- Jan 1 1st newspaper to microfilm its current issues, NY Herald Tribune
- Jan 1 22nd Rose Bowl: Stanford beats SMU, 7-0
- Jan 1 2nd Orange Bowl: Catholic University beats Mississippi, 20-19
- Jan 1 2nd Sugar Bowl: TCU beats LSU, 3-2
- Jan 2 1st electron tube to enable night vision described, St Louis, Missouri
Bradman's Scores 357
Jan 2 Australian master batsman Don Bradman scores 357 (424 minutes, 40 fours) for South Australia v Victoria in a Sheffield Shield match in Melbourne; his 5th 300+ score in first-class cricket
Astonished Heart
Jan 9 Noël Coward's stage drama "Astonished Heart" premieres in London
Giannini Bank President
Jan 14 L. M. (Mario) Giannini elected President of Bank of America
- Jan 15 1st all-glass windowless structure in US completed, Toledo, Ohio
- Jan 15 Horace Stoneham is elected president of New York Giants MLB franchise; succeeds late father, Charles; remains president for next 40 years, presiding over move to SF, before selling team in 1976
- Jan 15 Nonprofit Ford Foundation incorporates
- Jan 16 1st photo finish camera installed at Hialeah Race track in Hialeah, Florida
- Jan 16 Screen Actors Guild incorporates with King Vidor as president
- Jan 16 Spanish socialists, communists and anarchists form Unidad Popular
Edward VIII
Jan 20 Edward VIII succeeds British King George V
Stompin' at the Savoy
Jan 24 Benny Goodman and His Orchestra record "Stompin' at the Savoy" for Victor Records in Chicago, Illinois
Laval's Government Fails
Jan 24 Pierre Laval's second French government falls
Stalin Dislikes Opera
Jan 26 Joseph Stalin views Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth" but he and his officials leave early and the play is denounced in state press
Quist Defeats Crawford
Jan 27 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Adrian Quist wins his first Grand Slam event; beats fellow Australian Jack Crawford 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 9-7
- Jan 27 Australian Championships Women's Tennis, Adelaide: Joan Hartigan Bathurst wins her 3rd Australian singles title; beats Nancye Wynne Bolton 6-4, 6-4
Shostakovich Opera Criticized
Jan 28 Pravda criticizes Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District"
First Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 29 1st players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson & Walter Johnson
Authors
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
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