- Jan 1 97th Rose Bowl: #3 TCU beats #4 Wisconsin, 21-19
- Jan 1 40th Fiesta Bowl: #9 Oklahoma beats #25 Connecticut, 48-20
- Jan 2 Fela! based on music and lyrics by Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, closes on Broadway after 463 performances and 3 Tony awards [1]
- Jan 3 77th Orange Bowl: #5 Stanford beats #12 Virginia Tech, 40-12
- Jan 3 Adrian Lewis of England wins his first PDC World Darts Championship with a 7-5 win over Scotsman Gary Anderson at the Alexandra Palace, London
- Jan 4 77th Sugar Bowl: #6 Ohio State beats #8 Arkansas, 31-26
Film and TV Awards
Jan 6 37th People's Choice Awards: Johnny Depp & Kristen Stewart win (Movie Star) and Hugh Laurie & Lisa Edelstein win (TV Drama)
Film Release
Jan 7 "The King's Speech", starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter, is released in United Kingdom
- Jan 8 Attempted assassination of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and subsequent shooting in Casas Adobes, Arizona at a Safeway grocery store kills 6 and wounds 13, including Giffords
- Jan 8 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands & John Isner beat Belgian pair Justine Henin & Ruben Bemelmans 6-1, 6-3 to clinch a 2-1 victory; 6th title for the United States
Football Awards
Jan 10 FIFA Ballon d'Or: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins 2nd straight award from teammates Andrés Iniesta & Xavi; Brazilian forward Marta wins women's award for 5th consecutive year
Lionel Messi
Event of Interest
Jan 10 Ian McKellen officially confirms that he will reprise the role of Gandalf in "The Hobbit" film adaptations
Ian McKellen
- Jan 10 College Football, 13th BCS National Championship, University of Phoenix Stadium: #1 Auburn beats #2 Oregon, 22-19
- Jan 14 Stampede near Sabarimala in Kerala, India kills 104 devotees and injures 100 more
- Jan 14 Tunisian president Ben Ali, flees to Saudi Arabia after popular protests known as the Jasmine Revolution
- Jan 14 16th Critics' Choice Movie Awards: The Social Network wins Best Film
- Jan 15 Wikipedia the free internet encyclopedia turns 10 years old
- Jan 16 68th Golden Globes: The Social Network, Colin Firth, & Natalie Portman win
Event of Interest
Jan 16 French politician Marine Le Pen becomes the leader of the National Front Party
Marine Le Pen
- Jan 17 "Sure Thing" single released by Miguel (Billboard Song of the Year 2011)
- Jan 23 AFC Championship, Heinz Field, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat New York Jets, 24-19
- Jan 23 NFC Championship, Soldier Field, Chicago: Green Bay Packers beat Chicago Bears, 21-14
- Jan 24 At least 35 died and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo airport.
- Jan 25 Egyptian Revolution of 2011 begins with a series of street demonstrations, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, labor strikes and violent clashes in Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities
- Jan 25 UK announces it had a shock economic contraction of 0.5% in Q4 2010, due to severe winter weather and budget cuts implemented by the coalition government
Event of Interest
Jan 28 Hundreds of thousands of protesters fill the Egyptian's streets against the Hosni Mubarak's regime in demonstrations referred to as the "Friday of Anger"
Hosni Mubarak
Australian Open Women's Tennis
Jan 29 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Kim Clijsters wins her 4th and final Grand Slam title; beats Li Na of China 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Li Na
Kim Clijsters
- Jan 30 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 55-41; MVP: DeAngelo Hall, Washington Redskins, DB
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Jan 30 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Novak Đoković wins his 2nd Australian title; beats Scotsman Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
Novak Đoković
Andy Murray