Events

• 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne (refer to Napoleonic Wars).
• 1819 – Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore.
• 1850 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the US Congress (refer to American Civil War).
• 1856 – Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War.
• 1863 – The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children.
• 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
• 1891 – Liliʻuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
• 1911 – Mexican Revolution: Mexicali is captured by the Mexican Liberal Party, igniting the Magonista rebellion of 1911.
• 1918 – Ukrainian-Soviet War: The Bolshevik Red Army, on its way to besiege Kyiv, is met by a small group of military students at the Battle of Kruty.
• 1918 – Ukrainian-Soviet War: An armed uprising organized by the Bolsheviks in anticipation of the encroaching Red Army begins at the Kiev Arsenal, which will be put down six days later.
• 1943 – World War II: The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, USS Chicago (CA-29) is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.
• 1944 – World War II: Approximately 38 people are killed and about a dozen injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai, Lithuania) is attacked by Soviet partisan units.
• 1944 – In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio is completely destroyed in an air-raid, during World War II.
• 1991 – Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji, the first major ground engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, begins between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
• 1996 – President Jacques Chirac announces a “definitive end” to French nuclear weapons testing.
• 2002 – In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush describes “regimes that sponsor terror” as an Axis of evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
• 2014 – Rojava conflict: The Afrin Canton declares its autonomy from the Syrian Arab Republic.

People (Births)

• 1717 – Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, English field marshal and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (d. 1797).
• 1754 – Moses Cleaveland, American general, lawyer, and politician, founded Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1806).
• 1756 – Henry Lee III, American general and politician, 9th Governor of Virginia (d. 1818).
• 1843 – William McKinley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901).
• 1970 – Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer.
• 1970 – Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian colonel and politician.
• 1988 – Jake Auchincloss, American politician, businessman, and US Marine veteran.

People (Deaths)

• 1737 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Scottish-English field marshal and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1666).
• 1829 – Paul Barras, French captain and politician (b. 1755).
• 1928 – Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, Scottish field marshal (b. 1861).
• 1941 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1871).
• 1970 – B.H. Liddell Hart, French-English soldier, historian, and journalist (b. 1895).
• 1978 – Tim McCoy, American actor and military officer (b. 1891).
• 1983 – Stuart H. Ingersoll, American naval aviator, US Navy vice admiral (b. 1898).
• 2002 – Harold Russell, Canadian-American soldier and actor (b. 1914).
• 2009 – Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist (b. 1913).
• 2012 – Ranjit Singh Dyal, Indian general and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (b. 1928).
• 2015 – Alexander Vraciu, American commander and pilot (b. 1918).