- Jan 1 Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish scientist and engineer (d. 1929)
- Jan 1 Bobby Walthour Sr., American cyclist (motor-pacing World Championships gold 1904-05; Madison Square Garden 6-Day Race 1901, 03), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1949)
- Jan 1 Edwin Franko Goldman, American march music composer (founder of American Bandmasters Association), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1956)
- Jan 4 Alfred Edgar Coppard, English short story writer (Black Dogs & Other Stories), born in Folkestone, England (d. 1957)
- Jan 4 Augustus John, Welsh painter (d. 1961)
- Jan 6 Carl Sandburg, American poet and biographer of Lincoln (The People, Yes), born in Galesburg, Illinois (d. 1967)
- Jan 6 Dame Adeline Genée, Danish-British ballerina, born in Aarhus, Denmark (d. 1970)
- Jan 9 John B. Watson, American psychologist who popularized the scientific theory of behaviorism, born in Travelers Rest, South Carolina (d. 1958)
- Jan 11 Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and dictator (1926), born in Salamis, Greece (d. 1952)
- Jan 12 Ferenc Molnar, Hungarian American playwright (A Pal Utrai Fiuk) and novelist (The Paul Street Boys), born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (d. 1952)
- Jan 13 Lionel Groulx, Canadian nationalist, born in Vaudreuil, Quebec, Canada (d. 1967)
- Jan 14 Victor Segalen, French naval doctor and writer, born in Brest, France (d. 1919)
- Jan 15 Johanna Muller-Hermann, Austrian composer (Lied der Erinnerung), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1941)
- Jan 16 Harry Carey [Henry DeWitt Carey II], American actor (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Red River), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 1947)
'Philadelphia' Jack O'Brien (1878-1942)
Jan 17 American boxer (World light heavyweight champion 1905), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jan 17 Oscar Apfel, American actor (The Squaw Man, Inspiration, Before Dawn), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1938)
- Jan 18 Hendrik Baels, Belgian politician, born in Ostend, Belgium (d. 1951)
- Jan 19 Herbert Chapman, English football player and manager (d. 1934)
- Jan 20 Finlay Currie, Scottish actor (Quo Vadis, Ivanhoe, Avengers), born in Edinburgh (d. 1968)
- Jan 21 Egon Friedell, Austrian journalist, actor and writer (Kleine Portratgalerie, Der Partylowe), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1938)
- Jan 22 Constance Collier, British actress and writer (Rope, Stage Door, Whirlpool), born in Windsor, England (d. 1955)
- Jan 23 Oton Zupancic, Slovenian poet (Zimzelen pod Snegom), born in Vinica, Črnomelj, Slovenia (d. 1949)
- Jan 23 Rutland Boughton, British composer (The Immortal Hour), born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England (d. 1960)
- Jan 25 Ernst Alexanderson, Swedish-American television pioneer (Alexanderson alternator), born in Uppsala, Sweden (d. 1975) [1]
- Jan 28 Walter Kollo, German composer of operettas, Singspiele, and popular songs (Der Juxbaron), born in Neidenburg, Kingdom of Prussia. (d. 1940)
- Jan 29 Barney Oldfield, American auto racer (International Motorsports Hall of Fame; first to drive at 60mph on circular track), born near Wauseon, Ohio (d. 1946)
- Jan 30 Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Estonian author (Truth and Justice), born in Vetepere, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire (d. 1940)
- Jan 31 Willem van Eysinga, Dutch jurist and diplomat (Paris Peace Conference), born in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands (d. 1961)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90