- Jan 1 18th Rose Bowl: Southern California beats Tulane, 21-12
- Jan 1 Jacob Cocey Sr chosen as Mayor of Massillon, Ohio
Gandhi and Nehru Arrested
Jan 4 British Viceroy of India Lord Willingdon arrests Indian independence leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru
- Jan 4 State of siege proclaimed in Honduras
- Jan 7 1st game played at Orchard Lake Curling Club, Mich
- Jan 8 Ratification of present San Francisco City Charter
- Jan 10 "Mickey Mouse" & "Silly Symphony" comics syndicated
- Jan 10 "Pete the Tramp" cartoon strip by C D Russell debuts
- Jan 12 Hattie W Caraway elected 1st woman senator (D-Ark)
- Jan 12 Philip Barry's play "The Animal Kingdom" premieres in NYC
- Jan 14 1st totalisator (to record racetrack bets) in US installed, Hialeah
Jockey Arcaro Wins 1st Race
Jan 14 Racing Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro wins his 1st race at Agua Caliente racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico - aged 16 years
- Jan 15 Record snowfall of 2 inches in city of Los Angeles, California
- Jan 19 Charlie Conacher becomes first Toronto player to score 5 goals in an NHL game as Maple Leafs rout the NY Americans, 11-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens
- Jan 21 USSR and Finland stop non-attack treaty
- Jan 23 El Salvador army kills 4,000 protesting farmers
- Jan 25 1st commencement exercises at Hebrew U in Jerusalem
- Jan 26 British submarine M-2 sinks in English Channel (60 dead)
- Jan 26 KUT-AM in Austin Texas changes call letters to KNOW
- Jan 28 1st US state unemployment insurance act enacted (Wisconsin)
- Jan 28 Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
- Jan 29 Test debut of Bill O'Reilly, vs South Africa at Adelaide
- Jan 30 Clarrie Grimmett 7-116 in South Africa 1st innings at Adelaide Oval
- Jan 31 US railway unions accept 10% wage reduction
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