- Jan 1 Sierra Leone becomes a British colony
- Jan 10 Herman Daendels succeeds A Wiese as Governor-General of Neth Indies
- Jan 12 The organizational meeting that led to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
- Jan 19 Louis Napoleon signs 1st Dutch aviation law
- Jan 26 Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia