Historical Events
- Jan 1 Czech born tennis star Hana Mandikova becomes an Australian Citizen
- Jan 1 Miami beats Oklahoma for college football championship
- Jan 1 Year of the Reader begins
- Jan 1 74th Rose Bowl: #8 Michigan State beats #16 Southern California, 20-17
- Jan 1 54th Sugar Bowl: #4 Syracuse ties #6 Auburn, 16-16
- Jan 1 17th Fiesta Bowl: #3 Florida State beats #5 Nebraska, 31-28
- Jan 1 54th Orange Bowl: #2 Miami (FL) beats #1 Oklahoma, 20-14
- Jan 2 Ashland Oil storage tank spills 3.8 million gallons, Penn
Agreement of Interest
Ronald Reagan
Event of Interest
Jan 3 Margaret Thatcher becomes longest-serving British PM this century
Margaret Thatcher
- Jan 8 9th largest NBA crowd 38,873-Chicago at Detroit
- Jan 8 Dow Jones down 140.58 points
- Jan 8 Hewlett-Packard introduces HP-28S Advanced Scientific Calculator
- Jan 8 US female Figure Skating championship won by Debi Thomas
- Jan 9 August Wilson's "Piano Lesson" premieres in Boston
- Jan 9 US male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano
- Jan 10 "Don't Get God Started" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 86 performances
- Jan 11 Test debut of Phil Simmons, WI v India, Madras
- Jan 11 USSR announces it will participate in Seoul Summer Olympics
- Jan 11 ABC premiere of fact-based "Evil in Clear River"
- Jan 12 Willie Stargell (Pitts Pirate), elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jan 13 LA Dodger/SD Padre Steve Garvey retires
- Jan 13 Supreme Court rules (5-3) public school officials have broad powers to censor school newspapers, plays & other expressive activities
- Jan 15 Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder makes racist remarks about black athletes
- Jan 15 Kiran More stumps five WI batsman at Madras, world Test record
- Jan 15 Narendra Hirwani takes 16-136 (8-61 & 8-75) v WI on Test debut
- Jan 16 4th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins
- Jan 16 Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder fired from CBS for racial remarks
- Jan 16 NFL St Louis Cardinals announce move to Phoenix
Event of Interest
Jan 16 Czech dissident Václav Havel is arrested in Prague for taking part in demonstrations against the communist government
Václav Havel
- Jan 17 "Teddy & Alice" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 77 performances
- Jan 17 Leslie Manigay elected President of Haiti
- Jan 17 "The Fumble", trailing 38-31 with 1:12 left in the AFC Championship Game, the Browns' Earnest Byner fumbled at the Denver 3-yard line, sending the Broncos to their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance
Event of Interest
Jan 17 AFC Championship Game: Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns 38-33
John Elway
- Jan 17 NFC Championship Game: Washington Redskins beat Minnesota Vikings 17-10
- Jan 18 Airliner crashes in SW China, killing all 108 on board
- Jan 19 "48 Hours" premieres on CBS-TV
- Jan 19 Disabled writer Christopher Nolan wins the Whitbread Book of the Year prize
- Jan 20 Andre Hoffman skates world record 1,500m (1:52.06)
- Jan 20 Arizona committee opens hearing on impeachment of Gov Evan Mecham
- Jan 21 US accepts immigration of 30,000 US-Vietnamese children
- Jan 22 1st-class cricket debut of Brian Lara, Trinidad & Tobago v Leeward Is
- Jan 22 1st-class cricket debut of Hansie Cronje, OFS v Transvaal
Boxing Title Fight
Jan 22 Mike Tyson TKOs Larry Holmes in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
Mike Tyson
Larry Holmes
Film and TV Awards
Jan 23 45th Golden Globes: The Last Emperor, Michael Douglas, & Sally Kirkland win
Michael Douglas
- Jan 23 Bob Benoit bowls 1st 300-pt game in a televised title match
- Jan 24 1st WWF Royal Rumble - Jim Duggan wins
- Jan 24 9th ACE Cable Awards: Discovery Channel wins the Golden CableACE for "Russia: Live From the Inside"
- Jan 24 Australia beat New Zealand 2-0 to win cricket's World Series Cup
- Jan 24 Cerebral Palsy telethon raises $21 million
- Jan 24 NBC premiere of fact based "The Murder of Mary Phagan"
Tennis Open
Jan 24 76th Men's Australian Open: Mats Wilander beats Pat Cash (6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 6-1, 8-6)
Mats Wilander
Pat Cash
- Jan 24 76th Women's Australian Open: Steffi Graf beats Chris Evert (6-1, 7-6)
- Jan 24 4th Sundance Film Festival: "Heat and Sunlight" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Music Awards
Jan 25 15th American Music Awards: Anita Baker, Paul Simon & Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Event of Interest
Jan 25 George Harrison releases "When We Was Fab"
George Harrison
Event of Interest
Jan 25 US VP George H. W. Bush & Dan Rather clash on "CBS Evening News" as Rather attempts to question Bush about his role in Iran-Contra affair
George H. W. Bush
- Jan 26 "Phantom of the Opera" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 4,000+ performances
- Jan 26 Australian 200th anniversary parade of tall ships in Sydney Harbour
- Jan 27 Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves nomination of Judge Anthony Kennedy to US Supreme Court
- Jan 28 "Saratina!" opens at Cort Theater NYC for 597 performances
- Jan 28 Canada's Supreme court declares anti-abortion law unconstitutional
- Jan 29 Canadian Ben Johnson breaks own 50-yard dash world record at 5.15
- Jan 29 Detroit's Kirk Gibson signs a 3-year contract with Dodgers
- Jan 29 Largest NBA crowd-Boston Celtics at Detroit (61,938)
- Jan 29 United Airlines Boeing 747SP, circles world in 36h54m15s
- Jan 30 Hansie Cronje gets a pair in 2nd 1st-class game (OFS v N Tvl)
- Jan 31 Barge sinks near Anacortes, WA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil
- Jan 31 Super Bowl XXII: Wash Redskins beat Denver Broncos, 42-10 in San Diego Super Bowl MVP: Doug Williams, Washington, QB
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 2 Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer
- Jan 3 Rodrigo de la Cadena, Mexican artist and performer
- Jan 4 Nabila Jamshed, Indian writer
- Jan 5 Pauline, French singer
- Jan 7 Scott Pendlebury, Australian rules footballer
- Jan 7 Haley Bennett, American Singer and Actress
- Jan 7 Robert Sheehan, Irish actor
- Jan 8 Adam T. Siska, American musician
- Jan 11 Alexandria L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 11 Danielle L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 11 Erica L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 11 Raymond L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 11 Veronica L'Esperance, US quintuplet, born in Royal Oak, Michigan
- Jan 12 Andrew Lawrence, American actor (Brotherly Love, Recess), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jan 12 Chris Casement, Irish footballer
- Jan 12 Joseph Dundas, British TV Presenter
- Jan 14 Jordy [Lemoine], French singer, youngest singer (4 years) to have a #1, born in Paris
- Jan 14 Mikalah Gordon, American singer
- Jan 14 Jack P. Shepherd, English actor
- Jan 16 Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer
- Jan 18 Ronnie Day [Ronald Guglielmone Jr.], American singer-songwriter (Nine Sleepless Nights), born in Redwood City, California
- Jan 18 Angelique Kerber, German tennis player (3-time Grand Slam winner), born in Bremen, Germany
- Jan 21 William Johansson, Swedish composer
- Jan 22 Greg Oden, American basketball player
- Jan 25 Tatiana Golovin, Russian-born French tennis player, born in Moscow, Russia
- Jan 26 Mia Rose, British-Portuguese singer
- Jan 27 Kerlon Moura Souza, Brazilian footballer
- Jan 28 Henry Mortensen, American actor
- Jan 29 Stephanie Gilmore, Australian professional surfer
- Jan 30 Rob Pinkston, American actor (Punk'd), born in Atlanta, Georgia
Famous Weddings
Wedding of Interest
Jan 1 Actor Michael Biehn (31) weds film producer Gina Marsh
Michael Biehn
- Jan 9 English earl of St Andrews marries Sylvana Tomaselli
Wedding of Interest
Jan 17 Publisher Bob Guccione (57) weds actress Katherine Keeton (48)
Bob Guccione
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Leo Steiner, NY Carnegie Deli's owner, dies
- Jan 1 Marcel Hillaire, German actor (Take the Money and Run, Seven Thieves), dies from surgery complications at 79
- Jan 2 E.B. Ford, British ecological geneticist, dies at 86
- Jan 3 Gaston Eyskens, Prime Minister of Belgium (1949, 1958-61, 1968-72), dies at 82
- Jan 3 William Cagney, actor (Torrid Zone), dies of a heart attack at 82
- Jan 3 Rose Ausländer, German poet (b. 1901)
- Jan 3 Joie Chitwood, American racedriver & Daredevil (b. 1912)
- Jan 4 Lily Laskine, French harpist, dies at 94
- Jan 5 "Pistol Pete" Mavarich, NBAer (Atlanta), dies of a heart attack at 40
Pete Maravich
Jan 5 Pete Maravich, American basketball player, dies of heart failure at 40
Pete Maravich
- Jan 6 Brent Collins, soap actor (Another World), dies of heart attack at 46
- Jan 7 Trevor Howard, British actor (Brief Encounter, Superman, The Third Man), dies of bronchitis at 71
- Jan 7 Michel Auclair [Vladimir Vujović], German actor (Funny Face, Day of the Jackal), dies at 65
- Jan 8 Frank Pace Jr, US Secretary of Army (1950-53), dies at 76
- Jan 11 Gregory (Pappy) Boyington, ace WW II pilot, dies of cancer at 75
- Jan 11 Isidor Isaac Rabi, nuclear physicist (Nobel Prize-1944), dies at 89
- Jan 11 Florence Knapp, American, one-time oldest person in the world (b. 1873)
- Jan 12 Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
- Jan 13 Chiang Ching-huo, president of Taiwan (1978-88), dies at 69
- Jan 14 Georgy M Malenkov, PM of USSR (1953-55), dies at 86
Seán MacBride
Jan 15 Seán MacBride, Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and founder of Amnesty International (Nobel 1974), dies at 83
Seán MacBride
- Jan 16 Ballard Berkeley [Blascheck], British actor (Fawlty Towers, East meets West, The BFG), dies at 83
- Jan 16 Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899)
- Jan 20 Philippe de Rothschild, Bordeaux Vineyard manager, dies in Paris at 86
- Jan 20 Dora Stratou, Greek choreographer and folklorist (b. 1903)
- Jan 21 Abraham Sofaer, actor (Naked Jungle, Elephant Walk), dies
- Jan 22 Georgi M Malenkov, Russian premier (1953-55), dies at 86
- Jan 22 Parker Fennelly, actor (Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm), dies at 96
- Jan 23 Dan Daniel, politician (Rep-D-VA, 1969-88), dies at 73
- Jan 24 Charles Glenn King, biochemist (discovered vitamin C), dies at 91
- Jan 24 Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)
- Jan 25 Colleen Moore, actress (These Girls Won't Talk), dies at 87
- Jan 27 Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian author (b. 1938)
- Jan 27 Edward Pawley, American actor (Angels with Dirty Faces), dies t 86
- Jan 28 Klaus Fuchs, German physicist (b. 1911)
- Jan 29 Bantcho Bantchevsky, US opera singer, commits suicide
- Jan 29 James R. Killian Jr., 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1948-59), dies at 83
- Jan 29 Rogier van Otterloo, Dutch composer and conductor, dies at 46
- Jan 30 Cornelia D "Corry" Spark, Dutch cabaret performer, dies at 85