- Jan 2 Sir William Campion, Governor of Western Australia, dies at 80
- Jan 3 [Ferdinand] Fred Barlow, French composer (Mam'zelle Prud'homme), dies at 69
- Jan 5 Andrei P Platonov, Russian author (Prok, Kotlovan), dies at 51
- Jan 7 Johanna "Nelly" Bodenheim, Dutch illustrator and painter (Luilekkerland), dies at 76
- Jan 7 René Guénon, French-Egyptian author (b. 1886)
- Jan 8 Samuel D. Riddle, American thoroughbred owner (Man 'o War, War Admiral), dies at 89
- Jan 10 Athos Palma, Argentine composer, dies at 59
- Jan 10 Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (known as the founding father of modern physics research in Japan), dies at 60
- Jan 10 [Harry] Sinclair Lewis, American writer (Nobel Prize in Literature 1930), dies from advanced alcoholism at 65
- Jan 18 Jack Holt, American golddigger and actor (Cat People, San Francisco, Brimstone), dies from a heart attack at 62
- Jan 18 Robert Mark, US chairman (Caste World Congress), dies at 41
- Jan 19 Constantin C. Nottara, Romanian violinist and composer (Peace Poem), dies at 60
- Jan 22 Eastwood Lane, American composer, dies at 71
- Jan 22 Karl Nessler, inventor of the perm (b. 1872)
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1867-1951)
Jan 28 Finnish general and 6th President of Finland (1944-46), dies at 83
- Jan 29 James Bridie [Osborne Henry Mavor], Scottish dramatist, dies at 63
Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1951)
Jan 30 German automotive engineer (Volkswagen Beetle; Mercedes-Benz SS) and founder of the Porsche car company, dies at 75
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning