- Jan 3 Annibal Napoleão dos Santos, Portuguese pianist, composer, and pedagogue, born in Porto, Portugal (d. 1880)
- Jan 7 Ludwig III, the last king of Bavaria (1913-18), born in Munich, Bavaria (d. 1921)
- Jan 7 Paul Deussen, German philosopher (Schopenhauer-Gesellschaft), born in Oberdreis, Germany (d. 1919)
- Jan 13 Félix Tisserand, French Astronomer (d. 1896)
- Jan 14 Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, British statesman, born in London (d. 1927)
- Jan 15 Ella Flagg Young, American educator and1st woman pres. (National Educational Association), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1918)
- Jan 15 Heinrich Vogl, German operatic heldentenor, born in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria (d. 1900)
- Jan 22 Paul Vidal de la Blanche, French geographer, born in Pézenas, France (d. 1918)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90