- Jan 1 Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian writer and essayist, dies at 74
- Jan 4 Konrad Weiss, German writer and poet (Tantum dic verbo - Heart of Words), dies at 59
- Jan 5 Humbert Wolfe, Italian-British poet (b. 1885)
- Jan 5 Tina Modotti, Italian artist and activist, dies at 45
- Jan 12 Erich R. Jaensch, German psychologist (eidetiek), dies at 56
- Jan 18 Kazimierz Tetmajer, Polish writer and poet (Young Poland), dies at 74
- Jan 19 William E. Borah, American lawyer and politician (Republican U.S. Senator from Idaho), dies at 74
- Jan 20 Omar Bundy, U.S. Army general (Spanish–American War in Cuba), dies at 78
- Jan 24 Emile van Bosch, Belgian revue, operetta and opera singer, dies at 52
- Jan 25 Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (b. 1899)
- Jan 27 Isaak Babel, Russian writer. playwright and journalist (Odessa Stories), executed at 46
- Jan 31 René Schickele, German-French writer, sometimes under nom de plume 'Sascha' (Erbe am Rhein), poet, and magazine editor (Weissen Blätter), dies at 56
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning