- Jan 2 Prof Gilbert Murray, Australian classical scholar (d. 1957)
- Jan 8 William G. Conley, American politician (d. 1940)
- Jan 9 Albert Baertsoen, Flemish painter and etcher, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1922)
- Jan 13 Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian composer influenced by folksong, born in Voina, Russia (d. 1901)
- Jan 15 Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop & recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, born in Uppsala, Sweden (d. 1931)
- Jan 19 Harry Davenport, American actor and director (Her Unborn Child, My Sin), born in New York City (d. 1949)
- Jan 20 Richard Le Gallienne, English writer (had affair with Oscar Wilde, father of actress Eva Le Gallienne), born in Liverpool, England (d. 1947)
- Jan 25 Emile Vandervelde, President (1900–1918) of the International Socialist Bureau and Minister of 3 Belgian governments (d. 1938)
- Jan 29 Romain Rolland, French writer (Jean-Christophe, Nobel Prize for Literature 1915), born in Clamecy, France (d. 1944)
- Jan 30 Gelett Burgess, American humorist and author (The Purple Cow), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1951)
- Jan 31 Emil Strauss, German writer (Naked Man) (d. 1960)
- Jan 31 Henry Forster, British politician (Governor-General of Australia 1920-25) and cricketer (Oxford blue 1887-89), born in Catford, England (d. 1936)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90