Historical Events
- Jan 2 Because of anti-monopoly laws, Standard Oil is organized as a trust
Event of Interest
Jan 13 Richard Wagner completes his opera "Parsifal"

Richard Wagner
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Willem Carel Wendelaar, Dutch lawyer, civil servant, director, and politician (VVD)
- Jan 3 Willem Benoy, Flemish actor and director (Pygmalion), born in Antwerpen, Flanders, Belgium (d. 1939)
- Jan 4 Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian artist (d. 1943)
- Jan 5 Herbert Bayard Swope, U.S. journalist who coined the term "Cold War" (d. 1958)
- Jan 6 Samuel Rayburn, Tenn, (Rep-D-Tx), speaker of the House (1940-57)
- Jan 6 Aleksandra Ekster, Russian painter (d. 1949)
- Jan 6 Fan S. Noli, Albanian bishop (d. 1965)
- Jan 10 Charles Trowbridge, Mexican-American actor (Fatal Hour), born in Veracruz, Mexico (d. 1967)
- Jan 12 Jakob Jud, Swiss linguist/etymologist
- Jan 12 Milton Sills, American actor (The Sea Hawk), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1930)
- Jan 14 Hendrik W van Loon, Netherland, commentator/writer (Story of America)
- Jan 15 Florian Znaniecki, Polish/US sociologist (Polish Peasant in Europe)
- Jan 15 Princess Margaret of Sweden (d. 1920)
- Jan 17 Noah Beery, American character actor (Story of Esther, The Mark of Zorro), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1946)
Arnold Rothstein
Jan 17 Arnold Rothstein, American gambler and mobster (fixed 1919 World Series), born in NYC, New York (d, 1928)

Arnold Rothstein
A. A. Milne
Jan 18 A. A. Milne, English author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, born in Hampstead Middlesex (d. 1956)

A. A. Milne
Virginia Woolf
Jan 25 Virginia Woolf [Adeline], British author (Jacob's Room, To Lighthouse), born in London, England (d. 1941)

Virginia Woolf
- Jan 27 Giuseppe Prezzolini, Italian writer (La Voce, La Cultura Italiano)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Jan 30 Franklin Roosevelt, 32nd US President (Democrat: 1933-1945), born in Hyde Park, New York (d. 1945)

Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Jan 31 Josephus RH van Schaik, Dutch lawyer/vice-premier
Famous Deaths
- Jan 3 William H Ainsworth, English writer (Guy Fawkes), dies at 76
- Jan 4 John William Draper, English scientist, photographer (b. 1811)
- Jan 6 Richard Henry Dana, U.S. novelist (Two Years Before the Mast) (b. 1815)
- Jan 11 Theodor Schwann, German physiologist (b. 1810)
- Jan 13 Wilhelm Mauser, German weapon designer and manufacturer (b. 1834)
- Jan 20 John Linnell, British painter/minaturist/engraver, dies
- Jan 21 Anton Emil Titl, composer, dies at 72
- Jan 24 Levi Boone, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1808)
- Jan 25 Peter Singer, composer, dies at 71