Historical Events
- Jan 1 30th Fiesta Bowl: #5 Oregon State beats #10 Notre Dame, 41-9
- Jan 1 87th Rose Bowl: #4 Washington beats #14 Purdue, 34-24
- Jan 2 67th Sugar Bowl: #3 Miami beats #7 Florida, 37-20
- Jan 2 Sila Calderón becomes the first female Governor of Puerto Rico.
- Jan 3 College Football, 3rd BCS National Championship, Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens: #1 Oklahoma beats #2 Florida State, 13-2, at 67th Orange Bowl
Vanilla Ice in Jail
Jan 4 Rapper Vanilla Ice spends night in jail after allegedly ripping out some of his wife's hair during a row
Jordan Scores 30,000 Points
Jan 4 Washington Wizards forward Michael Jordan becomes 4th player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points; hits a free throw in 2nd quarter of an 89-83 win against his old team, the Chicago Bulls
- Jan 5 A report reveals that doctor and former GP Harold Shipman has potentially killed hundreds of patients
Switzerland Clinch Title
Jan 6 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Roger Federer beats American Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-3 to clinch Switzerland's unassailable 2-0 lead, (ends 2-1)
Gibson, Roberts Win
Jan 7 27th People's Choice Awards: Mel Gibson & Julia Roberts win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Drew Carey & Jennifer Aniston win (TV)
Hill, Kid Rock Win
Jan 8 28th American Music Awards: Faith Hill & Kid Rock win
- Jan 8 The identities of 2 boys who murdered a toddler in 1993 will be kept secret, the High Court rules
- Jan 9 American version of Belgian reality game show "The Mole" premieres on ABC-TV
- Jan 9 Apple announced iTunes at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, for organizing and playing digital music and videos
- Jan 9 Shenzhou 2, an unmanned Chinese spacecraft, is launched.
- Jan 10 A large piece of the chalk cliff at Beachy Head collapses into the sea.
- Jan 10 The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will not be designated as a national monument, the White House announces; a move environmentalist groups had been pressing for to prevent oil drilling
- Jan 11 New York Knicks hold an opponent under 100 points for NBA-record 29th straight game in a 76-75 loss to the Houston Rockets; streak snaps 46-year-old NBA record of 28 straight set by the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1954-55
"Lizzie McGuire" Premieres
Jan 12 Disney Channel TV series "Lizzie McGuire" premieres starring Hilary Duff
- Jan 12 Downtown Disney opens to the public in Anaheim
- Jan 13 Atlanta Hawks retire Dominique Wilkins' No. 21 in pre-game ceremonies at Philips Arena; joins Bob Pettit and Lou Hudson as the only Hawks to have their numbers retired
- Jan 13 Earthquake measuring magnitude 7.6 strikes El Salvador, killing more than 840 people
- Jan 14 AFC Championship, Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland: Baltimore Ravens beat Oakland Raiders, 16-3
"Love Don't Cost A Thing"
Jan 14 Jennifer Lopez scored her first UK No.1 single with 'Love Don't Cost A Thing'
- Jan 14 NFC Championship, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford: New York Giants beat Minnesota Vikings, 41-0
- Jan 15 Wikipedia a free Wiki or content encyclopedia is launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger
- Jan 16 A fuel supply tanker runs aground off the island of San Cristobal, causing an 'ecological disaster'
Congo President Assassinated
Jan 16 Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated in his office by one of his own bodyguards
- Jan 16 US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish–American War
- Jan 17 OPEC agrees at a meeting of ministers in Vienna, to reduce members' oil production quotas by 1.5 million barrels per day
Clinton Honors Lewis and Clark Expedition
Jan 17 President Clinton honors Lewis and Clark Expedition, posthumously raises William Clark's rank from Lieutenant to Captain, makes Honorary Sergeant Shoshone female guide Sacagawea, and York, enslaved by William Clark, who assisted expedition
- Jan 18 New York's Mike Richter picks up his 267th career NHL win to become the winningest goaltender in team history; passes Ed Giacomin; Rangers beat the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 in overtime
"Donnie Darko"
Jan 19 Cult film "Donnie Darko" written and directed by Richard Kelly, starring Jake Gyllenhaal premieres at the Sundance Film Festival
El Chapo Escapes Prison
Jan 19 Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán escapes from Puente Grande maximum-security prison near Guadalajara by bribing prison guards and hiding in a laundry cart
George W. Bush Inaugurated
Jan 20 George W. Bush inaugurated as 43rd US President, Dick Cheney becomes 46th Vice President
EDSA II Revolution
Jan 20 President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in the EDSA II Revolution and succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Clinton's 140 Pardons
Jan 20 US President Bill Clinton issues 140 executive pardons on his last day in office; recipients include Marc Rich, Susan McDougall, Patty Hearst, and his brother Roger
58th Golden Globes
Jan 21 58th Golden Globes: "Gladiator", Tom Hanks, & Julia Roberts win
- Jan 21 Pittsburgh Penguins beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0 in first-ever NHL game featuring 2 European trained coaches; Czech Ivan Hlinka behind the bench for Pittsburgh, and Fin Alpo Suhonen, Chicago
- Jan 22 The British government launches pro-vaccine campaign
- Jan 23 Cave-in at coal mine leads to two methane gas explosions, kills 13 miners in Brookwood, Alabama
- Jan 23 The Chinese Communist Party stages a self-immolation in Tiananmen Square to frame Falun Gong and escalate the persecution.
- Jan 24 Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson resigns
- Jan 25 A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela killing 24
- Jan 26 An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths.
Capriati Defeats Hingis
Jan 27 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Jennifer Capriati wins her first Grand Slam title; beats Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-3
- Jan 28 17th Sundance Film Festival: "The Believer", directed by Henry Bean, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Agassi Retains Title
Jan 28 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Andre Agassi retains title; beats Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 for his 3rd Australian trophy
"Miss Saigon"
Jan 28 Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil's musical "Miss Saigon", based on Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly, and starring Jonathan Pryce and Lea Salonga closes at Broadway Theater, NYC, after 4,092 performances and 3 Tony Award wins
Super Bowl XXXV
Jan 28 Super Bowl XXXV, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL: Baltimore Ravens beat New York Giants, 34-7; MVP: Ray Lewis, Baltimore, LB
- Jan 29 Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals
Lockerbie Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
Jan 31 In the Netherlands, a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988
Famous Birthdays
Angourie Rice (23 years old)
Jan 1 Australian actress (Betty Brant in the Spider-Man franchise; The Nice Guys), born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Famous Weddings
Jennie Garth
Jan 20 American "Fast Lane" actor Peter Facinelli (27) weds American actress and director Jennie Garth (28) at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Montecito, California; divorce in 2013
Famous Divorces
Boris Becker
Jan 15 Tennis star Boris Becker (34) divorces designer Barbara Feltus (35) after 8 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Hsu Tsang-Houei, Taiwanese composer and collector of Taiwanese folk songs, dies at 71
- Jan 1 Ray Walston, American actor (My Favorite Martian, Damn Yankees), dies at 86
- Jan 2 Elizabeth Wilkinson, English professor of German (University College London), dies at 91
- Jan 2 Teri Diver, American actress, dies at 29
- Jan 2 William P. Rogers, American Republican politician and US secretary of state (1969-73), dies at 87
- Jan 4 Les Brown, American big band bandleader (His Band of Renown - "Sentimental Journey"), dies at 88
- Jan 5 Nancy Parsons, American actress (b. 1942)
- Jan 7 Frederick Baldwin Adams Jr., American librarian and director of the Pierpont Morgan Library, dies at 90
- Jan 7 James Carr, American soul singer ("To Love Somebody"; "Dark End of the Street"), dies of lung cancer at 58
- Jan 9 Maurice Prather, American photographer, and cinematograper (Carnival of Souls), dies at 74
- Jan 9 Paul Vanden Boeynants, Prime Minister of Belgium (1966-68, 1978-79), dies at 81
- Jan 10 Jacques Marin, French character actor (The Vintage, Charade), dies at 81
- Jan 11 Michael Williams, British actor, husband of Judi Dench (b. 1935)
- Jan 11 Sir Denys Lasdun, English architect (b. 1914)
- Jan 12 Adhemar da Silva, Brazilian triple jumper (Olympic golds 1952, 56), dies at 73
- Jan 12 Affirmed, American racehorse (b. 1975)
- Jan 12 Kyra Vayne [Knopmuss], English stage and opera soprano, dies at 84
- Jan 12 Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (Black Orpheus), dies of pancreatic cancer at 78
Bill Hewlett (1913-2001)
Jan 12 American engineer and businessman (co-founder Hewlett-Packard), dies of a heart attack at 87
- Jan 13 Michael Cuccione, Canadian actor, singer (2gether), and cancer research fundraiser, dies of respiratory failure at 16
- Jan 14 Burkhard Heim, German physicist (b. 1925)
- Jan 15 Bob Braun, American TV and radio personality (Dotty Mack Show), dies at 71
- Jan 15 Ted Mann, American screenwriter (b. 1916)
- Jan 16 Auberon Waugh, British author and journalist (b. 1939)
Laurent-Désiré Kabila (1971-2001)
Jan 16 Congolese revolutionary and 3rd President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997-2001), assassinated in his office at 61 by one of his own bodyguards
- Jan 16 Leonard Woodcock, American labor leader (United Auto Workers) and US ambassador to China, dies at 89
- Jan 16 Virginia O'Brien, American actress and singer (Meet the People, Gus, Ziegfeld Follies), dies of a heart attack at 81
- Jan 17 Gregory Corso, American beat poet, dies of prostate cancer at 70
- Jan 17 Norris Turney, American jazz flute and saxophone player (Billy Eckstine, 1947-48; Duke Ellington Orchestra, 1968-73), dies at 79
- Jan 18 Al Waxman, Canadian radio, stage, and screen actor (Cagney & Lacey - "Lt. Smauels"; Meatballs 3; Spasms), and director, dies during heart surgery at 65
- Jan 18 Reg Prentice, British politician (Member of Parliament, 1957-87), dies at 77
- Jan 19 Dario Vittori, Argentinean actor (b. 1921)
- Jan 20 Nico Assumpção, Brazilian bass player, dies at 46
Byron de la Beckwith (1920-2001)
Jan 21 American white supremacist, dies at 80
- Jan 22 Roy Brown, American clown (b. 1932)
- Jan 22 Tommie Agee, American baseball player (b. 1942)
- Jan 23 Eugene [Brother Jack] McDuff, American jazz organist (George Benson, Brother Jack), dies of heart failure at 74
- Jan 23 Lou Levy, American jazz pianist (Woody Herman; Stan Getz), and accompanist (Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald), dies of a heart attack at 72
- Jan 24 Leif Thybo, Danish composer and organist, dies at 78
- Jan 25 Margaret Scriven, English tennis player (French C'ships 1933-34), dies at 88
- Jan 26 Al McGuire, American basketball coach (Marquette), dies at 72
- Jan 27 André Prévost, Canadian composer, dies at 66
- Jan 27 Stavros Damianides, Greek musician (b. 1941)
- Jan 28 Curt Blefary, American baseball player, dies at 57
- Jan 30 Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor (Lili, Cat & Mouse, Happy Hooker), dies at 90
- Jan 30 Johnnie Johnson, British fighter pilot (b. 1915)
- Jan 30 Joseph Ransohoff, American neurosurgeon and pioneer in the modern neurosurgery, dies at 85
- Jan 31 Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian-American sci-fi author (Genetic General), dies at 77
