- Jan 8 John Baskerville, English printer and type designer (printer to the University of Cambridge), dies at 68
- Jan 10 Jemeljan Pugatshov, Russian kosak leader/"Tsar Peter III", dies
- Jan 11 Prithvi Narayan Shah, began the unification of modern Nepal (b. 1723)
- Jan 11 Yemelyan Pugachov, Don Cossack rebel, executed by tsarist Russia
- Jan 13 Johann Georg Walch, German theologian, dies at 81
- Jan 15 Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian composer, musician, and choirmaster, dies at about 74 (born c. 1700)
- Jan 25 Georg Friedrich Schmidt, German engraver and etcher (court artist for King Frederick of Prussia and Empress Elizabeth of Russia), dies at 63
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning