Historical Events
Bradman's 1st Test Century
Jan 3 Australian cricket icon Don Bradman follows up a 1st innings of 79 to score 112 in 3rd Test v England in Melbourne; his 1st of 29 Test centuries
Mother Teresa Arrives in India
Jan 6 Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin her work amongst India's poorest
- Jan 7 "Buck Rogers" sci-fi comic strip's 1st appearance in a newspaper
Fascist Organization Ustaša
Jan 7 Croatian nationalist and fascist movement, Ustaša founded by Ante Pavelić in exile in Italy
- Jan 7 French inventor Robert Bureau launches the 1st radiosonde - a battery-powered telemetry instrument carried into the atmosphere to measure various parameters and transmit them by radio to a ground receiver
- Jan 8 "Man with a Movie Camera", Soviet experimental documentary film directed by Dziga Vertov, is released
- Jan 8 1st telephone connection between Netherlands & West-Indies
- Jan 8 CBS radio network buys WABC in NYC
- Jan 9 Buddy DeSylva & Lew Brown's musical "Follow Thru" premieres in NYC
- Jan 9 KDB-AM in Santa Barbara CA begins radio transmissions
Street Scene
Jan 10 Elmer Rice's play "Street Scene" premieres in NYC
- Jan 12 Seatrain (RR cars on ships) service begins, New Orleans-Havana
- Jan 13 Humanist Society established in Hollywood, California
- Jan 14 Afghan King Amanullah forced to resign
- Jan 17 Popeye makes 1st appearance, in comic strip "Thimble Theater"
- Jan 18 "NY Daily Mirror" columnist Walter Winchell debuts on radio
- Jan 19 Acadia National Park, Maine established
World 500m Skating Record
Jan 19 Finnish speed skater Clas Thunberg sets new world 500m record in 42.8 seconds in Davos, Switzerland
- Jan 20 1st feature talking motion picture taken outdoors, "In Old Arizona"
- Jan 21 Robert Sherriff's "Journey's End" premieres in London
- Jan 25 Future Australian cricket captain Don Bradman scores an unbeaten 340 for NSW v Victoria (488 mins, 38 fours); then highest individual score in a Sheffield Shield match
- Jan 26 Indian National Congress proclaims goal for India's independence
Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts
Jan 26 Rube Goldberg's "The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, A.K.," cartoon series first published in "Colliers Weekly"
- Jan 28 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Englishman Colin Gregory wins his only Grad Slam title, beating Richard Schlesinger of Australia 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
- Jan 28 Australian Championships Women's Tennis, Adelaide: Daphne Akhurst retains title; beats Louise Bickerton 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
- Jan 29 Seeing Eye Guide Dog organization forms in USA
"Nothing New in the West"
Jan 31 Erich Maria Remarque publishes his anti-war novel "Im Westen nichts Neues" (Nothing New in the West) in Berlin
Trotsky Expelled
Jan 31 Leon Trotsky expelled from Russia to Turkey
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 1 Holling Gustav Vincoeur, fictional character on "Northern Exposure"
- Jan 2 Allen Sapp, Canadian Cree artist, born at Red Pheasant Reserve, Saskatchewan (d. 2015) [1]
- Jan 3 Ernst Mahle, German-Brazilian composer (O Garatuja), and conductor (Escola de Música de Piracicaba), born in Stuttgart, Germany
- Jan 3 Marilyn Lloyd, American politician (Rep-D-TN, 1975-95), born in Fort Smith, Arkansas (d. 2018)
- Jan 3 Sergio Leone, Italian director who invented spaghetti westerns (The Man with No Name trilogy), born in Rome, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1989)
- Jan 4 Amitai W Etzioni, US sociologist (Active Society)
- Jan 4 Bobby Tulloch, ornithologist
- Jan 4 Darrell Mudra, American College Football HOF coach (Adams State, North Dakota State, Uni of Arizona, Western Illinois Uni, Florida State, Eastern Illinois Uni; Montreal Alouettes), born in Omaha, Nebraska (d. 2022)
- Jan 4 Norman Munnoch, Scottish rugby union hooker (3 caps; Watsonians RFC, RAFRU, Edinburgh District), born in Polmont, Scotland (d. 2023)
- Jan 5 Wilbert Harrison, American R&B singer ("Kansas City"; "Let's Work Together"), born in Charlotte, North Carolina (d. 1994)
- Jan 6 Babrak Karmal, Afghani politician installed as President after Soviet invasion, born in Afghanistan (d. 1996)
- Jan 7 Ken Henry, American speed skater (Olympic gold 500m, 1952), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2009)
- Jan 7 Mario Bergamaschi, Italian soccer midfielder (5 caps; Calcio Como, A.C. Milan, U.C. Sampdoria), born in Crema, Italy (d. 2020)
- Jan 7 Terry Moore [Helen Luella Koford], American actress (Come Back, Little Sheba), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 8 Saeed Jaffrey, Indian actor (The Chess Players; Gandhi), born in Punjab, India (d. 2015)
- Jan 9 Brian Friel, Irish dramatist sometimes called the "Irish Chekhov" (Dancing at Lughnasa), born in Omagh, County Tyrone (d. 2015)
- Jan 9 Dorothea Puente, American serial killer, born in Redlands, California (d. 2011)
- Jan 9 Heiner Müller, German dramatist (Ten Days That Shook The World; The Battle), and theater director, born in Eppendorf, Germany (d. 1995)
- Jan 10 Derek Hammond-Stroud, English operatic baritone, born in London (d. 2012)
- Jan 11 Nicoletta Orsomando, Italian TV presenter, born in Casapulla, Italy (d. 2021)
- Jan 11 Wanda Wilkomirska, Polish violinist, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 2018)
- Jan 12 Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish-born American philosopher, born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Jan 13 Joe Pass [Passalaqua], American jazz guitarist ("The Trio" with Oscar Peterson; Ella Fitzgerald) and composer, born in New Brunswick, New Jersey (d. 1994)
- Jan 14 Aleksander Petrovic, French-born Serbian & Yugloslav film director, born in Paris, France (d. 1994)
- Jan 14 Billy Walker, American country music singer and guitarist ("Charlie's Shoes"), born in Ralls, Texas (d. 2006)
- Jan 15 "Queen" Ida [Lewis], Louisiana Creole accordionist, born in Lake Charles, Louisiana
- Jan 15 Eva Badura-Skoda, German-Austrian musicologist (Mozart-Interpretation), born in Munich, Germany (d. 2021)
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
Jan 15 American clergyman and leader of the Civil Rights Movement (Nobel 1964), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- Jan 15 Teizo Matsumura, Japanese composer ("Chinmoku / Silence"; "Hymn to Aurora") and haiku poet, born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 2007)
- Jan 16 Allard Lowenstein, American writer (A Brutal Mandate), politician (US Representative from New York, 1969-71), and human rights activist, born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1980)
- Jan 16 Tage Nielsen, Danish composer, born in Frederiksberg, Denmark (d. 2003)
- Jan 17 Grady Martin, country music guitarist (The Nashville A-Team), born in Chapel Hill, Tennessee (d. 2001)
Jacques Plante (1929-1986)
Jan 17 Canadian NHL goaltender (#1) who was the first to wear a goaltender mask, born in Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, Quebec
- Jan 19 Israel "Ulu" Grosbard, Belgian-born American actor and director (Straight Time, Georgia, Falling in Love), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 2012)
- Jan 20 (Wilbur) Jimmy Cobb, American jazz drummer (Miles Davis' First Great Sextet), born in Washington D.C. (d. 2020)
- Jan 20 Arte Johnson, American comedian (Laugh-in, Don't Call Me Charlie), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2019)
- Jan 20 Bob Denard, French soldier & mercenary, born in Grayan-et-l'Hôpital, France (d. 2007)
- Jan 20 Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, American auto racer (Daytona 500 1962; NASCAR 33 wins), born in Tavares, Florida (d. 1964)
- Jan 22 (Elijah) Doug Quattlebaum, American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter (Softee Man Blues), born in Florence, South Carolina (d. 1996)
- Jan 22 Rita Gillespie, British pioneering TV director, born in London, England (d. 1994)
- Jan 22 Ron Richards, British record producer (Gerry and The Pacemakers; The Hollies), born in London (d. 2009)
- Jan 23 Ian Thomson, English cricket fast bowler (5 Tests, 9 wickets; Sussex), born in Walsall, England (d. 2021)
John Polanyi (95 years old)
Jan 23 Canadian chemist (Nobel 1986) who researched chemical kinetics, born in Berlin, Germany
- Jan 23 Patriarch Filaret (Mykhailo Denysenko) of Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate
- Jan 25 Benny Golson, American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and composer ("I Remember Clifford"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jan 25 Brian O'Neill, Canadian sports executive (executive vice president NHL 1977-92), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2023)
- Jan 25 Robert Faurisson, British-born French academic, born in Shepperton, United Kingdom (d. 2018)
- Jan 26 Gordon Solie, American wrestling commentator (d. 2000)
- Jan 26 Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist (Passionella)/author (Little Murders), born in New York City
- Jan 27 Bill English, American computer engineer who helped develop the computer mouse and the revolutionary NLS computer system, born in Lexington, Kentucky (d. 2020)
- Jan 27 Gastón Suárez, Bolivian novelist (d. 1984)
- Jan 27 Mohamed Al Fayed, Egyptian business magnate (Harrods - London; The Ritz Hotel - Paris), born in Alexandria, Egypt (d. 2023)
- Jan 27 Richard Du Cann, English lawyer and QC, born in London (d. 1993)
- Jan 28 (Bernard) "Acker" Bilk, British clarinetist who was part of the traditional jazz revival of the 1950s and 1960s, born in Pensford, Somerset, England (d. 2014)
- Jan 28 Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American pop artist (Clothespin; Alphabet; Good Humor), born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 2022) [1]
- Jan 28 Clem Thomas, Welsh rugby union flanker (26 Tests, 9 as captain; Cambridge Uni RFC, Brynamman, Swansea, London Welsh, Harlequins) and journalist (The Observer), born in Cardiff, Wales (d. 1996)
- Jan 29 Elio Petri, Italian director (Property is no theft), born in Rome, Italy (d. 1982)
- Jan 29 Puggy Pearson, American poker player (World Series of Poker Main Event 1973; 4 x World Series of Poker bracelets), born in Las Vegas, Nevada (d. 2006)
- Jan 29 William McMillan, American sports shooter (Olympic gold 25m rapid fire pistol 1960; World C'ship gold 1952), born in Frostburg, Maryland (d. 2000)
- Jan 30 Hugh Tayfield, South African cricketer (celebrated South African off-spinner 1949-60), born in Durban, South Africa (d. 1994)
- Jan 30 Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian surgeon & international aid worker, born in Montreal, Canada (d. 1996)
- Jan 31 Jean Simmons, British actress (Thorn Birds, Guys & Dolls), born in London, England (d. 2010)
- Jan 31 Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist (1961 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of 'recoilless nuclear resonance fluorescence'), born in Munich, Germany (d. 2011)
Famous Weddings
Bugsy Siegel
Jan 28 Mobster Bugsy Siegel (23) weds childhood sweetheart Esta Krakower
- Jan 30 Mitford sister Diana Mitford (18) marries Irish peer Bryan Walter Guinness (23) in the British society wedding of the year
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Erich Wichman, Dutch fascist painter and sculptor, dies of pneumonia at 38
- Jan 2 Erich Wichmann, Dutch fascist painter and sculptor, dies at 38
- Jan 5 Nicholas Nikolaevich Romanov, Grand Duke of Russia and general in World War I (1914-18), dies at 72
- Jan 6 Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and entrepreneur (founder NHL New York Rangers; builder third incarnation of Madison Square Garden, NYC), dies of complications from an appendectomy at 59
- Jan 7 Henry Arthur Jones, English playwright (Silver King), dies at 77
- Jan 11 Julio Antonio Mella, Cuban revolutionary, murdered at about 28
- Jan 13 H. B. Higgins, Australian politician and judge (b. 1851)
Wyatt Earp (1848-1929)
Jan 13 American frontiersman and marshal who participated in the gunfight at the OK Corral, dies at 80
Wilfred Baddeley (1872-1929)
Jan 24 British tennis player (Wimbledon 1891-2, 95), dies at 57
- Jan 24 Willem Royaards, Dutch theater director (Adam in Ballingschap), dies at 62
- Jan 28 Maritcha Remond Lyons, American educator, suffragist, and civil rights leader (co-founder of the Women's Loyal Union of New York and Brooklyn), dies at 80
- Jan 29 La Goulue [Louise Weber], French can-can dancer (Moulin Rouge), known as the Queen of Montmartre, dies at 62
