- Jan 1 G Woods succeeds Eugene Black as president of the World Bank
- Jan 1 WTEV (now WLNE) TV channel 6 in Providence RI begins broadcasting
- Jan 1 49th Rose Bowl: #1 Southern California beats #2 Wisconsin, 42-37
- Jan 1 29th Sugar Bowl: #3 Mississippi beats #6 Arkansas, 17-13
- Jan 1 29th Orange Bowl: #5 Alabama beats #8 Oklahoma, 17-0
- Jan 3 WOUB TV channel 20 in Athens, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 4 Soviet Luna (4) reaches Earth orbit but fails to reach Moon
- Jan 5 "Camelot" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 873 performances
- Jan 5 "Carnival!" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 719 performances
- Jan 5 San Diego beats Boston 51-10 in AFL championship game
- Jan 6 "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" with Marlin Perkins begins on NBC
- Jan 6 "Oliver!" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 774 performances
- Jan 7 1st class postage raised from 4 cents to 5 cents
Event of Interest
Jan 7 The rift between Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell and head coach Paul Brown reaches a boiling point, and Brown is fired
Paul Brown
- Jan 8 "Mona Lisa", on loan, unveiled in America's National Gallery of Art
Event of Interest
Jan 8 Dmitri Shostakovich' Katharina Ismailova premieres in Riga
Dmitri Shostakovich
Event of Interest
Jan 9 Mao Zedong writes his poem "Reply to Comrade Kuo Mo-jo"
Mao Zedong
- Jan 11 Beatles release "Please Please Me" & "Ask Me Why"
- Jan 11 Los Angeles night club and music venue The Whiskey A-Go-Go opens (inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2006)
- Jan 12 "Go Away Little Girl" by Steve Lawrence peaks at #1
- Jan 12 Spin bowler Bobby Simpson takes 5-57 for Australia v England
- Jan 13 AFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 21-14
- Jan 13 NFL Pro Bowl: East beats West 30-20
Event of Interest
Jan 14 George Wallace sworn in as Governor of Alabama, his address states "segregation now; segregation tomorrow; segregation forever!"
George Wallace
- Jan 14 "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Path is published by Heinemann in the UK, the author commits suicide a month later
Event of Interest
Jan 16 Khrushchev claims to have a 100-megaton nuclear bomb
Nikita Khrushchev
Event of Interest
Jan 16 Tennessee Williams' "Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" premieres
Tennessee Williams
Event of Interest
Jan 17 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA SF Warriors scores 67 points vs LA
Wilt Chamberlain
- Jan 18 Reinier Paping wins Dutch 11-Cities Skating Race (10:59)
- Jan 19 51st Women's Australian Championships: Margaret Court beats Jan Lehane O'Neill (6-2, 6-2)
Tennis Open
Jan 19 51st Men's Australian Championships: Roy Emerson beats Ken Fletcher (6-3, 6-3, 6-1)
Roy Emerson
- Jan 22 Ruth Jessen wins LPGA Naples Professional Golf Tournament
Treaty of Interest
Jan 22 Elysée treaty of cooperation between France and Germany signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer
Charles de Gaulle
- Jan 24 Buddy Rogers & Lou Thesz wrestle in Toronto, Rogers becomes WWF wrestling champ & Thesz becomes NWA champion
- Jan 26 "Milk & Honey" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 543 performances
- Jan 26 Major League Rules Committee votes to expand strike zone
- Jan 27 Jevgeni Grishin skates world record 500m in 39.6 sec
- Jan 27 Sam Rice, Eppa Rixey, Elmer Flick, & John Clarkson elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jan 28 -34°F (-37°C), Cynthiana, Kentucky (state record)
- Jan 28 "Still" single released by Bill Anderson (Billboard no. 1 U.S. Hot Country Singles 1963)
Hall of Fame
Jan 29 Jim Thorpe, Red Grange & George Halas elected to football Hall of Fame
Event of Interest
Jan 30 Ivan Sutherland submits a thesis containing his Sketchpad program, a forerunner to modern-day graphic user interfaces and computer-aided design programs
Ivan Sutherland
Music Recording
Jan 31 Tony Sheridan & Beat Brothers record "What'd I Say" & "Ruby Baby"
Tony Sheridan