Historical Events
- Jan 1 45th Orange Bowl: #4 Oklahoma beats #6 Nebraska, 31-24
- Jan 1 45th Sugar Bowl: #2 Alabama beats #1 Penn State, 14-7
- Jan 1 65th Rose Bowl: #3 Southern California beats #5 Michigan, 17-10
- Jan 1 International Year of the Child begins
- Jan 1 John Y. Brown attends his first game as owner of the Boston Celtics NBA franchise after trading the Buffalo Braves to previous Celtics owner, Irving H. Levin
- Jan 1 Jura, 26th canton of Switzerland, established
- Jan 1 US & China (Peoples Republic) begin diplomatic relations
- Jan 2 Australian Open Women's Tennis: unseeded Australian Christine O'Neil wins her first and only Grand Slam event; beats American Betsy Nagelsen 6-3, 7-6
Vicious' Murder Trial Begins
Jan 2 British punk rocker Sid Vicious' trial for murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen begins
Vilas Defeats Marks
Jan 3 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Guillermo Vilas of Argentina wins 3rd Grand Slam title; beats Australian John Marks 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
- Jan 4 US State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to relatives of Kent State University shooting victims, in an out of court settlement
- Jan 6 Shapour Bakhtiar government established by the Shah in Iran, will preside until unrest in the country subsides
- Jan 6 The Village People's "Y.M.C.A." becomes their only UK #1 single; at its peak it sold over 150,000 copies a day
- Jan 7 AFC Championship, Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Houston Oilers, 34-5
- Jan 7 NFC Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum Dallas Cowboys beat Los Angeles Rams, 28-0
- Jan 7 Vietnamese forces capture Phnom Penh from Khmer Rouge
- Jan 8 Argentina & Chile sign Beagle Canal accord
- Jan 8 French oil tanker MV Betelgeuse explodes while offloading its cargo in Bantry Bay, West Cork, Ireland, killing 50 crew members; a salvage diver also dies later
- Jan 8 Today Show gets a new theme song
- Jan 8 Vietnamese troops overtook Khmer Rouge & occupy Phnom Penh
- Jan 9 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to W. S. Merwin
- Jan 9 High-school player Daryl Moreau makes 126th consecutive free throws
"Let's Get Small"
Jan 9 K-Mart pulls Steve Martin's "Let's Get Small" for being in "bad taste"
- Jan 9 Supreme Court strikes down (6-3) PA law requiring doctors performing an abortion to try to preserve lives of potentially viable fetuses
Winter of Discontent
Jan 10 The Sun paper headline is 'Crisis? What Crisis?' as UK Prime Minister James Callaghan denies that the country is in chaos during the 'Winter of Discontent' strike wave
- Jan 11 "Grand Tour" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 61 performances
6th American Music Awards
Jan 12 6th American Music Awards: Barry Manilow, Linda Ronstadt win
- Jan 12 LA's Hillside Strangler, Kenneth Bianchi, arrested in Bellingham
- Jan 12 Record blizzard strikes the US midwest killing over 100
- Jan 13 Charlie Daniels hosts Volunteer Jam
- Jan 13 YMCA files libel suit against Village People's YMCA song
McEnroe's 1st ATP
Jan 14 John McEnroe wins his first of 3 season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles 6–7, 6–3, 7–5 against fellow American Arthur Ashe at Madison Square Garden, NYC
Benitez vs. Palomino
Jan 14 Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benitez beats WBC welterweight champion Carlos Palomino of Mexico in a 15-round split decision in San Juan, Puerto Rico; becomes two-division champion at the age of 20
Carter Proposes King Holiday
Jan 14 US President Jimmy Carter proposes Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday be a federal holiday
"Life on Earth"
Jan 16 BBC landmark nature series "Life on Earth" presented by David Attenborough first shown on BBC One
Shah Flees Iran
Jan 16 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees Iran for Egypt during the Iranian Revolution
Mead's Posthumous Medal
Jan 19 US President Jimmy Carter announces he is awarding Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to anthropologist Margaret Mead
1 Million March for Khomeini
Jan 20 1 million Iranians march in Tehran in a show of support for the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini, fundamentalist Muslim leader
Mays Elected
Jan 23 NY/SF Giants / New York Mets center fielder Willie Mays elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
John Paul II's 1st Overseas Trip
Jan 25 Pope John Paul II's 1st overseas trip as supreme pontiff
- Jan 26 "The Dukes of Hazzard" premieres on US TV network CBS
- Jan 26 Music Center Vredenburg opens in Utrecht, Netherlands
36th Golden Globes
Jan 27 36th Golden Globes: Midnight Express, Jon Voight & Jane Fonda win
- Jan 27 Islanders ends 23 undefeated games at home streak (15-0-8)
"Wings"
Jan 28 Arthur Kopit's play "Wings" premieres in NYC
- Jan 28 Charlie Smalls' musical "The Wiz", an updated take on "The Wizard of Oz", starring Stephanie Mills, Stu Gilliam, and Dee Dee Bridgewater, closes at Majestic Theater in NYC, after 1,672 performances, 7 Tony and 6 Drama Desk Awards
- Jan 28 Pope John Paul II addresses the Third General Conference of Latin American Episcopate in Puebla, Mexico
- Jan 29 Brenda Spencer (16) kills 2 adults and injures 8 children and a police officer in a San Diego, California schoolyard shooting; incident inspires Irish rockers Boomtown Rats' song "I Don't Like Mondays"
Deng Visits Washington
Jan 29 Chinese Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping visits Washington, D.C., the highest ranking Chinese Communist Party official to do so
- Jan 29 English progressive rock trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer disband after 10 years together
- Jan 29 NFL Pro Bowl, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: NFC beats AFC, 13-7; MVP: Ahmad Rashād, Minnesota Vikings, WR
- Jan 29 US President Jimmy Carter commutes Patty Hearst's 7 year jail sentence to time served (22 months)
- Jan 30 Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) agrees to new constitution
- Jan 30 Varig 707-323C freighter, flown by the same commander as Flight 820, disappears over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Brody Dalle [Bree Robinson], Australian punk rock singer (The Distillers), born in Melbourne, Australia
- Jan 1 Koichi Domoto, Japanese J-Pop singer-songwriter (KinKi Kids - "Glass no Shōnen / Glass Boy"), born in Ashiya, Hyōgo, Japan
- Jan 2 Jagmeet Singh, Canadian politician and leader of the New Democratic Party (2017-), born in Scarborough, Ontario
- Jan 2 Suranne Jones, British actress
- Jan 3 Francesco Bellissimo, Italian mangaka
- Jan 4 Jeph Howard, American rock bass player (The Used), born in Orem, Utah
- Jan 4 Tristan Gommendy, French racing driver, born in Le Chesnay, Yvelines
- Jan 5 Ronnie O'Brien, Irish footballer, born in Bray, County Wicklow
- Jan 7 Bipasha Basu, Indian model, born in New Delhi, India
- Jan 7 Mariangel Ruiz, Venezuelan actress and model, born in San Juan de los Morros, Venezuela
- Jan 8 Adrian Mutu, Romanian footballer, born in Călinești, Romania
- Jan 8 Sarah Polley, Canadian filmmaker and actress (Sweet Hereafter, Women Talking), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Jan 8 Seol Ki-hyeon, South Korean footballer, born in Jeongseon County, South Korea
- Jan 8 Sequoyah, chimpanzee (son of Washoe)
- Jan 8 Stipe Pletikosa, Croatian footballer, born in Split, Croatia
- Jan 9 Amber Ruffin, American talk show host and writer (The Amber Ruffin Show), born in Omaha, Nebraska
- Jan 9 Tomiko Van, Japanese pop-rock singer (Do As Infinity), born in Yamato, Japan
- Jan 10 Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, American rapper (Kris Kross - "Jump"), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- Jan 11 Darren Lynn Bousman, American film director, born in Overland Park, Kansas
- Jan 11 Henry Shefflin, Irish hurler, born in Waterford, Ireland
- Jan 11 Siti Nurhaliza, Malaysian singer, born in Kampung Awah, Malaysia
- Jan 12 Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer, born in Szczecin, Poland
- Jan 12 Jenny Schmidgall, American ice hockey forward (USA, Olympics 1998), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Jan 13 Jill Wagner, American Actor
- Jan 14 Angela Lindvall, American supermodel, born in Midwest City, Oklahoma
- Jan 14 John Reuben, American hip hop artist, born in Columbus, Ohio
- Jan 14 Karen Elson, British supermodel, born in Oldham, United Kingdom
Drew Brees (45 years old)
Jan 15 American football quarterback (Super Bowl MVP 2009, New Orleans Saints; 13 x Pro Bowl; 7 × NFL passing yards leader), born in Austin, Texas
- Jan 15 Ken Chu, Taiwanese singer, actor, and tai-chi champion, born in Taiwan
- Jan 15 Martin Petrov, Bulgarian soccer winger (90 caps; Servette, VfL Wolfsburg, Atlético Madrid, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers), born in Vratsa, Bulgaria
- Jan 15 Young Dro [D'Juan Hart], American rapper (Shoulder Lean), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- Jan 16 Aaliyah [Haughton], American singer and actress, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2001)
- Jan 16 Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Carlyle, Canada
- Jan 16 Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Chapleau, Canada
- Jan 16 Jimmy Walker, American golfer (PGA C'ship 2016), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Jan 16 Rashawn Ross, American trumpeter (Dave Mathews Band), born in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Jan 18 Brian Gionta, American NHL ice hockey player, 2001-18 (New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, and 2 other teams), born in Rochester, New York
- Jan 18 Jay Chou, Taiwanese singer and producer known as the 'King of Mandopop', born in New Taipei City, Taiwan
- Jan 18 Kenyatta Jones, American NFL and arena football player (New England Patriots and 3 other teams, born in Gainesville, Florida (d. 2018)
- Jan 18 Leo Varadkar, Irish politician (Prime Minister, 2017-20 & 2022-), born in Dublin, Ireland
- Jan 18 Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer, born in Cascais, Portugal
- Jan 19 Josu Sarriegi, Spanish football player, born in Lazkao, Spain
- Jan 19 Spider Loc [Curtis Williams], American rapper (G-Unit), and actor, born in Compton, California
- Jan 19 Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast, born in Belgorod, Russia
- Jan 19 Wiley [Richard Cowie], English rapper (Grime), born in Bow, London, England
- Jan 20 Asaka Kubo, Japanese J-pop singer (A+Jyuc), born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
- Jan 20 Rob Bourdon, American rock drummer (Linkin Park), born in Calabasas, California
- Jan 20 Will Young, British singer-songwriter and actor, born in Wokingham, England
Brian O'Driscoll (45 years old)
Jan 21 Irish rugby union player (Ireland, British & Irish Lions), born in Dublin, Ireland
- Jan 21 Byung-Hyun Kim, Korean baseball player
- Jan 23 Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player, born in Maracaibo, Venezuela
- Jan 23 Larry Hughes, American basketball player, born in St. Louis, Missouri
- Jan 23 Sampsa Astala, Finnish musician (Lordi), born in Vantaa, Finland
- Jan 24 Tatyana M. Ali, American actress (Sesame St, Fresh Prince of Bel Air), born in New York City
- Jan 25 Christine Lakin, American actress (Step by Step), born in Dallas, Texas
- Jan 26 Sara Rue, American actress, born in New York
- Jan 27 Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer
- Jan 27 Liesbet Van Breedam, Belgian beach volleyball player
- Jan 27 Rodrigo Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rosamund Pike (45 years old)
Jan 27 British actress (Gone Girl; An Education; A Private War; The Wheel of Time), born in London
- Jan 28 Ali Boulala, Swedish skateboarder, born in Stockholm, Sweden
- Jan 29 Andrew Keegan, American actor (Step by Step; Party of Five), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 29 April Scott, American actress and model, born in Campbell, Missouri
- Jan 29 Christina Hammock Koch, American NASA astronaut (longest single spaceflight by a woman, Soyuz MS-12, Artemis II), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan [1]
- Jan 30 Karen Smith, Australian field hockey midfielder (World Cup gold 1998; Champions Trophy gold 1997, 99, 2003; Commonwealth Games gold 2006), born in Toowoomba, Australia
- Jan 31 Daniel Tammet, British writer and autistic savant, born in Barking, London
Famous Weddings
John Carpenter
Jan 1 Film director John Carpenter (30) weds actress Adrienne Barbeau (33)
Jean Shrimpton
Jan 12 English model Jean Shrimpton marries Michael Cox
Famous Deaths
- Jan 3 Conrad Hilton, American hotel mogul (Hilton Hotels, world's 1st international hotel chain), dies at 91
- Jan 5 Charles Mingus, American jazz bassist (Pithecanthropus Erectus), dies from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at 56
- Jan 7 Zbigniew Turski, Polish composer, dies at 70
- Jan 8 Sara Carter, American country musician, songwriter and vocalist (Carter Family), dies at 81
- Jan 9 Avery Claflin, American banker and composer ("Lament for April 15" - income tax form instructions set to music), dies at 80 [1]
- Jan 9 Pier Luigi Nervi, Italian engineer and architect (Nuove Struttura), dies at 87
- Jan 11 Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art dealer and publisher, dies at 94
- Jan 11 Jack Soo [Goro Suzuki], Japanese-American actor (Flower Drum Song, Barney Miller), dies of esophageal cancer at 61
- Jan 13 Donny Hathaway, American gospel and soul singer-songwriter, and keyboardist ("The Ghetto"; "Where is the Love?"), commits suicide at 33
- Jan 13 Marjorie Lawrence, Australian operatic soprano who specialized in Wagnerian roles, dies of heart failure at 71
- Jan 14 Thomas DeSimone, American gangster associate of the Lucchese crime family, missing thought murdered (b. 1950)
- Jan 15 Euphemia Giannini Gregory, Italian-American opera singer and educator (Curtis Institute), dies at 83
- Jan 16 August Heissmeyer, German SS officer, dies at 82
- Jan 16 Fred Elizalde, Spanish Filipino composer, dies at 71
- Jan 16 Peter Butterworth, British actor and comedian (Carry On), dies of a heart attack at 63
- Jan 18 Cyril Mockridge, British composer for film and television (Miracle On 34th Street; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), dies at 82
- Jan 19 Alphonse "Tuffy" Leemans, American NFL fullback (NY Giants), dies of a heart attack at 66
- Jan 19 Paul Meurisse, actor (Diabolique, Truth, Suspects, Monocle), dies
- Jan 20 Gustav Winckler, Danish pop singer ("Skibet skal sejle i nat"- "The Ship Is Leaving Tonight"), dies in a car crash at 53
- Jan 21 Alexei Leontiev, Soviet psychologist, dies at 75
- Jan 22 Ali Hassan Salameh [Abu Hassan], killed by car bomb; believed to have helped mastermind massacre of 1972 Munich Olympics athletes
- Jan 24 Jerry Damon, comedian (That Was The Week That Was), dies at 51
- Jan 24 Mabel Taliaferro, actress (My Love Come Back), dies at 91
- Jan 25 Robertson Hare, English actor (All Gas and Gaiters. Our Girl Friday, Banana Ridge), dies at 87
Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979)
Jan 26 American politician (Vice President: 1974-1977; Governor of New York (R), 1959-73), dies of a heart attack at 70
- Jan 27 Qalander Baba Auliya, Indian Sufi master (Azeemiyya order), dies at about 81
- Jan 27 Victoria Ocampo, Argentine writer and publisher (Sur magazine), dies at 88
- Jan 28 Eileen Shanahan, Irish poet (The Three Children (Near Clonmel), dies at 77
- Jan 28 Hans Scherfig, Danish artist and communist writer (Idealists, Stolen Spring), dies at 73
- Jan 31 Grant Green, American jazz, blues and funk guitarist, and songwriter, dies of a heart attack at 43
