Births on January 1

Anthony Wayne, American general and politician (d. 1796)

Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer and statesman of English descent. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him promotion to brigadier general and the nickname "Mad Anthony". He later served as the Senior Officer of the Army on the Ohio Country frontier and led the Legion of the United States.

Wayne was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and worked as a tanner and surveyor after attending the College of Philadelphia. He was elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and helped raise a Pennsylvania militia unit in 1775. During the Revolutionary War, he served in the Invasion of Quebec, the Philadelphia campaign, and the Yorktown campaign. His reputation suffered due to his defeat in the Battle of Paoli, but he won wide praise for his leadership in the 1779 Battle of Stony Point. He was promoted to Major General in 1783 but retired from the Continental Army soon after. Anthony Wayne was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati of the State of Georgia. In 1780, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.After the war, Wayne settled in Georgia on land that had been granted to him for his military service. He briefly represented Georgia in the House of Representatives, then returned to the Army to accept command of U.S. forces in the Northwest Indian War. His forces defeated the Western Confederacy, an alliance of several Indian tribes supplied by British, at the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers, and he masterminded the Treaty of Greenville which ended the war.

Wayne died in 1796 in Erie, Pennsylvania, while on active duty.