Historical Events
- Jan 1 9th Rose Bowl: Southern California beats Penn State, 14-3
- Jan 1 Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMSR.
- Jan 1 Union of Socialist Soviet Republics established
- Jan 2 Ku Klux Klan surprise attack on black residential area Rosewood Florida, 8 killed (compensation awarded in 1995)
- Jan 4 1st broadcast of "Barn Dance Show" (WBAP - Fort Worth Texas)
- Jan 7 Baltimore Sun warns of the Ku Klux Klan
- Jan 8 Romanian conductor George Enesco makes his American debut leading the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York City
- Jan 8 Typography strike in Amsterdam
- Jan 9 Juan de la Cierva makes 1st autogiro flight, Spain
- Jan 9 Swaraj political party founded in India with Chittaranjan Das as president and Motilal Nehru its secretary
- Jan 10 Last US troops leave Rhineland (Germany)
- Jan 10 Lithuania seizes & annexes country of Memel
- Jan 11 1st Dutch Dada-evening (Theo Van Doesburg & Kurt Schwitters)
- Jan 11 French & Belgian troops occupy Ruhr to collect reparations
Britain's War Debt
Jan 19 UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Stanley Baldwin and US Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon agree to reschedule repayment of Britain's $4.5 billion war debt over 62 years
- Jan 19 WMC-AM in Memphis TN begins radio transmissions
- Jan 23 Taxi strike in Amsterdam begins (through March 9th)
- Jan 24 Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico established
- Jan 25 NVV donates 100,000 guilders to mine workers of Ruhrgebied
- Jan 28 Demonstration against a Dutch University in Ghent
- Jan 29 1st flight of autogiro (Juan de la Cierva, Madrid Spain)
- Jan 31 Montreal Canadiens beat Hamilton Tigers, 5-4 at the Mount Royal Arena, Montreal; first penalty-free game played in NHL history
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Barbara Baxley, American stage and screen actress (Norma Rae; Countdown; Nashville), and singer, born in Stockton, California (d. 1990)
- Jan 1 Chalmers Goodlin, US test pilot (XS-1), born in Greenburg, Pennyslvania (d. 2005)
- Jan 1 Daniel Gorenstein, American mathematician (d. 1992)
- Jan 1 Milt Jackson, American jazz vibraphonist (Modern Jazz Quartet), pianist, and composer ("Bags Groove"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1999)
- Jan 3 Bud Adams Jr., American NFL team owner (Tennessee Titans), born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma (d. 2013)
- Jan 3 Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Australian actor, pilot and radio announcer, born in Coogee, New South Wales, Australia (d. 2009)
- Jan 3 Dragutin Gostuški, Serbian composer (Concerto Accelerato), musicologist, and educator, born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (d. 1988)
- Jan 3 Hank Stram, American Pro Football Hall of Fame coach (KC Chiefs Super Bowl 1970), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2005)
- Jan 4 (Pablo) "Tito" Rodríguez, Puerto Rican timbalero, singer, bandleader ("Inolvidable"), and television host, born in Obrero, Santurce, Puerto Rico (d. 1973)
- Jan 4 Flavio Testi, Italian composer and musicologist, born in Florence, Italy (d. 2014)
- Jan 5 (Patrick) "Buddy" Attaway, American country and Cajun fiddler, and songwriter ("I'm Sitting On Top Of The World"), born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 1968)
- Jan 5 Harvey Lembeck, American stage and screen actor (The Phil Silvers Show; Stalag 17; Beach Party films), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1982)
- Jan 5 Robert L. Bernstein, American publisher (Random House), born in New York City (d. 2019)
- Jan 5 Sam Phillips, American record producer and founder of Sun Records (launched Elvis Presley's career), born in Florence, Alabama (d. 2003)
- Jan 6 Jacobo Timerman, Soviet-born Argentine writer, born in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (d. 1999)
- Jan 6 Leah Chase 'Queen of Creole Cuisine', New Orleans chef and author, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2019)
- Jan 7 Hugh Kenner, Canadian literary critic (d. 2003)
- Jan 7 Russell Woolen, American classical keyboardist and composer (In Martyrum Memoriam), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1994)
- Jan 8 Giorgio Tozzi, American operatic bass (dubbed vocals of Emile de Becque for "South Pacific" film), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2011)
- Jan 8 Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (Yorkshire & England left-arm bowler of 50's), born in Ardsley, South Yorkshire (d. 1985)
Joseph Weizenbaum (1923-2008)
Jan 8 German-American computer scientist (ELIZA, "Computer Power and Human Reason"), born in Berlin, Germany
- Jan 8 Larry Storch, American stage and screen comic and character actor (F Troop - "Cpl. Agarn"; Tennessee Tuxedo - "Prof. Whoopee"), born in New York City (d. 2022)
- Jan 10 Ingeborg Drewitz, German writer and academic, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1986)
- Jan 11 Carroll Shelby, American auto racer who won LeMans 1959; and automobile designer Ford Shelby Mustang, Shelby GT, Dodge Shelby Charger, Dodge Viper, born in Leesburg, Texas (d. 2012)
- Jan 12 Ira Hayes, Pima Native American soldier, born in Sacaton, Arizona (d. 1955)
- Jan 13 Danil Shafran, Soviet-Russian concert cellist, born in Petrograd, Russia, Soviet Union (d. 1997)
- Jan 13 Jack Watling, British actor (Nanny, Adventure for 2, Naked Heart), born in London, England (d. 2001)
- Jan 14 Zlatan Vauda, Slovene composer and conductor (RTB Children's Choir, 1953-86), born in Pernica, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (d. 2010)
- Jan 15 Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet, born in Glasgow, United Kingdom (d. 2006)
- Jan 15 Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese statesman (Taiwan's 1st popularly elected President 1988–2000), born in Sanzhi, Taiwan (d. 2020) [1]
- Jan 16 Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
- Jan 16 Gene Feist, American actor, playwright, producer and co-founder of Roundabout Theater Company, born in New York (d. 2014)
- Jan 16 Roy Lanham, American western swing and jazz guitarist (The Whippoorwills; Sons of the Pioneers, 1961-86), born in Corbin, Kentucky (d. 1991)
- Jan 16 Willem Aantjes, Dutch political leader (CDA), had to resign over WWII war record, born in Bleskensgraaf, Netherlands (d. 2015)
- Jan 17 Carol Raye [Kathleen Corkery], British-born Australian actress (Number 96; Blankety Blanks), born in London (d. 2022)
- Jan 17 Onno Molenkamp, Dutch actor (Lifespan, Broken Mirrors, The Lift), born in Fort de Kock, Dutch East Indies (d. 1990)
- Jan 19 Jean Stapleton, American actress (Damn Yankees, Klute, All in the Family), born in New York City (d. 2013)
- Jan 19 Markus Wolf, German spy (d. 2006)
- Jan 20 (Ottis) "Slim" Whitman, American country singer ("Rose Marie"; "Guess Who"), born in Tampa, Florida (d. 2013)
- Jan 20 Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian pop and jazz singer, born in Oslo, Norway (d. 2015)
- Jan 21 Judith Merril [Judith Josephine Grossman], American-Canadian sci-fi writer (edited influential anthologies), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1997)
- Jan 21 Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer and actress (Kuma Ching, Faraona), born in Cadiz, Spain (d. 1995)
- Jan 22 Diana Douglas, Bermudian-born American actress (The Indian Fighter), born in Devonshire Bermuda (d. 2015)
- Jan 22 Friedrich Zehm, German pianist and composer, born in Neusalz, Lower Silesia, Germany (d. 2007)
- Jan 22 Leslie Bassett, American classical composer (Variations for Orchestra - Pulitzer Prize 1966), and educator (University of Michigan, 1952-92), born in Hanford, California (d. 2016)
- Jan 23 Florence Halop, American actress (Night Court, 1985-86 -"Florence"; St Elsewhere, 1984-85), born in Jamaica, Queens, New York (d. 1986)
- Jan 23 Horace Ashenfelter, American athlete (Olympic gold 3000m steeplechase 1952), born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania (d. 2018)
- Jan 23 Walter M. Miller Jr., American sci-fi author (Hugo; View from Stars), born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida (d. 1996)
- Jan 24 Simeon ten Holt, Dutch minimalist composer (Canto Ostinato), born in Bergen, Netherlands (d. 2012)
- Jan 25 (Farrell) "Rusty" Draper, American country and pop singer ("The Shifting, Whispering Sands"; "Are You Satisfied?"), born in Kirksville, Missouri (d. 2003)
- Jan 25 Arvid Carlsson, Swedish neuropharmacologist whose work with dopamine to treat Parkinson's disease earned him a Nobel Prize (2000), born in Uppsala, Sweden (d. 2018)
- Jan 25 Eva Zeller, German poet and novelist, born in Eberswalde, Brandenburg (d. 2022)
- Jan 25 Shirley Mason, American psychiatric patient (Commonly known as "Sybil"), born in Dodge Center, Minnesota (d. 1998)
- Jan 26 Anne Jeffreys [Carmichael], American singer and actress (Dick Tracy; Topper; General Hospital), born in Goldsboro, North Carolina (d. 2017)
- Jan 26 Talib Dawud [Alfonso Rainey], Antiguan-American jazz trumpeter (Dizzy Gillespie Big Band), born in Antigua (d. 1999)
- Jan 29 (Sidney) "Paddy" Chayefsky, American Academy Award-winning screenwriter (Marty; The Hospital; Network), novelist, and playwright, born in the Bronx, New York City (d. 1981)
- Jan 29 Jack Burke Jr, American golfer (US Masters, PGA C'ship 1956; Ryder Cup 1951, 53, 55, 59; 1973 [non-playing captain]), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2024)
- Jan 30 Walt Dropo, American MLB baseball first baseman, 1949-61, AL Rookie of the Year (Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and 3 other teams), born in Moosup, Connecticut (d. 2010)
- Jan 31 Eddie Ryder, American actor (General Hospital, Up Yours), born in New York City (d. 1997)
Norman Mailer (1923-2007)
Jan 31 American novelist (Naked & the Dead, The Executioner's Song), born in New York City
Famous Weddings
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Jan 29 President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (41) weds Latife Hanim; divorce in 1925
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Willie Keeler, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (highest career AB-per-strikeout ratio in MLB history; NL batting champion 1897, 98 Baltimore Orioles), dies of tuberculosis at 50
- Jan 2 Sam Carter, African American resident of Rosewood Florida, lynched in the Rosewood Massacre
- Jan 3 Jaroslav Hašek, Czech writer (The Good Soldier Švejk), dies of heart failure at 39
Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923)
Jan 9 New Zealand short story writer (The Garden Party), dies of tuberculosis at 34
- Jan 14 Zübeyde Hanım, Mother of Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (b. 1857)
- Jan 18 Wallace Reid, American actor, director and screenwriter referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover" (Every Inch a Man), dies from morphine addiction at 31
- Jan 23 Max Nordau, Austrian author, philosopher, and Zionist leader (b. 1849)
