- Jan 2 Alexander Pogrebinsky, Russian painter
- Jan 3 Frank Chikane, Secretary-General of South African Council of Churches
- Jan 3 Gary Nairn, Australian politician
- Jan 7 Talgat Musabayev, Kazakh test pilot & cosmonaut (TM-19, TM-27), born in Kargaly, Kazakhstan
- Jan 7 Mike Ward, American politician, born in White Plains, New York
- Jan 8 Kenny Anthony, Saint Lucian politician, born in Laborie, Saint Lucia
Rush Limbaugh
Jan 12 Rush Limbaugh, American right wing radio personality, born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri (d. 2021)
Rush Limbaugh
- Jan 12 Ann Althouse, American law professor, born in Wilmington, Delaware
- Jan 18 Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist, born in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles (d. 1982)
- Jan 18 Elijah Cummings, American politician (Rep-Maryland (D) 1996-2019), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2019)
- Jan 20 Magomed Omarovich Tolboyev, Russian cosmonaut & test-pilot, born in Sogratl', Russia
Eric Holder
Jan 21 Eric Holder, American lawyer and judge (1st African American US Attorney General 2009-2015), born in The Bronx, New York
Eric Holder
Chesley Sullenberger
Jan 23 Chesley Sullenberger III, American pilot (successfully executed emergency landing US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River), born in Denison, Texas
Chesley Sullenberger
- Jan 28 Gordon Prentice, British MP
- Jan 28 Leonid Konstantinovich Kadenyuk, Kkishkov Ukraine, astronaut (STS 87)
- Jan 28 Brian Bilbray, American politician
- Jan 31 Presiley Baxendale, British QC, born in London, England
About January 1951
How Old? 70 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No