- Jan 1 Alf Hall, South African cricket fast bowler (7 Tests, 40 wickets), dies at 67
- Jan 1 Bechara El Khoury, President of Lebanon, dies at 73
- Jan 1 Otto Olsson, Swedish organist (Gustaf Vasa Church, 1907-56), composer, and teacher (Royal Swedish Academy, 1908-45), dies at 84
- Jan 1 Rika Hopper, Dutch actress (Comedia, Anastasia), dies at ~86
- Jan 4 (Arthur) "Artie" Bernstein, American jazz and session double bassist (The Dorsey Brothers), dies at 54
- Jan 4 Ralph Dumke, American actor (Movieland Quiz), dies at 64
- Jan 6 Edgar Maass, German/American author (Verdun), dies at 67
- Jan 7 Colin McPhee, Canadian-American pianist, composer (Tabuh-Tabuhan; H2O; Mechanical Principles), and ethnomusicologist (Bali), dies at 63
- Jan 7 Cyril Davies, American musician (b. 1932)
- Jan 8 Arnoldus JC Krafft, Dutch theologist, historian, and geographer (Atlas of Netherlands Antilles), dies at 71
- Jan 8 Julius Raab, Austrian politician (Chancellor 1953-61), dies at 72
- Jan 8 Martin Stixrud, Norwegian figure skater and coach (Olympic bronze 1920, coached Sonja Henie), dies at 87
- Jan 9 Frank "Big Boy" Goudie, American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist, and upholsterer, dies of cancer at 64
- Jan 9 Halide Edib Adevar/Salih, Turkish feminist (Handan), dies at about 80
- Jan 10 A Marja, Dutch author (Man of Day & Night), dies at 46
- Jan 12 Snuffy Browne, West Indian cricket all-rounder (4 Tests, 1 x 50, 6 wickets; British Guiana, Barbados), dies at 73
- Jan 15 (Weldon Leo) "Jack" Teagarden, American jazz trombonist (Paul Whiteman, 1933-38; Louis Armstrong's All-Stars, 1946-51), singer ("Basin Street Blues"), and bandleader, dies from bronchial pneumonia at 58
- Jan 15 George Duncan, Scottish golfer, course designer (British Open 1920), dies at 80
- Jan 15 Harry Sunderland, Australian rugby league administrator (manager 1929–30 Kangaroo tour of GB; Queensland RFL secretary 1913-22; inspired establishment RL in France), dies at 74
T. H. White (1906-1964)
Jan 17 English novelist (England Have My Bones) and author of the King Arthur novels, dies of heart failure at 57
- Jan 19 Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist who twice won the Tour de France (1919, 1922), dies at 77
- Jan 19 Joe Weatherly, American auto racer (NASCAR Sprint Cup champion 1962-63), dies of head injuries in race crash at 41
- Jan 20 Jan Rychlik, Czech composer, dies at 47
- Jan 21 Joseph Schildkraut, Austrian actor (Cleopatra, Joseph Schildkraut Presents, Diary of Anne Frank), dies from a heart attack at 68
- Jan 22 Marc Blitzstein, American opera and theater composer, librettist (The Cradle Will Rock), and translator (Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill works), killed by a sailor at 58
- Jan 23 Louis Horst, American dance choreographer and composer, dies at 80
- Jan 24 Stuart Davis, American modernist painter, dies at 71
- Jan 27 Lieb Glantz, Ukrainian-born tenor, composer and Zionist, dies at 65
- Jan 29 Alan Ladd, American actor (Shane, Carpetbaggers), dies from an overdose at 50
- Jan 30 Berthold Altaner, German church historian, dies at 80
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning