Wednesday 25th of January 1533

42-year-old King of England Henry VIII of England marries 32-year-old Anne Boleyn in London, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Sunday 25th of January 1874

Writer and playwright William Somerset Maugham is born in Embassy of the United Kingdom, 35 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris, VIIIe, Île-de-France, France.

Since French law declared that all children born on French soil could be conscripted for military service his father arranged for Maugham to be born at the embassy, technically on British soil.

Wednesday 25th of January 1882

Writer Virginia Adeline Stephen Woolf is born in 22 Hyde Park Gate, London, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Monday 25th of January 1904

180 die in Harwick coal mine explosion in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, United States.

Saturday 25th of January 1913

Composer Witold Roman Lutosławski is born in Warszawa, Województwo Mazowieckie, Poland.

Thursday 25th of January 1917

Theoretical chemist Ilya Romanovich Prigogine is born in Moscow, Central Federal District, Russia.

Thursday 25th of January 1923

Psychiatric patient and artist Shirley Ardell Mason aka Sybil Isabel Dorsett is born in Dodge Center, Minnesota, United States.

Monday 25th of January 1943

Actor Spencer Charters commits suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning combined with sleeping tablets at the age of 68 in Hollywood, California, United States.

Monday 25th of January 1943

Cult film director Tobe William Hooper known for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is born in Austin, Texas, United States.

Tuesday 25th of January 1944

Actress, artist, model and muse of the Rolling Stones Anita Pallenberg is born in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Saturday 25th of January 1947

Gangster, bootlegger and racketeer Al Alphonse Gabriel Capone aka Scarface dies of cardiac arrest at the age of 48 in Palm Island, Florida, United States.

In 1946 Capone's physician and a Baltimore psychiatrist performed examinations and concluded that he had the mentality of a 12-year-old child.

Wednesday 25th of January 1950

Child killer Melvin Wayne White is born in Ozona, Texas, United States.

Thursday 25th of January 1968

69 die in INS Dakar diesel-electric submarine sinking in The Mediterranean Sea, Greece.

The exact cause of Dakar's sinking remains unknown. Despite extensive searches over the course of three decades its wreckage was not found until 1999.

Thursday 25th of January 1973

26-year-old Serial killer Herbert William Mullin aka The Hippie Killer shoots 30-year-old Kathy Francis and her two sons, 9-year-old Daemon and 4-year-old David in the head in Mystery Spot Road, Santa Cruz, California, United States.

Before Mulllin also shot 25-year-old Jim Ralph Gianera and his 21-year-old wife Joan on Western Drive. All the victims were shot and then stabbed post-mortem.

Saturday 25th of January 1975

37-year-old Wiener Aktionist Hermann Nitsch performs his 48. Aktion at the 2nd FIAC art fair in Gare de Paris-Bastille, Paris, XIIe, Île-de-France, France.

Friday 25th of January 1985

Senior official of the Ministry of Defence René Audran is shot dead by Action Directe for his involvement in arms sales to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War at the age of 56 in Avenue des Gressets, La Celle-Saint-Cloud, Île-de-France, France.

Thursday 25th of January 1990

Actress Ava Lavinia Gardner dies of pneumonia at the age of 68 in 34 Ennismore Gardens, London, Westminster, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Thursday 25th of January 1996

Double murderer Billy Bailey is executed by hanging at the age of 49 in Delaware Correctional Center, 1181 Paddock Road, Smyrna, Delaware, United States.

Bailey had the option of choosing to be hanged instead of "let them put me to sleep" by lethal injection. Bailey's last meal request was for a well-done steak, a baked potato with sour cream and butter, buttered rolls, peas, and vanilla ice cream.

Sunday 25th of January 1998

52-year-old Giangiorgio Canu is shot dead by serial killer Donato Bilancia aka Il Mostro della Liguria in Genova, Pegli, Liguria, Italy.

Monday 25th of January 1999

40-year-old Performance artist Danny Devos aka DDV performs 'AARA' in About Café, 402-408 Maitrichit Road, Bangkok, Central Thailand, Thailand.

I gave a lecture about my way of working and not-working within the safe context of cultural institutions. Then I cut the letters ‘AARA’ (About Art Related Activities) into my left upper arm and left.

Tuesday 25th of January 2000

Murderer Glen Charles McGinnis is executed by lethal injection at the age of 27 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Saturday 25th of January 2003

The multi-keyboard of the largest organ in Ireland in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Leinster, Ireland.

Tuesday 25th of January 2005

Over 300 pilgrims die in Mandher Devi temple stampede in Mandher Devi temple, Wai, Maharashtra, India.

Witnesses said the rush started around midday after some of the 300.000 pilgrims slipped on the temple's steep stone steps, which were wet with coconut water spilled from fruit presented as offerings to the goddess Kalubai.

Tuesday 25th of January 2005

Murderer Troy Albert Kunkle aka The No Remorse killer is executed by lethal injection at the age of 39 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Kunkle's last meal request was for fried chicken, chicken fried steak, a hamburger with cheese and onions, french fries, cauliflower, cinnamon rolls, apple pie and milk.

Wednesday 25th of January 2006

Multiple murderer Marion Butler Dudley is executed by lethal injection at the age of 34 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Wednesday 25th of January 2006

Pornographic actress Anna Malle aka Anna Hotop dies in a car crash at the age of 39 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.

Malle was not wearing a seat belt.

Monday 25th of January 2010

Military commander and chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service Ali Hassan al-Majid aka Chemical Ali is executed by hanging at the age of 69 in Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Iraq.

Sunday 25th of January 2015

Singer-songwriter Demis Roussos dies of unknown causes at the age of 69 in Ygeia Hospital, Kifissias Ave & 4 Er. Stavrou, Athens, Marousi, Attica, Greece.

Thursday 25th of January 2024

Murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith known for becoming the first man to be executed with nitrogen hypoxia is executed by nitrogen hypoxia at the age of 59 in Holman Correctional Facility, Ross Road, Atmore, Alabama, United States.

Smith's final meal request was for steak and eggs with hash browns. The execution took about 22 minutes. Smith appeared to remain conscious for several of those minutes, at times appearing to shake and writhe on the gurney and pull against his restraints. This was followed by several minutes of heavy breathing, until his breathing was no longer perceptible.