- Jan 1 Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1924) and 11th governor-general of New Zealand 1967-72, dies at 93
- Jan 1 Werner Schwab, Austrian playwright (Female Presidents) and artist, dies at 35
- Jan 2 Dixy Lee Ray, American politician (17th Governor of Washington) and chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), dies at 79
- Jan 2 Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, French director of IMF (1963-73), dies at 81
- Jan 2 Sammy Taft, Canadian businessman (coined term "hat trick"), dies at 81
- Jan 3 Frank Belknap Long, American writer (Rim of the Unknown), dies at 92
- Jan 3 Heather Sears, English actress (Room at the Top), dies of cancer at 58
- Jan 3 Roel Bazen, Dutch sound technician (Van Kooten & The Bie), dies at 48
- Jan 4 Jim Booth, New Zealand producer (Heavenly Creatures), dies at 48
- Jan 4 Michiel P "Michael" Gorsira, Gov of Curacao (1951-67), dies at 80
- Jan 4 R. D. Burman, Indian film score composer (1942: A Love Story), dies at 54
- Jan 5 Brian Johnston, British cricket commentator (BBC 1946-94) and cake connoisseur, dies from a heart attack at 81
- Jan 5 Louis R J Ridder van Rappard, Dutch mayor of Zoelen, dies at 87
- Jan 5 Tip O'Neill, American politician and 47th speaker of the house (D-Ma: 1977-86), dies of cancer at 81
- Jan 5 Victor van Os, Dutch jazz guitarist, dies at 39
- Jan 5 William Raynor, American screenwriter (Gomer Pyle; Get Smart; McDuff, The Talking Dog; Dukes of Hazzard), dies at 73
- Jan 6 "Iron" Adriaan van Es, Dutch undersec of Navy (1963-72), dies at 80
- Jan 6 Gerardus J Sizoo, physicist/director of Dutch Free University, dies
- Jan 6 Morty the Moose, American character alces (Northern Exposure), dies at 6
- Jan 6 Virginia Kelley Clinton, Mother of President Clinton, dies at 70
- Jan 7 Bobby Pratt, American jazz trombone and piano player, dies at 67
- Jan 7 Lewis Boddington, Welsh aerospace Engineer (RAE), dies at 85
- Jan 7 Llewellyn Rees, British theatre actor (A Fish Called Wanda, Invisible Creature), dies at 92
- Jan 7 Lynn Blessing, American vibes player, dies at 65
- Jan 7 Phoumi Vongvichit, President of Laos (1986-91), dies at 84
- Jan 7 Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Italian actor (Cafe Express, Octopus), dies of heart failure at 52
- Jan 8 Edward Duke, actor (Decadence, Silver Bears), dies of cancer at 40
- Jan 8 Harvey Haddix, American baseball pitcher (12 perfect inning game), dies at 68
- Jan 8 Jay Blackton, American conductor and arranger (Guys & Dolls; Oklahoma!), dies at 84
- Jan 8 Lady Caithness, wife of British undersecretary, commits suicide
- Jan 8 Pat Buttram, American actor (Mr Haney-Green Acres), dies of kidney failure at 78
- Jan 8 Sri Chandrashekhara Saraswathi, guru of Kanchi, dies at 99
- Jan 9 Silas Hogan, American blues singer and guitarist, dies at 82
- Jan 10 Charles "Chub" Feeney, American MLB executive (President of the National League), dies at 72
- Jan 10 Ien Dales, Dutch politician (Minister of Internal affairs (1989-94), dies at 62
- Jan 10 Michael Aldridge, British actor (Last of the Summer Wine, Murder in Cathedral), dies at 73
- Jan 11 Helmut Poppendick, Nazi physician, dies at 92
- Jan 11 John Bradley, United States Navy corpsman, one of six who raised flag on top of Mt. Suribachi (see Iwo Jima), dies of a stroke at 70
- Jan 11 Roger "Ram" Ramirez, American jazz piano player and composer, dies at 80
- Jan 12 Robert Horen, American stage and screen actor, dies of cancer at 68
- Jan 12 Samuel Bronston, Romanian-American film producer (El Cid), dies at 85
- Jan 13 Frederick William Sternfield, musicologist, dies at 79
- Jan 13 Johan Jørgen Holst, Norwegian politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs (worked on the Oslo Peace Accords), dies at 56
- Jan 14 Esther Ralston, American actress (Tin Pan Alley, San Francisco Docks), dies at 91
- Jan 14 Federica Montseny, Spanish anarchist and government Minister of Health (1936), dies at 80
- Jan 14 Zino Davidoff, Ukrainian--Swiss tobacco entrepreneur (cigars; desktop humidors), dies at 87
- Jan 15 György Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist (Chopin, Liszt), dies at 72
Harry Nilsson (1941-1994)
Jan 15 American pop and rock singer-songwriter ("Everybody's Talkin'"; "One"; "Without You"), dies of a heart attack at 52
- Jan 15 Martin Kosleck, German actor (Pursuit to Algiers; Agent for H.A.R.M.), dies at 89
- Jan 15 Philippe Brun, French jazz trumpeter, dies at 85
- Jan 16 Stephen Kritsick, veterinarian (Good Morning America), dies at 42
- Jan 17 Allan Gilbert Odell, American Ad exec (Burma Shave), dies at 90
- Jan 17 Chung Il Kwon, Prime Minister of South Korea (1964-70), dies
- Jan 17 Grady "Fats" Jackson, tenor Sax Player, dies at 66
- Jan 17 Han Jansen, Dutch journalist (Volkskrant), dies at 61
- Jan 17 Helen Stephens, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m & 4x100m relay 1936), dies at 75
- Jan 17 Klaas Peereboom, Dutch sports reporter (Het Parool), dies at 77
- Jan 17 Noël Chiboust, French jazz trumpeter, saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader, dies at 84
- Jan 17 Yevgeny Ivanov, Soviet spy involved in the Profumo affair (b. 1926)
- Jan 18 Arthur Altman, American songwriter ("All Or Nothing At All"), dies at 83
- Jan 18 Torbjörn Hultcrantzn, Swedish jazz double bass player, dies at 56
- Jan 20 Aar van de Werfhorst [pseudonym for Pieter Gerhardus Jansen], Dutch writer, dies at 87
- Jan 20 Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Kenyan vice-pres (1963-66), dies at about 81
- Jan 20 Matt Busby, Scottish soccer forward (Manchester City, Liverpool) and manager (Manchester United 1945-69, 70–71; Scotland 1958), dies from cancer at 84
- Jan 21 Basel al-Assad, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad's son and chosen successor, dies in car accident at 31
- Jan 22 (Aristotelis) "Telly" Savalas, American actor (Kojak; On Her Majesty's Secret Service), and singer ("If"), dies of prostate cancer at 72
- Jan 22 Frances Gifford, dies of emphysema, at 71
- Jan 22 Irving B. Kahn, American inventor of the teleprompter, dies at 76
- Jan 22 Jean-Louis Barrault, French stage actor, director and producer (Les Enfants du Paradis), dies at 83
- Jan 22 Rhett Forrester, American singer (Riot) (b. 1956)
- Jan 23 Brian Redhead, English journalist and broadcaster (b. 1929)
- Jan 23 Nikolai Ogarkov, Russian marshal (Flight KAL 007), dies at 76
- Jan 23 Oliver Smith, American 7-time Tony Award-winning set designer (Guys & Dolls), dies at 75
- Jan 23 Sherry Mathis, American actress (Search for Tomorrow), dies of cancer at 44
- Jan 23 Suzanne M. Blum, French lawyer (Charlie Chaplin), dies at 95
- Jan 24 Michalis Vranopoulos, head of Greek state bank, murdered at 48
- Jan 24 Yves Navarre, French writer (Le Jardin d'acclimatation), dies at 53
- Jan 25 Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician (Regular Expressions), dies at 85
- Jan 27 Claude Akins, American character actor (B. J. and the Bear; The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo; Movin' On), dies of cancer at 67
- Jan 27 Eddie Calhoun, American jazz bassist, dies at 72
- Jan 27 Joe Mays, American character actor (Mr. Saturday Night; The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd), dies of AIDS at 45
- Jan 27 Stanley Adams, American lyricist and songwriter ("What a Diff'rence a Day Makes"), dies from cancer at 86
- Jan 28 Hal Smith, American actor (The Andy Griffith Show-Otis Campbell), dies at 77
- Jan 28 Hermanus P. "Piet" Mulder, Dutch journalist (Het Parool), dies at 79
- Jan 28 William Levitt, builder (Levittown), dies of kidney failure at 86
- Jan 29 Nick Cravat [Nicholas Cuccia], American actor (Twilight Zone - "Gremlin" in "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" episode), dies of lung cancer at 82
- Jan 29 Ulrike Maier, Austrian alpine skier (World C'ship gold Super-G 1989, 91), dies of a broken neck from accident during World Cup event in Germany at 26
- Jan 29 Yevgeny Leonov, Russian actor (Gentlemen of Fortune; Mimino), dies at 67
- Jan 30 Bahjat Talhouni, Prime Minister of Jordan (1960-62, 64-65, 67-69, 69-70), dies
- Jan 30 Byron "Wild Child" Gipson, American blues singer ("Sittin' Here Cryin'"), dies at 64
- Jan 30 Ernestine "Tiny" Davis, American jazz vocalist and trumpeter (International Sweethearts of Rhythm), dies at 86
- Jan 30 Finn Arnestad, Norwegian contemporary classical composer (Ritagliata), dies at 78
- Jan 30 Jan Schaefer, Dutch undersecretary of Housing (PvdA), dies at 53
- Jan 31 Pierre Boulle, French writer (Executioner), dies at 81
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning