- Jan 1 (Johannes Mario) J.M. Simmel, Austrian writer (It Can't Always Be Caviar), dies at 84
- Jan 1 Claiborne Pell, American writer, politician (US Senator (D) from Rhode Island, 1961-97), and sponsor of education grant legislation, dies at 90
- Jan 1 Edmund Purdom, British actor (The Egyptian, Asissi Underground, Pieces), dies at 84
- Jan 1 Nizar Rayan, Hamas leader, killed in an airstrike at 49
- Jan 2 Jett Travolta, son of actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston, dies of a seizure at 16
- Jan 2 Maria de Jesus, Portuguese supercentenarian, dies at 115
- Jan 3 Alan Walters, British political economist (Chief Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), dies at 82
- Jan 3 Charles Camilleri, Maltese composer (Missa Mundi), dies at 77
- Jan 3 Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
- Jan 3 Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle, American actor (Hang 'em High, Splendor in the Grass, Batman Returns), dies of myelodysplastic syndrome at 84
- Jan 3 Olga San Juan, American actress, dancer and comedian (Variety Girl, 1 Touch of Venus), dies at 81
- Jan 3 Ulf G. Lindén, Swedish entrepreneur (b. 1937)
- Jan 4 Giselle Salandy, Trinidad & Tobago female boxer (b. 1987)
- Jan 5 Ned Tanen, American movie executive (b. 1931)
- Jan 6 Claude Jeter, American gospel music singer (The Swan Silvertones), dies at 94
- Jan 6 Ron Asheton, American guitarist, bassist, and songwriter (The Stooges), dies of an apparent heart attack at 60 [exact date estimated]
- Jan 6 Vivienne Della Chiesa, American lyric soprano who sang on US radio during the 1940s and early 1950s (The American Album of Familiar Music, The Standard Hour), dies at 93
- Jan 8 Don Galloway, American actor (Arrest & Trial, Ironside), dies at 71
- Jan 8 Richard John Neuhaus, Canadian-American Christian writer and editor (b. 1936)
- Jan 9 Dave Dee [Harman], British pop singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich), dies of cancer at 67
- Jan 9 T. Llew Jones, Welsh author (b. 1915)
- Jan 10 Bill Stone, British serviceman; one of the last surviving veterans of World War I, dies at 108
- Jan 10 Jean Pelletier, French Canadian politician (Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, 1993–2001; Mayor of Quebec, 1977-89), dies of colon cancer at 73
- Jan 10 Sidney Wood Jr, American tennis player (Wimbledon 1931), dies at 97
- Jan 11 David Vine, British sports broadcaster (BBC Match of the Day, World Snooker C'ships, Olympics coverage), dies of a heart attack at 74
- Jan 11 Tom O'Horgan, American musical theater director (Hair; Jesus Christ Superstar), dies from complications of Alzheimer's disease at 84
- Jan 11 Vivian Ridler, British scholar and printer (Oxford University), dies at 95
- Jan 12 Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher (b. 1912)
- Jan 12 Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter, dies at 74
- Jan 12 Russ Conway, Canadian-American character actor (Richard Diamond Private Eye), dies at 95
- Jan 13 Doña Mary Ejercito, Filipino supercentarian, mother of Philippine President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, dies at 102
- Jan 13 Hortense Calisher, American novelist (President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters), dies at 97
- Jan 13 Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese composer, lyricist, and poet, dies of pneumonia at 83
- Jan 13 Nancy Bird Walton, Australian aviator, dies at 93
- Jan 13 Patrick McGoohan, American-born Irish actor, writer, and director (The Prisoner; Secret Agent/ Danger Man), dies at 80
- Jan 13 William D.W. Snodgrass, American Pulitzer Prize-winning poet (Heart's Needle), also wrote using pseudonym S. S. Gardons, dies at 83
- Jan 14 Jan Kaplický, British architect of Czech origin, dies at 71
- Jan 14 Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican actor (Fantasy Island, Star Trek II, Naked Gun), dies of congestive heart failure at 88
- Jan 16 Andrew Wyeth, American realist painter (Christina's World), dies at 91
- Jan 16 Joe Erskine, American boxer and long distance runner (b. 1930)
- Jan 16 John Mortimer, English barrister, screenwriter and author (A Voyage Round My Father), dies at 85
- Jan 17 Anders Isaksson, Swedish journalist, writer, and historian (b. 1943)
- Jan 18 Bob May, American actor (b. 1939)
- Jan 18 Grigore Vieru, Romanian poet (b. 1935)
- Jan 18 Kathleen Byron, British actress (Abdication, Profile, Saving Private Ryan), dies of breast cancer at 88
- Jan 18 Tony Hart, English artist and television presenter (Take Hart, Hartbeat), dies at 83
- Jan 19 José Torres, Puerto Rican boxer (world light-heavyweight champion), dies of a heart attack at 72
- Jan 20 Dante Lavelli, American Pro Football HOF end (NFL C'ship 1950, 54, 55 Cleveland Browns; First-team All-Pro 1953; 3 × Pro Bowl), dies at 85
- Jan 20 David "Fathead" Newman, American jazz saxophonist (Ray Charles - "The Right Time"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 75
- Jan 20 Sheila O'Nions Walsh (aka Sheila Walsh, Sophie Leyton), English romance writer (b. 1928)
- Jan 20 Stan Hagen, Canadian politician (b. 1940)
- Jan 20 Stéphanos II Ghattas, Patriarch Emeritus of Alexandria for the Coptic Catholic Church (b. 1920)
- Jan 21 Pat Crawford, Australian cricketer (Australian pace bowler 1956), dies at 75
- Jan 22 Billy Werber, American baseball third baseman (World Series 1940; AL stolen base leader 1934, 35, 37; Cincinnati Reds), dies at 100
- Jan 23 George Perle, American composer (12 Tone Tonality), dies at 93
- Jan 23 Robert W. Scott, American politician, governor of North Carolina (b. 1929)
- Jan 24 Diane Holland, British actress and dancer (Crossroads - "Sarah"; Hi-de-Hi! - "Yvonne"), dies of bronchial pneumonia at 78
- Jan 24 Gérard Blanc, French pop singer ("Une Autre Histoire"), dies at 61
- Jan 24 Kay Yow, North Carolina State Univ. women's basketball head coach (b. 1942)
- Jan 24 Leonard Gaskin, American jazz bassist (Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis), dies at 88
- Jan 24 Reg Gutteridge, British Boxing Journalist (b. 1924)
- Jan 25 Kim Manners, American television producer and director (b. 1951)
- Jan 27 John Updike, American Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist (Rabbit' Run; Rabbit is Rich; Rabbit at Rest), and poet, dies of lung cancer at 76
- Jan 27 R. [Ramaswamy] Venkataraman, Indian politician, eighth President of India, dies at 98
- Jan 28 Arthur Jenkins, Jr., American jazz and pop session and touring keyboardist, composer, and arranger (Johnny Nash; Harry Belafonte; John Lennon; Roberta Flack), dies at 72
- Jan 28 Billy Powell, American musician and keyboardist (Lynyrd Skynyrd - "That Smell"; "Freebird"), dies at 56
- Jan 29 (Bennie Ross) "Hank" Crawford, American saxophonist, arranger and songwriter (Help Me Make It Through the Night), dies of complications from a stroke at 74
- Jan 29 Alfred Mabbs, British Archivist (Public Records Office), dies at 87
- Jan 29 Bill Frindall, English cricket scorer and statistician (BBC, "the Bearded Wonder"), dies from Legionnaires' disease at 69
- Jan 29 Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist, co-founder and 'Godfather' of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, dies at 95
- Jan 29 John Martyn [Iain McGeachy], British folk-rock-blues singer-songwriter, and guitarist ("May You Never"), dies due to acute respiratory distress syndrome at 60
- Jan 30 Hans Beck, German inventor, "The Father of Playmobil", dies at 79
Ingemar Johansson (1932-2009)
Jan 30 Swedish boxer (world heavyweight champion 1959-60; Olympic silver heavyweight 1952), dies at 76
- Jan 31 Dewey Martin, Canadian rock drummer (Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"), dies at 68
- Jan 31 Erland von Koch, Swedish composer, dies at 98
- Jan 31 Nagesh, Indian comedian actor in Kollywood (b. 1933)
- Jan 31 Thérèse Lavoie-Roux, French Canadian politician (Senator from Quebec, 1990-2001; Minister of Health and Social Services, 1985-89), dies at 80
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning