianist/composer (Liebesmesse), dies at 66
1948 - Willem Louis Frederic Landre, composer, dies at 73
1949 - Malcolm Campbell, English cyclist (world speed-record), dies at 63
1953 - Hank Williams, country singer (Cold Cold Heart), dies at 29
1954 - Duff Cooper, British diplomat and writer (b. 1890)
1957 - Ruth Draper, US elocutionist, dies at 67 or 72
1957 - Seán South and Fergal O'Hanlon are killed in the Brookeborough Raid.
1958 - David Broekman, musican (Think Fast), dies at 55
1958 - Edward Weston, American photographer (b. 1886)
1960 - Margaret Sullavan, actress (Back Street), overdose at 48
1962 - Diego Martínez Barrio, Spanish president (1939), dies at 76
1964 - Alf Hall, cricketer (S Afr lefty quick took 40 wkts in 7 Tests), dies
1964 - Otto Emanuel Olsson, composer, dies at 84
1964 - Rika Hopper, Dutch actress (Comedia, Anastasia), dies at about 86
1964 - Bechara El Khoury, President of Lebanon (b. 1890)
1965 - Gertrude Michael, actress (Caged, Cleopatra), dies at 53
1965 - Juan Bautista Plaza-Alfonzo, composer, dies at 66
1966 - Vincent Auriol, President of France (1947-53), dies at 82
1967 - Maurice Leyland, cricketer (41 Tests for England, 2764 runs), dies
1967 - Moon Mullican, rocker, dies at 58
1969 - Barton Maclane, actor (Gen Peterson-I Dream of Jeannie), dies at 68
1969 - Bruno Söderström, Swedish athlete (b. 1888)
1971 - Saint Amphilochius of Pochayiv, Ukrainian Orthodox Christian Saint (b. 1894)
1972 - Jane Morgan, actress (Mrs Margaret Davis-Our Miss Brooks), dies at 91
1972 - Maurice A Chevalier, French actor (Can Can, Gigi), dies at 83
1975 - Arthur Pierson, actor/director (Hat Check Girl), dies at 73
1980 - Frank Clifford Wykoff, sprinter (Olympic-gold-28, 32, 36), dies at 70
1980 - Pietro Nenni, Italian politician (Socialists), dies at 88
1981 - Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Jewish concert pianist (b. 1920)
1982 - Paul Belmondo, French sculptor (Bathing Woman, Orleans), dies at 83
1982 - Victor Buono, actor (Mr Schubert-Man from Atlantis), dies at 43
1982 - Vladimir K Zworykin, Russ/American engineer (cathode-ray tube), dies
1984 - Alexis Korner, British blues musician (b. 1928)
1985 - Kamatari Fujiwara, Japanese actor (b. 1905)
1986 - Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (b. 1902)
1986 - Bruce Norris, American hockey executive (Detroit Red Wings) (b. 1924)
1987 - Gustav Knuth, actor (Heidi, Rats), dies at 85
1988 - Leo Steiner, NY Carnegie Deli's owner, dies
1990 - Charles Boost, Dutch film critic, dies at 82
1990 - Joe Hardstaff Jr, cricketer (23 Tests for England, 1636 runs), dies
1990 - Suzuki Sochu, Zen teacher (Rinzai line)/abbot of Ryutakuji, dies
1991 - Charles B Timmer, Dutch writer (Russia Black on White), dies at 83
1991 - Yvonne Waegemans, Flemish author (Gnome Patjoepelke), dies at 81
1992 - Constantin Poustochkine, jazz critic, dies
1992 - Corky Geil, dancer, dies in Long Beach CA at 64
1992 - Ginette Leclerc, actress (Baker's Wife), dies at 79
1992 - Grace Hopper, computer scientist, dies at 85
1992 - Hette G Abma, vicar/Dutch MP (SGP), dies
1992 - Mike Frankovich, US producer (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), dies
1993 - June Clayworth, actress (Bodyguard, Criminal Court), dies of lymphoma
1993 - Phyllis Hill, actress (Singing in the Dark), dies of lung cancer at 72
1994 - Cesar Romero, US actor (Joker-Batman), dies at 86
1994 - Werner Schwab, Austrian playwright (Female Presidents), dies at 35
1995 - Eugene Wigner, physicist (Nobel prize for physics-1963), dies at 92
1995 - Frederick West, Engl contractor/serial killer, commits suicide at 53
1995 - Jess Stacy, US jazz pianist (Great Gatsby), dies at 90
1995 - Ted Hawkins, US blues singer (Watch Your Step), dies at 58
1996 - Arleigh Albert Burke, US Admiral, dies at 94
1996 - Arthur Rudolph, rocket Engineer, dies at 89
1996 - Hamish Imlach, folk singer/comic, dies at 55
1997 - Graham Kersey, cricket wicket keeper, dies in car crash
1997 - Joan Rice, actress (Payroll, Steel Key, Curtain Up), dies at 66
1997 - John Burgess, rugby administrator, dies at 71
1997 - Townes Van Zandt, musician, dies at 52
1997 - Hagood Hardy, Canadian composer and musician (b. 1937)
1998 - Helen Wills Moody Roark, tennis ace (31 Grand Slams), dies at 92
2000 - Colin Vaughan, Australian political journalist (b. 1931)
2001 - Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
2002 - Julia Phillips, American film producer (b. 1944)
2003 - Joe Foss, American politician, fighter pilot and AFL Commissioner (b. 1915)
2003 - F. William Free, American advertising executive (b. 1928)
2003 - Cyril Shaps, English actor (b. 1923)
2005 - Shirley Chisholm, American politician (b. 1924)
2005 - Hugh Lawson, 6th Baron Burnham, British newspaperman (b. 1931)
2005 - Eugene J. Martin, American painter, artist (b. 1938)
2005 - Bob Matsui, American politician (b. 1941)
2006 - Harry Magdoff, American magazine editor (b. 1913)
2006 - Hugh McLaughlin, Irish publisher and inventor (b. 1918)
2006 - Dawn Lake, Australian TV comedienne (b. 1927)
2006 - Bryan Harvey, American musician (House of Freaks) (b. 1956)
2007 - A. I. Bezzerides, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1908)
2007 - Ernie Koy, American baseball player (b. 1909)
2007 - Tillie Olsen, American writer (b. 1912)
2007 - Leon Davidson, American scientist known for studying UFOs (b. 1922)
2007 - Julius Hegyi, American conductor (b. 1923)
2007 - Roland Levinsky, South African medical scientist (b. 1943)
2007 - Leonard Fraser, Australian serial killer (b. 1951)
2007 - Darrent Williams, American football player (b. 1982)
2007 - Del Reeves, American country singer (b. 1932)
2007 - Tad Jones, American jazz music historian (b. 1952)
2008 - Salvatore Bonanno, son of Joseph Bonnano (b. 1932)
2008 - Peter Caffrey, Irish actor (b. 1949)
2008 - Pratap Chandra Chunder, union minister of India (b. 1919)
2008 - Harold Corsini, American photographer (b. 1919)
2009 - Claiborne Pell, U.S. senator (b. 1918)
2009 - Nizar Rayan, Hamas leader (b. 1962)
2011 - Marin Constantin, Romanian composer and conductor (b. 1925)
2011 - Reynaldo Dagsa, Filipino politician
2012 - Nay Win Maung, Burmese physician, and pro-democracy activist, dies from a heart attack at 50
2012 - Fred Milano, American doo-wop singer, member of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, dies from lung cancer at 72
2012 - Marcelle Narbonne, French supercentenarian and oldest person in Europe, died at 113
2012 - Carlos Soria, Argentine lawyer and politician, dies from gunshot to the head at 62
2012 - Yafa Yarkoni, Israeli Singer, dies after years of Alzheimer's disease at 86
2012 - Hermann Guggiari, Paraguayan engineer and sculptor, dies at 88
2012 - Kiro Gligorov, President of the Republic of Macedonia 1991-1999
2012 - Bob Anderson, English Olympic fencer and renowned film fight choreographer, dies at 90
2012 - Elizabeth Brumfiel, American feminist archaeologist, dies of cancer at 66
2012 - Gary Ablett, English footballer and manager, dies of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma at 46
2012 - Alfredo Battisti, Roman Catholic Archdiosese of Udine, Italy, dies at 87
2012 - Ed Jenkins, American Congressman for Georgia, died at 78