- Jan 1 Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua
- Jan 1 Count Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to captain
- Jan 1 US Army Air Corps physiological research laboratory completed, Ohio
- Jan 1 Safety glass in vehicle windscreens becomes mandatory in Great Britain.
- Jan 1 23rd Rose Bowl: #3 Pittsburgh beats #5 Washington, 21-0
- Jan 1 3rd Sugar Bowl: Santa Clara beats LSU, 21-14
- Jan 1 3rd Orange Bowl: #14 Duquesne beats Mississippi State, 13-12
Donald Bradman
- Jan 5 Only unicameral state legislature in US opens 1st session in Nebraska
- Jan 6 Bradman scores 270 Aust v England at the MCG, incl 110 singles
- Jan 8 -50°F (-45.6°C), San Jacinto, Nevada (state record)
- Jan 9 Italian regime bans marriages between Italians & Abyssinians
- Jan 9 Maxwell Anderson's "High Tor" premieres in NYC
- Jan 12 Plough for laying submarine cable patented
- Jan 15 Spanish Civil War: Second Battle of the Corunna Road ends after both forces withdraw
- Jan 17 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Patty Berg wins inaugural event by 3 strokes ahead of Dorothy Kirby
Event of Interest
Jan 19 Millionaire Howard Hughes sets transcontinental air record (7h 28m 25s)
Howard Hughes
Joseph Stalin
- Jan 25 1st broadcast of "Guiding Light" on NBC radio
- Jan 25 Miami-to-Tampa bus overturned in a canal, kills 13
- Jan 30 2nd of Stalin's purge trials; Pyatakov & 16 others sentenced to death
- Jan 30 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton wins her first of 6 Australian singles titles; beats Emily Hood Westacott 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
- Jan 30 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Vivian McGrath wins his only Grand Slam singles event; beats fellow Australian John Bromwich 6-3, 1-6, 6-0, 2-6, 6-1