Historical Events
- Jan 1 4th Rose Bowl, Tournament Park, Pasadena, California: Mare Island, USMC beats Camp Lewis, US Army, 19-7; MVP: Hollis Huntington, USMC
- Jan 1 Last day of the Julian calendar in Finland
Stengel to the Pirates
Jan 2 After repeated clashes over pay with the Brooklyn Robins owner Charlie Ebbets, star right fielder and future Baseball Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel is traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates
Prohibition is Ratified
Jan 8 Mississippi becomes 1st state to ratify the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, authorizing the prohibition of alcohol
Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points
Jan 8 US President Woodrow Wilson outlines his Fourteen Points for peace after the Great War
- Jan 12 Finland's "Mosaic Confessors" law comes into effect, making Finnish Jews full citizens
Malone 1st to 20 Goals
Jan 12 Montreal Canadien's center Joe Malone scores 5 goals in a 9-4 win over Ottawa to become the first 20 goal scorer in NHL history; goes on to score 44 regular season goals
- Jan 14 Finland and USSR adopt New Style (Gregorian) calendar
- Jan 16 Austria and Germany are disrupted by strikes as people express impatience with leaders continuing the war
- Jan 19 Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles between the Red Guards and the White Guard
- Jan 19 Soviets disallow a Constitution Assembly
- Jan 22 Ukraine proclaimed a free republic (German puppet)
- Jan 25 Russia declared a republic of Soviets
Wheatless and Meatless Days
Jan 26 US Food Administrator Herbert Hoover calls for "wheatless" and "meatless" days to help war effort
- Jan 27 The first hostilities occurred in the Finnish Civil War.
- Jan 28 Finnish Civil War: Rebels seized control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland go underground
- Jan 28 Strike on Berlin ammunition factory
- Jan 29 Ukrainian-Soviet War: Battle of Kruty
- Jan 31 A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2000)
- Jan 1 Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (WR 100m freestyle, 1:04.06 1933-56; Olympic gold 4×100m freestyle 1936), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1997)
- Jan 2 Willi Graf, German anti-Nazi activist (d. 1943)
- Jan 5 Dal Richards, Canadian musician, bandmaster and composer (discovered Michael Bublé), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2015) [1]
- Jan 6 Buddy Weed, American pianist (Penthouse Party), born in Ossining, New York (d. 1997)
- Jan 7 Alessadro Natta, Italian political leader (Communist Party), born in Imperia, Italy (d. 2001)
- Jan 7 Colin Snedden, New Zealand cricket spin bowler (1 Test; Auckland), born in Auckland, New Zealand (d. 2011)
- Jan 7 Irene Vorrink, Dutch politician (Minister of Health), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1996)
- Jan 9 Betty Roché [Mary Elizabeth Roach], American jazz singer (Duke Ellington - "Take The 'A' Train"), born in Wilmington, Delaware (d. 1999)
- Jan 10 Arthur Chung, President of Guyana, born in Windsor Great Park, United Kingdom (d. 2008)
- Jan 11 Albert Weisser, American musicologist and composer, born in New York City (d. 1982)
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1918-2008)
Jan 12 Indian guru who developed Transcendental Meditation, born in Jabalpur, India
- Jan 13 George "Bud" Hamilton, American film make-up artist (Westmore family), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1973)
- Jan 13 Lester Sill, American pioneer music publisher (Leiber and Stoller; Lee Hazlewood), and record label executive (Philles Records; Colpix; Colgems), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1994)
- Jan 13 Stephen "Steve" Dunne, American actor (Professional Father, Shock), born in Northampton, Massachusetts (d. 1977)
- Jan 13 Ted Willis, prolific English screenwriter (It's Great to be Young), born in London, England (d. 1992)
- Jan 15 André Donner, Dutch jurist (constitutional law), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1992)
Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970)
Jan 15 Egyptian revolutionary and politician (Acting President, 1954-56; President, 1956-70), born in Bakos, Egypt
- Jan 15 João Figueiredo, President of Brazil, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 1999)
- Jan 16 Clem Jones, Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Australia (d. 2007)
- Jan 16 Nel Benschop, Dutch poet (d. 2005)
- Jan 16 Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter (In the Heat of the Night, Perry Mason), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1996)
- Jan 17 Joseph W. Barr, American banker and politician (Secretary of the Treasury), born in Vincennes, Indiana (d. 1996)
- Jan 17 Keith Joseph, British Conservative politician and minister under four PMs who helped create the ideology of Thatcherism, born in London (d. 1994)
- Jan 18 Adriano Mandarino Hypolito, Brazilian priest, born in Aracaju, State of Sergipe, Brazil (d. 1996)
- Jan 18 Gustave Gingras, French Canadian physician, born in Montreal, Canada (d. 1996)
- Jan 19 John H. Johnson, African-American publisher (Negro Digest, Ebony, Jet), born in Arkansas City, Arkansas (d. 2005)
- Jan 20 Esquivel! [Juan García Esquivel], Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader known as the "King of Space-Age Pop", born in Tampico, Mexico (d. 2002)
- Jan 21 Antonio Janigro, Italian cellist (Zagreb Soloists), born in Milan, Italy (d. 1989)
- Jan 21 Chichay [Amparo Robles Custodio], Filipino comedienne and actress (Bilangguang puso, Ngitngit ng pitong whistle bomb), born in Tondo, Manila (d. 1993)
- Jan 21 Geoffrey Dawes, English physiologist (fetal and neonatal physiology.), born in Mackworth, England (d. 1996)
- Jan 21 Herbert C. Jones, United States Navy ensign, Medal of Honor recipient, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1941)
- Jan 21 Richard Winters, American army officer and war hero (commanded 'Easy Company' during Normandy Invasion portrayed in "Band of Brothers"), born in New Holland Pennsylvania (d. 2011)
- Jan 22 Elmer Lach, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Stanley Cup 1944, 46, 53 Montreal Canadiens; Hart Trophy 1945; Art Ross Trophy 1948; 5 x NHL All Star), born in Nokomis, Saskatchewan (d. 2015)
Gertrude B. Elion (1918-1999)
Jan 23 American biochemist and drug researcher who developed groundbreaking leukemia and herpes drug treatments (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1988), born in New York City
- Jan 24 Gottfried von Einem, Austrian composer (Dantons Tod), born in Bern, Switzerland (d. 1996)
- Jan 24 John McLiam [Williams], Canadian actor (First Blood, Sleeper, Men From Shiloh), born in Alberta, Canada (d. 1994)
- Jan 24 Oral Roberts, American Televangelist, founder Oral Roberts College, born in Pontotoc County Oklahoma (d. 2009)
- Jan 25 Ernie Harwell, American baseball broadcaster (Detroit Tigers, 1960-2002), born in Washington, Georgia (d. 2010)
- Jan 26 Philip José Farmer, American sci-fi writer (Riverworld), born in Terre Haute Indiana (d. 2009)
- Jan 26 Vito Scotti [Scozarri], American actor (The Godfather, Flying Nun, Barefoot in the Park), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1996)
- Jan 27 (Lyle) "Skitch" Henderson, British-American pianist and orchestra leader (NBC Radio; NBC Television; New York Pops), born in Birmingham, England (d. 2005)
- Jan 27 Elmore James, American blues slide guitarist (Dust My Broom), born in Richland, Mississippi (d. 1963)
- Jan 27 William Seawell, United States Army Brigadier General (d. 2005)
- Jan 28 Harry Corbett, English puppeteer (Sooty), TV presenter and magician, born in Bradford, England (d. 1989)
- Jan 28 Suzanne Flon, French actress (One Deadly Summer, Moulin Rouge), born in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Seine (d. 2005)
- Jan 28 Wilson Ferreira Aldunate, Uruguayan politician, human rights activist who ran for President (d. 1988)
- Jan 29 Bill Rigney, American baseball infielder (MLB All Star 1948; NY Giants) and manager (NY/SF Giants; LA Angels; Minnesota Twins), born in Alameda, California (d. 2001)
John Forsythe (1918-2010)
Jan 29 American actor (Bachelor Father, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty), born in Penns Grove, New Jersey
- Jan 30 David Opatoshu [Opatovsky], American actor and writer (Star Trek, Bonino, Secret Empire, Masada), born in New York City (d. 1996)
- Jan 30 Jarl Andre Bjerke [Bernhard Borge], Norwegian poet and writer, born in Oslo, Norway (d. 1985)
Famous Deaths
Georg Cantor (1845-1918)
Jan 6 German mathematician (discovered transfinite numbers), dies at 72
- Jan 7 Julius Wellhausen, German biblical scholar (analysis of the structure and dating of the Pentateuch), dies at 73
- Jan 8 Ellis H. Roberts, American Treasurer of the United States (1897-1905) and politician (Rep-R-New York), dies at 90
- Jan 9 Émile Reynaud, French inventor of the praxinoscope who created the first projected animated films (Pantomimes Lumineuses), dies at 73
- Jan 18 Bohuslav Jeremiáš, Czech composer, dies at 58
- Jan 24 George Arthur Crump, American golf course architect (Founder Pine Valley Golf Club), dies from possible suicide at 46
John McCrae (1872-1918)
Jan 28 Canadian physician, soldier and poet (In Flanders Fields), dies of pneumonia at 45
- Jan 31 Daniël de Lange, Dutch composer, dies at 76
