Historical Events
- Jan 1 61 die in nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
- Jan 1 75th Orange Bowl: #21 Virginia Tech beats #12 Cincinnati, 20-7
- Jan 1 95th Rose Bowl: #5 Southern California beats #6 Penn State, 38-24
- Jan 1 Slovakia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the sixteenth Eurozone country.
Taiwan Adopts Hanyu Pinyin
Jan 1 The government of the Republic of China adopts Hanyu Pinyin as its official Chinese romanization (before this time, the most commonly used was Tongyong Pinyin.
- Jan 2 75th Sugar Bowl: #6 Utah beats #4 Alabama, 31-17
- Jan 3 Israeli ground forces invade Gaza.
- Jan 3 The Bitcoin network is created as the first block of the digital currency is mined by a person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto
- Jan 4 Phil Taylor, with a 7–1 victory in the final over Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld wins his 12th PDC World Darts title, his 14th in all; his 110.94 average remains a record for the PDC World Darts Championship final
- Jan 5 38th Fiesta Bowl: #3 Texas beats #10 Ohio State, 24-21
Fanning Rising Star
Jan 6 Dakota Fanning receives the Rising Star Award at the 20th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival
- Jan 6 Israel begins an assault on the Gaza Strip
Smith, Witherspoon Win
Jan 7 35th People's Choice Awards: Will Smith & Reese Witherspoon win (Movie Star) and Hugh Laurie & Christina Applegate win (TV)
- Jan 8 14th Critics' Choice Movie Awards: Slumdog Millionaire wins Best Film
- Jan 8 A 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Costa Rica´s region of Volcan Poás, with an epicenter near Cinchona. It was caused by Varablanca-Angel fault.
- Jan 8 College Football, 11th BCS National Championship, Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens: #2 Florida beats #1 Oklahoma, 24-14
Hopman Cup
Jan 9 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Dominik Hrbatý beats Russia's Marat Safin 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 for an unassailable 2-0 lead, and Slovakia's 3rd title
66th Golden Globes
Jan 11 66th Golden Globes: "Slumdog Millionaire," Mickey Rourke, Kate Winslet win
Golden Globes
Jan 11 Colin Farrell wins the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for "In Bruges"
Musical Finale
Jan 11 John Du Prez and Eric Idle's musical "Spamalot", based on the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," and starring Tim Curry and Davis Hyde Pierce, closes at the Shubert Theatre, NYC, after 1,575 and 3 Tony Award wins
Ronaldo Player of the Year
Jan 12 Cristiano Ronaldo is awarded 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year for the first time at a ceremony in Zurich
- Jan 13 Global shipping experiences a drop in trade, as exports from South Korea dropping an annualised 30%, with Taiwan and Japan experiencing a 42% and 27% drop respectively
Sullenberger Lands on the Hudson
Jan 15 Chesley Sullenberger lands US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in NYC. All passengers and crew members survive in what becomes known as the "Miracle on the Hudson"
"We Are One"
Jan 18 "We Are One" concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington prior to Barack Obama's inauguration attracts an estimated crowd of 400,000; performers include: Beyoncé, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen, U2, and Stevie Wonder
- Jan 18 AFC Championship, Heinz Field, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Baltimore Ravens, 23-14
- Jan 18 NFC Championship, University of Phoenix Stadium: Arizona Cardinals beat Philadelphia Eagles, 32-25
Barack Obama Inaugurated
Jan 20 Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the United States' first African-American president
- Jan 20 Joe Biden assumes the office of the Vice President of the United States
- Jan 23 Dendermonde nursery attack occurred in Dendermonde, Belgium.
- Jan 23 UK officially enters recession as GDP falls by 1.5% in the last quarter of 2008 following a 0.6% drop in the third quarter, with unemployment growing by 131,000 to 1.92 million (6.1%)
Benedict XVI Rescinds Excommunications
Jan 24 Pope Benedict XVI rescinds the excommunications of four bishops consecrated without papal consent in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
- Jan 25 25th Sundance Film Festival: "Precious" based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
- Jan 25 57th NHL All-Star Game, Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec: East beats West, 12-11, SO; MVP: Alexei Kovalev, Montreal Canadiens, RW
Blame It
Jan 26 "Blame It (On the Alcohol)" single released by Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain (Billboard Song of the Year 2009)
- Jan 26 "I Run to You" single by Lady Antebellum is released (Grammy Award Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal 2009, Billboard Song of the Year 2009)
"Working On A Dream"
Jan 27 Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen's 16th studio album "Working On A Dream", made with the E Street Band
- Jan 29 Rod Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois, is removed from office after being convicted of corruption charges
Williams' 10th Grand Slam
Jan 31 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams wins 10th Grand Slam singles title; outclasses Dinara Safina of Russia 6-0, 6-3
- Jan 31 In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.
Famous Birthdays
Famous Weddings
- Jan 9 High School Musical actress KayCee Stroh (24) weds Ben Higginson (24) at Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah
Fergie & Josh Duhamel
Jan 10 "The Black Eyed Peas" singer Fergie (33) weds actor Josh Duhamel (36) at Church Estate Vineyards in Malibu, California
- Jan 31 "Stay" singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb (40) weds Late Night with Conan O'Brien music supervisor Roey Hershkovitz (30) at Manhattan restaurant in New York City
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 (Johannes Mario) J.M. Simmel, Austrian writer (It Can't Always Be Caviar), dies at 84
- Jan 1 Claiborne Pell, American writer, politician (US Senator (D) from Rhode Island, 1961-97), and sponsor of education grant legislation, dies at 90
- Jan 1 Edmund Purdom, British actor (The Egyptian, Asissi Underground, Pieces), dies at 84
- Jan 1 Nizar Rayan, Hamas leader, killed in an airstrike at 49
- Jan 2 Jett Travolta, son of actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston, dies of a seizure at 16
- Jan 2 Maria de Jesus, Portuguese supercentenarian, dies at 115
- Jan 3 Alan Walters, British political economist (Chief Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), dies at 82
- Jan 3 Charles Camilleri, Maltese composer (Missa Mundi), dies at 77
- Jan 3 Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
- Jan 3 Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle, American actor (Hang 'em High, Splendor in the Grass, Batman Returns), dies of myelodysplastic syndrome at 84
- Jan 3 Olga San Juan, American actress, dancer and comedian (Variety Girl, 1 Touch of Venus), dies at 81
- Jan 3 Ulf G. Lindén, Swedish entrepreneur (b. 1937)
- Jan 4 Giselle Salandy, Trinidad & Tobago female boxer (b. 1987)
- Jan 5 Ned Tanen, American movie executive (b. 1931)
- Jan 6 Claude Jeter, American gospel music singer (The Swan Silvertones), dies at 94
- Jan 6 Ron Asheton, American guitarist, bassist, and songwriter (The Stooges), dies of an apparent heart attack at 60 [exact date estimated]
- Jan 6 Vivienne Della Chiesa, American lyric soprano who sang on US radio during the 1940s and early 1950s (The American Album of Familiar Music, The Standard Hour), dies at 93
- Jan 8 Don Galloway, American actor (Arrest & Trial, Ironside), dies at 71
- Jan 8 Richard John Neuhaus, Canadian-American Christian writer and editor (b. 1936)
- Jan 9 Dave Dee [Harman], British pop singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich), dies of cancer at 67
- Jan 9 T. Llew Jones, Welsh author (b. 1915)
- Jan 10 Bill Stone, British serviceman; one of the last surviving veterans of World War I, dies at 108
- Jan 10 Jean Pelletier, French Canadian politician (Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, 1993–2001; Mayor of Quebec, 1977-89), dies of colon cancer at 73
- Jan 10 Sidney Wood Jr, American tennis player (Wimbledon 1931), dies at 97
- Jan 11 David Vine, British sports broadcaster (BBC Match of the Day, World Snooker C'ships, Olympics coverage), dies of a heart attack at 74
- Jan 11 Tom O'Horgan, American musical theater director (Hair; Jesus Christ Superstar), dies from complications of Alzheimer's disease at 84
- Jan 11 Vivian Ridler, British scholar and printer (Oxford University), dies at 95
- Jan 12 Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher (b. 1912)
- Jan 12 Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter, dies at 74
- Jan 12 Russ Conway, Canadian-American character actor (Richard Diamond Private Eye), dies at 95
- Jan 13 Doña Mary Ejercito, Filipino supercentarian, mother of Philippine President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, dies at 102
- Jan 13 Hortense Calisher, American novelist (President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters), dies at 97
- Jan 13 Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese composer, lyricist, and poet, dies of pneumonia at 83
- Jan 13 Nancy Bird Walton, Australian aviator, dies at 93
- Jan 13 Patrick McGoohan, American-born Irish actor, writer, and director (The Prisoner; Secret Agent/ Danger Man), dies at 80
- Jan 13 William D.W. Snodgrass, American Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (Heart's Needle), also wrote using pseudonym S. S. Gardons, dies at 83
- Jan 14 Jan Kaplický, British architect of Czech origin, dies at 71
- Jan 14 Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican actor (Fantasy Island, Star Trek II, Naked Gun), dies of congestive heart failure at 88
- Jan 16 Andrew Wyeth, American realist painter (Christina's World), dies at 91
- Jan 16 Joe Erskine, American boxer and long distance runner (b. 1930)
- Jan 16 John Mortimer, English barrister, screenwriter and author (A Voyage Round My Father), dies at 85
- Jan 17 Anders Isaksson, Swedish journalist, writer, and historian (b. 1943)
- Jan 18 Bob May, American actor (b. 1939)
- Jan 18 Grigore Vieru, Romanian poet (b. 1935)
- Jan 18 Kathleen Byron, British actress (Abdication, Profile, Saving Private Ryan), dies of breast cancer at 88
- Jan 18 Tony Hart, English artist and television presenter (Take Hart, Hartbeat), dies at 83
- Jan 19 José Torres, Puerto Rican boxer (world light-heavyweight champion), dies of a heart attack at 72
- Jan 20 Dante Lavelli, American Pro Football HOF end (NFL C'ship 1950, 54, 55 Cleveland Browns; First-team All-Pro 1953; 3 × Pro Bowl), dies at 85
- Jan 20 David "Fathead" Newman, American jazz saxophonist (Ray Charles - "The Right Time"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 75
- Jan 20 Sheila O'Nions Walsh (aka Sheila Walsh, Sophie Leyton), English romance writer (b. 1928)
- Jan 20 Stan Hagen, Canadian politician (b. 1940)
- Jan 20 Stéphanos II Ghattas, Patriarch Emeritus of Alexandria for the Coptic Catholic Church (b. 1920)
- Jan 21 Pat Crawford, Australian cricketer (Australian pace bowler 1956), dies at 75
- Jan 22 Billy Werber, American baseball third baseman (World Series 1940; AL stolen base leader 1934, 35, 37; Cincinnati Reds), dies at 100
- Jan 23 George Perle, American composer (12 Tone Tonality), dies at 93
- Jan 23 Robert W. Scott, American politician, governor of North Carolina (b. 1929)
- Jan 24 Diane Holland, British actress and dancer (Crossroads - "Sarah"; Hi-de-Hi! - "Yvonne"), dies of bronchial pneumonia at 78
- Jan 24 Gérard Blanc, French pop singer ("Une Autre Histoire"), dies at 61
- Jan 24 Kay Yow, North Carolina State Univ. women's basketball head coach (b. 1942)
- Jan 24 Leonard Gaskin, American jazz bassist (Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis), dies at 88
- Jan 24 Reg Gutteridge, British Boxing Journalist (b. 1924)
- Jan 25 Kim Manners, American television producer and director (b. 1951)
- Jan 27 John Updike, American Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist (Rabbit' Run; Rabbit is Rich; Rabbit at Rest), and poet, dies of lung cancer at 76
- Jan 27 R. [Ramaswamy] Venkataraman, Indian politician, eighth President of India, dies at 98
- Jan 28 Arthur Jenkins, Jr., American jazz and pop session and touring keyboardist, composer, and arranger (Johnny Nash; Harry Belafonte; John Lennon; Roberta Flack), dies at 72
- Jan 28 Billy Powell, American musician and keyboardist (Lynyrd Skynyrd - "That Smell"; "Freebird"), dies at 56
- Jan 29 (Bennie Ross) "Hank" Crawford, American saxophonist, arranger and songwriter (Help Me Make It Through the Night), dies of complications from a stroke at 74
- Jan 29 Alfred Mabbs, British Archivist (Public Records Office), dies at 87
- Jan 29 Bill Frindall, English cricket scorer and statistician (BBC, "the Bearded Wonder"), dies from Legionnaires' disease at 69
- Jan 29 Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist, co-founder and 'Godfather' of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, dies at 95
- Jan 29 John Martyn [Iain McGeachy], British folk-rock-blues singer-songwriter, and guitarist ("May You Never"), dies due to acute respiratory distress syndrome at 60
- Jan 30 Hans Beck, German inventor, "The Father of Playmobil", dies at 79
Ingemar Johansson (1932-2009)
Jan 30 Swedish heavyweight professional boxing champion of the world, dies at 76
- Jan 31 Dewey Martin, Canadian rock drummer (Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"), dies at 68
- Jan 31 Erland von Koch, Swedish composer, dies at 98
- Jan 31 Nagesh, Indian comedian actor in Kollywood (b. 1933)
- Jan 31 Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, French Canadian politician (Senator from Quebec, 1990-2001; Minister of Health and Social Services, 1985-89), dies at 80
