- Jan 1 Chrysler UK renamed Talbot
- Jan 1 International Decade of Water & Sanitation begins
- Jan 1 Mob storms Russian embassy in Tehran
- Jan 1 Premier Adbou Diouf becomes president of Senegal
- Jan 1 Sweden changes order of succession to throne
- Jan 1 Victoria is crowned princess of Sweden.
- Jan 1 66th Rose Bowl: #3 Southern California beats #1 Ohio State, 17-16
- Jan 1 46th Sugar Bowl: #2 Alabama beats #6 Arkansas, 24-9
- Jan 1 46th Orange Bowl: #5 Oklahoma beats #4 Florida State, 24-7
- Jan 2 British Steel workers go on a national strike
Tennis Open
Jan 2 68th Men's Australian Open: Guillermo Vilas beats John Sadri (7-6, 6-3, 6-2)
Guillermo Vilas
- Jan 2 68th Women's Australian Open: Barbara Jordan beats Sharon Walsh (6-3, 6-3)
- Jan 3 Gold hits record $634 an ounce
- Jan 3 Babrak Karmal defends the Soviet-backed coup in first public appearance since taking power as President of Afghanistan
- Jan 6 "1940's Radio Hour" closes at St James Theater NYC after 105 performances
Election of Interest
Jan 6 Indira Gandhi's Congress Party wins elections in India
Indira Gandhi
- Jan 6 Phil Flyers set NHL record of 35 straight games without a defeat
- Jan 6 The beginning of the first GPS epoch.
- Jan 6 AFC Championship Game: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Houston Oilers 27-13
- Jan 6 NFC Championship Game: Los Angeles Rams beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0
- Jan 7 Minn ends Philadelphia Flyers' NHL record 35 game unbeaten streak ends
Event of Interest
Jan 7 American President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation to bail out the Chrysler Corporation with a 1.5 billion dollar loan
Jimmy Carter
- Jan 8 Islander Glenn Resch's 20th shut-out opponent-Canucks 3-0
- Jan 8 NCAA decides to sponsor women's championships in 5 sports
- Jan 9 63 beheaded in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- Jan 10 Last broadcast of "The Rockford Files" on NBC
- Jan 10 Jim Stewart, Bruin's rookie goalie allows 3 goals in his 1st 4 mins & a total of 5 in 1st period; he never again plays in NHL
- Jan 11 Debut of first Pretenders album "Pretenders"
- Jan 12 Mike Bratz (Phoenix) begins NBA free throw streak of 57 games
- Jan 13 "King of Schnorrers" closes at Playhouse Theater NYC after 63 performances
- Jan 13 Head of narcotic brigade arrested for drug smuggling in Belgium
- Jan 13 Togo's constitution becomes effective
- Jan 14 Shakuntala Devi, mentally multiplies 2 13-digit #s in 28 sec
- Jan 15 Pam Gems' "Piaf!" premieres in London
Event of Interest
Jan 16 Paul McCartney jailed in Tokyo for 10 days on marijuana possession
Paul McCartney
#1 in the Charts
Jan 18 Pink Floyd's album "The Wall" hits #1
Roger Waters
David Gilmour
- Jan 18 Studio 54 owners Steve Rubell & Ian Schrager sentenced to 3½ years in prison for tax evasion & fined $20,000
- Jan 20 President Jimmy Carter announces US boycott of Olympics in Moscow
- Jan 20 US female Figure Skating championship won by Linda Fratianne
- Jan 20 US male Figure Skating championship won by Charles Tickner
- Jan 20 Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers beat LA Rams, 31-19 in Pasadena, MVP: Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh, QB
- Jan 21 Gold hits record $850 an ounce
- Jan 21 Les Henson, Virginia Tech, makes 89' 3" basketball field goal
Event of Interest
Jan 22 Russian dissidents Andrei Sakharov & Jelena Bonner arrested in Moscow and banished to Gorky
Andrei Sakharov
- Jan 22 PGA begins a senior golf tour
- Jan 22 West Indies beat England 2-0 to win cricket's 1st World Series Cup
- Jan 25 Bani Sadr elected president of Iran
- Jan 25 Dutch government demands boycott of Olympics
- Jan 25 Highest speed attained by a warship, 167 kph, USN hovercraft
- Jan 25 Paul McCartney is released from Tokyo jail & deported
Event of Interest
Jan 26 175,000 pay to hear Frank Sinatra sing in Rio de Janeiro
Frank Sinatra
- Jan 26 Islanders & Whalers play a NHL penalty-free game
- Jan 26 Israel & Egypt establish diplomatic relations
- Jan 26 Mary Decker became 1st woman to run a mile in under 4½ minutes
- Jan 27 "Comin' Uptown" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 45 performances
- Jan 27 NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 37-27
Event of Interest
Jan 27 Robert Mugabe returns to Rhodesia after 5 years in exile
Robert Mugabe
Film and TV Awards
Jan 28 37th Golden Globes: "Kramer vs. Kramer", Dustin Hoffman & Sally Field win
Dustin Hoffman
Sally Field
Event of Interest
Jan 30 Edward Albee's "Lady from Dubuque" premieres in NYC
Edward Albee
- Jan 31 Police storm occupied Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, killing 41