Historical Events
- Jan 1 Benelux agress to work related issues
- Jan 1 Britain nationalizes its coal industry
- Jan 1 WTTG TV channel 5 in Washington, D.C. (MET) begins broadcasting
- Jan 1 33rd Rose Bowl: #5 Illinois beats #4 UCLA, 45-14
- Jan 1 13th Sugar Bowl: #3 Georgia beats #9 North Carolina, 20-10
- Jan 1 13th Orange Bowl: #10 Rice beats #7 Tennessee, 8-0
Event of Interest
Jan 2 Mahatma Gandhi begins march for peace in East-Bengali
Mahatma Gandhi
Event of Interest
Jan 4 Emilio G. Segrè and Carlo Perrier announce technetium, a previously unknown element and the first artificially synthesized chemical element
Emilio G. Segrè
Event of Interest
Jan 8 General George Marshall becomes US Secretary of State
George Marshall
Event of Interest
Jan 9 Elizabeth "Betty" Short, the black dahlia, is last seen alive.
Elizabeth Short
- Jan 10 "Finian's Rainbow" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 725 performances
- Jan 10 British stop ships Independence & In-Gathering from landing in Israel
- Jan 10 Greek steamer "Himara" strikes a wartime mine in Saronic Gulf south of Athens with loss of 392 of 637 aboard
- Jan 15 The brutalized corpse of Elizabeth Short ("The Black Dahlia") found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California
- Jan 16 Vincent Aurial elected President of France
- Jan 17 Ammunition factory explodes in Muiden, Netherlands, 16 die
- Jan 18 "Red Mill" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 831 performances
Event of Interest
Jan 18 Detroit Tigers sell Hank Greenberg to Pirates (for $25-35,000)
Hank Greenberg
- Jan 18 Small river steamer sinks on Yangtze River, kills 400
- Jan 19 SS Himera runs aground at Athens, kills 392
- Jan 20 Brigadier General Edwin K Wright, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
- Jan 21 "Sweethearts" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 288 performances
- Jan 21 Arthur Honegger's 4th Symphony premieres in Basel
- Jan 22 1st commercial TV station west of Mississippi opens in Hollywood, California
- Jan 24 NFL adds 5th official (back judge) & allows sudden death in playoffs
- Jan 26 KLM Dakota crashes near Copenhagen, 22 die
- Jan 28 "Bay Psalm" book auctioned for a record $151,000
Event of Interest
Jan 29 Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" premieres in NYC
Arthur Miller
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Alexei Ivanovich Bobrov, Russian cosmonaut
- Jan 1 Gary "BB" Coleman, blues vocal/guitarist/producer
- Jan 1 Peter Lankhorst, Dutch politician (PPR), born in Zwolle, Netherlands
- Jan 1 Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov, Rus cosmonaut (Soyuz T-8, TM-4, STS 63)
- Jan 1 Jon Corzine, American politician
- Jan 1 Paula Tsui, Hong Kong singer
- Jan 2 Aleksandr Tikhonova, USSR, biathalon relay (Olympic gold 1968, 72, 76, 80)
- Jan 2 Calvin Hill, NFL running back (Dallas Cowboys)
- Jan 2 Lanny Bassham, American rifle-3 position (Olympic gold 1976)
- Jan 2 Jack Hanna, American zoologist
- Jan 3 Sergey Filipovich Protchenko, Russian cosmonaut
- Jan 4 Chris Cutler, English musician and composer (Henry Cow, Art Bears)
- Jan 4 Rick Stein, English chef and television presenter
- Jan 5 Michael DeWine, (Rep-R-Oh, 1983- )
- Jan 5 Ted Lange, actor (Isaac-Love Boat, Mr T & Tina), born in Oakland, California
- Jan 5 Mercury Morris, American football player
- Jan 6 Sandy Denny, country singer (Fairport Convention-If You Gotta Go), born in London, England
- Jan 6 Ian Millar, Canadian dressage rider (World Cup 1988, 89, Olympics 1996), born in Halifax, NS, Canada
- Jan 7 David Porcelijn, Dutch composer/conductor
- Jan 7 Shobha De, Indian writer
David Bowie
Jan 8 David Bowie [David Robert Jones], English singer-songwriter (Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust), born in London, England (d. 2016)
David Bowie
- Jan 8 Igor Ivanov, Leningrad, Canadian chess champion (1981-84, 1985- )
- Jan 8 Terry Sylvester, rocker (Hollies-You are the Air that I Breathe)
- Jan 8 Don Bendell, American author & karate master
- Jan 8 Samuel Schmid, Swiss politician
- Jan 9 Ronnie Landfield, American artist
- Jan 10 George Alec Effinger, American sci-fi author (Nick of Time)
- Jan 10 Afeni Shakur, mother of Tupac Shakur, Black Panther Party member, born in Lumberton, North Carolina (d. 2016)
- Jan 11 Anna Calder-Marshall, Kensington England, actress (Zulu Dawn)
- Jan 11 Bryan Robson, English international soccer star
- Jan 12 Tom Dempsey, NFL record-holder (longest field goal, 63 yards)
- Jan 13 John Lees, British progressive rock guitarist and vocalist (Barclay James Harvest), born in Oldham
- Jan 13 Peter Sundelin, Swedish yachtsmen (Olympic gold 1968)
- Jan 13 Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of Kraków
- Jan 13 Carles Rexach, former Spanish-Catalan footballer and coach
- Jan 14 Bill Weberniuk, Canadian snookers player
- Jan 14 Rubén Olivares, Mexican boxer (4-division world champion), born in Mexico City, Mexico
- Jan 15 Andrea Martin, comediene (SCTV, Club Paradise), born in Portland, Maine
- Jan 15 Pete Waterman, rocker (Stock Aitken & Waterman-Road Block)
- Jan 16 Georgette Mosbacher, CEO (La Prairie cosmetics)
- Jan 16 Juliet Berto, Grenoble France, actress (Le Sex Shop)
- Jan 16 Magdalen Nabb, British author (d. 2007)
- Jan 16 Harvey Proctor, British politician
- Jan 17 Gail Toushin, LPGA golfer
- Jan 17 Jane Elliot, American actress (Baby Boom, Gen Hospital, Knots Landing), born in NYC, New York
- Jan 17 Todd Susman, actor (Goodnight Beantown), born in St Louis, Missouri
- Jan 17 Ulysses Dove, dancer/choreographer
- Jan 18 Takeshi Kitano, actor (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Fireworks), born in Tokyo, Japan
- Jan 18 Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseman nicknamed Tetsujin, meaning "Iron Man", born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 2018)
- Jan 19 Alessandro Haber, actor (China is Near)
- Jan 19 Ann Compton, news reporter (ABC TV)
- Jan 19 Paula Deen, American chef and restaurateur, born in Albany, Georgia
- Jan 20 George Grantham, rocker (Poco-Crazy Eyes)
- Jan 20 Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and directeur sportif
- Jan 20 Stephen A Schwarzman, American CEO of The Blackstone Group and Chairman of President Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum, born in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania
- Jan 21 Jill Eikenberry, (Ann Kelsey-LA Law, Manhattan Project), born in New Haven, Connecticut
- Jan 21 Jimmy Ibbotson, Penn, country singer (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
- Jan 21 Pye Hastings, English singer and musician (Caravan)
- Jan 21 Michel Jonasz, French singer and composer
- Jan 23 Thomas R Carper, (Rep-D-DE, 1983- )
- Jan 23 Megawati Sukarnoputri, 5th President of Indonesia
- Jan 23 Gatewood Galbraith, [Louis], Carlisle, Kentucky, Lawyer, American political activist, iconic Kentucky political figure, (d. 2012)
- Jan 24 David Randall, British priest, founder of Cara (d. 1996)
- Jan 24 Giorgio Chinaglia, Carrara Italy, soccer star (Lazio of Italy, NY Cosmos), (d. 2012)
- Jan 24 Warren Zevon, American rock singer-songwriter and musician (Werewolves of London, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Excitable Boy), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2003)
- Jan 24 Masashi Ozaki, Japanese golfer
- Jan 25 Tostão, Brazilian footballer
- Jan 25 Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer
- Jan 26 Patrick Dewaere, [PJMH Bordeaux], French actor (Les Valseuses)
- Jan 26 Michel Sardou, French singer
- Jan 27 Nedra Telley, American vocalist (Ronettes-Be My Little Baby), born in NYC, New York
- Jan 27 Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer (d. 1999)
- Jan 27 Vyron Polydoras, Greek politician
- Jan 28 MJ Ainsworth, CEO (Institute of Chartered Secretaries)
- Jan 28 Valerie Bragg, principal (City Technology College-Kingshurst)
- Jan 29 David Byron [Garrick], British vocalist and songwriter (Uriah Heep), born in Epping, England (d. 1985)
- Jan 29 Israel Wetrin, managing director (Elonex)
- Jan 29 Michael Mavor, Head Master (Rugby School)
- Jan 29 Linda B. Buck, American scientist, Nobel laureate
- Jan 29 Marián Varga, Slovak musician
- Jan 30 Martin Christoph Redel, composer
- Jan 30 Steve Marriott, rock guitarist/vocalist (Humble Pie-Eat It, Faces)
- Jan 30 Les Barker, English poet
- Jan 31 Jim Nollman, American theatre composer, born in Boston
Nolan Ryan
Jan 31 Nolan Ryan, American baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (MLB no-hit leader [7], strikeout leader [5,714]), born in Refugio, Texas
Nolan Ryan
Famous Deaths
- Jan 4 Forrest Reid, Irish author/critic (Young Tom, Apostate), dies at 71
- Jan 9 Karl Mannheim, German sociologist (Diagnosis of Our Time), dies at 53
- Jan 9 Lambertus Zijl, sculptor (Merchant Exchange-Amsterdam), dies at 80
- Jan 11 Eva Tanguay, Canadian-born singer and entertainer (b. 1879)
- Jan 12 Jonas Cohn, German/English philosopher (Wertwissenschaft), dies at 77
- Jan 13 Veit Valentin, German/US historian (German People), dies at 61
Elizabeth Short
Jan 15 Elizabeth Short, American victim in the Black Dahlia case, murdered at 22
Elizabeth Short
- Jan 17 Pyotr Krasnov, Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1869)
- Jan 17 Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve, French cardinal and Archbishop of Quebec, dies at 63
- Jan 20 Josh Gibson, Negro League slugger, dies of a brain tumor at age 35
- Jan 23 Pierre Bonnard, French painter and illustrator, dies at 79
- Jan 23 Roy Park, Australian cricketer (prolific Victorian bat & official), dies at 54
- Jan 24 Felix Timmermans, Flemish painter and illustrator (Pallieter), dies at 60
Al Capone
Jan 25 Al Capone, Chicago gangster, dies of neurosyphilis at 48
Al Capone
- Jan 26 Grace Moore, American soprano/actress (One Night of Love), dies at 48
- Jan 26 Gustav Adolf, crown prince of Sweden, dies in air crash
- Jan 28 Reynaldo Hahn, composer, dies at 72
- Jan 29 Fred Barratt, cricket (5 wkts at 47 in 5 Tests for Eng 1929-30), dies
- Jan 30 Frederick F Blackman, English botanist, dies at 80