Event of Interest
Jan 1 Hewlett-Packard is founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in a garage in Palo Alto, California "the birthplace of Silicon Valley"

Bill Hewlett
- Jan 1 Sydney, Australia, swelters in 45 ˚C (113 ˚F) heat, a record for the city.
- Jan 1 25th Rose Bowl: #7 Southern California beats #3 Duke, 7-3
Event of Interest
Jan 2 Master batsman Don Bradman scores 107 for South Australia in a Sheffield Shield match against Victoria for his 4th consecutive century in first-class cricket

Donald Bradman
Event of Interest
Jan 4 Hermann Goering appoints Reinhard Heydrich head of Jewish Emigration

Reinhard Heydrich

Hermann Goering
- Jan 7 US worker's union leader Tom Mooney freed (jailed since 1916)
Treaty of Interest
Jan 13 Belgian premier signs Burgos Treaty for trade relations with Franco's Spain

Francisco Franco
- Jan 15 Municipal Railway & Market St RR begin service to Transbay Terminal
- Jan 16 Daily newspaper comic strip "Superman" debuts
- Jan 16 The Irish Republican Army (IRA) begins a 14 month long bombing campaign in England
- Jan 17 Ed Barrow is elected Yankee president succeeding deceased J Ruppert
- Jan 19 Ernest Hausen of Wisconsin sets chicken-plucking record of 4.4 sec
- Jan 20 Charles Ives' 1st Sonata "Concord" premieres
- Jan 20 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Patty Berg wins 3rd straight title by 2 strokes ahead of Dorothy Kirby
Hall of Fame
Jan 24 Eddie Collins, Willie Keeler & George Sisler elected to Hall of Fame

Eddie Collins
Event of Interest
Jan 25 1st nuclear fission experiment (splitting of a uranium atom) in the US, in basement of Pupin Hall, Columbia University by a team including Enrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi
- Jan 26 Federal Hall National Monument established
- Jan 26 Filming begins on film "Gone With the Wind"
- Jan 26 Francisco Franco's troops conquer Barcelona
- Jan 27 First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning
- Jan 28 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Emily Hood Westacott beats Nell Hall Hopman 6-1, 6-2 for her only Grand Slam singles title
- Jan 28 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Australian John Bromwich wins his 1st Australian title; beats doubles partner Adrian Quist 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
Event of Interest
Jan 30 Adolf Hitler threatens Jews during his speech to the German Reichstag (Parliament)

Adolf Hitler
- Jan 30 Heavy aftershocks destroy some of Chile