- Jan 1 Ignatius Donnelly, American politician, writer, and amateur scientist. dies at 69
- Jan 5 Edmond Dédé, Creole-American violinist and composer (Quasimodo Symphony; Mephisto Masque), dies at 73
- Jan 7 James Dunwoody Bulloch, Confederacy's chief foreign agent in Great Britain during the American Civil War, dies at 77
- Jan 8 John Barry, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, dies during the Second Boer War at 27
- Jan 9 Richard Copley Christie, English scholar (b. 1830)
- Jan 10 Sir James Dickson, Premier of Queensland, Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1832)
- Jan 11 Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov, composer, dies at 34
- Jan 13 Carlo Angeloni, Italian composer, dies at 66
- Jan 14 Charles Hermite, French mathematician (proof that e is transcendental), dies at 78
- Jan 14 Mandell Creighton, British historian and a bishop of the Church of England, dies at 57
- Jan 14 Victor Balaguer, Catalaans historian/politician/author, dies at 76
Hiram R. Revels
Jan 16 Hiram R. Revels, American politician, 1st African American Senator, dies at 73
- Jan 16 Jules Barbier, French opera librettist (b. 1825)
- Jan 16 Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter (b. 1827)
- Jan 17 Jacob G Agarah, Swedish algologist, dies at 87
- Jan 19 Albert, 4th duc de Broglie, Prime Minister of France (1873-74, 1977), dies at 79
- Jan 20 Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer (Gramme dynamo), dies at 74
- Jan 21 Elisha Gray, American inventor (telephone prototype), dies at 65
Queen Victoria
Jan 22 Victoria [Alexandrine], Queen of the United Kingdom (1837-1901), dies at 81
- Jan 24 Simon Hassler, German-American composer, dies at 68
Giuseppe Verdi
Jan 27 Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (Rigoletto, La Traviata), dies at 77
