- Jan 1 1st scheduled airline flight, St Petersburg-Tampa (Tony Jannus pilot)
- Jan 1 Klaas ter Laan becomes The Netherlands 1st socialist mayor (Zaandam)
- Jan 1 Northern & Southern Nigeria united in British colony of Nigeria
- Jan 1 The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line becomes the world's first scheduled airline, covering the 18 mile distance 23 minutes. Service ceased after three months.
- Jan 2 Philips installs research department in Eindhoven
Ford's $5 Day
Jan 5 Industrialist Henry Ford announces his $5 minimum per-day wage, doubling most workers pay from $2.40 for a 9hr day to $5 for an 8hr day
- Jan 6 Stock brokerage firm of Merrill Lynch founded
- Jan 10 1st edition of Hague's Post under SF van Oss, published
- Jan 10 Norwegian speed skater Oscar Mathisen skates world 500m record in 43.7s in Oslo, Norway
- Jan 10 Yuan Shih-k'ai, president of the new Chinese republic, dissolves parliament and prepares a constitution of his own design: he will set himself up as dictator, preparatory to an attempt to make himself emperor
- Jan 13 Emmerich Kálmán, C. C. S. Cushing and E. P. Heath's operetta "Sári" opens at the Liberty Theatre, later transferring to the New Amsterdam Theatre, NYC; runs for 151 performances
- Jan 13 Industrial Workers of the World leader and songwriter Joe Hill arrested for murder during a robbery
Gandhi-Smuts Agreement
Jan 14 The Gandhi-Smuts Agreement is reached between General Jan Smuts and Mahatma Gandhi, regarding voluntary registration, poll tax, recognition of Indian marriages and other matters in South Africa
Gorky's Russian Return
Jan 16 Writer Maxim Gorky returns to Russia from Capri after being granted an amnesty
"Der Bogen des Odysseus"
Jan 17 Gerhart Hauptmann's play "Der Bogen des Odysseus" premieres in Berlin
- Jan 20 The first group of Transvaal Indian women satyagrahis are released from Pietermaritzburg Prison in South Africa after three months imprisonment
- Jan 22 Paul Claudel's play "L'échange" premieres in Paris
- Jan 24 Victor Herbert's second opera "Madeleine" premieres at the Metropolitan Opera, NYC, with Frances Alda in the title role
- Jan 25 An Indian mass meeting in Durban, South Africa unanimously endorses the agreement between General Jan Smuts and Mahatma Gandhi regarding voluntary registration, poll tax, recognition of Indian marriages and other matters
- Jan 26 600 Dutch textile workers go on strike
- Jan 26 Vatican puts Belgian Nobel winner Maeterlinck's works in their index
- Jan 27 A petition is written and submitted by the black and coloured women of the Orange Free State, an independent Boer sovereign republic in southern Africa, against the carrying of passes by women
- Jan 28 Beverly Hills, California, is incorporated
Authors
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