Historical Events
- Jan 1 African Benevolent Society (education) forms
- Jan 1 Congress prohibits importation of slaves
- Jan 1 Sierra Leone becomes a British colony
- Jan 10 Herman Daendels succeeds Albertus Wiese as Governor-General of Dutch-East Indies
- Jan 12 The organizational meeting that led to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
- Jan 19 Louis Napoleon signs 1st Dutch aviation law
- Jan 26 Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 6 Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American naval officer, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1864)
- Jan 7 Jacob Ammen, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Fincastle, Virginia (d. 1894)
- Jan 11 Antoine Schayes, Belgian historian and archaeologist (d. 1808)
- Jan 12 Paul "the Great" Taglioni, Italian-Austrian ballet choreographer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1884)
- Jan 13 Salmon P. Chase, American politician and jurist (Senator and Governor of Ohio, US Chief Justice 1864-73), born in Cornish, New Hampshire (d. 1873)
- Jan 19 Lysander Spooner, American philosopher, born in Athol, Massachusetts (d. 1887)
- Jan 27 David Strauss, German theologist (focused on historical Jesus' Life), born in Ludwigsburg (d. 1874)
Famous Weddings
William Clark
Jan 5 Explorer William Clark (37) weds Julia Hancock in Fincastle, Virginia
