- Jan 3 Carle David Tolmé Runge, German mathematician and physicist, dies at 70
- Jan 9 Houston Stewart Chamberlain, British-German philosopher (wrote works about political philosophy and natural science), dies at 71
- Jan 11 Andrzej Gawroński, Polish Indologist and scholar, dies at 41
Juliette Gordon Low
Jan 17 Juliette Gordon Low, American founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, dies of breast cancer at 66

Juliette Gordon Low
- Jan 19 Carlota of Mexico, princess of Belgium and empress consort of Mexico (1864-67), dies at 86
- Jan 21 Floris H Verster, Dutch painter/cartoonist/etcher, dies at 65
- Jan 22 John McCausland, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 90
- Jan 27 Georgios Grivas, Cyprus-born general in the Greek Army
- Jan 27 Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius (Matulewicz), Lithuanian bishop
- Jan 30 Friedrich Ernst Koch, German composer, dies at 64