Historical Events
Music Premiere
Jan 1 Johannes Brahms' Violin Concerto in D major premieres in Leipzig
Sports History
Jan 2 Australian fast bowler Fred Spofforth dismisses 3 English batsmen with consecutive deliveries during the 3rd Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for Test cricket's first "hat-trick"
Anglo-Zulu War
Jan 11 Anglo-Zulu War begins as British Lt-General Chelmsford invades Zululand in South Africa
Theater Premiere
Jan 21 Henrik Ibsen's play "Et Dukkehjem" (A Doll's House) premieres in Copenhagen
The British: 139. Zulu Warriors: 4,000. Let Battle Begin
Jan 22 Battle of Rorke's Drift: British garrison of 150 holds off 3,000-4,000 Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses and a number of other decorations were awarded to the defenders.
Battle of Interest
Jan 29 Custer Battlefield National Monument established in Montana
- Jan 30 French President Patrice de Mac-Mahon resigns
Famous Birthdays
E. M. Forster
Jan 1 E. M. Forster, English writer and novelist (Howards End, Passage to India), born in Marylebone, Middlesex (d. 1970)
- Jan 1 Emile Argand, Swiss geologist (Dekbladen Theory)
- Jan 1 Ernest Jones, British psychoanalyst (Life & Work of Sigmund Freud)
- Jan 1 William Fox [Wilhem Fuchs], Hungarian-American movie theater pioneer and film producer (Fox Film Corporation), born in Tolcsva, Kingdom of Hungary (d. 1952)
- Jan 2 Johannes L "Jan" Walch, Dutch literary (Grimaces)
- Jan 2 Pieter Tesch, Dutch geologist (Pedestal of Nederlands)
- Jan 2 Sydney Baynes, British conductor, arranger, band leader and composer (Destiny Waltz; Endure to Conquer), born in Sudbury, England (d. 1938)
- Jan 3 Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge, US First Lady (1923-29)
- Jan 5 Hans Eppinger, Austrian physician, born in Prague, Czech Republic (d. 1946)
- Jan 11 Antonio Beltramelli, writer
- Jan 12 Ray Harroun, American auto racer (inaugural Indianapolis 500 1911; Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 2000), born in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania (d. 1968)
- Jan 15 Ernest Thesiger, English actor (Bride of Frankenstein, Ghoul), born in London, England (d. 1961)
- Jan 15 Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author, born in Newmarket, Canada (d. 1961)
- Jan 18 Henri Giraud, French general (French Committee of National Liberation in WWII), born in Paris, France (d. 1949)
- Jan 19 Marie Koenen, author/wife of Felix Rutten (Wassend Cereal)
- Jan 19 Boris Savinkov, Russian writer (d. 1925)
- Jan 22 Francis Picabia, French avante-garde artist, writer and typographist (Amorous Parade), born in Paris, France (d. 1953)
- Jan 24 Stanislaw Lyudkevich, Ukranian composer, born in Jaroslaw, Habsburg Empire (now Poland) (d. 1979)
- Jan 25 Dave Nourse, South African cricket all-rounder (45 Tests, 1 x 100, 41 wickets; Natal, Transvaal, Western Province), born in South Norwood, England (d. 1948)
- Jan 26 Ludovicus H [Lode] Baekelmans, Flemish (stage)author (Tille)
- Jan 27 Sven Holger Körling, Swedish organist, music teacher, and composer of children's songs, born in Ystad, Sweden (d. 1948)
Famous Weddings
- Jan 7 Dutch King William II marries Emma von Waldeck-Pyrmont
Famous Deaths
- Jan 9 Don Joaquin BF Espartero, fieldmarshall/viceroy of Navarra, dies at 86
- Jan 13 Henry the Navigator, prince of the Netherlands, third son of King William II of the Netherlands, dies at 58
- Jan 16 Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet, dies at 51
- Jan 21 John Blair Scribner, American magazine and book publisher, dies of pneumonia at 28
- Jan 22 Anthony Durnford, British colonel, dies in Battle of Isandlwana
- Jan 22 George Shepstone, British political affiliate, dies in battle
- Jan 23 Adolf Jensen, German composer, dies of tuberculosis at 42
- Jan 29 Antonio Benedetto Antonucci, Italian cardinal and diplomat, dies at 80
