- Jan 2 Henry Kingsley, English Australian writer, born in Northamptonshire (d. 1876)
- Jan 3 Alexander Ewing, Scottish composer (Jerusalem the Golden), born in Aberdeen, Scotland (d. 1895)
- Jan 7 Albert Bierstadt, German-American painter (landscapes of the American West), born in Solingen, Prussia (d. 1902)
- Jan 7 [Samuel] Emerson Opdycke, American businessman and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Hubbard, Ohio (d. 1884)
- Jan 8 Gouverneur Kemble Warren, American civil engineer and Major General (Union Army), born in Cold Spring, New York (d. 1882)
- Jan 8 Hans von Bülow, German pianist and composer, born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony (d. 1894)
- Jan 17 Eyre Massey Shaw, British first chief of London Fire Brigade, born in Ballymore, Ireland (d. 1908)
- Jan 19 George Blake Cosby, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1909)
- Jan 23 Gaston, Marquis de Galliffet, French general and Minister of War (1899-1900), born in Paris, France (d. 1909)
- Jan 27 Georg Hellmesberger Jr, Austrian violinist and composer, born in Vienna, Austrian Empire (d. 1852)
- Jan 27 William Henry Fitzhugh Payne, American lawyer and soldier (Brigadier General in Confederate Army), born in Fauquier County, Virginia (d. 1904)
James G. Blaine (1830-1893)
Jan 31 US Secretary of State (1881 and 1889-92) known as the "Plumed Knight", born in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90