- Jan 1 30th Orange Bowl: #6 Nebraska beats #5 Auburn, 13-7
- Jan 1 30th Sugar Bowl: #8 Alabama beats #7 Mississippi, 12-7
- Jan 1 50th Rose Bowl: #3 Illinois beats Washington, 17-7
- Jan 1 Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland dissolved
- Jan 1 KNMT TV channel 12 in Walker, MN (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 1 KTVS TV channel 3 in Sterling, CO (CBS) begins broadcasting
Television Premiere
Jan 1 Top of the Pops, British pop music television program premieres; acts performing include Dusty Springfield; The Rolling Stones; Dave Clark Five: The Hollies; Swinging Blue; and The Beatles
Assassination Attempt
Jan 2 Failed assassination attempt on President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana
- Jan 5 AFL Championship, Balboa Stadium, San Diego: San Diego Chargers beat Boston Patriots, 51-10; Chargers RB Keith Lincoln rushes for 206 yards, 2 TDs
Event of Interest
Jan 8 President Lyndon B. Johnson declares "War on Poverty"
- Jan 9 Anti-US rioting broke out in Panama Canal Zone
- Jan 10 Battles between Muslims & Hindus in Calcutta
- Jan 10 Panama severs diplomatic relations with US
- Jan 10 US version of "That Was The Week That Was" premieres
- Jan 10 Vee-Jay Records releases "Introducing the Beatles", the 1st Beatles album released in the US
- Jan 11 "She Loves Me" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 302 performances
- Jan 11 First government report by US Surgeon General Luther Terry warning that smoking may be hazardous
- Jan 11 Panama ends diplomatic relations with US
- Jan 11 The Beatles single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" reaches #80 in US (Cashbox)
NFL Pro Bowl
Jan 12 14th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 31-17; MVPs: Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts, QB; Gino Marchetti, Baltimore Colts, DE
- Jan 12 Revolution overthrows Sultan of Zanzibar, 1 month after independence
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Jan 13 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson retains title; beats fellow Australian Fred Stolle 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
- Jan 13 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Australian Margaret Smith beats doubles partner Lesley Turner 6-3, 6-2 for her 5th Australian singles crown
- Jan 13 Hindu-Muslim rioting breaks out in the Indian city of Calcutta - now Kolkata - resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.
Event of Interest
Jan 13 John Paul II [Karol Wojtyla] becomes archbishop of Krakow
NBA All-Star Game
Jan 14 14th NBA All-Star Game, Boston Garden: East beats West, 111-107; MVP: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals, PG
- Jan 14 Bapu Nadkarni 32-27-5-0 v England, 21 maiden overs in a row
TV Show Appearance
Jan 14 Jacqueline Kennedy's 1st public appearance (TV) since US President JFK's assassination
- Jan 15 MLB executives vote to hold a free agent amateur draft, officially known as Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft in NYC
Contract of Interest
Jan 15 San Francisco Giants make champion outfielder Willie Mays the highest-paid player in baseball when they sign him to a new $105,000 per season contract
- Jan 15 Teamsters negotiate 1st national labor contract
- Jan 16 "Hello, Dolly!" opens at St James Theater NYC for 2,844 performances
- Jan 16 AL owners vote 9-1 against Charlie Finley moving KC A's to Louisville
- Jan 18 Plans for World Trade Center announced (NYC)
- Jan 18 The Beatles make their first appearance on US Billboard Chart with single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at #45
- Jan 19 3rd AFL All Star Game, Balboa Stadium, SD: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 27-24; MVPs: Keith Lincoln, LA Chargers, RB; Archie Matsos, Oakland Raiders, LB
- Jan 19 KFME TV channel 13 in Fargo, North Dakota (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 20 Capitol Records releases "Meet The Beatles" album by the Beatles, in US
- Jan 21 Carl Rowan named director of US Information Agency
- Jan 22 Kenneth Kaunda becomes the first President of Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)
- Jan 22 World's largest cheese (15,723 kg) manufactured in Wisconsin for New York's World Fair
- Jan 23 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution ratified, barring poll tax in federal elections
Theater Premiere
Jan 23 Arthur Miller's play "After the Fall" premieres in NYC
- Jan 24 24th Amendment to US Constitution goes into effect & states voting rights could not be denied due to failure to pay taxes
- Jan 24 CBS purchases 1964 & 1965 NFL TV rights for $28.2 million
- Jan 24 Eric de Noorman, a Dutch comic strip by Hans G. Kresse, ends
- Jan 25 Echo 2, US communications satellite launched
- Jan 25 The Beatles get their first US #1, "I Want to Hold your Hand" (Cashbox)
- Jan 27 Barlow & Graeme Pollock complete 341 stand at Adelaide Oval
- Jan 27 Margaret Chase Smith (Sen-R-Maine) tries for Republican President bid
Film Premiere
Jan 29 "Dr Strangelove", directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, premieres
- Jan 29 Beatles record in German "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" & "Sie Liebt Dich"
- Jan 29 IX Winter Olympic Games open in Innsbruck, Austria
- Jan 29 Most lopsided high-school basketball score 211-29 (Louisiana)
- Jan 29 NBC purchases AFL 5 year (1965-69) TV rights for $36 million
- Jan 29 Unmanned Apollo 1 Saturn launcher test attains Earth orbit
- Jan 30 Military coup of Gen Nguyen Khanh in South Vietnam
- Jan 30 Ranger 6 launched; makes perfect flight to Moon, but cameras fail
- Jan 31 A rigged constitutional referendum in Ghana sees 99.91% vote in favor, turning the country into a one-party state and making Kwame Nkrumah president for life