Historical Events
- Jan 1 Britain's Midlands Railway abolishes second class travel, ending the practice of carrying third class passengers in open air wagons [1]
- Jan 5 Charles Garnier's new Opera opens in Paris
- Jan 5 President Grant sends federal troops to Vicksburg, Mississippi
- Jan 12 Kwang-su becomes Emperor of China
Music History
Jan 24 Camille Saint-Saëns' orchestral tone poem "Danse Macabre" premieres
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Charles Rist, French economist who opposed the Keynesian Revolution, born in Lausanne, Switzerland (d. 1955)
- Jan 1 Frank Druce, English cricket batsman (5 Tests, 1 x 50; Surrey CCC), born in London, England (d. 1954)
- Jan 7 Gustav Flatow, German gymnast (d. 1945)
- Jan 9 Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American sculptor and art patron (founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art NYC), born in New York City (d. 1942)
- Jan 11 Reinhold Glière, Russian-Soviet composer, born in Kyiv, Ukraine (d. 1956)
- Jan 12 Marika Stiernstedt, Swedish author (Ulla Bella), born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1954)
- Jan 14 Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian theologian and writer (Nobel 1954), born in Kayserberg, France (d. 1965)
Ibn Saud (1875-1953)
Jan 15 Founder and first King of Saudi Arabia (1932-53), born in Riyadh, Emirate of Nejd
- Jan 15 Tom Burke, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 400m 1896), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1929)
- Jan 16 Leonor Michaelis, German enzyme kinetic theorist (d. 1947)
- Jan 17 Florencio Sánchez, Uruguayan dramatist, born in Montevideo, Uruguay (d. 1910)
- Jan 21 John Lindworsky, German Jesuit and psychologist (Der Wille) (d. 1939)
- Jan 21 Paul E. Kahle, German professor of oriental studies, born in Hohenstein, Prussia (d. 1964)
- Jan 22 Bonifacius Cornelius de Jonge, Dutch politician (Governor General of the Dutch East Indies 1931-6) (d. 1958)
D. W. Griffith (1875-1948)
Jan 22 American film director and producer (Birth of a Nation, Intolerance), born in LaGrange, Kentucky
- Jan 22 Thomas W Ross, American actor (Without Limit, Kings Row, 17, Mortal Storm), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1959)
- Jan 28 Julian Antonio Carillo Trujillo, Mexican composer, musician and conductor (developed theory of microtonal music "The Thirteenth Sound"), born in Ahualulco, Mexico (d. 1965)
Famous Deaths
- Jan 3 Pierre Larousse, French editor (b. 1817)
- Jan 18 Joseph Philbrick Webster, American composer and songwriter (Lorena), dies at 55
- Jan 20 Jean-François Millet, French painter (b. 1814)
- Jan 22 Charles Sprague, American banker and poet (Curiosity), dies at 83
- Jan 23 Charles Kingsley [Parson Lot], English vicar and historian (Westward Ho!), dies at 55
- Jan 25 Leopold Jansa, Bohemian violinist, composer, and teacher, dies at 79
