Historical Events
- Jan 1 69th Sugar Bowl: #4 Georgia beats #16 Florida State, 26-13
- Jan 1 89th Rose Bowl: #8 Oklahoma beats #7 Washington State, 34-14
- Jan 2 69th Orange Bowl: #5 Southern California beats #3 Iowa, 38-17
- Jan 3 College Football, 5th BCS National Championship, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ: #2 Ohio State beats #1 Miami, 31-24, at 32nd Fiesta Bowl
America Wins Title
Jan 4 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Serena Williams & James Blake beat Australian pair Alicia Molik & Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2 for a 3-0 win, and 2nd American title
- Jan 10 NBA announces Charlotte, N.C. is awarded an NBA expansion franchise to be known as the Charlotte Bobcats and start play in 2004-05; eventually changes to the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014-15 season
1,200 Points for Jágr
Jan 11 Washington right wing Jaromír Jágr scores his 10th career hat-trick and adds 4 assists for 7 points and his 1,200th NHL point in a 12-2 win against Florida; Jágr has 20+ goals in each of his 13 NHL seasons
29th People's Choice Awards
Jan 12 29th People's Choice Awards: Mel Gibson & Julia Roberts win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Ray Romano & Jennifer Aniston win (TV)
30th American Music Awards
Jan 13 30th American Music Awards: Sheryl Crow & Eminem win
Pete Townshend Arrested
Jan 13 Rock musician Pete Townshend of The Who is arrested in London on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. He is later cleared.
- Jan 16 The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrates 16 days later on re-entry.
8th Critics' Choice Movie Awards
Jan 17 8th Critics' Choice Movie Awards: Chicago Best Picture
- Jan 18 A bushfire kills 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
60th Golden Globes
Jan 19 60th Golden Globes: The Hours, Jack Nicholson, & Nicole Kidman win
- Jan 19 AFC Championship, Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland: Oakland Raiders beat Tennessee Titans, 41-24
- Jan 19 NFC Championship, Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10
- Jan 23 Final communication between Earth and NASA space probe Pioneer 10 then 7.6 billion miles (12.23 billion kilometers) from Earth
- Jan 24 The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation
- Jan 25 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams wins 5th Grand Slam singles title and 4th straight; beats older sister Venus Williams 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 for her first Australian title
- Jan 26 19th Sundance Film Festival: "American Splendor", directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jan 26 American late-night talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" debuts on ABC-TV
Agassi Beats Schuttler
Jan 26 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Andre Agassi of the US wins his 8th and last Grand Slam title; beats Rainer Schuttler of Germany 6-2, 6-2, 6-1
- Jan 26 Super Bowl XXXVII, Qualc:omm Stadium, San Diego, CA: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Oakland Raiders, 48-21; MVP: Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay, S
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
Jan 28 In his State of the Union address US President George W. Bush announces President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) - plan will go on to save 25 million lives worldwide (as of Jan 2023) [1]
- Jan 29 Sally Clark cleared of murdering her 2 sons after more than 3 years of prison in what was a life sentence
- Jan 30 Belgium legally recognizes same-sex marriage.
- Jan 30 Richard Reid sentenced to life in prison for attempting to bomb an American Airlines flight with 197 on board
- Jan 31 The Waterfall rail accident occurs near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia; 7 die when train driver has a heart attack and safety system fails
Famous Birthdays
Greta Thunberg (21 years old)
Jan 3 Swedish climate change activist, born in Stockholm, Sweden
- Jan 4 Jaeden Martell, American actor (Bill Denbrough-It; Knives Out), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
- Jan 24 Johnny Orlando, Canadian pop singer-songwriter ("Waste My Time"), born in Mississauga, Ontario
- Jan 26 Robby Novak [Kid President], American internet personality (YouTube), born in Henderson, Tennessee
- Jan 28 Whitney Peak, Ugandan-Canadian actress (Gossip Girl), born in Kampala, Uganda
Famous Weddings
Jennifer Connelly
Jan 1 "A Beautiful Mind" actress Jennifer Connelly (32) weds actor Paul Bettany in Scotland
- Jan 1 "Lord of The Rings" actress Miranda Otto (35) weds actor Peter O'Brien (44) at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, Australia
- Jan 3 British-American actress Emily Mortimer (31) weds American actor Alessandro Nivola (30) in Chilterns, Buckinghamshire, England
Idina Menzel
Jan 11 "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" actor Taye Diggs (32) weds broadway actress Idina Menzel (31) at Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Montego Bay, Jamaica
- Jan 11 "The Sixth Sense" actress-singer Toni Collette (30) weds musician Dave Galafassi in a Buddhist ceremony near Sydney, Australia
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Cyril Shaps, British actor, producer and voice artist (The Pianist), dies at 79
- Jan 1 F. William Free, American advertising executive (I'm Cheryl – Fly Me.), dies at 74
- Jan 1 Joe Foss, American fighter ace, football executive (Medal of Honor-1943; first commissioner American Football League) and politician, dies at 87
- Jan 2 Eric Jupp, British-born musician, dies at 80
- Jan 3 Sid Gillman, Pro & College Football Hall of Fame end (Ohio State U) and coach (U of Cincinnati, LA Rams, Houston Oilers), dies at 91
- Jan 4 Conrad Hall, Tahitian-American cinematographer, dies at 76
- Jan 4 Sabine Ulibarri, Mexican American writer (b. 1919)
- Jan 4 Yfrah Neaman, Israeli-British concert violinist, and pedagogue, dies of cancer at 79
- Jan 5 Doreen Carwithen, British composer, widow of William Alwyn (b. 1922)
- Jan 5 Jean Kerr, Irish-American novelist (Please Don't Eat the Daisies), dies at 80
- Jan 5 Massimo Girotti, Italian actor (Last Tango in Paris, In the Name of the Law), dies of a heart attack at 84
- Jan 5 Roy Jenkins, British MP (Labour, Liberal Democrats) and President of the European Commission (1977-81), dies at 82
- Jan 7 David Harries, Welsh composer (Epithalamium), dies at 69
- Jan 8 Patrick Edmund Pery, 6th Earl of Limerick, Irish peer and public servant, dies at 72
- Jan 8 Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor, dies at 77
- Jan 9 Will McDonough, American sports journalist (b. 1935)
- Jan 11 Maurice Pialat, French actor and director (The Naked Childhood), dies at 77
- Jan 11 Mickey Finn, British rock percussionist and bongocero (T. Rex), dies at 55
- Jan 11 Richard Simmons, American actor (Sergeant Preston of the Yukon), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 89
- Jan 11 William Joseph Russo, American composer, dies at 74
- Jan 12 Allan Nunn May, English physicist and Soviet spy (b. 1911)
- Jan 12 Dean Amadon, American ornithologist, dies at 90
- Jan 12 Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)
Leopoldo Galtieri (1926-2003)
Jan 12 Argentine general, dictator and President of Argentina (1981-82) who invaded the Falkland Islands, dies of a heart attack at 76 [1]
Maurice Gibb (1949-2003)
Jan 12 English rock-pop-disco singer-songwriter and bassist (Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever), dies of cardiac arrest at 53
- Jan 12 Paul Pender, American boxer (World Middleweight Champion 1960–61; The Ring Middleweight Champion 1962–63 Retired; Lineal Middleweight Champion 1962–63 Retired), dies at 72
- Jan 13 Geoffrey Tucker, British political consultant who helped Macmillan, Heath and Thatcher into office, dies at 77
- Jan 13 Norman Panama, American screenwriter and director (b. 1914)
- Jan 14 Koloman Sokol, Slovak painter, dies at 100
- Jan 15 Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter ("Tutti Frutti"; You Always Hurt the One You Love": "Tampico"), dies at 87
- Jan 16 Henryk Czyz, Polish composer and musician, dies at 79
- Jan 16 Richard Wainwright, English politician, Liberal MP for Colne Valley (1966–70), dies at 84
- Jan 17 Balint Vazsonyi, Hingarian pianist (b. 1936)
- Jan 17 Richard Crenna, American actor (Rambo, Summer Rental, Sand Pebbles), dies at 76
- Jan 18 Edward "The Sheik" Farhat, American professional wrestler (b. 1926)
- Jan 18 Gavin Lyall, British author (Conduct of Major Maxim, The Secret Servant), dies of cancer at 70
- Jan 19 Françoise Giroud, French journalist and politician (French Minister of Culture), dies at 86
- Jan 20 Al Hirschfeld, American caricaturist (NINA, NY Times), dies at 99
- Jan 20 Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (b. 1947)
- Jan 20 Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
- Jan 21 Paul Haines, American-born Canadian poet (b. 1933)
- Jan 22 Bill Mauldin, American cartoonist famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers (Pulitzer-1945, 59), dies of Alzheimer's disease and a bathtub scalding at 81
- Jan 23 Nell Carter, American actress (Gimme A Break; Lobo), dies at 54
- Jan 24 (Giovanni) "Gianni" Agnelli, Italian industrialist, executive (President of Fiat Automobiles, 1966-96), and Italian Senator-for-life (1991-2003), dies of prostate cancer at 81
- Jan 24 Lucien Blackwell, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania), dies at 71
- Jan 25 Samuel Weems, Armerican lawyer (disbarred), Armenian genocide denier, and writer, dies of a heart attack at 66
- Jan 26 George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, British politician (b. 1931)
- Jan 26 Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian (The Last Days of Hitler), dies at 89
- Jan 26 John Browning, American pianist (Leventritt Award-1956), dies at 69
- Jan 26 Valeriy Brumel, Soviet Olympic athlete (b. 1942)
- Jan 27 Henryk Jabłoński, President of Poland (b. 1909)
- Jan 27 Louis Archambault, Quebec sculptor (b. 1915)
- Jan 29 Frank Moss, American politician (Senator (D) Utah 1959-77), dies at 91
- Jan 30 Joan Franks Williams, American contemporary classical composer, and promoter (founder of New Dimensions in Music (NDM)), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 72
- Jan 31 Michael Ogden, British barrister and judge (Ogden Tables), dies at 76
- Jan 31 Werenfried van Straaten, Dutch anti-communist priest (founder of Oostpriesterhulp), dies at 90
