- Jan 1 Nikola Pasic, Serbian nationalist and premier (over many periods from 1891 to 1926), born in Zaječar, Serbia (d. 1926)
- Jan 2 Sandor Erkel, Hungarian composer and son of Ferenc Erkel, born in Pest (d. 1900)
- Jan 5 Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German idealist philosopher (Nobel 1908), born in Aurich, Germany (d. 1926)
- Jan 8 Albert Cahen, French opera composer, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1903)
- Jan 8 William Wallace Gilchrist, American composer, born in Jersey City, New Jersey (d. 1916)
- Jan 29 Karol Olszewski, Polish scientist (d. 1915)
- Jan 30 Francis H. Bradley, British idealist philosopher (Appearance and Reality), born in Clapham, Surrey, England (d. 1924)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90