Historical Events
- Jan 1 1st scheduled airline flight, St Petersburg-Tampa (Tony Jannus pilot)
- Jan 1 Klaas ter Laan becomes The Netherlands 1st socialist mayor (Zaandam)
- Jan 1 Northern & Southern Nigeria united in British colony of Nigeria
- Jan 1 The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line becomes the world's first scheduled airline, covering the 18 mile distance 23 minutes. Service ceased after three months.
- Jan 2 Philips installs research department in Eindhoven
Ford's $5 Day
Jan 5 Industrialist Henry Ford announces his $5 minimum per-day wage, doubling most workers pay from $2.40 for a 9hr day to $5 for an 8hr day
- Jan 6 Stock brokerage firm of Merrill Lynch founded
- Jan 10 1st edition of Hague's Post under SF van Oss, published
- Jan 10 Norwegian speed skater Oscar Mathisen skates world 500m record in 43.7s in Oslo, Norway
- Jan 10 Yuan Shih-k'ai, president of the new Chinese republic, dissolves parliament and prepares a constitution of his own design: he will set himself up as dictator, preparatory to an attempt to make himself emperor
- Jan 13 Emmerich Kelman, y Catherine Chisholm Cushing and E.P. Heath operetta "Sari" opens at the Liberty Theatre, later transferring to the New Amsterdam Theatre, NYC; runs for 151 performances
- Jan 13 Industrial Workers of the World leader and songwriter Joe Hill arrested for murder during a robbery
Gandhi-Smuts Agreement
Jan 14 The Gandhi-Smuts Agreement is reached between General Jan Smuts and Mahatma Gandhi, regarding voluntary registration, poll tax, recognition of Indian marriages and other matters in South Africa
Gorky's Russian Return
Jan 16 Writer Maxim Gorky returns to Russia from Capri after being granted an amnesty
"Der Bogen des Odysseus"
Jan 17 Gerhart Hauptmann's play "Der Bogen des Odysseus" premieres in Berlin
- Jan 20 The first group of Transvaal Indian women satyagrahis are released from Pietermaritzburg Prison in South Africa after three months imprisonment
- Jan 22 Paul Claudel's play "L'échange" premieres in Paris
- Jan 24 Victor Herbert's second opera "Madeleine" premieres at the Metropolitan Opera, NYC, with Frances Alda in the title role
- Jan 25 An Indian mass meeting in Durban, South Africa unanimously endorses the agreement between General Jan Smuts and Mahatma Gandhi regarding voluntary registration, poll tax, recognition of Indian marriages and other matters
- Jan 26 600 Dutch textile workers go on strike
- Jan 26 Vatican puts Belgian Nobel winner Maeterlinck's works in their index
- Jan 27 A petition is written and submitted by the black and coloured women of the Orange Free State, an independent Boer sovereign republic in southern Africa, against the carrying of passes by women
- Jan 28 Beverly Hills, California, is incorporated
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Noor Inayat Khan, Indian princess and British Special Operations Executive agent in WWII posthumously awarded the George Cross, born in Moscow, Russian Empire (d. 1944)
- Jan 4 Herman Franks, American baseball manager (SF Giants 1965–68, Chicago Cubs 1977–79) and coach (World Series 1954 NY Giants), born in Price, Utah (d. 2009)
George Reeves (1914-1959)
Jan 5 American actor (Adventures of Superman; Gone With The Wind), born in Woolstock, Iowa
- Jan 5 Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1955)
- Jan 7 Bobby McDermott, American Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame guard and coach (2 × NBL Coach of the Year 1944-45, Fort Wayne Pistons), born in New York City (d. 1963)
- Jan 8 Charles Borromeo Mills, American composer, born in Asheville, North Carolina (d. 1982)
- Jan 9 Derek Allhusen, English equestrian rider (Olympic gold team, silver Individual eventing 1968), born in London, England (d. 2000)
- Jan 9 Kenny Clarke, American jazz drummer and bandleader (Epistrop), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1985)
- Jan 10 Claude Gallimard, French publisher (d. 1991)
- Jan 10 Polly Rowles, American actress (Sweet Liberty, Jamie), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2001)
- Jan 10 Yu Kuo-hwa, former Premier of Taiwan, born in Fenghua District, China (d. 2000)
- Jan 11 Dorothy Jeakins, Americanfilm and theatre costume designer (Samson and Delilah), born in San Diego, California (d. 1995)
- Jan 12 Edward John Gurney, American politician, US senator (1969-74), born in Portland, Maine (d. 1996)
- Jan 14 Dudley Randall, African-American poet who founded the pioneering publishing house "Broadside Press", born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2000)
- Jan 14 Gaetano Alibrandi, Italian Catholic priest and papal diplomat, born in Castiglione di Sicilia, Catania, Sicily (d. 2003)
- Jan 14 Harold Russell, Canadian actor (Best Years of Our Life, Dogtown), born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (d. 2002)
- Jan 14 Thomas J. Watson Jr., American businessman (President of IBM, 1952-71), and US Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1979-81), born in Dayton, Ohio (d. 1993)
- Jan 15 Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian (The Last Days of Hitler), born in Glanton, England (d. 2003)
- Jan 16 Roger Aubert, Belgian church historian (Le Pontificat de Pie IX), born in Ixelles, Belgium (d. 2009)
- Jan 16 Roger Wagner, French-American choral director, and educator, born in Le Puy, France (d. 1992)
- Jan 17 Anacleto Angelini, Chilean businessman (d. 2007)
- Jan 18 Arno Schmidt, German writer, born in Hamburg (d. 1979)
- Jan 20 Gerald Holtom, British artist and graphic designer (Nuclear Disarmament (ND) logo, which later became an international peace symbol), born in Twickenham, England (d. 1985)
- Jan 20 Wensley Pithey, South-African actor (Oliver!, The Saint, Little Women), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 1993)
- Jan 22 Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek composer, born in Platanoussa, Greece (d. 2001)
- Jan 23 Napoleon L. Bonaparte, French pretender to the throne, born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1997)
- Jan 26 Kaye Webb, English writer and publisher (Puffin Club), born in London, England (d. 1996)
- Jan 26 Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar (d. 2006)
- Jan 27 Anna Larina, Russian revolutionary, wife of the Bolshevik leader Nikolai Bukharin (d. 1996)
- Jan 28 Nelson Olmsted [or Olmstead], American voice actor (Sleep No More), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1992)
- Jan 29 Menelaos Pallantios, Greek composer, born in Piraeus (d. 2012)
- Jan 30 David Wayne, American stage and screen actor (Andromeda Strain, Adam's Rib), born in Traverse City, Michigan (d. 1995)
- Jan 30 John Ireland, Canadian actor (All the King's Men, Rawhide, Gunfight at OK Corral), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 1992)
- Jan 30 Louis Osman, British artist, goldsmith, architect, and craftsman, born in Exeter, Devon, England (d. 1996)
- Jan 31 Carey Loftin, American actor (Duel, The French Connection), born in Blountstown, Florida (d. 1997)
Jersey Joe Walcott (1914-1994)
Jan 31 American boxer (NYSAC, NBA, The Ring heavyweight titles 1951-52), county sheriff, and state athletic commissioner, born in Merchantville, New Jersey
- Jan 31 Sri Daya Mata [Rachel Faye Wright,], Hindu religious figure (Self-Realization Fellowship), born in Salt Lake City, Utah (d. 2010) [1]
Famous Weddings
- Jan 14 Danish "Out of Africa" author Karen Blixen (28), pen name Isak Dinesen marries her 2nd cousin Baron Hans von Blixen-Finecke
Famous Deaths
- Jan 3 Raoul Pugno, Italian-French piano prodigy, organist (Church of Saint-Eugène, 1872–92), composer, and pedagogue (Paris Conservatoire, 1892-1901), dies at 62
- Jan 4 Silas Weir Mitchell, American physician (discovered causalgia, erythromelalgia) and author (Roland Blake, Hugh Wynne), dies at 84
- Jan 8 Simon Bolivar Buckner, American soldier, Confederate lieutenant general and 30th governor of Kentucky (1887-91), dies of uremic poisoning at 90
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)
Jan 11 American writer and satirist (Devil's Dictionary, Nuggets & Dust), dies at 71
- Jan 11 Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer and patron of the arts after whom the Carlsberg brewery was named (b. 1842)
- Jan 13 Bernardus Hermanus Heldt, Dutch trade union leader and politician, dies at 72
- Jan 13 Valentin Zubiaurre Spanish composer (Ferdinand Set), and educator, dies at 76
- Jan 20 (Henry Southwick) H.S. Perkins, American hymn composer, lyricist, conductor, and teacher, dies at 80
- Jan 20 Emil Liebling, German-American composer, dies at 62
- Jan 20 Henry Southwick Perkins, American composer, educator, and founder of Music Teachers' National Association, dies at 80
- Jan 21 Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian artist (b. 1857)
- Jan 22 Frederik Rung, Danish composer, dies at 60
