- Jan 1 Alpha Blondy [Seydou Kone], Ivory coast, reggae singer ("Jerusalem")
- Jan 1 Gary Johnson, American businessman, politician and Libertarian Party nominee for President in 2016, born in Minot, North Dakota
- Jan 1 Greg Carmichael, British guitarist (Acoustic Alchemy)
- Jan 1 Kevin Hangon, composer
- Jan 1 Zenon Plech, Polish motorcycle speedway rider (World C'ship individual 1979, pairs 1980 runner-up), born in Zwierzyn, Poland (d. 2020)
- Jan 3 Angelo Parisi, French judoka (Olympic gold heavyweight 1980), born in Arpino, Italy
- Jan 3 Peter Taylor, English soccer winger (4 caps; Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur) and manager (Leicester City, Hull, Crystal Palace), born in Rochford, England
- Jan 4 Norberto Alonso, Argentine soccer midfielder (19 caps; River Plate), born in Vicente López, Argentina
- Jan 5 George Tenet, American CIA director, born in NYC, New York
- Jan 5 Mike Rann, Australian politician, born in Sidcup, United Kingdom
- Jan 5 Pamela Sue Martin, American actress (Nancy Drew: Dynasty - "Fallon"), born in Westport, Connecticut
- Jan 5 Steve Archer, American singer (The Archers), born in Mojave, California
- Jan 6 Malcolm Young, Scottish guitarist (AC/DC - "Highway to Hell"), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2017)
- Jan 7 Agha Zahid, Pakistani cricketer (open batting for Pak v WI 1975, scored 14 & 1), born in Lahore, Pakistan
- Jan 7 Earl Lindo, Jamaican reggae keyboardist (Bob Marley & the Wailers), born in Kingston, Jamaica (d. 2017)
- Jan 8 Bruce Sutter, American Baseball HOF relief pitcher (NL Cy Young Award 1979; 6 x MLB All-Star; 5 x NL saves leader; Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals; Atlanta Braves), born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)
- Jan 9 Morris Gleitzman, British-Australian children's author, born in Sleaford, United Kingdom
- Jan 10 Bobby Rahal, American racing car driver & team owner (over 15 wins), born in Medina, Ohio
- Jan 10 Pat Benatar [Andrezejewski], American rock singer ("Hit Me with Your Best Shot"; "Love Is A Battlefield"; "We Belong"), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Jan 11 Anna Marchesini, Italian voice actress and entertainer (Il Trio), born in Orvieto, Italy (d. 2016)
- Jan 11 John Sessions, Scottish actor and comedian (Whose Line Is It Anyway), born in Largs, Scotland (d. 2020)
- Jan 11 Rigoberto Riasco, Panamanian boxer (Lineal & WBC Super bantamweight champion 1976), born in Panama City, Panama (d. 2022)
- Jan 13 Bob Baffert, American Racing Hall of Fame trainer (Triple Crown 2015, 18), born in Nogales, Arizona
- Jan 13 Luann Ryon, American archer (Olympic gold women's individual 1976), born in Long Beach, California (d. 2022)
- Jan 15 Bob Clearmountain, American Grammy Award-winning sound engineer (Bruce Springsteen; Crowded House), and record producer (Bryan Adams; Bon Jovi), born in Connecticut
- Jan 15 Chris D. [Desjardins], American punk rock singer, and poet (The Flesh Eaters), born in Riverside, California
- Jan 15 Kent Hovind, American evangelist
- Jan 15 Randy White, American College/Pro Football HOF tackle (Super Bowl 1977 [MVP]; 7 × First-team All-Pro; 9 × Pro Bowl; Dallas Cowboys), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Jan 15 Ta-Tanisha, American actress, born in The Bronx, New York
- Jan 16 Robert Jay Mathews, American neo-Nazi, born in Marfa, Texas (d. 1984)
- Jan 17 Mark Littell, American MLB pitcher, 1973-82 (Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals), writer, and inventor, born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri (d. 2022)
- Jan 17 Ted Thompson, American NFL linebacker (Houston Oilers) and executive (GM Green Bay Packers 2005-17), born in Atlanta, Texas (d. 2021)
- Jan 18 Brett Hudson, American comedian (Bonkers, Hudson Brothers Show), born in Portland, Oregon
- Jan 19 Desi Arnaz Jr., American actor (Here's Lucy - "Craig"; Fakeout; Joyride), and musician, born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 19 Linda Hayden, British actress (The Blood on Satan's Claw; The Boys from Brazil), born in Stanmore, England
- Jan 19 Michael Boddicker, American session synthesizer player (Michael Jackson; Lionel Richie; Chicago), and film composer (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension), born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Jan 19 Richard Legendre, Canadian tennis player and politician, born in Montreal, Quebec
- Jan 19 Stanley Grill, American composer (Afterwards, there were no more wars; Dreaming of a Better World), born in NYC
Paul Allen (1953-2018)
Jan 21 American business magnate (co-founder Microsoft, owner Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Seahawks), born in Seattle, Washington
- Jan 22 Jim Jarmusch, American director (Only Lovers Left Alive), born in Akron, Ohio
- Jan 22 Karen Moe, American swimmer (Olympic gold 200m butterfly 1972), born in Del Monte, Philippines
- Jan 22 Myung-Whun Chung, South Korean pianist and conductor (Chung Trio), born in Seoul, South Korea
- Jan 23 Antonio Villaraigosa [Villar], Hispanic-American politician (Mayor of Los Angeles, 2005-13; California Assemblyman, 1994-2000), born in East Los Angeles, California
- Jan 23 John Luther Adams, American composer ("Become Ocean" Pulitzer Prize for Music 2014), born in Meridian, Mississippi [1]
- Jan 23 Pat Haden, American NFL quarterback (LA Rams), born in Westbury, New York
Pavlo Lazarenko (70 years old)
Jan 23 Prime Minister of Ukraine (1996-97), born in Karpivka, Ukraine
- Jan 23 Robin Zander, American rock vocalist and guitarist (Cheap Trick - "Dream Police"; "I Want You To Want Me"), born in Beloit, Wisconsin
- Jan 24 Brian Matthews, American actor (Burning), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jan 24 James Hutchinson, American session and touring bassist Bonnie Raitt, Ivan Neville, Boz Scaggs), born in Lynn, Massachusetts
Moon Jae-in (70 years old)
Jan 24 South Korean politician, President of South Korea (2017-), born in Geoje, South Korea
- Jan 24 Nigel Glockler, British heavy metal drummer (Saxon), born in Hove, East Sussex, England
- Jan 25 Malcolm Green, English-born drummer (Split Enz, 1976-81 - "I Got You"), born in United Kingdom
- Jan 25 Mark Weil, Uzbekistani theatre director, born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (d. 2007)
- Jan 25 The Honky Tonk Man [Wayne Farris], American professional wrestler, born in Bolivar, Tennessee
- Jan 26 Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, born in Ginnerup, Denmark
- Jan 26 Andrée van Es [Andrée Christine of Es], Dutch politician (PSP), born in the Hague, Netherlands
- Jan 26 Bert Heerink, Dutch rock vocalist, born in Utrecht, Netherlands
- Jan 26 Lucinda Williams, American roots singer-songwriter ("Passionate Kisses"; "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road"), born in Lake Charles, Louisiana
- Jan 27 Bob Mintzer, American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band bandleader (Yellowjackets), born in New Rochelle, New York
- Jan 29 Dalila di Lazzaro, Italian, covergirl/model (Vogue), born in Udine, Italy
- Jan 29 Hwang Woo-Suk, South Korean biomedical scientist and stem cell researcher, born in Buyeo-gun, South Korea
- Jan 29 Louie F. Pérez, Jr., American lyricist, percussionist, guitarist, and jarana player (Los Lobos - "Will The Wolf Survive?"), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 29 Lynne McGranger, Australian actress (Home and Away), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- Jan 29 Teresa Teng [Li-chun], Taiwanese pop singer("Aijin"; The Power Of Love"; "Airport"), and actress, born in Baozhong Township, Yunlin, Taiwan
- Jan 30 Fred Hembeck, American cartoonist, born in Yaphank, New York
- Jan 31 "Big Time" Sarah [Streeter], American blues singer, born in Coldwater, Mississippi (d. 2015)
About January 1953
How Old? 70 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No