Historical Events
- Jan 8 Dr John Veatch discovers large disports of borax at Tuscan Springs, California
- Jan 23 American sidewheel steamer SS Pacific leaves Liverpool, England on what becomes her final voyage; lost at sea enroute to New York with 186 on board
- Jan 25 Battle of Seattle; skirmish between settlers & Indians
- Jan 29 Victoria Cross established to acknowledge valour in the face of the enemy (United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries)
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 6 Giuseppe Martucci, Italian composer, born in Capua, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (d. 1909)
- Jan 9 Anton Aškerc, Slovenian poet and priest (Primoz Trubar), born near Rimske Toplice, Austrian Empire (d. 1912)
- Jan 9 Lizette Woodworth Reese, American poet (Branch of May, Tears), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1935)
- Jan 9 Stevan Mokranjac [Stojanović], Serbian cellist, educator and composer of choral music (Garlands), born in Negotin, Principality of Serbia (d. 1914)
- Jan 11 Christian Sinding, Norwegian composer (Rustle of Spring), born in Kongsberg, Norway (d. 1941)
- Jan 12 John Singer Sargent, American painter (Wyndham Sisters), born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now Italy) (d. 1925)
- Jan 14 J. F. Archibald, Australian journalist and publisher, born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1919)
- Jan 18 John Hyatt Brewer, American composer, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1931)
Famous Deaths
- Jan 5 Pierre-Jean David d'Angers], French sculptor (Panthéon in Paris), dies at 67
- Jan 6 Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, French harpist, composer, forger, and bigamist, dies at 66
- Jan 11 Nikolai I Nadezjdin, Russian archaeologist, dies [NS=Jan 23]
- Jan 12 Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak politician and author of Slovak language, dies at 40
- Jan 16 Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (b. 1795)
- Jan 17 Thomas Attwood Walmisley, English organist, composer and educator (Cathedral Music), dies at 41
- Jan 24 Rabbi Yechezkel of Kuzmir, Polish Hasidic leader (b. 1775)
- Jan 31 Khedrup Gyatso, 11th Dalai Lama of Tibet, dies at 17
