Historical Events
- Jan 1 Dutch East Indies government takes control of opium distribution
- Jan 4 In 'Gonzales v Williams', the US Supreme Court rules that Puerto Ricans are not aliens and may not be refused admission into continental United States; not until 1917 will citizenship rights be granted
- Jan 4 Stanley Cup, Aberdeen Pavilion, Ottawa, Ontario: Ottawa HC beats Winnipeg Rowing Club, 2-0 for 2-1 challenge series victory
- Jan 5 -34°F (-36.7°C), River Vale, New Jersey (state record)
- Jan 5 -42°F (-41.1°C), Smethport, Pennsylvania (state record)
- Jan 5 England beat Australia at the MCG, Rhodes 7-56 & 8-68
Bartók's "Kossuth"
Jan 13 Béla Bartók's symphonic poem "Kossuth" premieres by the Budapest Philharmonic Society in Budapest
"Cherry Orchard"
Jan 17 Anton Chekhov's play "Cherry Orchard" opens at Moscow Art Theater
"Jenufa"
Jan 21 Leos Janacek's opera "Jenufa" premieres in Brno
Ålesund Fire
Jan 23 Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
- Jan 25 179 die in coal mine explosion at Cheswick, Pennsylvania
- Jan 25 John Millington Synge's play "Riders to the Sea" premieres in Dublin
- Jan 28 1st college sports letters given to Seniors who played on University of Chicago's football team are awarded blankets with letter "C" on them
- Jan 29 1st athletic letters given (University of Chicago football team)
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Ethan Allen, American baseball center fielder (inventor Cadaco-Ellis board game All Star Baseball; Yale University), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1993)
- Jan 1 Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani politician (d. 1982)
- Jan 2 James Melton, American pop (1920-30's) and operatic tenor (Metropolitan Opera, 1942-50), born in Moultrie, Georgia (d. 1961)
- Jan 2 Walter Heitler, German physicist, quantum field theorist, philosopher, and writer (Man and Science), born in Karlsruhe, German Empire (d. 1981)
- Jan 3 Boris Kochno, Russian ballet dancer (La Chatte) and librettist, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1990)
- Jan 4 Erik Chisholm, Scottish conductor, composer (Hindustani Piano Concerto), and educator (South African College of Music, 1949-65), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1965)
- Jan 5 Erica Morini, Austrian concert violinist, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1995)
- Jan 5 Jeane Dixon [Lydia Pinckert], American celebrity psychic and astrologer (A Gift of Prophecy), born in Medford, Wisconsin (d. 1997)
- Jan 8 Karl Brandt, Alsacian Nazi war criminal (d. 1948)
- Jan 8 Peter Arno, American cartoonist (New Yorker), born in New York City (d. 1968)
- Jan 10 Jesus Garcia Leoz, Spanish composer, born in Olite, Spain (d. 1953)
- Jan 10 Ray Bolger, American dancer, actor, and singer (The Wizard of Oz - "Scarecrow"; Partridge Family - "Grandpa Renfrew"), born in Dorchester, Massachusetts (d. 1987)
- Jan 11 Frederick Boland, Irish diplomat (President of the UN General Assembly), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1985)
- Jan 12 "Mississippi" Fred McDowell, American blues singer and guitarist, born in Rossville, Tennessee (d. 1972)
- Jan 13 Richard Addinsell, English composer (Warsaw Concerto, Alice in Wonderland), born in London, England (d. 1977)
- Jan 14 (Charles) "Babe" Siebert, Canadian NHL ice hockey player, 1925-39, 3X All-Star (Montreal Maroons, Boston Bruins, and 2 other teams), born in Plattsville, Ontario (d. 1939)
- Jan 14 Cecil Beaton, English photographer, born in Hampstead, United Kingdom (d. 1980)
- Jan 14 Emily Hahn, American journalist and author, born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1997)
- Jan 16 Max Vredenburg, Dutch composer and music critic, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1976) [1]
- Jan 17 Patsy Ruth Miller, American actress (Quebec, Wide Open, Sap, Twin Beds), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1995)
- Jan 18 Anthony Galla-Rini, American concert accordionist,and arranger, born in Manchester, Connecticut (d. 2006)
Cary Grant (1904-1986)
Jan 18 British-born American actor (Arsenic & Old Lace, North by Northwest), born in Horfield, Bristol, England
- Jan 18 Henri-Georges Adam, French engraver and sculptor (Grand Nude), born in Paris, France (d. 1967)
- Jan 19 James W. Watts, American neurosurgeon, developer of the Frontal Lobotomy, born in Lynchburg, Virginia (d. 1994)
- Jan 19 Pei Wenzhong, Chinese anthropologist and archaeologist (Peking Man), born in Fengnan, China (d. 1982)
- Jan 20 Renato Caccioppoli, Italian mathematician, born in Campania, Italy (d. 1959)
- Jan 20 Theodore Brameld, American philosopher and educator (Use of Explosive Ideas), born in Neillsville, Wisconsin (d. 1987)
- Jan 21 Joseph Ford McGuinn, American director and actor (Dick Tracy's G-Men), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1971)
- Jan 21 Richard P. Blackmur, American critic and poet (Good European), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 1965)
- Jan 21 Robert "Juice" Wilson, American jazz violinist, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1972)
- Jan 22 Arkady Gaidar, Russian children's writer (d. 1941)
George Balanchine (1904-1983)
Jan 22 Russian-American ballet composer and choreographer who founded the New York City Ballet, born in St. Petersburgh, Russian Empire
- Jan 23 Theodor Schaefer, Czech composer and pedagogue, born in Telč, Czech Republic (d. 1969)
- Jan 25 Frans Goedhart, Dutch journalist (Het Parool), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1990)
- Jan 26 Ancel Keys, American scientist (d. 2004)
- Jan 26 Douglas Evans, American actor (At War with the Army, South Pacific Trail), born in Madison, Virginia (d. 1968)
Seán MacBride (1904-1988)
Jan 26 Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and founder of Amnesty International (Nobel 1974), born in Dublin, Ireland
Famous Weddings
Konrad Adenauer
Jan 28 German chancellor Konrad Adenauer (28) weds Emma Weyer at St. Stephan Catholic Church in Lindenthal, Germany
Famous Deaths
James Longstreet (1821-1904)
Jan 2 American Confederate general (1st Corps, ANV), dies at 82
- Jan 2 Mathilde Bonaparte, French princess (daughter of Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte and his second wife, Catharina of Württemberg, daughter of King Frederick I of Württemberg) and socialite, dies at 83
- Jan 5 Karl Alfred Ritter von Zittel, German geologist and paleontologist (Libya), dies at 64
- Jan 10 Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
- Jan 15 Eduard Lassen, Belgian-Danish composer, dies at 73
- Jan 24 Franz Coenen, Dutch violinist and composer, dies at 77
- Jan 26 John P. R. Tak, Dutch liberal politician, dies at 64
- Jan 26 Whitaker Wright, English mining tycoon (b. 1846)
- Jan 27 Adam Münchheimer [Minchejmer], Polis composer, dies at 73
