- Jan 2 (Graeme) "Shirley" Strachan, Australian singer (Skyhooks - "Ego Is Not A Dirty Word"; "Jukebox in Siberia"), TV host (Shirl's Neighbourhood), and carpenter (Our House), born in Malvern, Victoria, Australia (d. 2001)
- Jan 2 Man-Tat Ng, Hong Kong actor (The Final Combat), born in Xiamen, China
- Jan 2 Wendy Phillips, American actress (Executive Suite, Promised Land), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Jan 3 Jim Ross, American pro wrestling announcer (WWE), born in Fort Bragg, California
- Jan 6 Armelia McQueen, American actress, born in Montgomery County, North Carolina
- Jan 6 Frank Sivero, Italian-born American actor, born in Siculiana, Italy
- Jan 6 Larry Booker (Moondog Spot), American pro wrestler (WWF Tag Team champion 1981), born in Louisiana, United States (d. 2003)
- Jan 7 Giuliano Ferrara, Italian politician, journalist and founding editor (Il Foglio), born in Rome, Italy
- Jan 7 Sammo Hung, Hong Kong actor, director and martial artist (Winners and Sinners), born in Hong Kong
- Jan 8 Lauri Walters, American actress (8 is Enough, Harrad Experiment), born in San Francisco, California
- Jan 8 Vladimir Feltsman, Russian-American pianist, born in Moscow, Russia
- Jan 9 Eva Leonie "Eveline" Herfkens, Dutch civil servant, diplomat, and politician (PvdA), born in The Hague, Netherlands
- Jan 9 Hugh Bayley, British politician, born in Maidenhead, United Kingdom
- Jan 10 Scott Thurston, American session and touring guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter (Iggy Pop, 1973-79; Motels, 1982-84; Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, 1989-2017), born in Medford, Oregon
Ben Crenshaw (72 years old)
Jan 11 American golfer (US Masters 1984, 95), born in Austin, Texas
- Jan 11 Bille Brown, Australian actor and playwright
- Jan 11 Kim Hartman, British screen, stage, and radio actress (Allo Allo! - "Helga"), born in Hammersmith, London, England
- Jan 11 Lee Ritenour, American jazz-fusion guitarist, born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 11 Massimo Lopez, Italian comedian
- Jan 11 Michael Forshaw, Australian politician
- Jan 12 Charles Faulkner, American motivational speaker and author, born in St. Clair Shores, Michigan
- Jan 12 Ricky Van Shelton, American country singer ("Wild-Eyed Dream"), born in Danville, Virginia
- Jan 12 Walter Mosley, American novelist, born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 13 Pekka Pohjola, Finnish rock and jazz-fusion bassist, and composer, born in Helsinki (d. 2008)
- Jan 13 Sharon Gabet, actress (Edge of Night, Another World), born in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Jan 14 Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, Prime Minister of Romania, born in Bucharest, Romania
- Jan 14 Maureen Dowd, American writer, born in Washington, D.C.
- Jan 14 Sydney Biddle Barrows, American madam and author (Mayflower Madam), born in Hopewell, New Jersey
- Jan 15 Boris Blank, Swiss artist and musician (Yello, Tranceonic), born in Zurich, Switzerland
- Jan 15 Melvyn Gale, English cellist (Electric Light Orchestra, 1975-79 - "Livin' Thing"), born in London
- Jan 16 Fuad II of Egypt, last King of Egypt and Sudan (1952-53), born in Abdeen Palace, Cairo, Egypt
- Jan 16 Lloyd Blaine Hammond Jr., Major USAF/astr (STS 39, 64), born in Savannah, Georgia
- Jan 16 Roberta Baskin, American correspondent (48 Hours), born in New York City
- Jan 17 Charlie Johnson, American football defensive tackle (Pro Bowl 1979-81; All Pro 1980; Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings), born in West Columbia, Texas (d. 2021)
- Jan 17 Darrell Porter, American baseball catcher (MLB All Star 1974, 78-80; World Series MVP 1982), born in Joplin, Missouri (d. 2002)
- Jan 17 Larry Fortensky, American construction worker and 8th husband of actress Elizabeth Taylor (1991-96), born in Stanton, California (d. 2016)
- Jan 17 Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician (Yellow Magic Orchestra) and Academy Award-winning film composer (The Last Emperor), born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 2023) [1]
- Jan 18 Michael Behe, American biochemist and advocate of intelligent design, born in Altoona, Pennsylvania
- Jan 18 R. Stevie Moore, American singer, songwriter, and home recording pioneer, born in Nashville, Tennessee
- Jan 19 Dewey Bunell, British-American musician (America - "Daisy Jane"), born in Borough of Harrogate, England
- Jan 20 Ian Hill, English rock bassist (Judas Priest - "Breakin the Law"), born in West Bromwich, United Kingdom
- Jan 20 John Campbell, American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 1993)
- Jan 20 Patrick Smith, Australian sports journalist (The Age, The Australian, SEN; Walkley Award 1997, 2002, 04), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2023)
- Jan 20 Paul Stanley [Stanley Eisen], American rock guitarist, songwriter, and singer (KISS - "Rock and Roll All Nite"), born in Manhattan, New York City
- Jan 21 Fausto Bara, Mexican-American actor (The Renegades - "Gaucho"), born in Mexicali, Mexico (d. 1994)
- Jan 21 Louis Menand, American writer and critic
- Jan 21 Marco Camenisch, Swiss environmental activist
- Jan 21 Mike Krukow, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1986 SF Giants; Chicago Cubs) and broadcaster (KNBR [with Duane Kuiper] SF Giants), born in Long Beach, California
- Jan 22 Ace Vergel, Filipino actor (d. 2007)
- Jan 22 Teddy Gentry, American country music bassist (Alabama - "Mountain Music"), born in Fort Payne, Alabama
- Jan 22 Teresa Kaban, Polish classical pianist and co-director of the International Festival of Rediscovered and Forgotten Music, born in Gliwice, Poland
- Jan 23 Omar Henry, South African cricketer (1st colored player for South Africa 1992), born in Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Jan 24 William F. Readdy, American astronaut (STS 42, 51, 79), born in Quonset Point, Rhode Island
- Jan 25 Peter Garland, American composer, and musicologist, born in Portland, Maine
- Jan 25 Peter Tatchell, Australian-born British politician, journalist and human rights campaigner (Peter Tatchell Foundation), born in Melbourne, Australia
- Jan 25 Sara Mandiano [Françoise Castellani], French singer-songwriter, born in France
- Jan 25 Timothy White, American journalist (d. 2002)
- Jan 26 Mario Runco Jr., American astronaut (STS 44, 54, 77), born in the Bronx, New York
- Jan 27 Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, American football receiver and return specialist, 3X Pro Bowl (Houston Oilers, 1974-80; 3 other teams, 1981-88), born in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania
- Jan 27 Brian Gottfried, American tennis player (Wimbledon doubles, 1976; French Open doubles, 1975, 77), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Jan 28 George Green, American songwriter ("Hurts So Good", "Rain On The Scarecrow"), born in Seymour, Indiana (d. 2011)
- Jan 29 Kenn Kweder, American rock and folk singer-songwriter ("Diablo"; "Suzy Said So"; "Mommy And Daddy"), born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania [1]
- Jan 29 Tim Healy, English actor (Auf Wiedersehen, Pet), born in Benwell, England
- Jan 30 Doug Falconer, Canadian football player, born in Calgary, Alberta
- Jan 30 Valery Khalilov, Russian military conductor and composer, born in Termez, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union (d. 2016)
- Jan 31 Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter, born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (d. 1969)
- Jan 31 Rosanne Musgrave, English headmistress (Blackheath HS, 1989-2000)
- Jan 31 Thomas Lawrence Toscano, American conductor (Opera OGGI NY), composer, and broadcaster, born in The Bronx, New York
About January 1952
How Old? 72 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: Yes
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90