Historical Events
- Jan 1 1st US college extension courses for credit, University of Chicago
Gregory Conquers Julius Caesar
Jan 1 Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar
- Jan 1 The railway line from Germiston to Pretoria, South Africa, is opened to traffic
- Jan 2 1st US commemoratives & 1st US stamp to picture a woman issued (Queen Isabella, patron of Columbus)
- Jan 2 World's Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago [or 0501]
Tchaikovsky's "Iolanta"
Jan 3 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final opera "Iolanta", is first performed outside of Russia in Hamburg, Germany
Washington National Cathedral
Jan 6 The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
- Jan 13 British Independent Labour Party forms (Keir Hardie as its leader)
- Jan 13 U.S. Marines land in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
- Jan 17 -17°F (-27°C), Millsboro, Delaware (state record)
- Jan 17 Franco-Russian Alliance is signed
- Jan 17 Queen Liliuokalani is deposed by an American coup, Kingdom of Hawaii becomes a republic
- Jan 19 Henrik Ibsen's play "The Master Builder" premieres in Berlin
- Jan 21 Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana)
- Jan 28 Edward Mcdowell's "Hamlet & Ophelia" premieres in Boston
- Jan 31 "Westminster Gazette" begins publishing
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Barney Stanley, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame forward (Stanley Cup 1915, Vancouver Millionaires; coach Chicago Black Hawks 1927-28), born in Edmonton, Alberta (d. 1971)
- Jan 2 Lillian Leitzel, German acrobat and strongwoman (d. 1931)
- Jan 3 Godfried Devreese, Belgian violinist, composer (Gothic Symphony), and conductor, born in Kortrijk, Belgium (d. 1972)
- Jan 3 Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, French novelist and essayist (Gilles), born in Paris, France (d. 1945)
- Jan 4 Manuel Palau Boix, Spanish composer (Conservatory of Valencia), born in Alfara del Patriarca, Spain (d. 1967)
- Jan 4 Yone Minagawa, Japanese, became worlds oldest living person January 29, 2007. (d. Aug. 13, 2007)
- Jan 5 Friedrich Blume, German musicologist (Das Rassenproblem in der Musik), born in Schlüchtern, Germany (d. 1975)
- Jan 5 Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (Autobiography of a Yogi), born in Gorakhpur, India (d. 1952)
- Jan 5 Zoltán Böszörmény, Hungarian Nazi politician, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. unknown)
- Jan 10 Albert Jacka, Australian soldier, first Australian World War I Victoria Cross winner (d. 1932)
- Jan 12 Alfred Rosenberg, German Nazi official (d. 1946)
Hermann Goering (1893-1946)
Jan 12 German Nazi Party leader, convicted war criminal, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (1941-45) and World War I fighter pilot ace, born in Rosenheim, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
- Jan 13 Clarke Ashton Smith, American sci-fi author (Lost Worlds, Genius Loci), born in Long Valley, California (d. 1961)
- Jan 13 Jan Evangelista Zelinka, Czech composer (Meluzina), born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (d. 1969)
- Jan 13 Roy Cazaly, Australian rules footballer (d. 1963)
- Jan 15 Dragisa Cvetkovic, Serbian politician (Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1939-41), born in Niš, Kingdom of Serbia (d. 1969)
- Jan 15 Ivor Novello [David Ivor Davies], Welsh composer, writer and actor (Keep the Home Fires Burning, The Truth Game), born in Cardiff, Wales (d. 1951)
- Jan 16 Daisy Kennedy, Australian concert violinist, born in Burra-Burra (now Burra), Australia (d. 1981)
- Jan 18 John Lawrence Seymour, American composer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1986)
- Jan 20 Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver triple jump; bronze long jump 1912), born in Norrköping, Sweden (d. 1946)
- Jan 20 Kaj Birket-Smith, Danish etnologist and anthropologist (Inuit and Eyak) (d. 1977)
- Jan 22 Conrad Veidt, German actor (Casablanca, Cabinet of Dr Calgary), born in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany (d. 1943)
- Jan 23 Frank Carlson, American politician (Gov/Rep/Sen-R-Ks), born in Cloud County, Kansas (d. 1987)
- Jan 26 Giuseppe Genco Russo, Sicilian mafioso (d. 1976)
- Jan 27 Soong Ching-ling, Chinese wife of Sun Yat-sen (d. 1981)
- Jan 28 Elliot Griffis, American composer, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1967)
- Jan 29 Edric Cundell, British composer (Serbia; The Tragedy of Deirdre) conductor, and educator (Guildhall School of Music, 1938-56), born in London, England (d. 1961)
- Jan 29 Martian Negrea, Romanian composer and conductor, born in Valea Viilor, Romania (d. 1973)
- Jan 31 Freya Stark, English explorer and travel writer (The Southern Gates of Arabia), born in Paris, France (d. 1993)
Famous Weddings
Rudyard Kipling
Jan 18 British poet and writer Rudyard Kipling (26) weds Carrie Balestier (29) at All Souls Church in Langham Place, London, England; writer. Henry James gave away the bride
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 James Fleming Fagan, American farmer and Confederate Army Major General (Shiloh; Mark's Mill), dies at 55
- Jan 2 John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist, dies at 87
- Jan 7 Josef Stefan, Slovenian-Austrian physicist and mathematician (Stefan-Boltzmann law), dies at 57
- Jan 9 Mohara, Arab ivory/slave trader, dies in battle and is eaten
Benjamin Butler (1818-1893)
Jan 11 American Major General (Union Army), Governor of Massachusetts (1883-84) and US presidential candidate (Greenback anti-monopoly ticket), dies of a bronchial infection at 74
Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893)
Jan 17 19th US President (Republican: 1877-81), dies of a heart attack at 70
- Jan 19 Julius Eichberg, German composer, dies at 68
- Jan 22 Vincenz Lachner, German composer, dies at 81
- Jan 23 Jose Zorrilla y Moral, Spanish poet (Granada), dies at 75
- Jan 23 Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, American politician and U.S. Supreme Court Justice, dies at 67
- Jan 23 Phillips Brooks, American Episcopal bishop and composer (Little Town of Bethlehem), dies at 57
- Jan 26 Abner Doubleday, American Union Army General-Major, and inventor (San Francisco cable cars), dies at 73
James G. Blaine (1830-1893)
Jan 27 US Secretary of State (1881 and 1889-92) known as the "Plumed Knight", dies at 62
- Jan 28 Samuel S. Carroll, American Brigadier General (Union Army), dies at 60
