Historical Events
- Jan 1 17th Fiesta Bowl: #3 Florida State beats #5 Nebraska, 31-28
- Jan 1 54th Orange Bowl: #2 Miami (FL) beats #1 Oklahoma, 20-14
- Jan 1 54th Sugar Bowl: #4 Syracuse ties #6 Auburn, 16-16
- Jan 1 74th Rose Bowl: #8 Michigan State beats #16 Southern California, 20-17
- Jan 1 Czech born tennis star Hana Mandikova becomes an Australian Citizen
- Jan 1 Miami beats Oklahoma for college football championship
- Jan 1 Year of the Reader begins
- Jan 2 Ashland Oil storage tank spills 3.8 million gallons, Penn
Canada-US Trade Agreement
Jan 2 Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Ronald Reagan sign Canada-US Free Trade Agreement
- Jan 2 Right-wing guerrillas ambush a train near Mozambique's western border, killing at least 22 people and injuring 71.
- Jan 3 Israel orders 9 Palestinian "instigators" deported from W Beirut
Thatcher Longest-serving
Jan 3 Margaret Thatcher becomes longest-serving British PM this century
Roy Orbison and Friends
Jan 3 Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night premieres on Cinemax; concert performance includes James Burton; Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, and k.d. lang)
- Jan 8 9th largest NBA crowd 38,873-Chicago at Detroit
- Jan 8 Dow Jones down 140.58 points
HP's Scientific Calculator
Jan 8 Hewlett-Packard introduces HP-28S Advanced Scientific Calculator
- Jan 8 US female Figure Skating championship won by Debi Thomas
"Piano Lesson"
Jan 9 August Wilson's play "Piano Lesson" premieres in Boston
Boitano US Champion
Jan 9 US male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano
Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 12 Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder/first baseman Willie Stargell elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Garvey Retires
Jan 13 MLB Los Angeles Dodger/San Diego Padre Steve Garvey retires
- Jan 13 Supreme Court rules (5-3) public school officials have broad powers to censor school newspapers, plays & other expressive activities
- Jan 15 19-year-old Indian cricket leg-spinner Narenda Hirwani records best bowling figures on debut in Test history; captures 16-136 in 255 run 4th Test win v West Indies in Madras; Hirwani takes 8 wickets in each innings
- Jan 15 Indian cricket wicketkeeper Kiran More stumps 5 West Indian batsman in 4th Test at Madras; world Test record
- Jan 15 Narendra Hirwani takes 16-136 (8-61 & 8-75) v WI on Test debut
- Jan 15 NFL analyst Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder makes several questionable comments about African Americans during a lunchtime interview on CBS' NFL Today; fired the next day
- Jan 16 4th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins
Dissident Havel Arrested
Jan 16 Czech dissident Václav Havel is arrested in Prague for taking part in demonstrations against the communist government
"Got My Mind Set On You"
Jan 16 George Harrison's single "Got My Mind Set On You" tops the Billboard charts; the cover song was written by Rudy Clark and originally recorded by James Ray in 1962
- Jan 16 Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder fired from CBS for racial remarks
- Jan 16 NFL St Louis Cardinals announce move to Phoenix
- Jan 17 "Teddy & Alice" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 77 performances
"The Fumble" as Broncos Beat Browns
Jan 17 AFC Championship, Mile High Stadium, Denver: Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns, 38-33; features infamous "The Fumble", Browns' Earnest Byner at Denver 3-yard line with 1:12 remaining
"I'm Not Rappaport"
Jan 17 Herb Gardner's stage comedy "I'm Not Rappaport", starring Judd Hirsch and Cleavon Little, closes at the Booth Theatre, NYC, after 891 performances, winning 3 Tony Awards
- Jan 17 Leslie Manigay elected President of Haiti
- Jan 17 NFC Championship, RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Washington Redskins beat Minnesota Vikings, 17-10
- Jan 18 Airliner crashes in SW China, killing all 108 on board
- Jan 19 "48 Hours" premieres on CBS-TV
- Jan 19 Disabled writer Christopher Nolan wins the Whitbread Book of the Year prize
3rd Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Jan 20 3rd Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Beach Boys; The Beatles; The Drifters; Bob Dylan; The Supremes; Woody Guthrie; Leadbelly; Les Paul; and Berry Gordy, Jr.
- Jan 20 Andre Hoffman skates world record 1,500m (1:52.06)
- Jan 20 Arizona committee opens hearing on impeachment of Gov Evan Mecham
- Jan 21 US accepts immigration of 30,000 US-Vietnamese children
Lara 1st Class Debut
Jan 22 1st-class cricket debut of Brian Lara, Trinidad & Tobago v Leeward Is
Cronje 1st Class Debut
Jan 22 1st-class cricket debut of Hansie Cronje, OFS v Transvaal
Tyson vs. Holmes
Jan 22 Defending champion Mike Tyson beats former titleholder Larry Holmes by TKO in round 4 at Convention Centre, Atlantic City to retain his undisputed heavyweight boxing title
45th Golden Globes
Jan 23 45th Golden Globes: The Last Emperor, Michael Douglas, & Sally Kirkland win
Graf Defeats Lloyd
Jan 23 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Steffi Graf of Germany wins 1st of 3 consecutive Australian singles crowns; beats American Chris Evert 6-1, 7-6
- Jan 23 Bob Benoit bowls 1st 300-pt game in a televised title match
- Jan 24 1st WWF Royal Rumble - Jim Duggan wins
- Jan 24 4th Sundance Film Festival: "Heat and Sunlight" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
- Jan 24 9th ACE Cable Awards: Discovery Channel wins the Golden CableACE for "Russia: Live From the Inside"
- Jan 24 Australia beat New Zealand 2-0 to win cricket's World Series Cup
Wilander Defeats Cash
Jan 24 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Mats Wilander wins 3rd Australian title; beats home town favourite Pat Cash 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 6-1, 8-6
- Jan 24 Cerebral Palsy telethon raises $21 million
- Jan 24 NBC premiere of fact based "The Murder of Mary Phagan"
15th American Music Awards
Jan 25 15th American Music Awards: Anita Baker; Paul Simon; & Whitney Houston win
- Jan 25 George Harrison releases single "When We Was Fab", peaks at #23 in the US
- Jan 25 Longest winless streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history (15 games)
- Jan 25 Ramsewak Shankar sworn in as President of Suriname
Rather and Bush Clash
Jan 25 US Vice President George H. W. Bush and Dan Rather famously clash on "CBS Evening News" as Rather attempts to question Bush about his role in Iran-Contra affair
Phantom of the Opera
Jan 26 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart's musical "Phantom of the Opera", directed by Hal Prince and starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, opens at Majestic Theater, NYC ; runs for 13,981 performances, winning 7 Tony Awards, and becoming Broadway's longest-running shows
- Jan 26 Australian 200th anniversary parade of tall ships in Sydney Harbour
Kennedy Nominated
Jan 27 Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves nomination of Judge Anthony Kennedy to US Supreme Court
- Jan 28 Canada's Supreme court declares anti-abortion law unconstitutional
- Jan 28 Denver Nuggets point guard Michael Adams takes record streak to 79 consecutive games with at least one 3-point field goal in 117-102 loss against Indiana at Market Square Arena; streak ends next game
Dionne Sets Record
Jan 28 New York Rangers' Marcel Dionne scores a 2nd period power play goal in 5-2 win in Philadelphia; becomes 1st first player in NHL history to get 20 goals in each of his first 17 seasons
- Jan 28 South African Mbongeni Ngema and Hugh Masekela's musical "Sarafina!", based on the Soweto Uprising against apartheid, opens at the Cort Theater, NYC; runs for 597 performances
- Jan 29 Canadian Ben Johnson breaks own 50-yard dash world record at 5.15
- Jan 29 Detroit Pistons draw a then record NBA regular season crowd of 61,983 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome for a 125-108 win over the Boston Celtics
- Jan 29 Detroit's Kirk Gibson signs a 3-year contract with Dodgers
- Jan 29 United Airlines Boeing 747SP, circles world in 36h54m15s
- Jan 30 Hansie Cronje gets a pair in 2nd 1st-class game (OFS v N Tvl)
- Jan 31 Barge sinks near Anacortes, WA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil
- Jan 31 Super Bowl XXII, Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, CA: Washington Redskins beat Denver Broncos, 42-10; MVP: Doug Williams, Washington, QB
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 2 Mandy Harvey, American jazz and pop singer-songwriter, profoundly deaf since age 18, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Jan 3 Ikechi Anya, Scottish soccer midfielder (29 caps; Watford, Derby County), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Jan 3 Jonny Evans, Northern Irish soccer defender (84 caps; Manchester United, WBA, Leicester City), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Jan 3 Rodrigo de la Cadena, Mexican artist and performer
- Jan 4 Nabila Jamshed, Indian writer
- Jan 5 Pauline [Vasseur] French pop singer-songwriter ("Allô le monde"), born in Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France
- Jan 7 Haley Bennett [Keeling], American actress (Cyrano; Music and Lyrics), born in Fort Myers, Florida
- Jan 7 Robert Sheehan, Irish actor, born in Port Laoise, Republic of Ireland
- Jan 7 Scott Pendlebury, Australian rules footballer, born in Sale, Australia
- Jan 8 Adam T. Siska, American rock bassist (The Academy Is...), born in the US Virgin Islands
- Jan 11 Alexandria L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 11 Danielle L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 11 Erica L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 11 Raymond L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 11 Veronica L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 12 Andrew Lawrence, American actor (Brotherly Love, Recess), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jan 12 Chris Casement, Irish footballer, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Jan 14 Jack P. Shepherd, English actor (Coronation Street), born in Pudsey, United Kingdom
- Jan 14 Jordy [Lemoine], French singer, youngest singer (4 years) to have a #1, born in Paris, France
- Jan 14 Mikalah Gordon, American pop singer, born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Jan 15 Skrillex [Sonny Moore], American Grammy Award-winning dance music DJ and record producer, born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 16 FKA Twiggs [Tahliah Barnett], English singer-songwriter (LP1), born in Cheltenham, England
- Jan 16 Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
Angelique Kerber (36 years old)
Jan 18 German tennis player (3-time Grand Slam winner), born in Bremen, Germany
- Jan 18 Ashleigh Murray, American actress (Riverdale), born in Kansas City, Missouri
- Jan 18 Ronnie Day [Guglielmone], American singer-songwriter (Nine Sleepless Nights), born in Redwood City, California
- Jan 21 Felipe Neto, Brazilian vlogger (YouTube), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Jan 21 William C. Woxlin, Swedish ambient and electronic music composer, born in Borlänge, Sweden
- Jan 22 Greg Oden, American basketball player, born in Buffalo, New York
- Jan 23 Charlotte Greve, German-American saxophonist, singer, and composer (Wood River; The Choir Invisible), born in Uelzen, Germany
- Jan 25 Tatiana Golovin, French tennis player (French Open mixed doubles 2004 [Richard Gasquet], born in Moscow, Russia
- Jan 26 Mia Rose, British-Portuguese pop singer, born in Wimbledon, London
- Jan 27 Kerlon Moura Souza, Brazilian footballer, born in Ipatinger, Brazil
- Jan 28 Henry Mortensen, American actor
- Jan 29 Stephanie Gilmore, Australian surfer (record 8 x World Champion 2007-10, 12, 14, 18, 22), born in Murwillumbah, Australia
- Jan 30 Rob Pinkston, American actor (Punk'd), born in Atlanta, Georgia
Famous Weddings
Michael Biehn
Jan 1 Actor Michael Biehn (31) weds film producer Gina Marsh
- Jan 9 English Earl of St Andrews George Windsor marries Canadian academic Sylvana Tomaselli
Bob Guccione
Jan 17 American magazine publisher Bob Guccione (57) weds South African dancer and actress Kathy Keeton (48), until her death in 1997
Famous Deaths
Gaston Eyskens (1905-1988)
Jan 3 Prime Minister of Belgium (1949, 1958-61, 1968-72), dies at 82
- Jan 3 Joie Chitwood, American racedriver & Daredevil (b. 1912)
- Jan 3 Rose Ausländer, German poet (b. 1901)
- Jan 3 William Cagney, American producer and actor (Torrid Zone), brother of James Cagney, dies of a heart attack at 82
- Jan 4 Lily Laskine, French harpist, dies at 94
- Jan 4 Predrag Milošević, Serbian pianist, conductor, composer (Simfonijeta), and pedagogue, dies at 83
Pete Maravich (1947-1988)
Jan 5 American Basketball HOF guard (5 × NBA All-Star; All-NBA First Team 1976, 77; NBA scoring champion 1977 NO/Utah Jazz; Atlanta Hawks), dies of heart failure at 40
Trevor Howard (1913-1988)
Jan 7 English actor in over 70 films (Brief Encounter, Superman, The Third Man), dies of bronchitis at 71
Pappy Boyington (1912-1988)
Jan 11 American combat pilot and US Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II, dies of cancer at 75
Georgy Malenkov (1902-1988)
Jan 14 Soviet leader who was briefly leader of the Soviet Union after Stalin's death (1953-55), dies in obscurity at 86
Seán MacBride (1904-1988)
Jan 15 Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and founder of Amnesty International (Nobel 1974), dies at 83
- Jan 16 Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899)
- Jan 16 Ballard Berkeley [Blascheck], British actor (Fawlty Towers, East meets West, The BFG), dies at 83
- Jan 20 Dora Stratou, Greek choreographer and folklorist (b. 1903)
- Jan 20 Philippe de Rothschild, French race-car driver and manager (Bordeaux Vineyard), dies at 86
- Jan 21 Abraham Sofaer, Burmese born British actor (Naked Jungle, Elephant Walk), dies at 91
- Jan 22 Parker Fennelly, actor (Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm), dies at 96
- Jan 23 Charles Glen King, American biochemist and pioneer of nutrition research who isolated vitamin C, dies at 91
- Jan 23 Dan Daniel, American politician (Rep-D-VA, 1969-88), dies at 73
- Jan 24 Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)
- Jan 25 Colleen Moore, American silent screen actress (These Girls Won't Talk), dies at 87
- Jan 27 Edward Pawley, American actor (Angels with Dirty Faces), dies t 86
- Jan 27 Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian author (b. 1938)
Klaus Fuchs (1911-1988)
Jan 28 German-British atomic physicist and spy for the Soviet Union, dies at 76
- Jan 29 Bantcho Bantchevsky, Bulgarian-American singer, commits suicide during a performance of at the Metropolitan Opera at 81
- Jan 29 James R. Killian Jr., 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1948-59), dies at 83
- Jan 29 Rogier van Otterloo, Dutch composer and conductor, dies at 46
- Jan 30 Corry [Cornelia Diderika] Vonk, Dutch cabaret performer, dies at 85
