Historical Events
- Jan 1 20th Rose Bowl: Columbia beats Stanford, 7-0
- Jan 1 Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison
- Jan 1 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (US bank guarantor) effective
- Jan 1 International Telecommunication Union established
- Jan 1 Nazi Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring".
- Jan 2 1st state liquor stores open, in Pennsylvania
- Jan 4 1st Dutch talkie movie, Jan Teunissen's "Willem of Orange" premieres
- Jan 5 Boston's Fenway Park catches fire for 2nd time (May 8th 1926 also)
- Jan 5 National & American baseball leagues select a uniform ball
- Jan 7 "Flash Gordon" comic strip created and drawn by Alex Raymond debuts
- Jan 8 Jaap Speyers "Bluejackets" premieres in Amsterdam
- Jan 13 The Candidate of Science degree is established in the USSR
- Jan 15 8.4 earthquake in India/Nepal, 10,700 die
Dillinger Survives Bank Robbery
Jan 15 While robbing the First National Bank in East Chicago, Indianapolis, John Dillinger is shot several times by officer William O'Malley, but survives because he is wearing a bullet proof vest.
- Jan 17 Electric Home & Farm Authority incorporated
Carl Hubbell's $18,000 Contract
Jan 17 NY Giants reward NL MVP pitcher Carl Hubbell with a huge $18,000 contract
"Days Without End"
Jan 18 Eugene O'Neill's play "Days Without End" premieres in NYC
Jackson's Appeal Denied
Jan 19 MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis denies Joe Jackson's appeal for reinstatement into baseball; Jackson was banned after 1919 "Black Sox" World Series
- Jan 20 Japan sends Henry Pu Yi as regent to emperor of Manchuria
- Jan 21 Parisian baker and "student of medieval life" Henri Littière appears in court charged with forcing his adulterous wife Juliette to wear a chastity belt. Having committed the same offence in 1932, he was sentenced to three months in prison and fined 50 francs for cruelty to his wife
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District
Jan 22 Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" debuts in Leningrad
- Jan 23 New York Rangers' left wing Murray Murdoch plays his 400th straight NHL game in a 5-2 win over Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden, NYC; streak reaches 508 consecutive games
- Jan 24 Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" is performed in Moscow; roundly criticized by the Communist Party and banned in the Soviet Union until 1961
Bradman's 128 in 96 Minutes
Jan 26 Australian cricket batting icon Don Bradman scores 128 in just 96 minutes for NSW v Victoria in Sydney; smashes 17 x fours, 4 x sixes
- Jan 26 Nazi Germany & Poland sign 10-year non-aggression treaty
- Jan 26 The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
Perry Beats Crawford
Jan 27 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Englishman Fred Perry wins his only Australian title; beats Jack Crawford of Australia 6-3, 7-5, 6-1
- Jan 27 Australian Championships Women's Tennis, Sydney: Joan Hartigan Bathurst retains title; beats Margaret Molesworth 6-1, 6-4
- Jan 27 French government of Chautemps falls (Stavisky Affair)
- Jan 27 VARA refuses to hire after commemoration of Marinus Van de Lubbe
- Jan 28 1st US ski tow (rope) begins operation (Woodstock, Vermont)
- Jan 30 1st theatrical presentation sponsored by US government, NYC
Hitler on German Unified States
Jan 30 Adolf Hitler's proclamation on German unified states
- Jan 30 Former Australian cricket spin bowler Bert Ironmonger ends Sheffield Shield career age 51 years 298 days as Victoria draws with NSW at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Famous Birthdays
- Jan 3 Bryan Kelly, English pianist, composer (Brass Bagatelles) and conductor, born in Oxford, England
- Jan 3 Carla Hills, American lawyer and politician (Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1975-77), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 4 Rudolf Schuster, President of Slovakia
- Jan 5 Eddy Pieters Graafland, Dutch soccer goalkeeper (47 caps; Ajax; European Cup 1970, Feyenoord), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2020)
- Jan 5 Phil Ramone [Rabinowitz], American 14-time Grammy Award-winning music producer (Burt Bacharach; Paul Simon; Billy Joel; Tony Bennett), and studio owner (co-founded A&R Recording), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2013)
- Jan 5 William Bendeck, Bolivian rally driver, born in Bolivia (d. 1971)
- Jan 6 Bobby Lord, American country singer (Ozark Jubilee), born in Sanford, Florida (d. 2008)
- Jan 6 Harry M. Miller, Australian entrepreneur, born in Auckland, New Zealand (d. 2018)
- Jan 6 Sylvia Syms, English actress (Asylum, Moonraker, Shirley Valentine), born in Woolwich, London (d. 2023) [1]
- Jan 6 Tassos Papadopoulos, Cypriot politician and barrister (President, 2003–2008), born in Nicosia, Cyprus (d. 2008)
- Jan 7 Charles Jenkins Snr., American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4x400m relay 1956), born in New York City
- Jan 7 Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician (d. 2002)
- Jan 8 Alexandra Ripley, American writer, born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 2004)
- Jan 8 Gene Freese, American baseball player, born in Wheeling, West Virginia (d. 2013)
Jacques Anquetil (1934-1987)
Jan 8 French road cyclist (Tour de France 1957, 61-64; first 5-time winner), born in Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
- Jan 8 Piet Dankert, Dutch politician (PvdA), born in Stiens, Netherlands (d. 2003)
- Jan 8 Roy Kinnear, English character actor (TW3, Help!, The 3 Musketeers), born in Wigan, United Kingdom (d. 1988)
- Jan 9 Bart Starr, American Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, coach (Green Bay Packers), born in Montgomery, Alabama (d. 2019)
- Jan 9 Julian B Coco, Dutch guitarist (Princess Christina), born in Willemstad, Netherlands (d. 2013)
- Jan 10 Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician (1st President of Ukraine, 1991-94), born in Żytyń, Poland (now Ukraine) (d. 2022)
Jean Chretien (90 years old)
Jan 11 20th Prime Minister of Canada (Liberal: 1993-2003), born in Shawinigan, Quebec
- Jan 11 Mitchell Ryan, American actor (Dark Shadows; Lethal Weapon; Dharma & Greg; Executive Suite), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2022)
- Jan 11 Sir Charles Antony Richard Hoare, Computer scientist
- Jan 12 Mick Sullivan, English rugby league footballer, born in Pudsey, England (d. 2016)
- Jan 14 Richard Briers, English actor, born in Raynes Park, London (d. 2013)
- Jan 16 Marilyn Horne, American mezzo-soprano, born in Bradford, Pennsylvania
- Jan 16 Richard Wernick, American composer (1977 Pulitzer Prize: Visions of Terror and Wonder), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Jan 16 William Vollie Alexander Jr., American politician (Rep-D-AR, 1969-93), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- Jan 17 Cedar Walton, American hard bop jazz pianist (Jazztet; Art Blakey), and composer ("Mosaic"), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2013)
- Jan 17 Donald Cammell, Scottish film director (Performance; Wild Side), and painter, born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1996)
- Jan 17 Sydney Hodkinson, Canadian-American classical composer and educator (Eastman School, 1973-99), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (d. 2021)
- Jan 20 Tom Baker, English actor (fourth Doctor in Doctor Who), born in Liverpool, England
- Jan 21 Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
Bill Bixby (1934-1993)
Jan 22 American actor, director and producer (Incredible Hulk; The Courtship of Eddie's Father; My Favorite Martian), born in San Francisco, California
- Jan 22 Graham Kerr, English-born chef (Galloping Gourmet), born in London, England
- Jan 23 Lou Antonio, American actor (Barney-Snoop Sisters, Makin' It), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Jan 23 Pierre Bourgault, Quebec politician and essayist, born in East Angus, Canada (d. 2003)
- Jan 24 Burdette Haldorson, American basketball forward (Olympic gold 1956, 60; University of Colorado Boulder), born in Austin, Minnesota (d. 2023)
- Jan 24 Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet, born in Leszno, Poland (d. 1976)
- Jan 25 Elizabeth Allen [Gillease], American stage and screen actress (Donovan's Reef; Bracken's World; The Paul Lynde Show), born in Jersey City, New Jersey (d. 2006)
- Jan 26 Huey "Piano" Smith, American R&B pianist ("Rockin' Pneumonia & Boogie Woogie Flu"; "Having a Good Time"), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2023) [1]
- Jan 26 Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (British heavyweight champion 1956-58), born in Cardiff, Wales (d. 1990)
- Jan 26 Roger Landry, Canadian businessman and newspaper publisher (La Presse), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2000)
- Jan 27 Donald Spiers, controller (Aircraft MoD)
- Jan 27 Edithe Cresson, French politician, 1st female Prime Minister of France (1991-92), born in Paris, France
- Jan 27 Federico Mayor Zaragoza, UNESCO director (1987- ), born in Barcelona, Spain
- Jan 27 Julian Ogilvie Thompson, South African businessman (CEO of De Beers Diamonds. 1985-97), born in Cape Town, Union of South Africa (d. 2023)
- Jan 27 Raymond Boudon, French sociologist, born in Paris, France (d. 2013)
- Jan 28 Bill White, American baseball infielder (8 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1964; 7 × Gold Glove Award; St. Louis Cardinals), broadcaster (NY Yankees) and executive (NL President 1989-94), born in Lakewood, Florida
- Jan 28 BR White, principal (Regent's Park College-Oxford)
- Jan 28 Mitr Chaibancha, Thai actor (d. 1970)
- Jan 29 Noel Harrison, British singer ("The Windmills of Your Mind"), and actor (Girl from U.N.C.L.E. - "Mark Slate"), born in London, England (d. 2013)
- Jan 29 Paul Gutama Soegijo, Indonesian composer working ijn Germany, born in Yogyakarta, Dutch East Indies (d. 2019)
- Jan 30 Tammy Grimes, American actress (Unsinkable Molly Brown), born in Lynn, Massachusetts (d. 2016)
- Jan 31 Bob Turner, Canadian Hockey HOF defenseman (Stanley Cup 1956, 57, 58, 59, 60 Montreal Canadiens; 6 x NHL All Star), born in Regina, Saskatchewan (d. 2005)
- Jan 31 Brian Bolus, English cricket batsman (7 Tests @ 41.33; Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire), born in Leeds, England (d. 2020)
- Jan 31 James Franciscus, American actor (Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Mr Novak, Longstreet), born in Clayton, Missouri (d. 1991)
- Jan 31 Ron Weatherburn, British jazz pianist, born in the Borough of Barking and Dagenham, England (d. 1995)
Famous Weddings
Queen Juliana
Jan 7 Dutch Princess Juliana marries German prince Bernhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld
Lou Costello
Jan 30 American comedian and actor Lou Costello (27) weds American burlesque dancer Anne Battler (21)
Salvador Dali
Jan 30 Painter Salvador Dali (30) weds Gala Dali (39) in a civil ceremony in Paris
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Jakob Wassermann, German writer and novelist (My Life as German and Jew), dies of a heart attack at 60
- Jan 6 Herbert Chapman, Legendary Manager of Arsenal and Huddersfield Town (b. 1878)
- Jan 8 Alexandre Stavisky, French swindler, dies
- Jan 8 Andrei Bely [Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev], Russian writer (Petersburg), dies at 53
Marinus van der Lubbe (1909-1934)
Jan 10 Dutch communist, beheaded by the Nazis for setting fire to the German Reichstag at 24
- Jan 12 Pawel Kochanski, Polish violinist, composer, arranger, and pedagogue (Juilliard School, 1924-34), dies of cancer at 46
- Jan 12 Surya Sen "Master Da", Indian activist for independence (Chittagong armoury raid), hanged at 39
- Jan 13 Jean-Baptiste Marchand, French soldier and explorer (Sudan), dies at 70
- Jan 13 Paul Ulrich Villard, French chemist and physicist who discovered gamma rays, dies at 73
- Jan 15 Hermann Bahr, Austrian writer (Concert), dies at 70
- Jan 15 Patrick O'Malley, US policeman, killed by John Dillinger
- Jan 16 Annie Patterson, Irish organist, composer, and musicologist, dies at 65
- Jan 19 Armand Parent, Belgian composer, dies at 70
- Jan 29 Fritz Haber, German physicist and chemist (1918 Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1918 for process to synthesize ammonia), dies at 65
- Jan 30 Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher (founder of Doubleday & Co), dies at 72
