- Jan 1 Jerilyn Britz, American golfer (US Women's Open 1979), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Jan 1 Jimmy Hart, American pro wrestling manager (WWF, WCW; Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase and Jim Neidhart), born in Jackson, Mississippi
- Jan 1 Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, Indian scientist
- Jan 1 Tony Knowles, American politician and 7th Governor of Alaska (1994-2002), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Jan 2 Barış Manço, Turkish rock guitarist, singer-songwriter (Kurtalan Ekspres - "Arkadaşım Eşek (My Friend the Donkey"), and television producer (From 7 to 77), born in Üsküdar, Istanbul, Turkey (d. 1999)
- Jan 3 HK Gruber, Austrian double bassist, conductor, and composer (Frankenstein!!), born in Vienna, Austria
- Jan 3 Petras Bingelis, Lithuania conductor, founder and artistic director (Kaunas State Choir, 1969-2020), born in Mardasava, Lithuania (d. 2020)
- Jan 3 Van Dyke Parks, American songwriter, producer, arranger (Song Cycle; Orange Crate Art), born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Doris Kearns Goodwin (81 years old)
Jan 4 American historian and writer (Team of Rivals, No Ordinary Time), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Jan 4 Tom Wilkinson, American CFL football quarterback, 1967-81 (5 x Grey Cup; 3 x All-Star - Edmonton Eskimos, and 2 other teams), born in Ottumwa, Iowa
- Jan 6 Barry Altschul, American hard bop and free jazz drummer (Paul Bley, Chick Corea, Anthony Braxton), born in New York City
- Jan 6 Osvaldo Soriano, Argentine journalist and writer, born in Mar del Plata, Argentina (d. 1997)
- Jan 6 Terry Venables, British soccer midfielder (2 caps; Chelsea, Tottenham, QPR, Crystal Palace) and manager (Crystal Palace, QPR, Barcelona, Tottenham, England, Australia, Leeds United), born in Dagenham, England (d. 2023)
- Jan 7 Jim Lefebvre, American baseball manager (Seattle Mariners), born in Hawthorne, California
- Jan 7 Leona Williams, American country music singer (Ladies Get the Blues), born in Vienna, Missouri
- Jan 7 Richard Armstrong, British conductor, born in Leicester, England
- Jan 7 Sadako Sasaki, Japanese child hibakusha (victim of the Hiroshima atomic bomb), born in Hiroshima, Japan (d. 1955)
- Jan 8 Lee Jackson, English bass guitarist and singer-songwriter (Nice), born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
- Jan 8 Marcus Hutson, American R&B singer (The Whispers - "And the Beat Goes On"; "Rock Steady"), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2000)
- Jan 9 Ariel Bybee, American mezzo-soprano (Morman Tabernacle Choir; Metropolitan Opera, 1977-95), born in Reno, Nevada (d. 2018)
- Jan 9 Dick Yount, American rock bassist and singer (Harpers Bizarre - "Feelin' Groovy"), born in the USA (d. 2019)
- Jan 9 Elmer MacFadyen, Canadian politician, born in Charlottetown, Canada (d. 2007)
- Jan 9 Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer (The Freddie Starr Showcase), born in Huyton, United Kingdom (d. 2019)
- Jan 9 Kenneth "Wally" Kelly, American R&B singer (Manhattans - "Kiss And Say Goodbye"), born in New Jersey (d. 2015)
- Jan 9 Rob Hoeke, Dutch pianist and singer (Drinking on My Bed), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1999)
- Jan 9 Robert Drewe, Australian author, born in Melbourne, Australia
- Jan 9 Scott Walker [Noel Scott Engel], American-born British singer-songwriter and composer (The Walker Brothers), born in Hamilton, Ohio (d. 2019)
Jim Croce (1943-1973)
Jan 10 American singer-songwriter ("Time in a Bottle"; "Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jan 11 Henry Cecil, Aberdeen, Scotland, English horse racing trainer
- Jan 11 William Albert Penn, American composer (Living in the Next Great Ice Age; Garland Songs), educator, and record producer, born in Long Branch, New Jersey (d. 2021)
- Jan 13 Richard Moll, American actor (Night Court - "Bull"; House - "Big Ben"; Dungeonmaster), born in Pasadena, California (d. 2023)
- Jan 13 William Duckworth, American composer (Time Curve Preludes), teacher (Bucknell, 1973-2011), and internet pioneer (PitchWeb), born in Morganton, North Carolina (d. 2012)
- Jan 14 Holland Taylor, American actress (Bossom Buddies, Camilla-Naked Truth), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Jan 14 Jose Luis Rodriguez, Venezuelan singer (Dueño de Nada), born in Caracas, Venezuela
- Jan 14 Manfred Wolke, German boxer (Olympic gold GDR welterweight 1968), born in Babelsberg, Germany (d. 2024)
- Jan 14 Mariss Jansons, Latvian conductor (Bavarian RSO: 2003-19; Royal Concertgebouw 2004-15), born in Riga, Latvia (d. 2019)
- Jan 14 Ronald Hunter, American actor (Lazarus Syndrome), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Jan 14 Shannon Lucid, Chinese astronaut (STS 51G, 34, 43, 58, 76/79), born in Shanghai, China
- Jan 15 Mike Marshall, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1974, 75; NL Cy Young Award 1974; Montreal Expos, LA Dodgers, Atlanta Braves), born in Adrian, Michigan (d. 2021)
- Jan 16 Brian Ferneyhough, British composer, born in Coventry, England
- Jan 16 Gavin Bryars, English composer, born in Goole, England
- Jan 16 Ronnie Milsap [Millsaps], American country singer ("It Was Almost Like a Song"; "Any Day Now"), born in Robbinsville, North Carolina
- Jan 17 (Ezekiel Christopher) "Chris" Montez, American rock guitarist and singer ("Let's Dance"; "Call Me"), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 17 Daniel Charles Brandenstein, American astronaut (STS 8, 51-G, 32, 49), born in Watertown, Wisconsin
- Jan 17 Geoffrey Deuel, American actor, born in Lockport, New York
René Préval (1943-2017)
Jan 17 President of Haiti (1996-2001, 2006-2011), born in Port-au-Prince
- Jan 18 Al Foster, American jazz drummer (Miles Davis, 1973-89; Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner), born in Richmond, Virginia
- Jan 18 Kay Granger, American politician, born in Greenville, Texas
Janis Joplin (1943-1970)
Jan 19 American rock and blues singer-songwriter ("Piece of My Heart"; "Me and Bobby McGee"; "Mercedes Benz"), born in Port Arthur, Texas
- Jan 19 Margriet Francisca, Dutch Princess
- Jan 19 Petchara Chaowarat, Thai film actress
- Jan 20 Farhad [Mehrad], Iranian pop, rock and folk singer-songwriter ("Jomeh"), born in Tehran, Iran (d. 2002)
- Jan 20 Louis Cardiet, French soccer defender (6 caps; Paris SG), born in Quimperlé, France (d. 2020)
- Jan 22 Jim Saxton, American politician (Rep-R-NJ, 1984-2009), born in Nicholson, Pennsylvania
- Jan 22 Marília Pêra, Brazilian actress (Better Days Ahead, Pixote), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 2015)
- Jan 23 Bill Gibb, Scottish fashion designer, born in New Pitsligo, Scotland (d. 1988)
- Jan 23 Gary Burton, American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator, born in Anderson, Indiana
- Jan 23 Gil Gerard, American actor (Buck Rogers in 25th Century), born in Little Rock, Arkansas
- Jan 24 Julie Bennett, American actress (Hey There It's Yogi Bear), born in Beverly Hills, California
Sharon Tate (1943-1969)
Jan 24 American actress (Valley of the Dolls), born in Dallas, Texas
- Jan 24 Subhash Ghai, Indian film director, born in Nagpur, India
- Jan 25 Leny Andrade, Brazilian samba, bossa nova and jazz singer, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 2023)
- Jan 25 Tobe Hooper, American film director, born in Austin, Texas (d. 2017)
- Jan 26 César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball shortstop (hit 7-for-7 in single game without making an out 1970, Detroit Tigers), born in Coro, Venezuela (d. 2005)
- Jan 26 Hans Rebele, German soccer striker (2 caps; 1860 Munich, FC Wacker Innsbruck), born in Munich, Germany (d. 2023)
- Jan 26 Jean Knight [Caliste], American soul, funk, and R&B singer ("Mr. Big Stuff"), and nurse, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2023) [1]
- Jan 26 Kathryn Leigh Scott, American TV actress (Dark Shadows), born in Robbinsdale, Minnesota
- Jan 26 Peter Kenton Winkler, American pianist, symphonic and theatrical composer, born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 26 Sherian Grace Cadoria, US army brigadier general (first African-American to attain the rank), born in Marksville, Louisiana
- Jan 26 Thom Bell, American session musician, arranger and Grammy Award-winning "Philadelphia soul" producer (Delfonics; Stylistics; The Spinners), born in Kingston, Jamaican (d. 2022)
- Jan 27 A H Harper, CEO (Baltic Exchange)
- Jan 28 Brian Keenan, American rock drummer (The Chamber Brothers), born in New York City (d. 1985)
- Jan 28 Dick Taylor, English rock guitarist (The Pretty Things - "S.F. Sorrow"; The Mekons), born in Dartford, England
- Jan 28 John Beck, American actor (Dallas, Flamingo Road, Santa Barbara), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Jan 28 Paul Henderson, Canadian ice hockey left wing (Summit Series vs Soviet Union 1972; Detroit RWs, Toronto Maple Leafs; IIHF HOF), born in Kincardine, Ontario
- Jan 28 Susan Howard, American actress (Donna-Dallas, Petrocelli), born in Marshall, Texas
- Jan 29 Charles Fitzgerald-Lombard, Irish-born Abbot of Downside Abbey, born in Dublin, Ireland
- Jan 29 Tim Souster, British composer, born in Bletchley, England (d. 1994)
- Jan 29 Tony Blackburn, English radio DJ (Radio Caroline, BBC - 1st to broadcast), born in Guildford, England
- Jan 30 Davey Johnson, American baseball second baseman (4 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1966, 70 Baltimore Orioles) and manager (World Series 1986 NY Mets), born in Orlando, Florida
- Jan 30 Marta Minujín, Argentine artist (Parthenon of Banned Books), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Jan 30 Sandy Deane [Yaguda], American rock singer (Jay and the Americans - "This Magic Moment"), born in Brooklyn, New York City
About January 1943
How Old? 81 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90