1608 - Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia.
1610 - Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following day. [MORE]
1782 - The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens. [MORE]
1800 - Millard Fillmore (American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 13th President of the United States) - died 3/8/1874 at age 74 [MORE]
1894 - William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film.
1911 - Butterfly McQueen (American actress and dancer) - died 12/22/1995 at age 84 [MORE]
1927 - The first transatlantic telephone service is established from New York City to London.
1938 - Paul Revere (American rock keyboard player and songwriter - Paul Revere & the Raiders) - died 10/4/2014 at age 76 [MORE]
1942 - World War II: The siege of the Bataan Peninsula begins. [MORE]
1948 - Kenny Loggins (American singer-songwriter) (78) [MORE]
1948 - Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of a supposed UFO. [MORE]
1956 - David Caruso, American actor (CSI Miami) (70) [MORE]
1959 - The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
1963 - Rand Paul (American ophthalmologist and politician) (63) [MORE]
1964 - Nicolas Cage (American actor) (62) [MORE]
1973 - Mark Essex fatally shoots ten people and wounds 13 others at Howard Johnson's Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, before being shot to death by police officers. [MORE]
1999 - The Senate trial in the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton begins.
2015 - Two gunmen commit mass murder at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, shooting twelve people execution style, and wounding eleven others. [MORE]
2015 - Rod Taylor (Australian-American actor and screenwriter) - at age 84 [MORE]

Remembering January 7