- Jan 1 Frank Pettingell, English actor (Gaslight, Goose Steps Out), born in Liverpool (d. 1966)
- Jan 3 Osip Mandelstam, Polish-Russian poet and author (Kamen), born in Warsaw, Russian Empire (d. 1938) [NS=Jan 15]
- Jan 4 Bryn Lewis, Welsh rugby union winger (2 caps; Newport, Cambridge University), born in Pontardawe, Wales (d. 1917)
- Jan 4 Edward Brooker, British politician (interim Premier of Tasmania, Dec 1947-Feb 1948), born in London England (d. 1948)
- Jan 6 Ted McDonald, Australian cricket fast bowler (11 Tests, 43 wickets, BB 5/32; Tasmania, Victoria, Lancashire CCC), born in Launceston, Australia (d. 1937)
- Jan 7 Zora Neale Hurston, American writer (Their Eyes Were Watching God), born in Notasulga, Alabama (d. 1960)
- Jan 8 Alexander Gray, American actor (Sally, This is Music), born in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania (d. 1976)
- Jan 8 Bronislava Nijinska, Polish-Russian ballet dancer (Ballets Russes) and choreographer, born in Minsk, Russian Empire (d. 1972)
- Jan 8 Storm Jameson, English writer (d. 1986)
- Jan 8 Walter Bothe, German subatomic particle physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics 1954), born in Oranienburg, Germany (d. 1957)
- Jan 9 August Gailit, Estonian writer (Ekke Moor), born in Kuiksilla, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (d. 1960)
- Jan 10 Jos Speybrouck, Belgian drawer, born in Kortrijk, Belgium (d. 1956)
- Jan 15 Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet (Noise of Time), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1938)
- Jan 15 Ray Chapman, American baseball player (Cleveland Indians) and only MLB player to die from an injury received during a MLB game, born in Beaver Dam, Kentucky (d. 1920)
- Jan 17 Marjorie Gateson, American actress (One Man's Family), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1977)
- Jan 17 Walter Eucken, German economist (social market economy), born in Jena in Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (d. 1950)
- Jan 20 Mischa Elman, Russian-American concert violinist, born in Talnoye, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (now Talne, Ukraine (d. 1967)
- Jan 21 Francisco Lazaro, Portuguese marathon runner (1st person to die during a modern Olympics - during 1912 marathon), born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1912)
- Jan 21 Nikolai Golovanov, Russian conductor and composer (Bolshoi Opera), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1953)
- Jan 21 Timothy Mather Spelman, American composer, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1970)
- Jan 22 Franz Alexander, Hungarian-American psychoanalyst (pioneered psychosomatic medicine), born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (d. 1964)
- Jan 22 Moïse Kisling, Polish-French painter (La Souris Boiteuse), born in Kraków, Grand Duchy of Cracow, Austria-Hungary (d. 1953)
Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937)
Jan 23 Italian philosopher and Marxist theorist, born in Ales, Sardinia, Italy
- Jan 23 Jüri Lossmann, Estonian athlete (Olympic silver marathon 1920), born in Kabala, Estonia (d. 1984)
- Jan 24 Walter Model, German WWII field marshal, born in Genthin, Germany (d. 1945)
- Jan 25 Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, British actress (The Devil Rides Out), born in London, England (d. 1992)
- Jan 25 William Christian Bullitt Jr., 1st US ambassador to USSR, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1967)
Frank Costello (1891-1973)
Jan 26 Italian-American gangster (The Prime Minister of the Underworld), born in Lauropoli, Calabria, Italy
- Jan 26 Ilya Ehrenburg, Soviet writer (Fall of Paris, The Thaw), born in Kyiv, Ukraine (d. 1967)
Wilder Penfield (1891-1976)
Jan 26 American-born Canadian neurosurgeon, born in Spokane, Washington
- Jan 27 Ilja Ehrenburg, Soviet poet and writer (9th wave), born in Kiev, Russian Empire (d. 1967)
- Jan 28 Bill Doak, American baseball pitcher (NL ERA leader 1914, 21; St. Louis Cardinals), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1954)
- Jan 28 Camille Melloy [Paepe], Belgian poet (Parfum des Buis), born in Melle (d. 1941)
- Jan 28 Karel Boleslav Jirak, Czech composer and pedagogue, born in Prague, Bohemia (d. 1972)
R. Norris Williams (1891-1968)
Jan 29 American tennis player (US National C'ship 1914, 16; survived sinking of RMS Titanic), born in Geneva, Switzerland
- Jan 31 Max Drischner, German organist, harpsichordist, kantor, and composer, born in Prieborn, Silesia (d. 1971)