Did you know
He was wounded five times, most seriously at the Battle of South Mountain in 1862
Notable Deaths on January 17
131 people
395 – 2025
January 17 has seen 131 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 395 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1893 — Rutherford B. Hayes
American general, lawyer, and politician, 19th President of the United States (born 1822)
Did you know
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881
Did you know
He served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861 and was known as a staunch abolitionist who defended refugee slaves in court proceedings
Did you know
Hayes served in Congress from 1865 to 1867 and was elected governor of Ohio, serving two consecutive terms from 1868 to 1872 and half of a third two-year term from 1876 to 1877 before his swearing-in as president.
Did you know
At the start of the Civil War, Hayes left a fledgling political career to join the Union army
Roman emperor (born 347)
Theodosius I, also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene Christianity.…
Read More
395
French bishop and saint
Sulpicius II. the Pious was a 7th-century bishop of Bourges and saint.
Read More
644
German bishop
Joseph of Freising, also known as Joseph of Verona, was Bishop of Freising from 747 or 748 until his death.
Read More
764
Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire (born 998)
Masʽud I of Ghazni, known as Amīr-i Shahīd, was sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire from 1030 to 1040. The eldest son of Mahmud of Ghazni, he rose to power by seizing the Ghaznavid throne from his younger twin brother,…
Read More
1040
fifth Grand Master of the Knights Templar
André de Montbard was the fifth Grand Master of the Knights Templar and also one of the founders of the Order.
Read More
1156
1168
German bishop (born 1165)
Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia was the third Catholic Bishop of Riga in Livonia. As the Bishop of Livonia, in 1201, he founded Riga, the modern capital city of Latvia, and the city was later made a bishopric. The…
Read More
1229
Carthusian nun (born 1263)
Roseline of Villeneuve was a French Carthusian nun. She is regarded as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
Read More
1329
Earl of Richmond (born 1266)
John of Brittany, 4th Earl of Richmond, was an English nobleman and a member of the Ducal house of Brittany, the House of Dreux. He entered royal service in England under his uncle Edward I, and also served Edward II.…
Read More
1334
Greek patriarch
Henry of Asti was the titular Latin Catholic patriarch of Constantinople from 1339 and bishop of Negroponte in Frankish Greece. His fame rests on his leadership of the first Smyrniote crusade (1342–45), on which he…
Read More
1345
Genoese Lord of Chios
Martino Zaccaria was the Lord of Chios from 1314 to 1329, ruler of several other Aegean islands, and baron of Veligosti–Damala and Chalandritsa in the Principality of Achaea. He distinguished himself in the fight…
Read More
1345
Peter I was King of Cyprus and titular King of Jerusalem from his father's abdication on 24 November 1358 until his death in 1369. He was invested as titular Count of Tripoli in 1346. As King of Cyprus, he had some…
Read More
1369
French translator (born 1395)
Elizabeth of Lorraine-Vaudémont, Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken was a German regent and translator. She was the Countess of Nassau-Weilburg by marriage to Philipp I, Count of Nassau-Weilburg, and the regent of the…
Read More
1456
Albanian soldier and politician (born 1405)
Gjergj Kastrioti was an Albanian nobleman and military leader who led the League of Lezhë in the Ottoman-Albanian Wars until his death. Skanderbeg is considered to be a major figure of medieval Albanian history and…
Read More
1468
German landgravine (born 1466)
Landgravine Elisabeth of Hesse-Marburg, German: Elisabeth Landgräfin von Hessen-Marburg, was a landgravine from the House of Hesse-Marburg and through marriage Countess of Nassau-Siegen. She was heiress to the County of…
Read More
1523
Chinese general (born 1528)
Qi Jiguang, courtesy name Yuanjing, art names Nantang and Mengzhu, posthumous name Wuyi, was a Chinese military general and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is best known for leading the defense on the coastal regions…
Read More
1588
Feodor I Ioannovich or Fyodor I Ivanovich, nicknamed the Blessed (Блаженный), was Tsar of all Russia from 1584 until his death in 1598.
Read More
1598
Croatian bishop and lexicographer (born 1551)
Fausto Veranzio was a Croatian polymath, diplomat and bishop from Šibenik, then part of the Republic of Venice. He is a scientist recognised for his genius as both a Croatian and as a Croatian-Hungarian.
Read More
1617
1705
American colonel (born 1639)
Colonel Benjamin Church was a military officer and politician from the New England Colonies who is best known for his role in innovative military tactics notably developing unconventional warfare. He is also known for…
Read More
1718
German architect (born 1662)
Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1662–1736) was a German master builder and architect who helped to rebuild Dresden after the fire of 1685. His most famous work is the Zwinger Palace.
Read More
1737
French organist and composer (born 1682)
Jean-François Dandrieu, also spelled D'Andrieu was a French Baroque composer, harpsichordist and organist.
Read More
1738
Italian violinist and composer (born 1671)
Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas. While famous in his day as an opera composer,…
Read More
1751
Spanish-French composer (born 1806)
Juan Crisóstomo Jacobo Antonio de Arriaga y Balzola was a Spanish Basque composer. He was nicknamed "the Spanish Mozart" after he died, because, like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, he was both a child prodigy and an…
Read More
1826
Italian physicist and academic (born 1762)
Giovanni Aldini was an Italian medical doctor and physicist born in Bologna. He is considered a pioneer in the field of electrophysiology. His work on Galvanism – the electrical stimulation of muscles – significantly…
Read More
1834
English-Canadian painter and author (born 1762)
Dame Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe was an English artist and diarist in colonial Canada. Her husband, John Graves Simcoe, was the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Her diary gives an account of Canadian life.
Read More
1850
Irish actress and dancer (born 1821)
Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Gräfin…
Read More
1861
French painter (born 1789)
Émile Jean-Horace Vernet, better known as Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects.
Read More
1863
Russian composer (born 1813)
Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky was a 19th-century Russian composer. He bridged the gap in Russian opera composition between Mikhail Glinka and the later generation of The Five and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Read More
1869
English historian and jurist (born 1812)
Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy was an English historian and jurist.
Read More
1878
German ornithologist and herpetologist (born 1804)
Hermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist, herpetologist and ichthyologist.
Read More
1884
Australian lawyer and politician, 13th Premier of Tasmania (born 1840)
William Robert Giblin was Premier of Tasmania (Australia) from 5 March 1878 until 20 December 1878 and from 1879 until 1884.
Read More
1887
1888
American historian and politician, 17th United States Secretary of the Navy (born 1800)
George Bancroft was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and international levels.
Read More
1891
Baroness Llanover, Welsh writer and patron of the arts (born 1802)
Augusta Hall, Baroness Llanover, born Augusta Waddington, was a Welsh heiress, best known as a patron of the Welsh arts.
Read More
1896
Hungarian architect and philanthropist (born 1828)
Ignaz Wechselmann was a Hungarian architect and philanthropist.
Read More
1903
Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1835)
Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany was the last Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1859 to 1860.
Read More
1908
Finnish politician and journalist (born 1826)
Agathon Meurman was a Finnish politician and journalist. He was one of the key persons of the Fennoman movement and since 1863 the leader of the Finnish Party together with Yrjö Sakari Yrjö-Koskinen.
Read More
1909
Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th Premier of Tasmania (born 1819)
Sir Francis Villeneuve Smith was an Australian lawyer, judge and politician, who served as the fourth Premier of Tasmania from 12 May 1857 until 1 November 1860.
Read More
1909
English polymath, anthropologist, and geographer (born 1822)
Sir Francis Galton was an English polymath and the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era; his ideas later became the basis of behavioural genetics.
Read More
1911
American founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA (born 1860)
Juliette Gordon Low was the American founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. Inspired by the work of Robert Baden-Powell, founder of Scout Movement, she joined the Girl Guide movement in England, forming her own group of…
Read More
1927
One of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records in India. (born 1873)
Gauhar Jaan was an Indian singer and dancer from Kolkata. Popularly known as the gramophone girl, they were India's first celebrity singer. She was one of the first preferences for audio houses to record music on the…
Read More
1930
Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia was a Russian Grand Duke and a member of the Russian Imperial Family.
Read More
1931
Turkish general (born 1881)
Ahmet Derviş also known as Derviş Bey or Derviş Pasha was an officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army.
Read More
1932
Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1893)
Albert Jacka, was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. Jacka was the…
Read More
1932
American stained glass artist (born 1848)
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in art glass, especially stained glass and Favrile glass. He is associated with the art nouveau…
Read More
1933
Romanian journalist, author, and poet (born 1885)
Mateiu Ion Caragiale, also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ, was a Romanian poet and prose writer, best known for his novel Craii de Curtea-Veche, which portrays the milieu of boyar…
Read More
1936
German field marshal (born 1884)
Walter Karl Gustav August Ernst von Reichenau was a German Generalfeldmarschall in the Heer (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was nicknamed "The Bull". Reichenau commanded the 6th Army, during the invasions…
Read More
1942
Russian historian and general (born 1869)
Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov, also known as Peter Krasnov, was a Russian military leader, writer, and later Nazi collaborator.
Read More
1947
Canadian cardinal (born 1883)
Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve was a Canadian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1931 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1933.
Read More
1947
Indian poet, playwright, and director (born 1903)
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was a noted Indian playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and film maker from Assam. He was deeply revered for his creative vision and output and is popularly called the Rupkonwar of Assamese…
Read More
1951
American businessman (born 1877)
Walter Owen Briggs Sr. was an American entrepreneur and professional sports owner. He was part-owner of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball from 1919 to 1935, and then sole owner from 1935 to his death in 1952.…
Read More
1952
Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (born 1925)
Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the First Congolese Republic from June until September 1960, following the May 1960 election. Lumumba…
Read More
1961
Russian-American bassoon player and educator (born 1890)
Simon Kovar was a Russian-American bassoonist and one of the first renowned teachers of bassoon in the United States.
Read More
1970
American rhythm and blues singer and pianist (born 1937)
William Larry Stewart II was an American R&B singer and pianist popular during the 1960s.
Read More
1970
American author and playwright (born 1896)
Betty Smith was an American playwright and novelist, who wrote the 1943 bestseller A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Read More
1972
Scottish mountaineer (born 1940)
Duncan "Dougal" Curdy MacSporran Haston was a Scottish mountaineer noted for his exploits in the British Isles, Alps, and the Himalayas. From 1967 he was the director of the International School of Mountaineering at…
Read More
1977
American murderer (born 1940)
Gary Mark Gilmore was an American criminal who gained international attention for demanding the implementation of his death sentence for two murders he had admitted to committing in Utah. After the U.S. Supreme Court…
Read More
1977
Greek footballer and lawyer (born 1899)
Loukas Panourgias was a Greek athlete and footballer.
Read More
1981
Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1903)
Ioannis Constantinidis, also known by the pen name Kostas Giannidis, was a Greek composer, pianist and conductor.
Read More
1984
Argentinian director and screenwriter (born 1908)
Hugo Geronimo Fregonese was an Argentine film director and screenwriter who worked both in Hollywood and his home country during the classical era of Argentine cinema.
Read More
1987
American psychologist and author (born 1927)
Lawrence Kohlberg was an American psychologist best known for his theory of stages of moral development.
Read More
1987
South African journalist and author (born 1938)
Percy Peter Tshidiso Qoboza was an influential black South African journalist, author, and outspoken critic of the apartheid government in South Africa during the early periods of world recognition of the problems…
Read More
1988
Bulgarian pianist and music teacher (born 1899)
Panka Pelishek was a Bulgarian pianist and music teacher. She played as a soloist and a chamber musician, particularly known for performing Beethoven's works. In teaching, she encouraged students to follow "their own…
Read More
1990
1991
English soldier and businessman (born 1915)
Francis Henry Pullen was an English businessperson and racehorse owner.
Read More
1992
English-Lebanese historian and academic (born 1915)
Albert Habib Hourani, was a Lebanese British historian, specialising in the history of the Middle East and Middle Eastern studies.
Read More
1993
Russian spy (born 1926)
Captain Yevgeny Mikhailovich Ivanov, also known as Eugene Ivanov, was a naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy in London during the early 1960s, and was also engaged in espionage. His affair with Christine Keeler resulted…
Read More
1994
American runner, shot putter, and discus thrower (born 1918)
Helen Herring Stephens was an American athlete and a double Olympic champion in 1936.
Read More
1994
American lawyer and politician (born 1936)
Barbara Charline Jordan was an American politician, attorney, and educator. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first southern…
Read More
1996
English geneticist (born 1922)
Sylvia Dorothy Lawler was an English geneticist who worked in the field of human genetics.
Read More
1996
Australian farmer and politician, 20th Australian Minister for the Navy (born 1912)
Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and was an influential campaigner for free trade and the elimination of tariffs. He held ministerial office under Harold…
Read More
1997
American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (born 1906)
Clyde William Tombaugh was an American astronomer and telescope maker, best known for discovering Pluto in 1930, marking the first detection of what would eventually be recognized as the Kuiper belt. At the time, Pluto…
Read More
1997
English trumpet player and educator (born 1928)
Philip Jones was a British trumpeter and leader of an internationally famous brass chamber music ensemble.
Read More
2000
2000
Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1916)
Camilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquess of Iria Flavia was a Spanish novelist, poet, story writer and essayist associated with the Generation of '36 movement.
Read More
2002
Russian physicist and academic (born 1932)
Roman Ivanovich Personov was a Soviet and Russian scientist, professor, doctor, one of the founders of selective laser spectroscopy of complex molecules in solids.
Read More
2002
American actor and director (born 1926)
Richard Donald Crenna was an American actor and television director.
Read More
2003
English banker (born 1929)
Raymond Henry Bonham Carter was a British banker and a member of the prominent Bonham Carter family.
Read More
2004
American baseball player and coach (born 1914)
Harry David Brecheen, known as "Harry The Cat", was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns. He become the first…
Read More
2004
2004
American actor (born 1931)
Noble Henry Willingham, Jr. was an American actor who appeared in more than thirty films and in many television shows, including a stint opposite Chuck Norris in Walker, Texas Ranger.
Read More
2004
Australian businessman (born 1960)
Charles Hamilton Bell AO was an Australian business executive. He was president of the American fast-food chain McDonald's from December 2002, and chief executive officer from April to November 2004. Bell was the first…
Read More
2005
American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1920)
Virginia Mayo was an American actress. She was in a series of popular comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Bros.' biggest box-office draw in the late 1940s. She is also known for her roles in the war drama The…
Read More
2005
American microbiologist and academic (born 1920)
Albert Israel Schatz was an American microbiologist and academic who discovered streptomycin, the first antibiotic known to be effective for the treatment of tuberculosis. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1942…
Read More
2005
Chinese politician, 3rd Premier of the People's Republic of China (born 1919)
Zhao Ziyang was a Chinese politician. He served as the premier of China from 1980 to 1987, as vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1982, and as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist…
Read More
2005
Canadian surgeon (born 1925)
Pierre Grondin, was a Canadian cardiac surgeon known for his contributions to heart transplantation and cardiac surgery. After completing postgraduate training with Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley in Houston, Texas,…
Read More
2006
American journalist and author (born 1925)
Arthur Buchwald was an American humorist best known for his column in The Washington Post. At the height of his popularity, it was published nationwide as a syndicated column in more than 500 newspapers. His column…
Read More
2007
Ukrainian engineer and politician (born 1951)
Yevhen Petrovych Kushnaryov was a Ukrainian politician. Kushnaryov was considered one of the chief ideologues of the Party of Regions and a key ally of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
Read More
2007
German record producer, journalist and film critic (born 1940)
Uwe Nettelbeck was a German record producer, journalist and film critic. He was best known as the creator and producer of the German krautrock band Faust and changed the face of German rock music in the early 1970s. He…
Read More
2007
American chess player and author (born 1943)
Robert James Fischer was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11–0 score,…
Read More
2008
American football player, wrestler, and actor (born 1948)
Earnest Lee Holmes was an American professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "Fats", he was selected by…
Read More
2008
Swedish journalist and historian (born 1943)
Rolf Anders Isaksson was a Swedish journalist, writer, and historian, possibly best known for his four-volume biography of Swedish social democratic politics and Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson's life.
Read More
2009
American football player (born 1983)
Gaines DeMario Adams IV was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played college football for Clemson University, and was recognized…
Read More
2010
Indian politician and 9th Chief Minister of West Bengal (born 1914)
Jyoti Basu was an Indian Marxist theorist, communist activist, and politician. He was one of the most prominent leaders of Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest serving Chief Minister of West…
Read More
2010
Greek journalist and politician, Foreign Minister of Greece (born 1919)
Michalis Papakonstantinou was a Greek politician and author. He studied law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Papakonstantinou served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 7 August 1992 until 13 October…
Read More
2010
American author and screenwriter (born 1937)
Erich Wolf Segal was an American author, screenwriter, educator, and classicist who wrote the bestselling novel Love Story (1970) and its film adaptation.
Read More
2010
American songwriter and producer (born 1934)
Donald Kirshner was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by Time, he was best known for managing songwriting talent as…
Read More
2011
German soldier and pilot (born 1917)
Julius Meimberg was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 53 aerial victories—that is, 53 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy…
Read More
2012
American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1921)
Johnny Otis, born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes, was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, talent scout, and preacher. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He…
Read More
2012
American baseball player and umpire (born 1937)
Martin John Springstead was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1966 to 1985 and had since worked as an umpire supervisor. He was the youngest umpire ever to serve as crew…
Read More
2012
Turkish journalist and author (born 1941)
Mehmet Ali Birand was a Kurdish-Turkish journalist, political commentator and writer.
Read More
2013
German author (born 1964)
Jakob Bothe, better known by his pen name Jakob Arjouni, was a German author. He received the 1992 German Crime Fiction Prize for One Man, One Murder.
Read More
2013
Belgian journalist (born 1954)
Yves Debay, was a veteran French-Belgian war correspondent, who founded and reported for the French-language magazines Raids and later Assaut ("Assault"), which is published out of Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France.…
Read More
2013
Zimbabwean politician, Vice President of Zimbabwe (born 1934)
John Landa Nkomo was a Zimbabwean politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. After serving for years as a minister in the government of Zimbabwe, he was the Speaker of Parliament from 2005 to…
Read More
2013
English soprano and actress (born 1926)
Betty Ethel Holton, better known by her stage name, Lizbeth Webb, was an English soprano and stage actress. Known as "the champagne soprano", she is remembered partly for originating the song "This Is My Lovely Day".
Read More
2013
Indian spiritual leader, 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq (born 1915)
Mohammed Burhanuddin was the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq of Dawoodi Bohras from 1965 to 2014. He led the community for 49 years in a period of social, economic, and educational prosperity; strengthened and re-institutionalized…
Read More
2014
Canadian educator and politician (born 1940)
Francine Lalonde was a Canadian politician who served on both the provincial and federal levels. Prior to being elected, she was a lecturer, teacher, and unionist.
Read More
2014
Baron McAlpine of West Green, English businessman and politician (born 1942)
Robert Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green was a British businessman, politician and author who was an advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Read More
2014
American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1940)
Captain John James McGinty III was a United States Marine Corps officer who received the United States militaries' highest
decoration — the Medal of Honor — for heroism during July 1966 in the Vietnam War.
Read More
2014
Indian-Canadian businesswoman (born 1962)
Sunanda Pushkar was an Indian-born Canadian businesswoman. She was a sales director in the Dubai-based TECOM Investments, and a co-owner of the India-based Rendezvous Sports World (RSW), a cricket franchise in the…
Read More
2014
Indian film actress (born 1931)
Suchitra Sen, widely known as the Mahanayika, was an Indian actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite actor Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema.
Read More
2014
English footballer and manager (born 1931)
Kenneth Furphy was an English football player and manager.
Read More
2015
Egyptian actress and producer (born 1931)
Faten Ahmed Hamama was an Egyptian film and television actress and film producer. She made her screen debut in 1939, when she was only seven years old. Her earliest roles were minor, but her activity and gradual success…
Read More
2015
Canadian actor and screenwriter (born 1924)
Donald Hugh Harron, was a Canadian comedian, actor, director, journalist, author, playwright, and composer. Harron is best remembered by American audiences as a member of the cast of the long-running country music…
Read More
2015
2016
New Zealand painter and historian (born 1923)
Melvin Norman "Pat" Day was a New Zealand artist and art historian.
Read More
2016
Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Governor of Sikkim (born 1935)
V Rama Rao served as Governor of Sikkim from 2002 to 2007. He started his political career in 1956 when he joined Jana Sangh and went on to become a National Leader of Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected to Andhra…
Read More
2016
Indian religious leader (born 1926)
Shrimad Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji, also referred to as Shri Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji, was the legal and spiritual head (mathadipathi) of the Kashi Math and the twentieth successive person called the swamiji of guru…
Read More
2016
American football player and coach (born 1929)
Tirrel Burton was an American football player, coach, and radio broadcaster. He played halfback for Ara Parseghian's championship teams at Miami University in 1954 and 1955 and led the undefeated, untied 1955 team in…
Read More
2017
American western lowland gorilla, first gorilla born in captivity and oldest recorded (born 1956)
Colo was a western gorilla widely known as the first gorilla to be born in captivity anywhere in the world and the oldest known gorilla in the world in 2017. Colo was born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to Millie…
Read More
2017
Malayalam movie composer (born 1948)
S. Balakrishnan was an Indian film score composer and music director who worked mainly in Malayalam cinema. Best known for his association with the director duo Siddique-Lal, he has scored some of the all-time hit songs…
Read More
2019
British actor (born1937)
Derek James Fowlds was an English actor. He played "Mr Derek" in The Basil Brush Show (1969–1973), Bernard Woolley in the sitcom Yes Minister (1980–1984) and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister (1986–1988), and Sgt Oscar…
Read More
2020
Pakistani film and television actor (born 1948)
Rasheed Naz was a Pakistani film and television actor. He started his television career in 1971 in a Pashto television play and went on to work in several Pashto, Hindko and Urdu-language plays.
Read More
2021
Indian dancer (born 1937)
Birju Maharaj was an Indian dancer, composer, singer, and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant of the Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, which includes his two…
Read More
2022
French supercentenarian (born 1904)
Lucile Randon, also known as Sister André, was a French supercentenarian who, until her death at the age of 118 years, 340 days, was the world's oldest verified living person following the death of Kane Tanaka on 19…
Read More
2023
French politician, 25th Minister of State of Monaco (born 1959)
Didier Guillaume was a French politician who briefly served as minister of state of Monaco from 2024 until his death in 2025. He previously served as the minister of agriculture and food in the government of Prime…
Read More
2025
American cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, and educator (born 1929)
Jules Ralph Feiffer was an American cartoonist and author, who at one time was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for editorial cartooning and, in 2004, Feiffer…
Read More
2025
Mongolian politician, 1st President of Mongolia (born 1942)
Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat was a Mongolian politician who served as the first president of Mongolia from 1990 to 1997. He was the first president to be elected by direct popular vote.
Read More
2025
Advertisement
Notable deaths
Who died on January 17?
Rutherford B. Hayes — President of the United States from 1877 to 1881
FeaturedRutherford B. Hayes
Death year1893
Known forHe served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861 and was known as a staunch abolitionist who defended refugee slaves in court proceedings
Deaths on this date131 (395 – 2025)
Explore January 17
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on January 17 in History
2026
Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42 crashed near Mount Bulusaraung in South Sulawesi, after losing contact en route to Makassar. Wikipedia →
2023
An avalanche strikes Nyingchi, Tibet, killing 28 people. Wikipedia →
2017
See all events on January 17
The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is announced to be suspended. Wikipedia →
Advertisement