- Jan 2 Joseph Arthurlin "Joe" Harriott, Jamaican-British be-bop and free-form jazz alto saxophonist (Abstract), dies of cancer at 44
- Jan 3 Wilbur De Paris, American swing and Dixieland jazz trombone player, dies at 72
- Jan 5 Cor of Dis sr. [Cornelis Nicolas of Dis sr.], Dutch politician (SGP), dies at 79
- Jan 11 Isabel Randolph, American actress (Missing Corpse), dies at 83
- Jan 11 Rudolf Kubin, Czech cellist, dies a day after 64th birthday
- Jan 12 Glen "Turk" Edwards, American College-Pro Football HOF tackle (Washington State Uni; NFL C'ship 1937; 3 × First-team All-Pro; NFL All-Star 1939; Washington Redskins) and coach (Washington Redskins 1946-48), dies at 65
- Jan 15 Coleman Francis, American film director (b. 1919)
- Jan 15 Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
- Jan 15 Jef Alpaerts, Flemish pianist, educator, and conductor (Collegium Musicum Antverpiense), dies at 68
- Jan 17 Fred Essler, Austrian actor (Unsinkable Molly Brown, Saratoga Trunk), dies at 77
- Jan 19 Max Adrian, Irish actor (Boy Friend), dies of a heart attack at 69
- Jan 20 Amilcar Cabral, Bissau-Guinean nationalist leader, fought for Guinea Bissau independence, murdered at 51
- Jan 20 Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (b. 1885)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973)
Jan 22 36th US President (Democrat: 1963-69), dies at his Texas ranch at 64
- Jan 23 Alexander Onassis, Greek heir of the Onassis family (b. 1948)
- Jan 23 Edward "Kid" Ory, American New Orleans style jazz trombonist, and band leader, dies of pneumonia and a heart attack at 86
- Jan 24 Alan Lissette, New Zealand cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 3 wickets; Auckland, Northern Districts), dies from heart disease at 53
- Jan 24 J. Carrol Naish, American actor (Sahara; A Medal for Benny), dies of emphysema at 77
- Jan 25 Masao Ohba, Japanese boxer (WBA flyweight champion 1970-73), dies in a car accident at 23
- Jan 26 Edward G. Robinson [Goldenberg], Romanian actor (Double Indemnity, The Stranger, The Ten Commandments), dies at 79
- Jan 26 Jay C. Higginbotham, American swing jazz trombonist (Luis Russell'; Red Allen;, Benny Carter), dies at 67
- Jan 26 Meijer Sluyser, Dutch journalist, commentator (VARA), dies at about 71
- Jan 27 William Nolde, American Army officer, last US soldier killed during Vietnam War, dies at 43
- Jan 28 John Banner, Austrian-born American actor (Hogan's Heroes, Lone Ranger, 36 Hours), dies of a abdominal haemorrhage at 63
- Jan 29 Johannes Paul Thilman, German composer, dies at 67
- Jan 29 Ludwig Stössel, Austrian actor (Man With a Camera, The Pride of the Yankees), dies at 89
- Jan 30 Jack MacGowran, Irish actor (King Lear, The Quiet Man, The Exorcist), dies of influenza at 54
- Jan 31 Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and 1st winner of the Nobel prize in economics in 1969, dies at 77
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning