- Jan 1 Bruce Norris, American Hockey Hall of Fame executive (owner Detroit Red Wings 1952-82), dies at 61
- Jan 1 Marty Friedman, American Basketball Hall of Fame guard and coach (tied World C'ship series, New York Whirlwinds 1921), dies at 96
Bill Veeck (1914-1986)
Jan 2 American Baseball HOF executive (owner Chicago WS, Cleveland Indians [World Series 1948], St. Louis Browns), dies of lung cancer at 71
- Jan 2 Herbert Magidson, American lyricist, winner of first Academy Award for Best Original Song ("The Continental"; "Gone With The Wind"; "The Masquerade Is Over"), dies at 79
- Jan 2 Una Merkel, American actress (42nd Street, Abraham Lincoln), dies at 82
- Jan 3 Jens Bjerre, Danish composer, dies at 82
- Jan 4 Christopher Isherwood, English novelist (Lions & Shadows), dies at 81
- Jan 4 Phil Lynott, Irish rock musician (Thin Lizzy), dies of an overdose at 36 [1]
- Jan 5 Ilmari Salminen, Finnish athlete (Olympic gold 10,000m 1936), dies at 83
- Jan 6 Louis Lebeer, Belgian art historian, engraver, and academic, dies at 90
- Jan 7 Juan Rulfo, Mexican writer (Pedro Páramo), dies at 68
- Jan 7 Philip D. Eastman, American children's book writer and illustrator (b. 1909)
- Jan 8 Mansel Treharne Thomas, Welsh composer, dies at 76
- Jan 8 Pierre Fournier, French cellist, and teacher (Paris Conservatoire, 1937-49), dies at 79
- Jan 8 Yaroslav Seifert, Czech poet (Nobel 1984), dies at 84
- Jan 9 Lucia Chase, American ballerina and co-founder of American Ballet Theater, dies at 88
- Jan 10 Jaroslav Seifert, Czech poet (Nobel Prize for Literature 1984), dies at 84 [1]
- Jan 10 Joe Farrell, American jazz saxophonist, dies at 48
- Jan 10 Joseph Kraft, American columnist, dies at 61
- Jan 11 Sid Chaplin, UK novelist (b. 1916)
- Jan 12 Marcel Arland, French author (L'ordre, Lumière du Soir), dies at 86
- Jan 14 Daniel Balavoine, French singer-songwriter, dies in a helicopter crash at 33
- Jan 14 Donna Reed, American actress (From Here to Eternity; It's a Wonderful Life; The Donna Reed Show), dies of cancer at 64
- Jan 14 Walter Leblanc, Belgian avant-garde painter and visual artist, dies in a car accident at 53
- Jan 15 James H "Jim" Crowley, US football player (Notre Dame), dies at 83
- Jan 16 Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
- Jan 18 Claire James, American actress (Jack Armstrong), dies at 65
- Jan 20 Franz Kemser, German 4 man bobsled (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 75
- Jan 23 Joseph Beuys, West German avant-garde artist (Fluxus movement), dies at 64
- Jan 24 Gordon MacRae, American singer and actor (Oklahoma!, Carousel), dies of pneumonia at 64
- Jan 24 L. Ron Hubbard, American sci-fi writer (Death Quest; Dianetics) and founder of Church of Scientology, dies at 74
- Jan 25 Dennis Smith, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (1 Test; lone wicket off first ball; Otago, Canterbury), dies at 73
- Jan 25 Ernst Schnabel, German writer and pioneer of the radio documentary, dies at 72
- Jan 27 Lilli Palmer [Peiser], German actress (Cloak and Dagger, Anastasia: The Czar's Last Daughter), dies from abdominal cancer at 71
- Jan 28 Christa McAuliffe, American teacher, dies in the Challenger space shuttle disaster at 37
- Jan 28 Dick Scobee, US Air Force officer and astronaut, dies in the Challenger disaster at 46
- Jan 28 Ellison Onizuka, American Air Force Major and astronaut (STS 51C, 51L), dies in the Challenger space shuttle disaster at 39
- Jan 28 Greg Jarvis, American engineer and astronaut, dies in the Challenger space shuttle disaster at 41
- Jan 28 Judith Resnik, American astronaut, dies in Challenger disaster at 36
- Jan 28 Michael J. Smith, American astronaut (51L-Challenger disaster), dies in Challenger space shuttle disaster at 40
Ronald McNair (1950-1986)
Jan 28 American astronaut and physicist (STS 41B, 51L), dies in Challenger space shuttle disaster at 35
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning