Historical Events
- Jan 1 17th Rose Bowl: Alabama beats Washington State, 24-0
- Jan 3 Montreal Maroons centre Nels Stewart scores fastest 2 goals in NHL history with a pair 4 seconds apart in a 5-3 win over Boston Bruins at Montreal Arena
- Jan 5 First woman to purchase a baseball team, Lucille Thomas buys Topeka Senators franchise in the Western League
Edison's Last Patent
Jan 6 Thomas Edison submits his last patent application for an electroplating component - just two days before his death
- Jan 7 Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast.
Bradman's One Day Test Record
Jan 16 Australian cricket batting prodigy Don Bradman scores 223 v West Indies in 3rd Test in Brisbane; most runs scored by a player in a Test match in Australia in one day
- Jan 22 French government of Steeg falls
- Jan 22 Jazz trumpeter Clyde McCoy records "Sugar Blues" for Columbia Records; sells over 14 million copies internationally
- Jan 22 Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia
- Jan 22 VARA begins experimental TV broadcast in Diamantbeurs Amsterdam
Cimarron
Jan 26 "Cimarron" directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne premieres in New York. 1st western to win Best Outstanding Production/Picture (1931)
- Jan 26 Hungary-Austria sign peace treaty
- Jan 26 Lynn Riggs' "Green Grow the Lilacs" premieres in NYC
"City Lights"
Jan 30 "City Lights", American silent romantic comedy film directed by Charlie Chaplin, starring himself and Virginia Cherrill, premieres at Los Angeles Theater
- Jan 31 Philip Barry's play "Tomorrow & Tomorrow" premieres in NYC
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Carel Brons, Dutch composer, born in Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1983)
- Jan 1 Siddig El Nigoumi, ceramicist
- Jan 2 Frank Marocco, American jazz, pop, classical, and session accordionist, arranger and composer, born in Joliet, Illinois (d. 2012)
- Jan 2 Robin Marlar, English cricket spin bowler (Cambridge University CC, Sussex CCC) and journalist (The Sunday Times; "The Story of Cricket"), born in Eastbourne, England (d. 2022)
- Jan 2 Toshiki Kaifu, premier of Japan (1989-91)
- Jan 4 Adi Lady Lala Mara, First Lady of Fiji (d. 2004)
- Jan 4 Guido Messina, Italian road and track cyclist (World C'ship gold individual 4000m pursuit 1948, 53, 54, 55, 56; Olympic gold team 1952), born in Monreale, Italy (d. 2020)
- Jan 4 Sir William Deane, Governor-General of Australia 1996-2001
- Jan 5 Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist, born in Loučná nad Desnou, Czech Republic
- Jan 5 Alvin Ailey, African-American dancer and choreographer (American Dance Theater), born in Rogers, Texas (d. 1989)
- Jan 5 Joan Coxsedge, Australian politician, born in Ballarat, Australia
- Jan 5 John McVay, American football coach (NY Giants 1976-78) and executive (AD Uni of Dayton 1972, 73; GM SF 49ers 1998-99), born in Bellaire, Ohio (d. 2022)
Robert Duvall (93 years old)
Jan 5 American award-winning actor and filmmaker (The Godfather; Apocalypse Now; M*A*S*H (film); Great Santini; Taxi Driver), born in San Diego, California
- Jan 5 Walt Davis, American athlete (Olympic gold high jump 1952) and basketball center (NBA C'ship 1956, 58; Philadelphia Warriors, St. Louis Hawks), born in Beaumont, Texas (d. 2020)
- Jan 6 E. L. Doctorow, American author (Ragtime; Billy Bathgate), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2015)
- Jan 6 Graeme Hole, Australian cricket batsman (18 Tests, 6 x 50; NSW CA), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1990)
- Jan 6 P. J. Kavanagh [Patrick Joeseph], British poet, actor and journalist (The Perfect Stranger), born in Worthing, Sussex (d. 2015)
- Jan 7 Mack Mattingly, American diplomat and politician (Sen-R-Georgia, 1981-86), born in Anderson, Indiana
- Jan 8 Bill Graham [Wulf Grajonca], German-American impresario and rock concert promoter (Fillmore; Winterland Ballroom; Live-Aid), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1991)
- Jan 9 Algis Budrys, Lithuanian-American sci-fi author (Man of Earth), born in Kaliningrad, Russia (d. 2008)
- Jan 10 Alex Boraine, South Africa politician, minister, and anti-apartheid activist (Co-Chairman of Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 1996-2003), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2018)
- Jan 10 Peter Barnes, English writer, born in Manchester, United Kingdom (d. 2004)
- Jan 10 Ron Galella, American celebrity photographer and a pioneer paparazzo (sued by Jackie Onassis; punched by Marlon Brando), born in New York City (d. 2022)
- Jan 11 Betty Churcher, director of the National Gallery of Australia
- Jan 11 Ed Hall, American character actor (Medical Center; Mannix; Baby... I'm Back!), born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (d. 1991)
- Jan 11 Eve Queler, American conductor (Opera Orchestra of New York, 1971-2010), born in New York City
- Jan 12 Yao Wenyuan, Chinese literary critic and politician (member of the Gang of Four), born in Zhuji, Zhejiang, Republic of China (d. 2005)
- Jan 13 Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian and gameshow panelist (Match Game, Ghost & Mrs Muir), born in New York City (d. 2007)
- Jan 13 Ian Hendry, British actor (The Avengers, The Lotus Eaters), born in Ipswich, Suffolk (d. 1984)
Rip Taylor (1931-2019)
Jan 13 American actor and comedian (Gong Show, $1.98 Beauty Show), born in Washington, D.C.
- Jan 14 Caterina Valente, Italian singer, dancer, and actress (Bon soir, Kathrin!, The Entertainers), born in Paris, France
- Jan 14 Frank Costigan, Australian lawyer, born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2009)
- Jan 14 Juraj Pospíšil, Czech composer (November Triptych), and pedagogue (Bratislavia Conservatory, 1955-91), born in Olomouc, Czech Republic (d. 2007)
- Jan 15 Derek Meddings, British special effects technician, born in St. Pancras, London (d. 1995)
- Jan 15 Murad Kazhlayev, Soviet and Dagestani composer, and conductor, born in Baku, Azerbaijan (d. 2023)
- Jan 15 Thomas Hoving, American news correspondent (20/20), born in New York City
- Jan 16 Johannes Rau, German politician (President of Germany, 1999-2004; Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, 1978-98), born in Wuppertal, Germany (d. 2006)
- Jan 16 Vladimír Škutina, Czechoslovakian writer and actor (Hvezda jede na jih), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 1995)
- Jan 17 Don Zimmer, American baseball infielder (2 × All-Star, Chicago Cubs; World Series 1955, 59 LA Dodgers) and manager (NL Manager of the Year 1989 Chicago Cubs), born in Cincinnati, Ohio, (d. 2014)
- Jan 17 Douglas Wilder, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Virginia (1990-94), 1st African American Governor since Reconstruction, born in Richmond, Virginia
- Jan 17 Frederick A. Fox, American classical composer (Nightscenes; Shaking The Pumpkin), and educator (Indiana University, 1974-94), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2011)
James Earl Jones (93 years old)
Jan 17 American Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Golden Globe winning actor (The Great White Hope; Star Wars - "voice of Darth Vader"; Field Of Dreams"), born in Arkabutla, Mississippi
- Jan 19 Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist (PBS, 1975-95; NBC Weekend News, 1965-67), and novelist, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2024) [1] [2]
- Jan 19 Ron Packard, American politician (Rep-R-CA, 1983-2001), born in Meridian, Idaho
- Jan 20 Earl Grant, American pop pianist, organist, and singer ("Ebb Tide"; "Winter Wonderland"), born in Idabel, Oklahoma (d. 1970)
- Jan 20 Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese jazz pianist and songwriter, born in Tsingtao, Republic of China to (d. 1992)
- Jan 20 Sawako Ariyoshi, Japanese writer (Compound Pollution, Doctor's Wife), born in Wakayama, Japan (d. 1984)
- Jan 22 Galina Zybina, Russian discus thrower (15 world records between 1952-58), born in Leningrad, Soviet Union
Sam Cooke (1931-1964)
Jan 22 American singer and entrepreneur described as "the inventor of soul music" ("You Send Me"; "A Change Is Gonna Come"), born in Clarksdale, Mississippi
- Jan 24 Ib Nørholm, Danish organist, composer (Aspects of Sand and Simplicity), choral conductor, and educator, born in Søborg, Gladsaxe (d. 2019) [1]
- Jan 24 Maria Piątkowska, Polish athlete (WR 4 x 100m relay 1964), born in Goleni, Moldova (d. 2020)
- Jan 25 Dean Jones, American actor (Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, The Love Bug), born in Decatur, Alabama (d. 2015)
- Jan 25 Harold Lloyd Jr., American actor (Frankenstein's Daughter), cabaret singer, and son of famous silent film actor Harold Lloyd, Sr, born in Beverly Hills, California (d. 1971)
- Jan 25 Paavo Haavikko, Finnish poet and writer, born in Helsiniki, Finland (d. 2008)
- Jan 25 Stig "Stikkan" Anderson, Swedish music entrepreneur and co-founder of Polar Music (ABBA), born in Hova, Sweden (d. 1997)
- Jan 26 Mary Murphy, American actress (A Man Alone, Maggie-Investigators), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2011)
- Jan 27 John Hopkins, English TV, film and stage writer (Z-Cars), born in London (d. 1998)
- Jan 27 Mordecai Richler, Canadian author (The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2001)
- Jan 27 Nigel Vinson, British Lord and inventor, born in Kent, England
- Jan 27 Ronald "Buster" Edwards, British Great Train Robber turned flower-seller, born in London (d. 1994)
- Jan 27 Rudi Maugeri, Canadian doo-wop vocalist (Crew Cuts - "Sh-Boom"), and broadcaster, born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2004)
- Jan 28 Naci Erdem, Turkish soccer centre-back (31 caps; Fenerbahçe), born in İstanbul, Turkey (d. 2022)
- Jan 28 Timothy Kitson, British politician
- Jan 29 Leslie Bricusse, British stage and film composer and lyricist (Doctor Dolittle; Goodbye, Mr. Chips; "Goldfinger"; Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - "The Candy Man"; "Pure Imagination"), born in Pinner, Middlesex, England (d. 2021)
- Jan 30 Allan W. Eckert, American historian, naturalist and author ("Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom"; "Incident at Hawk's Hill"), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2011)
- Jan 30 John Crosbie, Canadian politician, born in St. John's, Canada (d. 2020)
- Jan 30 Shirley Hazzard, Australian-born author (Transit of Venus), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2016)
- Jan 30 Stewart McKinney, American politician (Rep-R-CT, 1971-87), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1987)
- Jan 31 Bill Watson, Australian cricketer (NSW & Australian opening batsman mid-1950s), born in Randwick, New South Wales, Australia (d. 2018)
- Jan 31 Christopher Chataway, British MP/athlete (world record 5k), born in Chelsea, London (d. 2014)
Ernie Banks (1931-2015)
Jan 31 American Baseball HOF shortstop, 1st baseman (14 x MLB All Star; NL MVP 1958, 59; Chicago Cubs), born in Dallas, Texas
- Jan 31 Nicholas Gordon-Lennox, British diplomat (Ambassador to Spain, 1984-88), born in the UK (d. 2004)
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist & botanist (1st to coin the name virus), dies at 79
- Jan 3 Joseph Joffre, French army Chief of Staff (Indo China, WWI Battle of Marne), dies at 78
- Jan 4 Arthemus "Art" Acord, American silent film actor and rodeo champion (Arizona Kid, Hard Fists), commits suicide by poison at 40
- Jan 4 Roger Connor, American Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman (career HR record 138 stood for 23 years; NL batting champion 1885; NL RBI leader 1889; NY Giants), dies of a stomach illness at 73
- Jan 9 Claude Anet [Jean Schopfer], French writer (La fille perdue), dies at 62
- Jan 10 Oscar Fetrás [Otto Faster], German composer (Mondnacht auf der Alster), dies at 76
- Jan 11 James Milton Carroll, American Baptist pastor, leader, historian, and author (b. 1852)
- Jan 14 William Ernst Johnson, British mathematician (exchangability), dies at 72
- Jan 21 Felix Blumenfeld, Russian composer, conductor and pianist, dies at 67
- Jan 22 Alfred Maudslay, British administrator who pioneered Maya archaeology, dies at 80
- Jan 22 Alma Rubens, American actress (Humoresque), dies of Lobar pneumonia and bronchitis at 33
- Jan 23 Anna Pavlova, Russian prima ballerina and choreographer (Diaghilew, Dying Swan), dies from pneumonia at 49
