January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 355 days remaining until the end of the year (356 in leap years).
1901–2000
- 1901 – The first great Texas gusher – oil is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
- 1910 – British passenger ship Loodiana disappeared off Port Louis, Mauritius – a mystery that has not been solved to-date.
- 1916 – World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeated the Ottoman Empire.
- 1920 – League of Nations held its first meeting and ratifies the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I.
- 1922 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of the Irish Free State.
- 1923 – Lithuania seized and annexed Memel.
- 1927 – The movie Metropolis by Fritz Lang premiered.
- 1929 – Tintin, a comic book character created by Hergé, made his debut. He went on to be published in over 200 million comic books in 40 languages.
- 1941 – Lend-Lease is introduced into the U.S. Congress.
- 1946 – First General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. 51 nations are represented.
- 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
- 1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH. 106 Comet 1 aircraft, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea off Italy, killing 35 people.
- 1957 – Harold Macmillan becomes the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1962 – NASA announces plans to build what would become the Saturn V rocket.
- 1964 – Panama temporarily breaks off diplomatic relations with the United States. These are restored on April 3.
- 1969 – After 147 years, the last issue of the Saturday Evening Post is published.
- 1971 – Masterpiece Theatre debuts on PBS.
- 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman becomes President of Bangladesh.
- 1984 – The United States and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations.
- 1985 – Daniel Ortega becomes President of Nicaragua.
- 1989 – Cuban troops begin withdrawing from Angola.
- 1990 – Time Warner is formed from the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc.
- 2000 – America Online announces an agreement to buy Time Warner for $162 billion, the largest corporate merger in history.
Up to 1800
- 1479 – Johann Cochlaeus, German humanist (d. 1552)
- 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy, Regent of the Netherlands (d. 1530)
- 1493 – Miklos Olah, Hungarian archbishop (d. 1568)
- 1538 – Louise of Nassau (d. 1574)
- 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer (d. 1624)
- 1607 – Isaac Joques, French priest and missionary (d. 1646)
- 1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1687)
- 1654 – Joshua Barnes, English scholar (d. 1712)
- 1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
- 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist (d. 1799)
- 1738 – Ethan Allen, American military leader (d. 1789)
- 1741 – Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain (d. 1759)
- 1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, British Lord Chancellor (d. 1823)
- 1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
- 1797 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German writer and composer (d. 1848)
- 1799 – Petrache Poenaru, Romanian revolutionary, engineer and mathematician (d. 1875)
1801–1900
- 1803 – Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen, Prussian politician and Prime Minister (d. 1890)
- 1810 – Ferdinand Barbedienne, French engineer (d. 1892)
- 1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, 23rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1883)
- 1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect (d. 1881)
- 1834 – John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, English historian, politician and writer (d. 1902)
- 1835 – Fukuzawa Yukichi, Japanese writer, teacher, translator, entrepreneur and journalist (d. 1901)
- 1836 – Charles Ingalls, father of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1902)
- 1840 – Louis Nazaire Bégin, Canadian archbishop and cardinal (d. 1925)
- 1842 – Luigi Pigorini, Italian archaeologist and ethnologist (d. 1925)
- 1843 – Frank James, American outlaw (d. 1915)
- 1847 – Jacob Schiff, American banker, businessman and philanthropist (d. 1920)
- 1848 – Reinhold Sadler, Prussian-born 9th Governor of Nevada (d. 1906)
- 1850 – John Welborn Root, American architect (d. 1891)
- 1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1925)
- 1859 – Francesc Ferrer i Guardia, Catalan free thinker (d. 1909)
- 1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
- 1865 – Mary Ingalls, sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1928)
- 1873 – George Orton, Canadian athlete (d. 1958)
- 1875 – Issai Schur, German mathematician (d. 1941)
- 1879 – Bobby Walker, Scottish footballer (d. 1930)
- 1880 – Manuel Azaña, Spanish politician (d. 1940)
- 1881 – Leslie Rainey, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1962)
- 1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian writer (d. 1945)
- 1883 – Nadezhda Udaltsova, Russian artist (d. 1961)
- 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet, dramatist and natural philosopher (d. 1962)
- 1890 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (d. 1957)
- 1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian actress (d. 1984)
- 1891 – Louis A. Johnson, American politician (d. 1966)
- 1893 – Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet (d. 1948)
- 1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, American scientist and inventor (d. 1979)
1901–1925
- 1901 – Henning von Tresckow, German general and Resistance activist (d. 1944)
- 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor and director (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Bernard Lee, British actor (d. 1981)
- 1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Prince Carl Bernadotte, Swedish royal (d. 2003)
- 1912 – Maria Mandl, Austrian Concentration camp overseer, convicted Nazi war criminal (d. 1948)
- 1913 – Gustav Husak, President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian politician (d. 1981)
- 1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Premier of Taiwan (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Dean Dixon, American conductor (d. 1976)
- 1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American record producer and journalist (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Arthur Chung, President of Guyana (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Terukuni Manzo, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1977)
- 1920 – Georges Marchal, French actor (d. 1997)
- 1920 – Richard Nelson Frye, American orientalist and historian (d. 2014)
- 1920 – Rut Brandt, Norwegian-German writer, wife of Willy Brandt (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Rodger Ward, American racing driver (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Michel Henry, French philosopher and writer (d. 2002)
- 1922 – Billy Liddell, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Eduardo Chillida, Basque sculptor (d. 2002)
- 1924 – Max Roach, American musician and composer (d. 2007)
- 1925 – Peter Colotka, Slovakian academic, lawyer and politician (d. 2019)
1926–1950
- 1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss politician (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Megumu Tamura, Japanese footballer (d. 1986)
- 1928 – Philip Levine, American poet (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Derek Hammond-Stroud, English operatic baritone
- 1930 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Massimo Vignelli, Italian designer (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Will McBride, American photographer (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian politician (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Ron Galella, American photographer
- 1932 – Louis Rwagasore, Burundian politician
- 1934 – Leonard Boswell, American politician (d. 2018)
- 1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, former President of Ukraine
- 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and radio astronomer
- 1938 – Donald Knuth, American mathematician and computer scientist
- 1938 – Lois Capps, American politician
- 1939 – David Horowitz, American writer and political commentator
- 1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Bill Toomey, American athlete
- 1939 – Davie Wilson, Scottish footballer
- 1940 – Walter Hill, American movie director
- 1940 – Yesudas, Indian singer and classical musician
- 1941 – Tom Clarke, Scottish politician
- 1942 – Walter Hill, American director
- 1943 – Jim Croce, American singer (d. 1973)
- 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer (d. 2016)
- 1945 – Rod Stewart, British singer
- 1945 – Günther von Hagens, German anatomist
- 1945 – John Fahey, 38th Premier of New South Wales
- 1947 – Peer Steinbrück, German politician
- 1947 – Tiit Vahi, Estonian politician
- 1948 – Donald Fagan, American musician
- 1948 – Mischa Maisky, Latvian cellist
- 1949 – Walter Browne, Australian-American chess player (d. 2015)
- 1949 – George Foreman, American boxer and entrepreneur (George Foreman Grill)
- 1949 – Harald Hove, Norwegian politician (d. 2014)
- 1949 – Linda Lovelace, American pornographic actress (d. 2002)
- 1950 – Suchitra Bhattacharya, Indian novelist (d. 2015)
- 1950 – Roy Blunt, American politician
- 1950 – Barbara Orbison, German-born American record producer and music publisher (d. 2011)
- 1950 – Winfried Schaefer, German footballer
- 1950 – Ernie Wasson, American gardener and writer
1951–1975
- 1952 – Oleh Romanishin, Ukrainian chess player
- 1952 – Scott Thurston, American musician
- 1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer
- 1955 – Franco Tancredi, Italian footballer
- 1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist
- 1955 – Yasmina Khadra (real name Mohammed Moulessehoul), Algerian writer
- 1957 – Greg Walden, American politician
- 1958 – Eddie Cheever, American racing driver
- 1959 – Chandra Cheeseborough, American athlete
- 1959 – Samira Said, Moroccan singer
- 1959 – Maurizio Sarri, Italian football manager
- 1960 – Gurinder Chadha, British movie director
- 1960 – Brian Cowen, former Taoiseach of Ireland
- 1960 – Jurrie Koolhof, Dutch footballer (d. 2019)
- 1960 – Claudia Losch, German athlete
- 1961 – Evan Handler, American actor
- 1961 – Janet Jones, American actress
- 1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-American violinist, writer and educator
- 1963 – Kira Ivanova, Russian figure skater (d. 2001)
- 1963 – Francesco Panetta, Italian runner
- 1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer
- 1965 – Hiroshi Hirakawa, Japanese footballer
- 1965 – Butch Hartman, American animator
- 1966 – Bert Cooper, American boxer (d. 2019)
- 1966 – Murali Nair, Indian movie director
- 1972 – Thomas Alsgaard, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
- 1973 – Tanya Streeter, British freediver
- 1974 – Sabrina Setlur, German rapper
- 1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor, singer and guitarist (Flight of the Conchords)
- 1974 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
- 1974 – Bob Peeters, Belgian footballer
From 1976
- 1976 – Ian Poulter, English golfer
- 1977 – Michelle O'Neill, Northern Irish politician, leader of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland
- 1978 – Gavin McCann, English footballer
- 1979 – Edu, Brazilian footballer
- 1979 – Anna Lesko, Romanian singer
- 1980 – Nelson Cuevas, Paraguayan footballer
- 1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress
- 1981 – Jared Kushner, American real estate investor, developer and publisher
- 1982 – Ana Layevska, Russian-Mexican actress
- 1982 – Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1984 – Marouane Chamakh, Moroccan footballer
- 1986 – Abbey Clancy, English model
- 1986 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgian tennis player
- 1986 – Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
- 1986 – Chen Jin, Chinese badminton player
- 1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
- 1988 – Leonard Patrick Komon, Kenyan long-distance runner
- 1988 – Vladimir Zharkov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Emily Meade, American actress
- 1990 – Tao Li, Chinese swimmer
- 1990 – César Ruiz, Peruvian footballer
- 1990 – Mario Innauer, Austrian ski jumper
- 1991 – Romain Wattel, French golfer
- 1992 – Emmanuel Frimpong, Ghanaian footballer
- 1994 – Mohammed Aman, Ethiopian middle-distance runner
- 2004 – Kaitlyn Maher, American actress and singer
Up to 1900
- 314 – Pope Miltiades
- 681 – Pope Agatho
- 976 – John I Tzimiskes, Greek Byzantine Emperor (b. 925)
- 1218 – Hugh I of Cyprus (b. 1195)
- 1276 – Pope Gregory X
- 1321 – Mary of Brabant, Queen of France (b. 1254)
- 1645 – William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1573)
- 1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer (b. 1618)
- 1662 – Prince Honoré of Monaco (b. 1597)
- 1778 – Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist (b. 1707)
- 1794 – Georg Forster, German scientist and revolutionary (b. 1754)
- 1811 – Marie-Joseph Chénier, French poet (b. 1764)
- 1824 – King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (b. 1759)
- 1825 – Ioannis Varvakis, Greek national hero (b. 1745)
- 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician (b. 1752)
- 1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English writer and playwright (b. 1787)
- 1862 – Samuel Colt, American inventor (b. 1814)
- 1863 – Lyman Beecher, American Presbyterian clergyman (b. 1775)
- 1895 – Benjamin Godard, French composer (b. 1849)
1901–1950
- 1901 – James Dickson, Premier of Queensland (b. 1832)
- 1905 – Karlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
- 1917 – William F. Cody, American frontiersman (b. 1846)
- 1918 – August Oetker, German businessman (b. 1862)
- 1926 – Eino Leino, Finnish writer (b. 1878)
- 1934 – Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist, accused of Reichstag fire (b. 1909)
- 1935 – Edwin Flack, American athlete (b. 1873)
- 1941 – Frank Bridge, English composer (b. 1879)
- 1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian-born comedian and actor (b. 1904)
- 1941 – Issai Schur, German mathematician (b. 1875)
- 1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and polar scientist (b. 1865)
1951–2000
- 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American writer (b. 1885)
- 1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (b. 1890)
- 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet (b. 1889)
- 1959 – Michael Grzimek, German nature filmmaker (b. 1934)
- 1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1907)
- 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American writer (b. 1894)
- 1968 – Ali Fuet Cebesoy, Turkish general and politician (b. 1882)
- 1969 – Sampurnanand, Indian politician, 2nd Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1891)
- 1969 – John Brownlee, American tenor (b. 1900)
- 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer (b. 1883)
- 1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (b. 1897)
- 1976 – Howlin' Wolf, American musician (b. 1910)
- 1978 – Pedro Chamorro, Nicaraguan journalist (b. 1924)
- 1978 – Don Gillis, American composer and conductor (b. 1912)
- 1980 – George Meany, American labor leader (b. 1894)
- 1981 – Katherine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
- 1981 – Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian (b. 1915)
- 1982 – Paul Lynde, American comedian (b. 1926)
- 1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Prince and Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
- 1985 – Anton Karas, Austrian zither player and composer (b. 1906)
- 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech writer (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Sir David Robinson, British philanthropist and entrepreneur (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1925)
- 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American producer, actor and director (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Elspeth Huxley, British journalist and writer (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist (b. 1907)
- 2000 – Sam Jaffe, American producer (b. 1901)
From 2001
- 2003 – Julho Botelho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1929)
- 2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor, screenwriter, and monologue artist (b. 1941)
- 2004 – Alexandra Ripley, writer
- 2005 – Gene Baylos, comedian
- 2005 – Margherita Carosio, Italian soprano (b. 1908)
- 2005 – James Forman, American Civil Rights leader (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Erwin Hillier, British cinematographer (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Gordon John "Jack" Horner, sports journalist
- 2005 – Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1927)
- 2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian movie producer (b. 1912)
- 2008 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Bill Stone, British World War I veteran (b. 1900)
- 2011 – John Dye, American actor (b. 1963)
- 2011 – Margaret Whiting, American actress (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Zbigniew Messner, former Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Larry Speakes, American journalist (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Allard van der Scheer, Dutch actor (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Marly Marley, Brazilian actress (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Francesco Rosi, Italian movie director (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Junior Malanda, Belgian footballer (b. 1994)
- 2015 – Taylor Negron, American writer, actor and painter (b. 1957)
- 2015 – Harry V. Jaffa, American political philosophy professor (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Walter Berns, American lawyer and political philosophy professor (b. 1919)
- 2015 – Frans Bolweg, Dutch sailor (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Robert Berner, American geoscientist (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Robert Stone, American writer (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Jorgelina Aranda, Argentine model, actress and singer (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Elemér Hankiss, Hungarian sociologist (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Inge Vermeulen, Brazilian-Dutch field hockey player (b. 1985)
- 2016 – Abbas Bahri, Tunisian mathematician (b. 1954)
- 2016 – Wim Bleijenberg, Dutch footballer (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Cornelis Zitman, Dutch sculptor (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Bob Oatley, Australian businessman, winemaker and yachtsman (b. 1928)
- 2016 – David Bowie, English singer, musician and actor (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Ann Z. Caracristi, American cryptographer (b. 1921)
- 2016 – Teofil Codreanu, Romanian footballer (b. 1941)
- 2016 – Jeanne Cordova, American LGBT activist (b. 1948)
- 2016 – Ulrich Hahnen, German politician (b. 1952)
- 2016 – Ralph Hauenstein, American philanthropist and businessman (b. 1912)
- 2016 – George Jonas, Hungarian-Canadian writer, poet and journalist (b. 1935)
- 2016 – Kalevi Lehtovirta, Finnish footballer (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Yusuf Zuayyin, Prime Minister of Syria (b. 1931)
- 2017 – Buddy Greco, American singer and actor (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Roman Herzog, President of Germany (b. 1934)
- 2017 – Clare Hollingworth, English journalist (b. 1911)
- 2017 – Oliver Smithies, English-American geneticist (b. 1925)
- 2017 – Hiag Akmakjian, American writer, painter and photographer (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Ronald Buxton, British politician (b. 1923)
- 2017 – Ryszard Parulski, Polish fencer (b. 1938)
- 2017 – Manlio Rocchetti, Italian make-up artist (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Tony Rosato, Italian-born Canadian actor (b. 1954)
- 2017 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1933)
- 2018 – Eddie Clarke, English guitarist (b. 1950)
- 2018 – Mikhail Derzhavin, Russian actor (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Tom Luken, American politician (b. 1925)
- 2018 – Doreen Tracey, English-born American actress (b. 1943)
- 2019 – Theo Adam, German opera singer (b. 1926)
- 2019 – Dianne Oxberry, English broadcaster (b. 1967)
- 2019 – Lionel Price, English basketball player (b. 1927)