Events in History
- Jan 5 Flying Enterprise sinks
Event of Interest
Jan 5 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes an official visit to the US
Winston Churchill
Event of Interest
Jan 10 Jean Anouilh's "La valse des toréadors" premieres in Paris
Jean Anouilh
- Jan 11 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Marianne Moore
- Jan 12 University of Tennessee admits it's 1st black student
- Jan 14 Rationing of coffee in Netherlands ends
- Jan 14 Snowstorm in Sierra Nevada kills 26
- Jan 16 New Dutch bible translation finished
- Jan 20 British army occupies Ismailiya, Suez Canal Zone
Election of Interest
Jan 21 Jawaharlal Nehru's Congress party wins general election in India
Jawaharlal Nehru
- Jan 21 William Shawn succeeds Harold Ross as editor of "The New Yorker"
- Jan 24 Fire in main building of French Port Martin Antarctic base
- Jan 26 At least 20 people have been killed and 100s injured during riots in Cairo against the British
- Jan 30 Lehmer verifies: 2^521-1 & 2^607-1 (183 ciphers) Mersenne-prime #
- Jan 30 Korean War truce talks deadlock
- Jan 31 Dutch Lutheran Church reunites after 1½ centuries
Birthdays in History
- Jan 7 Giuliano Ferrara, Italian politician, journalist and founding editor (Il Foglio), born in Rome, Italy
- Jan 9 Eva Leonie "Eveline" Herfkens, Dutch civil servant, diplomat, and politician (PvdA), born in The Hague, Netherlands
- Jan 9 Hugh Bayley, British politician, born in Maidenhead, United Kingdom
- Jan 11 Michael Forshaw, Australian politician
- Jan 12 Charles Faulkner, American motivational speaker & author, born in St. Clair Shores, Michigan
- Jan 12 Walter Mosley, American novelist, born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 14 Sydney Biddle Barrows, American madam and author (Mayflower Madam), born in Hopewell, New Jersey
- Jan 14 Maureen Dowd, American writer, born in Washington, D.C.
- Jan 14 Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, Prime Minister of Romania, born in Bucharest, Romania
- Jan 16 Lloyd Blaine Hammond Jr., Major USAF/astr (STS 39, 64), born in Savannah, Georgia
- Jan 16 Roberta Baskin, American correspondent (48 Hours), born in New York, United States
- Jan 16 Fuad II of Egypt, last King of Egypt and Sudan (1952-53), born in Abdeen Palace, Cairo, Egypt
- Jan 18 Michael Behe, American biochemist & advocate of intelligent design, born in Altoona, Pennsylvania
- Jan 21 Marco Camenisch, Swiss environmental activist
- Jan 21 Louis Menand, American writer and critic
- Jan 24 William F. Readdy, American astronaut (STS 42, 51, 79), born in Quonset Point, Rhode Island
- Jan 25 Timothy White, American journalist (d. 2002)
- Jan 25 Peter Tatchell, Australian-born British politician, journalist and human rights campaigner (Peter Tatchell Foundation), born in Melbourne, Australia
- Jan 26 Mario Runco Jr., American astronaut (STS 44, 54, 77), born in the Bronx, New York
- Jan 31 Rosanne Musgrave, English headmistress (Blackheath HS)
- Jan 31 Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter, born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (d. 1969)
Deaths in History
- Jan 4 Constantl Permeke, Flemish painter (Boerin), dies at 65
- Jan 5 Victor Alexander John Hope, viceroy of India (1936-43), dies at 64
- Jan 8 Antonia Maury, discoverer (supergiant, giant & dwarf stars), dies
- Jan 8 Joseph Arendt, Belgian worker's union leader, dies at 66
- Jan 11 Jean JM de Lattre de Tassigny, gen (N-Africa/Indo-China), dies at 61
- Jan 15 Ned Hanlon, Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
- Jan 22 Roger Vitrac, French poet/dramatist (Mysteries of Love), dies at 52
- Jan 23 Natalia Brassova, Russian noblewoman, wife of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, dies at 71
- Jan 25 Sveinn Bjornsson, Danish 1st President of Iceland (1944-52), dies at 70
- Jan 26 Louis van Deyssel, Dutch writer (Diary of Franc Rozelaar), dies at 87
- Jan 26 Khorloogiin Choibalsan, leader of Mongolia (b. 1895)