- Jan 1 20th Orange Bowl: #4 Oklahoma beats #1 Maryland, 7-0
- Jan 1 20th Sugar Bowl: #8 Georgia Tech beats #10 West Virginia, 42-19
- Jan 1 40th Rose Bowl: #3 Michigan State beats #5 UCLA, 28-20
- Jan 1 KSLA TV channel 12 in Shreveport, LA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 1 NBC broadcasts 1st live color US coast-to-coast telecast, the Tournament of Roses Parade, from Pasadena, California
- Jan 1 Rose & Cotton Bowl are 1st sport colorcasts
- Jan 1 WWTV TV channel 9 in Cadillac-Traverse City, MI (CBS) 1st broadcast
Djilas Criticizes Communism
Jan 1 Yugoslav parliament chairman and Vice President Milovan Djilas criticizes communism
Elvis Records Second Demo
Jan 4 Elvis Presley records his second demo at Sun Studios, a recording studio in Memphis, "It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You" and "I'll Never Stand In Your Way"
- Jan 4 Soap Opera "The Brighter Day" premieres
- Jan 7 Georgetown-IBM experiment, first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held at IBM's head office in New York
- Jan 9 -87°F (-66°C), Northice Station, Greenland (Greenland record)
- Jan 9 Bert Olmstead of the Montreal Canadiens, ties NHL record of 8 points in game
- Jan 9 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to Louise Bogan & Leonie Adams
- Jan 10 A Comet jet airliner crashes in the Mediterranean; 35 people are missing
- Jan 10 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to W H Auden
- Jan 11 Two ton locomotive swept into ravine by an avalanche in Austria, killing 10
- Jan 12 Austria's worst avalanche-kills 200; 9hrs later 2nd one-kills 115
Elizabeth II in New Zealand
Jan 12 Queen Elizabeth II opens New Zealand parliament
"South Pacific"
Jan 16 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's musical "South Pacific", starring Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza, closes at the Majestic Theater, NYC, after 1928 performances;, winning 10 Tony Awards and Pulitzer Prize
4th NFL Pro Bowl
Jan 17 4th NFL Pro Bowl, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: Eastern Conference beats Western Conference, 20-9; MVP: Chuck Bednarik, Philadelphia Eagles, LB
"Omnibus"
Jan 17 Jacques Cousteau's 1st network telecast airs on "Omnibus" (CBS)
"Concertino Opus 94"
Jan 20 Dmitri Shostakovich's "Concertino opus 94" premieres
"The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial"
Jan 20 Herman Wouk's stage drama "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial", adpated from his novel "The Caine Mutiny", starring Henry Fonda, and directed by Charles Laughton, premieres at the Plymouth Theatre, NYC; runs for 415 performances
- Jan 20 The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
- Jan 21 1st gas turbine automobile exhibited (NYC)
4th NBA All-Star Game
Jan 21 4th NBA All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden, NYC: East beats West, 98-93 (OT); MVP: Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics, PG
- Jan 21 First time in All-Star history, an overtime period is needed to decide a winner; Boston Celtics' guard Bob Cousy's 10-point OT scoring burst gave the East a 98-93 win; Cousy wins All-Star MVP honours
- Jan 21 USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, launched on the Thames River in Connecticut
11th Golden Globes
Jan 22 11th Golden Globes: The Robe, Spencer Tracy, & Audrey Hepburn win
Moore vs. Maxim
Jan 27 American boxer Archie Moore beats Joey Maxim in 15-round unanimous decision to retain his world light heavyweight title at the Orange Bowl, Miami; last of famous trilogy of fights, all won by Moore
- Jan 28 1954 NFL Draft: Bobby Garrett from University of Stanford first pick by Cleveland Browns
- Jan 29 Arnold Schoenberg's last musical work "De Profundis" premieres in Cologne, Germany
- Jan 30 Belgium ends trade agreement with USSR
- Jan 30 Fanfani government of Italy resigns
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