Events in History
- Jan 1 Neth Indies colony begins opium production
- Jan 4 In 'Gonzales v Williams', the US Supreme Court rules that Puerto Ricans are not aliens and may not be refused admission into continental United States; not until 1917 will citizenship rights be granted
- Jan 5 -34°F (-36.7°C), River Vale, New Jersey (state record)
- Jan 5 -42°F (-41.1°C), Smethport, Pennsylvania (state record)
- Jan 5 England beat Australia at the MCG, Rhodes 7-56 & 8-68
Theater Premiere
Jan 17 Anton Chekhov's play "Cherry Orchard" opens at Moscow Art Theater
Event of Interest
Jan 23 Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
Birthdays in History
- Jan 1 Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani politician (d. 1982)
- Jan 2 Walter Heitler, German physicist, quantum field theorist, philosopher, and writer (Man and Science), born in Karlsruhe, German Empire (d. 1981)
- Jan 5 Jeane Dixon [Lydia Pinckert], American celebrity psychic and astrologer (A Gift of Prophecy), born in Medford, Wisconsin (d. 1997)
- Jan 8 Karl Brandt, Alsacian Nazi war criminal (d. 1948)
- Jan 8 Peter Arno, American cartoonist (New Yorker), born in NYC, New York (d. 1968)
- Jan 11 Frederick Boland, Irish diplomat (President of the UN General Assembly), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1985)
- Jan 14 Cecil Beaton, English photographer, born in Hampstead, United Kingdom (d. 1980)
- Jan 14 Emily Hahn, American journalist & author, born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1997)
- Jan 18 Henri-Georges Adam, French engraver & sculptor (Grand Nude), born in Paris, France (d. 1967)
- Jan 19 James W. Watts, American neurosurgeon, developer of the Frontal Lobotomy, born in Lynchburg, Virginia (d. 1994)
- Jan 19 Pei Wenzhong, Chinese anthropologist and archaeologist (Peking Man), born in Fengnan, China (d. 1982)
- Jan 20 Renato Caccioppoli, Italian mathematician, born in Campania, Italy (d. 1959)
- Jan 20 Theodore Brameld, American philosopher & educator (Use of Explosive Ideas), born in Neillsville, Wisconsin (d. 1987)
- Jan 21 Richard P. Blackmur, American critic and poet (Good European), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 1965)
- Jan 22 Arkady Gaidar, Russian children's writer (d. 1941)
- Jan 25 Frans Goedhart, Dutch journalist (Het Parool), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1990)
- Jan 26 Ancel Keys, American scientist (d. 2004)
Seán MacBride (1904-1988)
Jan 26 Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and founder of Amnesty International (Nobel 1974), born in Dublin, Ireland
Weddings in History
Konrad Adenauer
Jan 28 German chancellor Konrad Adenauer (28) weds Emma Weyer at St. Stephan Catholic Church in Lindenthal, Germany
Deaths in History
James Longstreet (1821-1904)
Jan 2 American Confederate general (1st Corps, ANV), dies at 82
- Jan 2 Mathilde Bonaparte, French princess (daughter of Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte and his second wife, Catharina of Württemberg, daughter of King Frederick I of Württemberg) and socialite, dies at 83
- Jan 5 Karl Alfred Ritter von Zittel, German geologist and paleontologist (Libya), dies at 64
- Jan 10 Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
- Jan 26 John P R Tak, Dutch liberal politician, dies at 64
- Jan 26 Whitaker Wright, English mining tycoon (b. 1846)
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists