- Jan 1 Gail Zappa (née Sloatman), American business secretary and wife of musician and composer Frank Zappa, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2015)
- Jan 1 Glen Loates, Canadian artist and painter of wildlife and landscapes, born in Toronto, Ontario
- Jan 1 Jacky Ickx, Belgian auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1969, 75-77, 81-82; 8 x F1 wins; Dakar Rally 1983; Bathurst 1000 1977), born in Brussels, Belgium
- Jan 1 Peter Duncan, Australian politician (Member of Parliament, 1984-96; Minister for Employment and Education, 1988-90), born in Melbourne, Australia)
- Jan 2 Slobodan Praljak, Bosnian Croat general & war criminal, born in Čapljina, Independent State of Croatia (d. 2017)
- Jan 3 Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"; Crosby, Stills & Nash - "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"), born in Dallas, Texas
- Jan 4 JayDee Maness, American pedal steel guitar player (Desert Rose Band - "Love Reunited"), born in Loma Linda, California
- Jan 4 Richard R. Schrock, American chemist, Nobel laureate
- Jan 4 Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish entertainer
- Jan 5 Roger Spottiswoode, Canadian-British film director, born in Ottawa, Canada
- Jan 5 Sam Wyche, American NFL coach (Cincinnati Bengals 1984-91; Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1992-95; introduced no-huddle offence), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2020)
- Jan 6 Allen Appel, American novelist, born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- Jan 6 Barry John, Welsh rugby player, born in Cefneithin, United Kingdom
- Jan 6 Barry Lopez, American author (Of Wolves & Men), born in Port Chester, New York
- Jan 6 Pepé Le Pew, Warner Bros. cartoon character created by Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series), first debuts in "Odor-able Kitty"
- Jan 7 Dave Cousins [Hindson], English rock singer-songwriter (Strawbs - "Part of the Union"), born in Hounslow, England
- Jan 7 Dick Marty, Swiss politician & prosecutor, born in Sorengo, Switzerland
- Jan 7 Raila Odinga, Kenyan politician, Prime Minister of Kenya (2008-2013), born in Maseno, Kenya
- Jan 7 Tom Reed, American college football coach (Miami University, North Carolina State University), born in Zebulon, North Carolina (d. 2022)
- Jan 7 Tony Conigliaro, American baseball outfielder (Boston Red Sox), born in Revere, Massachusetts (d. 1990)
- Jan 9 Frank Biondi, American businessman (HBO), born in NYC, New York
- Jan 9 John Doman, American actor, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jan 10 Colonel DeBeers [Edward Wiskoski], American professional wrestler, born in Saint Joseph, Missouri
- Jan 10 Gunther von Hagens [Gunther Gerhard Liebchen], German anatomist who invented the plastination technique for preserving tissue specimens, born in Alt-Skalden, Nazi Germany
Rod Stewart (78 years old)
Jan 10 British singer ("Maggie Maey"; "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy"; "Downtown Train"), and model railroad designer, born in London, England
- Jan 10 Spider Sabich, American alpine skier (Olympics 1968; shot by actress Claudine Longet), born in Sacramento, California (d. 1976)
- Jan 11 Christine Kaufmann, Austrian-born actress (Town Without Pity, Red Lips), born in Lendolf (d. 2017)
- Jan 11 Samdech Preah Sanghareach Bour Kry, Supreme Patriarch of the Cambodian Dhammayutt Order
- Jan 12 Maggie Bell, Scottish rock vocalist, born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Jan 13 [Eileen] Joy[ce] Chant [Rutter], UK, sci-fi author (High Kings)
- Jan 14 Einar Hakonarson, Icelandic painter, born in Reykjavik, Iceland
- Jan 14 Maina Gielgud, British ballet dancer and administrator, born in London, United Kingdom
- Jan 14 Vonetta McGee, American actress, born in San Francisco, California, (d. 2010)
- Jan 15 Princess Michael of Kent, British royal, born in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
- Jan 15 Vince Foster, American lawyer, born in Hope, Arkansas (d. 1993)
- Jan 15 William R. Higgins, USMC colonel, born in Danville, Kentucky (d. 1990)
- Jan 16 Kabir Bedi, Pakistani actor (Thief of Baghdad, Terminal Entry), born in Lahore, Pakistan
- Jan 16 Wim Suurbier, Dutch soccer right back (60 caps; Ajax 392 games) and manager (LA Heat, TB Rowdies), born in Eindhoven, Netherlands (d. 2020)
- Jan 17 Ivan Karabits, Ukrainian composer, conductor, and educator, born in Yalta, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine (d. 2002)
- Jan 17 Javed Akhtar, Indian lyricist, poet and scriptwriter, born in Gwalior, India
- Jan 17 William Hart, American soul singer and songwriter (4 Gents; Delfonics - "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"; "La-La Means I Love You"), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2022)
- Jan 19 Charles Amirkhanian, American composer, born in Fresno, California
- Jan 19 Vadim Abdrashitov, director (Fox Hunt, Parade of Planets)
- Jan 20 Christopher Martin-Jenkins, British cricket journalist and broadcaster (President MCC; BBC Radio), born in Peterborough, England (d. 2013)
- Jan 20 Eric Stewart, English rock singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer (10cc - "I'm Not in Love"), born in Droylsden, United Kingdom
- Jan 21 Andrew Stein, President of NYC council (D)
- Jan 21 Arthur Beetson, Australian rugby league front rower (29 Tests; Balmain, Easts, Parramatta; RL "Immortal") and coach (2 Tests Australia, 16 games Queensland), born in Roma, Australia (d. 2011)
- Jan 21 Chris Britton, British rock guitarist (Troggs - "Wild Thing"; "Love Is All Around"), born in Watford, England
- Jan 21 Martin Shaw, British actor (The Chief, Inspector George Gently), born in Birmingham, England
- Jan 22 Michael Cristofer, actor/writer (Little Drummer Girl)
- Jan 23 Mike Harris, Canadian lawyer and politician (Premier of Ontario, 1995-2002), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Jan 24 D. Todd Christofferson, American LDS apostle, born in American Fork, Utah
- Jan 24 John Garamendi, American politician, born in Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Florida
- Jan 25 Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress (Peyton Place, Alice B Toklas), born in Washington, D.C.
- Jan 25 Walt Wesley, American NBA star (Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, LA Lakers), born in Fort Myers, Florida
- Jan 26 (Jacqueline) "Jacki" Ray, American model and actress (In Like Flint; Magnum, P.I.), born in Burbank, CAlifornia
- Jan 26 Ashley Hutchings, British folk-rock bassist, vocalist, songwriter, and record producer (Fairport Convention; Steeleye Span), born in Southgate, London England
- Jan 26 Barbara Kruger, American conceptual artist, born in Newark, New Jersey
- Jan 26 Jacqueline du Pré, British concert cellist, born in Oxford, England (d. 1987)
- Jan 26 Marti Caine [Lynne Stringer], British comedienne, singer and television host, born in Sheffield, England (d. 1995)
- Jan 27 Harold Cardinal, Cree political leader (d. 2005)
- Jan 27 Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, North Irish peace activist (Nobel 1976)
- Jan 28 José Luis Perales, Spanish pop singer-songwriter ("Quisiera Decir tu Nombre" (I Would Like to Say Your Name)), born Castejón, Spain
- Jan 28 Nick Raynsford, British MP
- Jan 28 Robert Wyatt, English progressive rock musician (Soft Machine), born in Bristol, England
Donna Caponi (78 years old)
Jan 29 American golfer (PGA C'ship 1979, 81; US Open 1969, 70; 24 x LPGA Tour wins), born in Detroit, Michigan
Tom Selleck (78 years old)
Jan 29 American actor (Lance-Rockford Files, Magnum PI), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Jan 30 Michael Dorris, American novelist & scholar, born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1997)
- Jan 30 Robert Wittinger, Austrian-born German composer, born in Knittelfeld, Austria
- Jan 31 Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, British judge, 1st woman to head UK Supreme Court, born in Leeds, England
- Jan 31 Noah Creshevsky, American electroacoustic composer, born in Rochester, New York (d. 2020)
About January 1945
How Old? 78 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No