- Jan 1 "Country" Joe McDonald, American rock singer and guitarist (Country Joe and the Fish - "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag"), born in Washington, D.C.
- Jan 1 Alassane Ouattara, Former Prime Minister of Ivory Coast
- Jan 1 Gennadi Vassilyevich Sarafanov, USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 15)
- Jan 1 George Couroupos, Greek contemporary classical composer, born in Athens, Greece
- Jan 1 Judy Stone, Australian pop singer ("4,003,221 Tears from Now"), born in Granville, Australia
- Jan 1 Martin Frost, American politician (Rep-D-TX, 1971-2005), born in Glendale, California
- Jan 1 Nevzat Güzelırmak, Turkish soccer defender (18 caps; Göztepe) and manager (Denizlispor; Turkey U21), born in İzmir, Turkey (d. 2020)
- Jan 2 Hugh Shelton, American US Army General (15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1997-2001), born in Tarboro, North Carolina
- Jan 3 John Marsden, Australian lawyer, and gay rights activist, born in Lismore, Australia (d. 2006)
- Jan 3 John Thaw, British stage and screen actor (Inspector Morse), born in Gorton, Manchester, England (d. 2002)
- Jan 3 László Sólyom, Hungarian lawyer (Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Hungary, 1990-980) and politician (President of Hungary, 2005-10), born in Pécs, Hungary
- Jan 4 Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait (2011-19), born in Kuwait City, Kuwait
- Jan 4 John McLaughlin, British jazz-rock fusion guitarist (Mahavishnu Orchestra), born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England
- Jan 5 Charlie Rose, American TV host (CBS This Morning), born in Henderson, North Carolina
- Jan 5 Cliff Potts, American television and film actor (Ted-Lou Grant), born in Glendale, California
- Jan 5 Dany Sava [Danielle Savalle], French actress (Moon Pilot), born in Paris, France
- Jan 5 Jan Leeming, English television presenter and newsreader, born in Dartford, United Kingdom
- Jan 5 Maurizio Pollini, Italian classical pianist, born in Milan, Italy (d. 2024) [1]
- Jan 5 Terenci Moix, Spanish writer, born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 2003)
- Jan 7 Danny Williams, British pop singer, known as 'Britain's Johnny Mathis' ("Moon River"; "White on White"), born in Port Elizabeth, Union of South Africa (d. 2005)
- Jan 7 Vasiliy Alekseyev, Russian weightlifter (Olympic gold 1972, 76), born in Miloslavsky District, Soviet Union (d. 2011)
- Jan 8 John Peterson, American drummer (Beau Brummels - "Just A Little"), born in Rudyard, Michigan (d. 2007)
- Jan 8 Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese politician (Prime Minister, 2001–06), born in Yokosuka, Japan
Stephen Hawking (1942-2018)
Jan 8 English physicist (Black Holes & Baby Universes), born in Oxford, England
- Jan 8 Vyacheslav Dmitriyevich Zudov, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 23), born in Bor, Russia
- Jan 8 Yvette Mimieux, American actress (Time Machine; Where the Boys Are; Light in the Piazza), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2022)
- Jan 9 K. Callan, American actress (Joe's World, Martha-Lois & Clark), born in Dallas, Texas
- Jan 9 Lee Kun-hee, Korean business magnate and chairman of Samsung Group, born in Uiryeong County, South Korea
- Jan 10 Aleksandr Yakovlevich Petrushenko, Russian cosmonaut
- Jan 10 Gianmarco Calleri, Italian soccer entrepreneur (President SS Lazio 1986-92, Torino FC 1994-97), born in Busalla, Italy (d. 2023)
- Jan 10 Walter Hill, American film director (48 Hours, Extreme Prejudice), born in Long Beach, California
- Jan 11 Clarence Clemons, American rock saxophonist (Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band), born in Norfolk County, Virginia (d. 2011)
- Jan 11 Leo Cullum, American cartoonist (The New Yorker), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2010)
- Jan 12 Bernardine Dohrn, former leader of the Weather Underground, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Jan 12 Michael Mayor, Swiss astrophysicist (discovered 1st exoplanet), 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics, born in Lausanne, Switzerland
- Jan 12 Vladimir Sergeyevich Kozelsky, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 24 backup), born in Aleksandrovskoye Stavropol kray, Soviet Union
- Jan 14 Amichand Rajbansi, South African politician, born in Durban, South Africa (d. 2011)
- Jan 14 Carol Bellamy, American politician (City Council Pres-D- 1978-85), born in New York City
- Jan 14 Gerben Karstens, Dutch road cyclist (Olympic gold 100km team trial 1964; 6 x stages Tour de France, 14 x stages Vuelta a España, 1 x stage Giro d'Italia), born in Voorburg, Netherlands (d. 2022)
- Jan 14 Ian Brayshaw, Australian cricketer and footballer, born in South Perth, Australia
- Jan 15 Edward "Sonny" Bivins, American singer (Manhattans - "Kiss and Say Goodbye"), born in Macon, Georgia
- Jan 16 Barbara Lynn [Ozen], American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist ("You'll Lose A Good Thing"), born in Beaumont, Texas
- Jan 16 Billy Francis, American keyboardist (Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show - "Cover of the Rolling Stone"), born in Sacramento, California (d. 2010)
- Jan 16 James "Jimmy" Grashow, American sculptor and woodcut artist, born in Brooklyn, New York
- Jan 16 René Angélil, Canadian music executive, actor and director (Omertà, L'apparition), and husband of Céline Dion, born in Montréal, Québec (d. 2016)
- Jan 16 Tony P. Hall, American politician (Rep-D-OH, 1979-2002), born in Dayton, Ohio
- Jan 17 Ita Buttrose, Australian journalist and businesswoman, born in Potts Point, Australia
Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)
Jan 17 American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1964-7 74-8), born in Louisville, Kentucky
- Jan 17 Nancy Parsons, American actress, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 2001)
- Jan 17 Randy Boone, American actor (Cimarron Strip, Virginian), born in Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Jan 17 Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist, born in Kitzingen, Germany
- Jan 19 Michael Crawford [Michael Patrick Smith], British Broadway star (Phantom of the Opera), born in Salisbury, Wiltshire
- Jan 19 Shelley Fabares, American actress (The Donna Reed Show; Coach), born in Santa Monica, California
- Jan 20 William Powell, American R&B singer (O'Jays - "Love Train"), born in Canton, Ohio (d. 1977)
- Jan 21 (Charles) Edwin Starr [Hatcher], American soul and R&B singer (War), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 2003)
- Jan 21 Mac Davis, American country music singer-songwriter ("Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me"; "In The Ghetto"; "I Believe In Music") and actor (North Dallas Forty), born in Lubbock, Texas (d. 2020) [1]
- Jan 21 Martin Sharp, Australian cartoonist, album cover artist songwriter (Cream), and filmmaker, born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2013)
- Jan 22 Mimis Domazos, Greek soccer midfielder (50 caps; Panathinaikos FC 502 games), born in Athens, Greece
- Jan 23 Abdur Razzak, Bangladeshi actor and director (Ki Je Kori, Chandranath), born in Kolkata, British India (d. 2017)
- Jan 23 Ivan Ivanovich Bachurin, Soviet cosmonaut, born in Kharkov Oblast, Ukrainian SSR
- Jan 23 Laurie Mayne, Australian cricketer (Australian pace bowler in 6 Tests 1965-70), born in Westonia, West Australia
- Jan 23 Mike Davis, English rugby union lock (16 caps; Sherborne RFC) and coach (England 20 Tests 1979-83), born in Lichfield, England (d. 2022)
- Jan 23 Rildo da Costa Menezes, Brazilian soccer defender (38 caps; Santos, CEUB, New York Cosmos), born in Recife, Brazil (d. 2021)
- Jan 23 Willy Bogner Jr., German fashion designer & filmmaker (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), born in Munich, Germany
- Jan 24 Gary Hart, American professional wrestling manager & wrestler, born in Ottawa, Kansas (d. 2008)
- Jan 24 Olav Nilsen, Norwegian soccer striker/midfielder (62 caps; Viking FK), born in Stavanger, Norway (d. 2021)
- Jan 25 Carl Eller, American College-Pro Football HOF defensive end (Uni of Minnesota; 5×First-team All-Pro; 6xPro-Bowl; NFL Defensive Player of the Year 1971; Minnesota Vikings), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Jan 25 Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, Portuguese soccer striker (64 caps; top goalscorer-1966 FIFA World Cup; Benfica 301 games, 317 goals), born in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique (d. 2014)
- Jan 25 Jens Nygaard Knudsen, Danish toy designer (Lego mini-figure), born in Denmark (d. 2020)
- Jan 26 Nigel Walmsley, chairman (Carlton UK Television)
- Jan 26 Souad Hosni, Egyptian actress (d. 2001)
- Jan 26 William McLennan, CEO (Central Statistical Office)
- Jan 27 John Witherspoon, American actor (Friday), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2019)
- Jan 27 Kate Wolf [Allen], American folk singer-songwriter ("Love Still Remains"; "Across the Great Divide"), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1986)
- Jan 27 Petr Kotik, Czech composer, born in Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (now Czech Republic)
- Jan 27 Tasuku Honjo, Japanese immunologist (Nobel Prize for medicine 2018), born in Kyoto, Japan
- Jan 29 Arnaldo Tamayo-Méndez, Cuban cosmonaut, first Latin-American in space (Soyuz 38, 1980), born in Baracoa, Guantánamo, Cuba
- Jan 29 Claudine Longet, French-American singer, actress, and former Mrs Andy Williams (1961-75), born in Paris, France
- Jan 29 Frank Robinson Hartley, British vice-chancellor (Cranfield University)
- Jan 29 Richard Needham, British MP (Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland)
- Jan 29 Robin Morgan, American poet, author, political theorist, academic, and former child actor (Dagmar-Mama), born in Lake Worth, Florida
- Jan 30 David J. Brown, English cricketer (Warwicks pace bowler, played 26X for England), born in Walsall, United Kingdom
- Jan 30 Marty Balin [Buchwald], American singer (Jefferson Airplane/Starship), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2018)
- Jan 31 Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
- Jan 31 Derek Jarman, actor and director (Angelic Conversation, Edward II)
- Jan 31 Gerald Chanberlain, American jazz trombonist (Woody Herman's Thundering Herd), born in Refugio, Texas (d. 2007)
About January 1942
How Old? 82 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90