Events

• 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
• 1270 – Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Karuse.
• 1630 – Dutch forces led by Hendrick Lonck capture Olinda in what was to become part of Dutch Brazil.
• 1646 – Battle of Torrington, Devon: The last major battle of the first English Civil War.
• 1796 – Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) falls to the British, completing their invasion of Ceylon.
• 1804 – First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USS Philadelphia.
• 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
• 1866 – Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War.
• 1918 – The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.
  • Restoration of Lithuania’s Statehood Day, celebrate the independence of Lithuania from Russia and Germany in 1918 (Lithuania).
• 1934 – The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republikanischer Schutzbund.
• 1936 – The Popular Front wins the 1936 Spanish general election (refer to Spanish Civil War).
• 1937 – Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon.
• 1940 – World War II: Altmark incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. 299 British prisoners are freed.
• 1942 – World War II: In Athens, the Greek People’s Liberation Army is established.
• 1943 – World War II: In the early phases of the Third Battle of Kharkov, Red Army troops re-enter the city.
• 1945 – World War II: American forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines.
• 1959 – Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on 01 January.
• 1960 – The US Navy submarine USS Triton begins Operation Sandblast, setting sail from New London, Connecticut, to begin the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
• 1968 – In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service (would inspire the UK’s 999 service).
• 1991 – Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua.
• 2006 – The last Mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.

People (Births)

• 1519 – Gaspard II de Coligny, French admiral (d. 1572).
• 1761 – Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (d. 1804).
• 1812 – Henry Wilson, American colonel and politician, 18th Vice President of the United States (d. 1875).
• 1905 – Henrietta Barnett, British Women’s Royal Air Force officer (d. 1985).
• 1920 – Anna Mae Hays, American general (d. 2018).
• 1935 – Bradford Parkinson, American colonel and engineer.
• 1941 – Kim Jong-il, North Korean commander and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 2011).
• 1973 – Cathy Freeman, Australian sprinter.
• 1981 – Susanna Kallur, Swedish athlete, hurdler.
• 1984 – Oussama Mellouli, Tunisian swimmer.
• 1987 – Theresa Goh, Singaporean swimmer.

People (Deaths)

• 549 – Zhu Yi, Chinese general (b. 483).
• 1579 – Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, Spanish explorer (b. 1509).
• 1645 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general and politician, 24th Governor of the Duchy of Milan (b. 1585).
• 1820 – Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish general (b. 1758).
• 1974 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand Rifle (b. 1888).
• 1984 – M.A.G. Osmani, Bangladeshi general (b. 1918).
• 1991 – Enrique Bermúdez, Nicaraguan lieutenant and engineer (b. 1932).
• 2012 – John Macionis, American swimmer and lieutenant (b. 1916).