Historical Events
- Jan 1 Canada begins using decimal currency system
- Jan 9 Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide
Assassination Attempt
Jan 14 French Emperor Napoleon III escapes attempt on his life by Felice Orsini, an Italian patriot who was later executed
Music Premiere
Jan 25 Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" first played, at wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Victoria, to crown prince of Prussia
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 5 Gustaf af Geijerstam, Swedish author (Boken om Lillebror), born in Hed socken (d. 1909)
- Jan 7 Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, key figure in the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language (d. 1922)
- Jan 10 Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer, born in Radeburg, Germany (d. 1929)
- Jan 11 Harry Gordon Selfridge, American retailer (d. 1947)
- Jan 13 Oskar Minkowski, Biologist (d. 1931)
- Jan 15 Giovanni Segantini, Italian painter, born in Arco, Italy (d. 1899)
- Jan 17 Tomas Carrasquilla, Colombian author (Frutos de mi Tierra)
Daniel Williams
Jan 18 Daniel Williams, American heart surgeon who performed the 1st open heart surgery, born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania (d. 1931)
- Jan 19 Eugene Brieux, French playwright (Blanchette, Lesson Avaries)
- Jan 22 Beatrice Potter Webb, English sociologist, economist (founded London School of Economics) and writer (My Apprenticeship), born in Standish (d. 1943)
- Jan 22 Frederick Lugard, British captain/baron (Congo)
- Jan 25 Giuseppe Radiciotti, Italian musicologist and composer, born in Iesi, Italy (d. 1931)
- Jan 25 Mikimoto Kōkichi, Japanese entrepreneur & pearl farm pioneer, born in Toba, Japan (d. 1954)
- Jan 27 Neel [Cornelia H] Doff, Dutch/French/Belgian painter's model/writer
- Jan 31 André Antoine, French actor and stage manager (founded Théâtre-Libre), born in Limoges, France (d. 1943)
Famous Weddings
Cyrus McCormick
Jan 26 Inventor Cyrus McCormick (48) weds Nancy Fowler
Famous Deaths
- Jan 3 Rachel Félix [Elisabeth "Eliza/Élisa"], French singer and actress (Muse), dies at 36
- Jan 3 Henry Darcy, French hydraulic engineer (Darcy's Law), dies at 54
- Jan 5 Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Czech field marshal, dies at 91
- Jan 7 Willem Broes, Dutch vicar and theologist (Textenrol), dies at 91
- Jan 8 Friedrich Karl Kuhmstedt, composer, dies at 48
- Jan 9 Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas commits suicide at 59
- Jan 27 Gerrit van der Linde Jz, Dutch "Principal", poet, dies at 49
- Jan 30 Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist (b. 1778)
