- Jan 7 Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (d. 1751)
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Jan 17 US Founding Father, inventor, ambassador and writer (Poor Richards Almanac), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Jan 28 John Baskerville, English printer and type designer (printer to the University of Cambridge),, baptized in Wolverley, Worcestershire, England (d. 1775)