Historic Event
Jan 2 Mahatma Gandhi begins march for peace in East Bengal
- Jan 3 1st opening session of Congress to be televised - it did not happen again until 1977
- Jan 4 "Park Avenue" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 72 performances
- Jan 4 "Show Boat" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 417 performances
- Jan 4 Revival of Victor Herbert's operetta "The Red Mill" closes at 46th Street Theater, NYC, after 531 performances
Historic Event
Jan 4 Emilio G. Segrè and Carlo Perrier announce technetium, a previously unknown element and the first artificially synthesized chemical element
Historic Event
Jan 8 General George Marshall becomes US Secretary of State
- Jan 8 Toronto Maple Leaf rookie Howie Meeker scores 5 goals in a game
- Jan 9 "Street Scene" opens at Adelphi Theater NYC for 148 performances
- Jan 9 Roger Sessions' 2nd Symphony premieres in San Francisco with Pierre Monteux conducting the San Francisco Symphony,
Historic Event
Jan 9 Elizabeth "Betty" Short, the black dahlia, is last seen alive.
- Jan 9 Providence Steamrollers guard Dino Martin becomes the first NBA player to ever score 40 points in a game, in a 91-68 win over Cleveland Rebels at Rhode Island Auditorium
- Jan 10 "Finian's Rainbow" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 725 performances
- Jan 10 British stop ships Independence & In-Gathering from landing in Israel
- Jan 10 Greek steamer "Himara" strikes a wartime mine in Saronic Gulf south of Athens with loss of 392 of 637 aboard
- Jan 15 The brutalized corpse of Elizabeth Short ("The Black Dahlia") found in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California
- Jan 16 Vincent Aurial elected President of France
- Jan 17 Ammunition factory explodes in Muiden, Netherlands, 16 die
Contract of Interest
Jan 18 Detroit Tigers sell Hank Greenberg to Pirates (for $25-35,000)
Music Premiere
Jan 21 Arthur Honegger's 4th Symphony premieres in Basel, Switzerland
Theater Premiere
Jan 29 Arthur Miller's play "All My Sons" premieres in NYC
- Jan 29 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton wins 3rd consecutive Australian singles crown; beats Nell Hall Hopman 6-3, 6-2
- Jan 29 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Dinny Pails beats fellow Australian John Bromwich 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 8-6 for his only Grand Slam title