- Jan 1 Morgan Fisher, British rock keyboardist (Mott The Hoople, 1973-76 - "All The Young Dudes"; British Lions), born in London, England
- Jan 1 Svetlana Georgievna Beregovkina, Russian cosmonaut
- Jan 1 Wayne Bennett, Australian rugby league coach (Australia 1998, 2004-05; England & Great Britain 2019; Brisbane Broncos, St. George, South Sydney), born in Allora, Australia
- Jan 1 Yevgeni Vladimirovich Saley, cosmonaut
- Jan 2 David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist, born in Queens, New York
- Jan 3 Beth Anderson, American composer, born in Lexington, Kentucky
- Jan 3 Olivier Greif, French classical composer (Lettres de Westerbork), born in Paris (d. 2000)
- Jan 3 Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey center (Stanley Cup 1974, 75; Philadelphia Flyers; NHL All Star 1977, 78), born in Lindsay, Ontario (d. 2016)
- Jan 3 Victoria Principal, American actress (Earthquake, Pamela-Dallas), born in Fukuoka, Japan
- Jan 5 Charlie Richmond, Canadian entrepreneur, born in Pomona, California
- Jan 5 Chris Stein, American rock guitarist and co-founder of Blondie ("Heart of Glass"; "Call Me"), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Jan 5 Ioan Petru Culianu, Romanian historian, born in Iași, Romania (d. 1991)
- Jan 5 John Manley, Canadian politician, born in Ottawa, Canada
- Jan 6 Louis Freeh, American attorney & FBI director, born in Jersey City, New Jersey
- Jan 7 Erin Gray, American actress (Silver Spoons, Buck Rogers), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Jan 7 Johnny Lever [John Prakasa Rao Janumala], Indian Bollywood actor & comedian, born in Prakasam, Andhra Pradesh
- Jan 7 Juan Gabriel [Alberto Aguilera Valadez], Mexican singer, born in Michoacan state (d. 2016)
- Jan 7 Ross Grimsley, American baseball player, born in Topeka, Kansas
- Jan 9 Alec Jeffreys, British geneticist (developed techniques for DNA fingerprinting), born in Oxford, England
- Jan 9 David Johansen [Buster Poindexter], American singer-songwriter ("Hot! Hot! Hot!"), and actor (Scrooged), born in Staten Island, New York
- Jan 9 Rio Reiser, German rock musician & singer (Ton Steine Scherben), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1996)
- Jan 10 Roy Blunt, American politician (Senator-R-Missouri 2011, Rep-R-MO 1997-2011), born in Niangua, Missouri
- Jan 12 Bob McEwen, American politician (Rep-R-OH, 1981-93), born in Hillsboro, Ohio
- Jan 12 Dorrit Moussaieff, Israeli jewellery designer & businesswoman, born in Jerusalem, Israel
- Jan 12 Göran Lindblad, Swedish politician, born in Gothenburg, Sweden
- Jan 12 Marilyn Smith, American microbiologist, born in Americus, Georgia
- Jan 12 Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (d. 1992)
- Jan 12 Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician, born in NYC, New York
Bob Forsch (1950-2011)
Jan 13 American MLB baseball pitcher, 1974-1989 (St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros), born in Sacramento, California
- Jan 13 John McNaughton, American film director
- Jan 14 Nicholas McGegan, British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, 1985-2021), born in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England
- Jan 15 David Lynn Jones, American country singer ("Bonnie Jean"), born in Bexar, Arkansas
- Jan 15 Marius Trésor, French footballer, born in Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe
- Jan 16 (Kemji) "Damo" Suzuki, Japanese rock singer (Can; Damo Suzuki's Network), born in Japan
- Jan 16 Brian Castro, Australian author, born in Hong Kong
- Jan 16 Debbie Allen, American dancer, choreographer, actress (Fame -"Lydia"), producer, and director (A Different World), born in Houston, Texas
- Jan 16 Jesse Dizon, American actor, born in Oceanside, California
- Jan 17 Luis López Nieves, Latin American writer, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Jan 17 Stavros Sarafis, Greek soccer attacking midfielder (32 caps; PAOK 358 games, 136 goals), born in Epanomi, Greece (d. 2022)
- Jan 18 Claudia de Colombia, Colombian singer (Yo Creo En Ti), born in Bogotá, Colombia
- Jan 18 Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian auto racer (World F1 runner-up 1979; Ferrari), born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec (d. 1982)
- Jan 18 Pat Sullivan, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1971, Auburn University; NFL: Atlanta Falcons) and coach (TUC, Samford), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2019)
- Jan 19 Grant Nordman, Canadian politician, born in Santa Monica, California
- Jan 19 Sébastien Dhavernas, Quebec actor, born in Montreal, Quebec
- Jan 20 Chuck Lefley, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Winnipeg, Canada
- Jan 20 Edward Hirsch, American poet, born in Chicago, Illinois
- Jan 20 Liza Goddard, British actress, born in Smethwick, United Kingdom
- Jan 20 Mahamane Ousmane, President of Niger, born in Zinder, Niger
- Jan 21 Billy Ocean [Leslie Charles], Trinidadian-British pop and R&B singer ("Caribbean Queen"; "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car"), born in Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago
- Jan 21 Joseph R. Tanner, American astronaut (STS 66, 82, sk: 97), born in Danville, Illinois
- Jan 21 Richie Ranno, American rock guitarist (Starz), born in The Bronx, New York City
- Jan 23 Bill Cunningham, American rock bassist and keyboard player (Box Tops - "The Letter"), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- Jan 23 Danny Federici, American rock organisst, accordionist, and glockenspieler (E Street Band), born in Flemington, New Jersey (d. 2008)
- Jan 23 John Greaves, English musician (Henry Cow, National Health), born in Prestatyn, United Kingdom
- Jan 23 Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian rock musician (Almendra, Pescado Rabioso, Invisible), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2012)
- Jan 23 Richard Dean Anderson, American actor (MacGyver, Emerald Pt NAS), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Jan 23 Richard Gilliland, American actor (Jonesy in The Waltons, Tom in Heartland), born in Fort Worth, Texas
- Jan 24 Benjamin Urrutia, Ecuadorian-born American writer, born in Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Jan 24 Daniel Auteuil, French actor (Elegant Criminal, Manon of Spring), born in Algiers, Algeria
- Jan 24 Laura Kelly, American politician, Governor of Kansas (2019-), born in New York City
- Jan 25 Christopher Ryan [Papazoglou], English actor & comedian (The Young Ones, Only Fools and Horses), born in London, England
- Jan 25 Gloria Naylor, American author (Women of Brewster Place), born in NYC, New York (d. 2016)
- Jan 25 Michael Cotten, American rock synthesizer (Tubes) and art designer, born in Kansas City, Missouri
- Jan 26 Janet Lupo, American model, born in Hoboken, New Jersey (d. 2017)
- Jan 26 Jorg Haider, Austrian political leader (Austrian Freedom Party), born in Bad Goisern, Austria (d. 2008)
- Jan 27 Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-born physician
- Jan 27 Derek Acorah, English spirit medium and TV personality (Most Haunted), born in Bootle, England
- Jan 28 Barbi Benton [Klein], American Playboy model and actress (Hee Haw, Sugar Time!), born in New York City
- Jan 28 Bob Hay, American songwriter and musician (Squalls; Jolly Beggars), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan t
- Jan 28 David Carl Hilmers, American NASA astronaut (STS 51-J, 26, 36, 42), born in Clinton, Iowa
- Jan 28 Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain (1999 - present), born in Riffa, Bahrain
- Jan 29 Ann Jillian, American actress (Mr Mom, Jennifer Slept Here), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Jan 29 Jody Scheckter, South African auto racer (World F1 Champion 1979), born in East London, South Africa
- Jan 29 Max Carl [Gronenthal], American rock singer and musician (Grand Funk Railroad, 2000-present; 38 Special, 1987-92), born in Platte Center, Nebraska
- Jan 30 Bruce Howard Lidington, English actor (Sword of Valiant, Mosses), born in Harrow, London
- Jan 30 Jack Newton, Australian golfer (British Open runner-up 1975; US Masters runner-up 1980), born in Cessnock, Australia (d. 2022)
- Jan 30 Silvia Bertolaccini, Argentine golfer (4-time LPGA Tour titles), born in Rafaela, Argentina
- Jan 30 Trinidad Silva, American character actor (Hill Street Blues -"Jesus Martinez"), born in Mission, Texas (d. 1988)
About January 1950
How Old? 73 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No