Events in History
- Jan 1 A new year event causes panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, central Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people
- Jan 1 Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan) declares independence from Egypt & UK
- Jan 2 Poujadists/communists win French parliamentary elections
- Jan 3 A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
- Jan 6 Federal court bars former Little League Commissioner Carl Stotz from forming a rival group
- Jan 7 Indian batsman Vinoo Mankad scores 231 v NZ, 413 opening stand with Roy
- Jan 8 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Conrad Aiken
- Jan 8 Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.
- Jan 9 Abigail Van Buren's [Pauline Phillips] "Dear Abby" advice column 1st appears in newspapers
- Jan 9 Samir el-Rifai forms government in Jordan
- Jan 12 FBi arrests 6 members of the Great Brink's robbery gang, 6 days before statute of limitations runs out
- Jan 14 Jordan government refuses to join Pact of Baghdad
Event of Interest
Jan 16 Egyptian President Nasser pledges to reconquer Palestine
- Jan 18 German Democratic Republic (East Germany) forms own army (National People's Army)
- Jan 22 30 people die in a train crash in Los Angeles
- Jan 22 Canadian Football Council forms
- Jan 24 96.5 cm precipitation at Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii (state record)
- Jan 24 An inquiry considers building homes in a war devastated area in London
- Jan 25 96.5 cm (38.0") of rainfall, Kilauea Plantation, Hawaii (state record)
- Jan 26 Porkkala military base returned to Finland by USSR
- Jan 29 Friedrich Durrenmatt's "Der Besuch der Alten Dame" premieres in Zurich
Civil Rights History
Jan 30 Home of Martin Luther King Jr. is bombed
Event of Interest
Jan 31 French government of Guy Mollet forms
- Jan 31 Juscelino Kubitschek becomes president of Brazil
Birthdays in History
- Jan 1 Abdalla Hamdok, Sudanese politician (Prime Minister of Sudan 2021-22), born in Al Dibaibat, Sudan
- Jan 1 Anatoli Borisovich Polonsky, Russian lt-colonel/cosmonaut
Christine Lagarde (67 years old)
Jan 1 French lawyer and politician, 1st female head of the IMF, born in Paris
- Jan 1 John O'Donohue, Irish poet (Anam Cara; Benedictus), philosopher, theologian, and one-time priest, born in Connemara, Ireland (d. 2008)
- Jan 1 Mark R. Hughes, American entrepreneur (founder and CEO of Herbalife International), born in La Mirada, California Ltd, d. 2000)
- Jan 1 Sergei Vasiliyevich Avdeyev, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-15, SK:TM-28)
- Jan 2 Lynda Barry, American cartoonist
- Jan 5 Chen Kenichi [Ken'ichi Azuma], Japanese celebrity chef, "The Szechuan Sage" (Iron Chef Chinese), born in Tokyo, Japan
- Jan 5 Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German politician (President of Germany 2017-), born in Detmold, West Germany
- Jan 9 Mike Walczewski, American public address announcer
- Jan 10 Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish writer (Royal Spanish Academy), born in Úbeda, Jaén, Spain
- Jan 15 Mayawati, Indian politician, born in New Delhi, India
- Jan 16 Ivan Safronov, Russian journalist, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 2007)
- Jan 16 Saadeddine Othmani, Moroccan politician and Prime Minister of Morocco (2017-present), born in Inezgane, Morocco
- Jan 20 Maria Larsson, Swedish politician, born in Långasjö, Sweden
- Jan 31 Trevor Manuel, South African politician, born in Cape Town, South Africa
Weddings in History
Neil Armstrong
Jan 28 Science student later astronaut Neil Armstrong marries fellow student Janet Elizabeth Shearon in Wilmette, Illinois
Deaths in History
- Jan 3 Joseph Wirth, 5th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic, Germany (Stalin Peace Prize), dies at 76
- Jan 8 Jim Elliot, American Christian missionary, dies at 28
- Jan 10 Henk Bremmer, Dutch art historian (Beeldende Kunst), dies at 84
- Jan 10 Karl Ludwig Schmidt, German-Swiss theologist (Urchristentum), dies at 64
- Jan 12 John Raedecker, Dutch sculptor (WW II Monument Amsterdam), dies at 70
- Jan 14 Siegfried Frederick Nadel, Austrian-British anthropologist (Nuba), dies at 52
- Jan 18 Konstantin Päts, Estonian Prime Minister (1921-23, 1932-33) and dictator (1933-40), dies at 81
- Jan 22 P A M Speet, Dutch broadcast CEO (KRO), dies
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)
Jan 29 American newspaperman and critic (Prejudices, Smart Set), dies at 75
- Jan 30 Gerrit Mannoury, Dutch mathematician and philosopher, dies at 88
A. A. Milne (1882-1956)
Jan 31 English author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, dies at 74
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists