January 19
Activity of the day
Today is . . .
- Feast day of St Nathalan, sometimes called the Saint who lost his temper
- Deast day of St Knut Sveinnson, patron saint of Denmark
On this day . . .
- The tin can is patented by Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett (1825)
- Verdi's opera Il Trovatore is first staged in Rome (1853)
- The first Tour de France is announced in France (1903)
- Neon advertising is patented by French chemist Georges Claude (1915)
- Indira Gandhi becomes prime minister of India (1966)
- The Beatles are offered $30 million to reform and play together (1976)
- The first commercial personal computer from Apple with a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced (1983)
Births
- James Watt, Scottish inventor of the steam engine (1736)
- Edgar Allen Poe, American writer (1809)
- Paul Cézanne, French artist (1839)
- Patricia Highsmith, American novelist (1921)
- Tippi Hedren, American actress (1931)
- Michael Crawford, English actor (1942)
- Janis Joplin, American rock singer (1943)
- Dolly Parton, American country singer (1946)
- Robert Palmer, English musician (1949)
- Simon Rattle, English conductor (1955)
- Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player (1966)
Deaths
- William Congreve, English dramatist (1729)
- Carl Perkins, American guitarist (1998)
- Wilson Pickett, American singer (2006)
- John Stewart, American musician (2008)