Historical Events
- Jan 1 Coal miners in the Transvaal, South Africa, embark on a strike in response to a wage cut, which quickly escalated into a large-scale revolt against the government, known as the Rand Rebellion.
- Jan 1 Vancouver, British Columbia starts driving on the right side of road
- Jan 2 8th Rose Bowl: California ties Washington & Jefferson, 0-0
Anglo-Irish Treaty Ratified
Jan 7 The Anglo-Irish Treaty is ratified by Dail Eireann by a 64-57 vote
- Jan 9 KQV-AM in Pittsburgh PA begins radio transmissions
- Jan 9 Rotterdam metalworkers strike ends
1st Insulin Injection
Jan 11 Insulin first used on humans to treat diabetes, Frederick Banting injects fellow Canadian Leonard Thompson, aged 14
- Jan 13 Buck Weaver, a Black Sox, applies unsuccessfully for reinstatement
- Jan 13 Conference of Cannes concerning German retribution payments ended
- Jan 13 WHA-AM in Madison WI begins radio transmissions
Arthur Griffith Elected
Jan 15 Arthur Griffith is elected president of the Irish Free State after Eamon de Valera resigns in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Treaty (De Valera will lead a military opposition seeking a unified and independent Ireland)
"Skating Rink"
Jan 20 Arthur Honegger's ballet "Skating Rink" premieres at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France
- Jan 21 1st slalom ski race run at Murren, Switzerland
- Jan 24 -54°F (-48°C), Danbury, Wisconsin (state record)
- Jan 24 Eskimo Pie patented by Christian Kent Nelson of Iowa (not an Eskimo)
- Jan 24 Lehman Caves National Monument established
- Jan 28 J E Clair turns Green Bay franchise back to NFL
- Jan 28 Knickerbocker Storm, Washington, D.C.'s biggest snowfall, causes the city's greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater collapses, killing 98 patrons
- Jan 29 Union of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador dissolved
- Jan 30 World Law Day 1st celebrated
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, American Democratic Senator from South Carolina (1966-2005) and Governor of South Carolina (1959-63), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 2019)
- Jan 2 Jason Evers, American actor (Wrangler, Channing), born in New York City (d. 2005)
- Jan 2 Nico Schuyt, Dutch composer, born in Alkmaar, Netherlands (d. 1992)
- Jan 3 Bill Travers [William Inge Lindon-Travers], British actor, director, officer and animal rights activist (Born Free, Gorgo), born in Sunderland, England (d. 1994)
- Jan 3 Jacques Wildberger, Swiss composer (In My End Is My Beginning), born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 2006)
- Jan 3 Morten Nielsen, Danish poet and resistance fighter, born in Ålborg, Denmark (d. 1944)
- Jan 4 Frank Wess, American jazz flutist, saxophonist (Duke Ellington, 1953-64; New York Jazz Quartet, 1974-82), and composer, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2013)
- Jan 5 Admiral Sir Anthony Synnot, Chief of the Australian Defence Force, born in Corowa, Australia (d. 2001)
- Jan 6 Finn Einar Mortensen, Norwegian composer, born in Oslo, Norway (d. 1983)
- Jan 7 Alvin Dark, American baseball player and manager, born in Comanche, Oklahoma, (d. 2014)
- Jan 7 Jean-Pierre Rampal, French classical flautist (The Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano), born in Marseilles, France (d. 2000)
- Jan 7 Robert De Cormier, American conductor and musical director (The Belafonte Folk Singers), born in Long Island, New York (d. 2017)
- Jan 9 Ahmed Sékou Touré, first President of Guinea (1958-84), born in Faranah, Guinea (d. 1984)
- Jan 9 Har Gobind Khorana, Indian-American biochemist (Nobel 1968), born in Raipur, Punjab, British India (d. 2011)
- Jan 10 Ester Mägi, Estonian composer 'First Lady of Estonian music', born in Tallinn, Estonia (d. 2021)
- Jan 11 Ernle Bradford, English historian and writer (d. 1986)
- Jan 11 Neville Duke, English WWII flying ace (shot down 27 planes ), test pilot (air speed record 1953), born in Tonbridge, Kent (d. 2007)
- Jan 12 Tadeusz Żychiewicz, Polish journalist and art historian, born in Bratkowice, Poland (d. 1994)
- Jan 13 John Hewer, English actor famous for portraying Captain Birdseye in British commercials, born in London (d. 2008)
- Jan 15 Sir Eric Willis, Australian politician, born in Murwillumbah, Australia (d. 1999)
- Jan 15 Thelma Carpenter, American radio and jazz band singer (Coleman Hawkins; Count Basie), and stage and screen actress (Hello, Dolly!; Barefoot In The Park (TV); The Wiz (film)), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1997)
- Jan 16 Ernesto Bonino, Italian pop singer, born in Turin, Italy (d. 2008)
Betty White (1922-2021)
Jan 17 American Emmy Award-winning comic actress with the longest TV career of a female entertainer (The Mary Tyler Moore Show - "Sue Ann Nivens"; Golden Girls - "Rose"; The Proposal), born in Oak Park Illinois [1]
- Jan 17 Luis Echeverria Alvarez, Mexican politician, President of Mexico (1970-76), born in Mexico City (d. 2022)
- Jan 17 Nicholas Katzenbach, lawyer (US Attorney General), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
- Jan 18 Antonio Bibalo, Italian-Norwegian pianist, contemporary classical and opera composer (The Smile at the Foot of the Ladder ; Ghosts), born in Trieste, Italy (d. 2008)
- Jan 18 Bob Bell, American clown, born in Flint, Michigan (d. 1997)
- Jan 18 Johnny Costa [Costanza], American jazz pianist, celeste player, accordionist, and musical director (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood), born in Arnold, Pennsylvania (d. 1996)
- Jan 18 Yehezkel Braun, Israeli composer (Shir ha-shirim), born in Breslau, Germany (d. 2014)
- Jan 19 Arthur Morris, Australian cricket batsman (46 Tests, 12 x 100, HS 206, BA 46.48; NSWCA), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2015)
- Jan 19 Guy Madison [Robert Moseley], American actor (Wild Bill Hickok), born in Pumpkin Center, California (d. 1996)
- Jan 19 Ken Hughes, English director (Casino Royale, Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2001)
- Jan 20 James Hanson, English industrialist, born in Huddersfield, United Kingdom (d. 2004)
- Jan 20 Ray Anthony [Antonini], American orchestra leader (Ray Anthony Show; "Peter Gunn Theme"), born in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania
- Jan 21 (Aristotelis) "Telly" Savalas, American actor (Kojak; On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and singer ("If"), born in Garden City, New York (d. 1994)
- Jan 21 Jean Paul Vroom, Dutch artist and print maker, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 2006)
Paul Scofield (1922-2008)
Jan 21 English actor (A Man for All Seasons, Train), born in Hurst, England
- Jan 21 Sam Mele, American MLB outfielder/manager (Minnesota Twins record 102 wins 1965), born in Astoria, New York (d. 2017)
- Jan 22 Howard Moss, American poet and editor (New Yorker), born in New York City (d. 1987)
- Jan 24 Charles Socarides, American psychiatrist, born in Brockton, Massachusetts (d. 2005)
- Jan 24 Neil Franklin, English soccer defender (26 caps; Stoke City, Hull City, Crewe Alexandra) and manager (Colchester United), born in Shelton, England (d. 1996)
- Jan 25 Jules de Palm, Antilles writer, born in Curaçao (d. 2013)
- Jan 25 Raymond Baxter, English television presenter and writer (Fast Lady), born in Ilford, United Kingdom (d. 2006)
- Jan 26 Michael Bentine, English author and comedian (Reluctant Jester, The Goons), born in Watford, England (d. 1996)
- Jan 28 Robert W. Holley, American biochemist who worked with RNA (Nobel Prize 1968), born in Los Gatos, California (d. 1991)
- Jan 29 Gerda Steinhoff, Nazi concetration camp supervisor (d. 1946)
- Jan 30 Dick Martin [Thomas Richard], American actor and comedian (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Carbon Copy), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2008)
- Jan 30 Pal Jardanyi, Hungarian composer, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1966)
- Jan 31 Joanne Dru [LaCock], American actress (Red River, All the King's Men), born in Logan, West Virginia (d. 1996)
- Jan 31 William Sylvester, American actor (2001: A Space Odyssey, Gemini Man), born in Oakland, California (d. 1995)
Famous Deaths
- Jan 4 Eliza Ann Gardner, African-American abolitionist and religious leader, dies at 90
Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922)
Jan 5 British-Irish polar explorer (Endurance, Antarctica), dies of a heart attack at 47
- Jan 6 Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (algebraic geometry and invariant theory), dies at 79
- Jan 7 Antonio Scontrino, Italian composer, dies at 71
- Jan 7 Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana'ole, Prince of the Kingdom of Hawaii, dies at 50
- Jan 8 Charles R Young, colonel, dies at 58, in Lagos Nigeria
- Jan 10 Frank Tudor, Australian Labor Opposition leader (b. 1866)
- Jan 10 Ōkuma Shigenobu, Japanese politician (Prime Minister of Japan 1898, 1914-1916), dies at 83
- Jan 15 John Kirk Barry, British physician, explorer and administrator in Zanzibar (companion to explorer David Livingstone), dies at 89
- Jan 22 Fredrik Bajer, Danish politician, feminist and pacifist politician (Nobel 1908), dies at 84
- Jan 22 James, Bryce, Irish-British historian and politician (ambassador to the United States, 1907–13), dies at 83
- Jan 23 Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor (Berlin Philharmonic), dies at 66
- Jan 26 Luigi Denza, Italian composer (Funiculì, Funiculà), dies at 77
- Jan 27 Giovanni Verga, Italian writer (I Mala Voglia), dies at 81
Nellie Bly (1865-1922)
Jan 27 American journalist and writer (Ten Days in a Mad House), dies at 57
- Jan 31 Heinrich Reinhardt, Austrian composer, dies at 56
