Historical Events
- Jan 4 Last sighting of an eastern cougar (Ontario)
- Jan 4 The Fabian Society is founded in London, Egland to promote equality, citizenship, and human rights.
- Jan 8 Chrome tanning process for leather patented by Augustus Schultz
- Jan 18 Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Iesu Grist (Welsh for Jesus Christ) Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom
- Jan 18 General Charles Gordon departs London for Khartoum, Sudan
"Manon"
Jan 19 Jules Massenet's opera "Manon" premieres in Paris
- Jan 26 1st Dutch Wagner version of Elizabeth aria
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 2 Jacques Chardonne [Boutelleau], French writer (l'Epithalame), born in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire, France (d. 1968)
- Jan 3 E. Stanley Jones, American evangelist (Christ of Indian road), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1973)
- Jan 3 Raoul Armand Georg Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1948)
- Jan 6 Harry Pace, American music label owner (Black Swan - 1st major label founded by a Black American), born in Covington, Georgia (d. 1943)
- Jan 10 James Philip Dunn, American organist and composer, born in New York City (d. 1936)
- Jan 12 (Mary Louise) "Texas" Guinan, American vaudeville singer, silent film actress, and speakeasy (saloon) proprietor, born in Waco, Texas (d. 1933)
- Jan 12 Louis Horst, American dance choreographer and composer, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1964)
- Jan 13 Sophie Tucker [Kalish], Russian-born American singer and actress (My Yiddish Mama) known as "last of the red hot mammas", born in Tulchyn, Russian Empire (d. 1966)
- Jan 18 Arthur Ransome, English author, journalist and critic (Swallows & Amazons), born in Leeds, England (d. 1967)
- Jan 19 Albert Louis Wolff, French conductor and composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1970)
- Jan 20 (Abraham) A. Merritt, American magazine editor and sci-fi author (The Moon Pool; Burn, Witch, Burn!), born in Beverly, New Jersey (d. 1943)
- Jan 21 Katie Sandwina [Katie Brumbach], Austrian-American weight-lifter (Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1952)
- Jan 21 Roger Nash Baldwin, American founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, born in Wellesley, Massachusetts (d. 1981)
- Jan 25 Edward Kilenyi, Sr. [Kilényi Ede], Hungarian composer and teacher (Clipped Wings, Outside the Law), born in Békésszentandrás, Hungary (d. 1968)
- Jan 26 Edward Sapir, American linguist and anthropologist (North American Indian languages), born in Lauenburg, Germany (d. 1939)
- Jan 26 Roy Chapman Andrews, American scientist and explorer (found 1st known dinosaur eggs, director of the American Museum of Natural History), born in Beloit, Wisconsin (d. 1960)
- Jan 26 Walter "Doc" Meanwell, English Basketball Hall of Fame coach (University of Wisconsin 1911–1917, 1920–1934), born in Leeds, England (d. 1953)
- Jan 28 Auguste Piccard, Swiss scientist, explorer and balloonist (1st flight into stratosphere, by balloon), born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 1962)
- Jan 28 Jean Felix Piccard, Swiss scientist, explorer and balloonist (1st flight into stratosphere, by balloon), born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 1963)
- Jan 28 Lucien d'Azambuja, French astronomer (studied the solar chromosphere), born in Paris, France (d. 1970)
- Jan 29 Juhan Aavic, Estonian composer, born in Holstre, Russian Empire (d. 1982)
- Jan 31 Nicholas Joy, French actor (Gentleman's Agreement, Desk Set, Boss Lady), born in Paris, France (d. 1964)
- Jan 31 Theodor Heuss, 1st President of Germany (Bundespräsident) (d. 1963)
Famous Weddings
Thomas Eakins
Jan 19 Painter Thomas Eakins (39) weds painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony
Frederick Douglass
Jan 24 Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts
Famous Deaths
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
Jan 6 Austrian monk and geneticist (discoverer of laws of heredity), dies at 61
- Jan 6 Paul "the Great" Taglioni, Italian-Austrian ballet choreographer, dies at 75
- Jan 17 Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist, dies at 79
- Jan 21 Auguste Franchomme, French cellist and composer, dies at 75
- Jan 24 Johann Christian Gebauer, Danish composer, dies at 75
- Jan 26 John Letcher, American lawyer and politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia, dies at 70
- Jan 31 Elisha Harris, American physician (founded American Public Health Association, sanitary reform), dies of peritonitis at 60
