Events in History
- Jan 1 Tokelau (Union) Islands formally becomes part of New Zealand
- Jan 2 Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico
- Jan 3 The central bank of the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is founded
- Jan 3 US Representative William Dawson becomes 1st Black to head congressional committee - Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments (now known as Committee on Oversight and Reform)
- Jan 5 General Spoor orders cease-fire on Sumatra
Fair Deal
Jan 5 US President Harry Truman labels his administration the "Fair Deal"
- Jan 7 1st photo of genes taken at University of Southern California by Pease & Baker
- Jan 10 RCA introduces 45 RPM record
- Jan 11 Snowfall 1st recorded in Los Angeles
- Jan 12 Dutch court affirms death sentence against SS chief Hanns Rauter
- Jan 14 Black and Indian race rebellion in Durban, South Africa; 142 die
- Jan 15 Mao's Red army conquers Ten-tsin
- Jan 18 1st US Congressional standing committee headed by Negro (W Dawson)
- Jan 19 Cuba recognises Israel.
- Jan 20 US President Harry Truman announces his four point program
- Jan 22 Chinatown telephone exchange in San Francisco is closed
Election of Interest
Jan 25 1st Israeli election won by David Ben-Gurion's Mapai party
- Jan 26 Australia's Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 comes into force granting Australian citizenship and nationality to all people born or naturalised in Australia including First Nations people
- Jan 27 Chinese liner "Taiping" collides with a collier off south China
- Jan 28 UN Security council convicts Dutch aggression in Indonesia
- Jan 29 Great Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland recognize Israel
Birthdays in History
Haruki Murakami (74 years old)
Jan 12 Japanese writer (Norwegian Wood), born in Kyoto, Japan
- Jan 12 James Dietz, American rower, born in The Bronx, New York
- Jan 12 Michael W. Vannier, American radiologist, born in Hamilton City, California
- Jan 13 Rakesh Sharma, Indian cosmonaut (Soyuz T-11), first Indian in space, born in Patiala, India
- Jan 14 Mary Robison, American writer (Why Did I Ever), born in Washington, D.C.
- Jan 17 Sandra Mason, Barbadian politician (1st president of Barbados 2021-), born in Saint Philip, Barbados
- Jan 18 Bill Keller, American newspaper editor (The Marshall Project)
- Jan 18 Philippe Starck, French designer, born in Paris, France
- Jan 23 Robert Cabana, American astronaut (STS 41, 53, 68, sk:88), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Jan 24 Bart Gordon, American politician (Rep-D-TN, 1985-2011), born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee,
- Jan 25 John Cooper Clarke, English performance poet, born in Lancashire, England
- Jan 26 Jonathan Carroll, American author, born in New York
- Jan 26 Paul Nurse, English geneticist (Imperial Cancer Research Fund), born in Norwich, United Kingdom
- Jan 27 Ethan Mordden, American author
- Jan 28 Jerzy Szczakiel, Polish speedway rider (World Individual C'ship 1973; World Pairs C'ship 1971), born in Grudzicach, Poland (d. 2020)
- Jan 28 Thomas J. Downey, American politician (Rep-D-NY, 1975-93), born in Queens, New York
Peter Agre (74 years old)
Jan 30 American biologist & Nobel laureate, born in Northfield, Minnesota
- Jan 31 Ken Wilber, American philosopher & writer, born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Weddings in History
- Jan 18 South African Rev Andries Treurnicht marries Engela Dreyer
Deaths in History
- Jan 10 Erich von Drygalski, German geographer, geophysicist, and polar scientist, dies at 83
- Jan 11 Nelson Doubleday, American publisher (Doubleday), dies at 49
- Jan 15 Pompeo Aloisi, Italian baron, diplomat and senator, dies at 63
- Jan 18 Charles Ponzi [Carlo], Italian con-man (Ponzi scheme in the US), dies at 66
- Jan 20 Joseph Cuypers, architect Dutch (Amsterdam Stock Exchange), dies at 87
- Jan 22 William Thomas Walsh, American author (Isabella of Spain), dies at 57
- Jan 25 Makino Nobuaki, Japanese statesman (b. 1861)
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists