| | 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England. |
| | 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans. |
| | 1494 - First Mass celebrated in the New World at La Isabela, Hispaniola. |
| | 1540 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves. |
| | 1579 - The Union of Atrecht was signed. |
| | 1661 - The fifth monarchy men unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London. |
| | 1690 - Joseph, son of Emperor Leopold I, becomes King of the Romans. |
| | 1720 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings. |
| | 1838 - Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph. |
| | 1853 - American President-Elect Franklin Pierce, wife Jane, and son Ben are involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts. Franklin and Jane survive but eleven-year-old Ben is killed. |
| | 1887 - `Abd-allah II of Harar opens the Battle of Chelenqo with an attack on the camp of the Shewan army of Negus Menelik II early in the morning; prepared for the assault, the Negus orders a counter-attack which routs the enemy, resulting with the capture of Harar a few days later. |
| | 1893 - Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison. |
| | 1870 - The inauguration of the Musikverein (Vienna). |
| | 1900 - Boers attack Ladysmith, South Africa - over 1,000 people killed |
| | 1907 - Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome. |
| | 1912 - New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U.S. state. |
| | 1929 - King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country's constitution (the so-called January 6th Dictatorship, Šestojanuarska diktatura.) |
| | 1929 - Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin a legacy of work amongst India's poorest and diseased people |
| | 1930 - The first diesel-engine automobile trip is completed (Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City). |
| | 1931 - Thomas Edison submits his last patent application. |
| | 1936 - Supreme Court of the United States rules the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.. |
| | 1936 - Porky Pig premieres. |
| | 1940 - Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the city of Poznan, Warthegau. |
| | 1941 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address. |
| | 1942 - Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to have a flight go around the world. |
| | 1950 - The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response. |
| | 1961 - A fire at the Thomas Hotel in San Francisco kills 20 people. |
| | 1967 - United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta. |
| | 1974 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States. |
| | 1977 - The music publisher EMI ends its contract with the notorious punk rock group Sex Pistols after reports of abusive behaviour at Heathrow Airport, London. |
| | 1978 - The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after the Second World War. |
| | 1994 - Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the right leg by an assailant under orders from figure skating rival Tonya Harding. |
| | 1995 - A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack. |
| | 2005 - Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders: Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect for the 1964 murders of three Civil Rights workers. |
| | 2005 - First World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace begins in Brussels, Belgium. |
| | 2006 - Tropical Storm Zeta (2005) dissipates, ending the notorious 2005 hurricane season. |