- Jan 1 Diego Martínez Barrio, Spanish president (1939), dies at 76
- Jan 3 Babe Dye, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (Stanley Cup 1922; NHL scoring champion 1922–23, 24-25; Toronto St. Patricks/Maple Leafs), dies at 64
- Jan 3 Hermann Lux, German soccer defender (3 caps; manager Tennis Borussia Berlin), dies at 68
- Jan 4 Hans Lammers, German SS officer and Nazi politician, dies at 82
- Jan 6 Jacob "Jaap" Nanninga, Dutch painter (France, N Africa), dies at 57
- Jan 9 Leroy Shield [Shields], American pianist, composer (Laurel & Hardy; Our Gang; Union Pacific Suite), and orchestra leader, dies of cancer at 68
- Jan 12 Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian politician, writer, and feminist, dies at 92
- Jan 12 Richard de Guide, Belgian composer, dies at 52
- Jan 13 Ernie Kovacs, American comedian (The Ernie Kovacs Show), dies in a car crash at 42
- Jan 15 Kenneth MacKenna, American actor and director (Judgment at Nuremberg, Those We Love), dies of cancer at 62
- Jan 16 Emanuel Stickelberger, Swiss writer (Holbein in England), dies at 77
- Jan 16 Frank Hurley, Australian photographer (Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914-16; Australian Army WWI & WWII), dies at 76
- Jan 16 Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect, dies at 78
- Jan 17 Gerrit Achterberg, Dutch poet (Dead End), dies of a heart attack at 56
- Jan 18 Raymond Moulaert, Belgian pianist and composer, dies at 86
- Jan 19 Harry "Snub" Pollard, Australian actor (Don't Shove, Arizona Days), dies of cancer at 72
- Jan 20 Robinson Jeffers, poet/playwright (Dear Judas), dies at 75
- Jan 21 André Lhote, French painter and art historian (Traité du paysage), dies at 76
- Jan 24 Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish poet, novelist, recognized as one of the most important representatives of modernism in Turkish literature (A Mind at Peace, The Time Regulation Institute), dies of a heart attack at 60
- Jan 24 Stanley Lord, Captain of the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster, dies at 84
- Jan 24 Tom Shirley, American actor and TV announcer (They're Off), dies at 62
Charles "Lucky" Luciano (1896-1962)
Jan 26 Italian-American gangster of the New York mafia, dies of a heart attack at 65
- Jan 26 Fran Lhotka, Czech composer, dies at 78
- Jan 27 Percy LeSueur, Canadian hockey goaltender (inventor large goalie glove & LeSueur net), dies at 80
- Jan 29 Friedrich-Max "Fritz" Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (Alt-Wiener Tanzweisen), dies at 86
- Jan 30 Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian physician (b. 1894)
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning