- Jan 1 Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Also, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, joining 20 other official languages.
- Jan 1 Slovenia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the thirteenth Eurozone country.
- Jan 1 Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board.
- Jan 1 93rd Rose Bowl: #8 Southern California beats #3 Michigan, 32-18
- Jan 1 36th Fiesta Bowl: #9 Boise State beats #7 Oklahoma, 43-42 (OT)
- Jan 2 73rd Orange Bowl: #5 Louisville beats #15 Wake Forest, 24-13
- Jan 3 High profile Miami Dolphins NFL head coach Nick Saban resigns after agreeing to return to college football and take head coaching job at Alabama
- Jan 3 National Express has its worst ever coach crash just outside Heathrow Airport.
- Jan 3 73rd Sugar Bowl: #4 LSU beats #11 Notre Dame, 41-14
Election of Interest
Jan 4 The 110th United States Congress convenes and elects Nancy Pelosi as the 1st female Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi
Event of Interest
Jan 5 Bill Cowher resigns as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Bill Cowher
- Jan 5 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Dmitry Tursunov beats Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-4, 7-5 to give Russia an unassailable 2-0 lead, and first title
Event of Interest
Jan 7 Phil Jackson wins his 900th game as a head coach, becoming the fastest coach to reach 900 career wins
Phil Jackson
Event of Interest
Jan 9 Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs announces the iPhone
Steve Jobs
Film and TV Awards
Jan 9 33rd People's Choice Awards: Johnny Depp & Jennifer Aniston win (Movie Star) and Patrick Dempsey & Eva Longoria win (TV)
Event of Interest
Jan 11 Author J. K. Rowling finishes the 7th and last Harry Potter novel in room 552 of the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh
J. K. Rowling
Event of Interest
Jan 14 Legendary Russian test pilot Marina Popovich is awarded the honorary title "The Hero of the Nation" by the Russian Federation
Marina Popovich
- Jan 15 Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
Golden Globes
Jan 15 64th Golden Globes: Babel, Forest Whitaker, & Helen Mirren win
Forest Whitaker
Helen Mirren
Historic Publication
Jan 15 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel about the Biafran War, "Half of a Yellow Sun", is published
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Jan 17 Doomsday Clock set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea's 1st nuclear test
- Jan 18 Hurricane Kyrill: kills at least 44 in Western Europe: strongest British storm in 17 years kills 14 people, worst German storm since 1999 with 13 deaths and causes container Ship MSC Napoli to be destroyed off coast of Devon
- Jan 19 Armenian Journalist Hrant Dink assassinated in front of his newspaper's office by 17 year old Turkish ultranationalist Ogün Samast.
Martin Scorsese
- Jan 20 Utah coach Jerry Sloan passes Larry Brown for 4th on the NBA's all-time win list (1,010) after the Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls, 95-85 at the United Center
- Jan 21 Awashima Marine Park in Japan catches a video tape of the rare frilled shark.
- Jan 21 AFC Championship, RCA Dome, Indianapolis: Indianapolis Colts beat New England Patriots, 38-34
- Jan 21 NFC Championship, Soldier Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat New Orleans Saints, 39-14
- Jan 22 The jury portion of the trial against Robert Pickton, accused of being Canada's worst serial killer, opens in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.
- Jan 24 55th NHL All-Star Game, American Airlines Centre, Dallas, TX: West beats East, 12-9; MVP: Daniel Briere, Buffalo Sabres, C
Australian Open Women's Tennis
Jan 27 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2; first time the tournament used Hawk-Eye system for official line-calls
Serena Williams
Maria Sharapova
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Jan 28 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Swiss ace Roger Federer successfully defends his title beating Fernando González of Chile 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
Roger Federer
- Jan 28 23rd Sundance Film Festival: "Padre Nuestro", directed by Christopher Zalla, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Event of Interest
Jan 29 Ken Dryden's #29 jersey is retired by the Montreal Canadiens
Ken Dryden