- Jan 1 AFL Championship, War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo: Kansas City Chiefs beat Buffalo Bills, 31-7; QB Len Dawson passes for 2 TDs, RB Mike Garrett runs for 2 TDs
- Jan 1 Canadian Amateur Football Association formally becomes successor to Canadian Rugby Football Union; turns over the Grey Cup trophy to the CFL
- Jan 1 FCC requires AM-FM sister stations to be at least 50% different
- Jan 1 NFL Championship, Cotton Bowl, Dallas: Green Bay Packers beat Dallas Cowboys, 34-27
- Jan 1 Second day's play in Calcutta 2nd cricket Test, India v W Indies is cancelled by riots; ticket holders denied access starts trouble outside ground; escalates with fires in stands and pitch damage; WI win by 45
- Jan 1 St Helena adopts constitution
- Jan 1 Tonga revises constitution
- Jan 1 WABW TV channel 14 in Pelham, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 2 33rd Orange Bowl: Florida beats #8 Georgia Tech, 27-12
- Jan 2 33rd Sugar Bowl: #6 Alabama beats #3 Nebraska, 34-7
- Jan 2 53rd Rose Bowl: #7 Purdue beats Southern California, 14-13
- Jan 3 "The Tonight Show" is shortened from 105 to 90 minutes
- Jan 3 Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys is indicted for draft evasion
- Jan 3 WJAN TV channel 17 in Canton, OH (IND) begins broadcasting
- Jan 4 English land and boat racer Donald Campbell is killed while driving jet-powered boat Bluebird K7 on Coniston Water in England trying to beat his own water speed record
- Jan 5 KLXA (now KTBN) TV channel 40 in Fontana-San Ana, CA (IND) begins
Milton Berle Show
Jan 6 "Milton Berle Show" last airs on ABC-TV
- Jan 6 KHTV TV channel 39 in Houston, TX (IND) begins broadcasting
- Jan 6 Two homemade buses collide on a mountain road in Terpate, Philippines and plunge off a cliff, killing 84 people and injuring 140
- Jan 6 United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta.
Theatrical Finale
Jan 7 Murray Schisgal's stage comedy "Luv", directed by Mike Nichols. and starring Alan Arkin and Eli Wallach, closes at the Helen Hayes Theater, NYC, after 901 performances, and 3 Tony Award wins
Hey, Hey – We're The Monkees
Jan 9 "More of the Monkees" second album by The Monkees is released
- Jan 9 Georgia legislature seats Representative Julian Bond
- Jan 9 NFL New Orleans' franchise takes name "Saints"
17th NBA All-Star Game
Jan 10 17th NBA All-Star Game, Cow Palace, San Francisco, Ca: West beats East, 135-120; MVP: Rick Barry, SF Warriors, SF
Brooke Takes US Senate Seat
Jan 10 Edward W. Brooke (Sen-R-Mass), takes his seat as the 1st popularly elected African American to the US Senate
- Jan 10 Lester Maddox inaugurated as Governor of Georgia
- Jan 10 PBS (the National Educational TV) begins as a 70 station network
- Jan 11 Romeinse Curie installs Council for Pontifical Study commission
- Jan 11 San Diego is granted an NBA franchise to be called the Rockets; franchise moves to Houston for the 1971-72 season
- Jan 12 Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation; remains preserved at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation
Darft Board Refuses Ali Exemption
Jan 12 Louisville, Kentucky draft board refuses exemption for boxer Muhammad Ali [1]
- Jan 12 NBC revival of Jack Webb's police drama "Dragnet", now broadcast in color, debuts; runs through 1970
- Jan 13 Bloodless coup in Togo led by Lt. Col. Étienne Eyadéma and Kléber Dadjo
- Jan 13 London/Decca Records release Rolling Stones' single "Let's Spend the Night Together"
- Jan 14 20,000 attend Human Be-In, San Francisco
- Jan 14 Earthquake in Sicily kills 231
- Jan 14 New York Times reports Army is conducting secret germ warfare experiments
Rolling Stones Alter Lyrics for Show
Jan 15 Rolling Stones appear for the fifth time on the Ed Sullivan Show, reluctantly agree to alter lyrics of "Let's Spend The Night Together" [1] [2]
- Jan 15 Super Bowl I, LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA: Green Bay Packers beat KC Chiefs, 35-10; MVP: Bart Starr, Green Bay, QB
- Jan 16 1st black government installed in Bahamas led by Lynden Pindling as leader of the Progressive Liberal Party
- Jan 16 Lucius Amerson, becomes 1st southern (Alabama) African American sheriff in 20th century
20th NHL All-Star Game
Jan 18 20th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum, Montreal, QC: Montreal Canadiens beat All-Stars, 3-0; MVP: Henri Richard, Montreal, C
- Jan 18 Albert DeSalvo (Boston Strangler) sentenced to life in prison
- Jan 18 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Jan 19 Herr Karl Tausch writes shortest will "Vse Zene" (All to wife)
Chamberlain's Shot Record
Jan 20 Philadelphia 76ers center Wilt Chamberlain makes all 15 of his field goal attempts in a 119-108 win over LA Lakers; NBA record for consecutive shots made; beats mark twice before 1966-67 season ends
- Jan 21 6th AFL All Star Game, LA Memorial Coliseum: Eastern Division beats Western Division, 30-23: MVPs: Babe Parilli, Boston Patriots, QB; Verlon Biggs, NY Jets, DE
Fleming US Champion
Jan 21 US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming
- Jan 21 US male Figure Skating championship won by Gary Visconti
17th Pro Bowl
Jan 22 17th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: East beats West, 20-10; MVPs: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears, HB; Floyd Peters, Philadelphia Eagles, DT
Musial Manages Cardinals
Jan 23 Stan Musial named General Manager of MLB team St. Louis Cardinals
- Jan 26 Chicago Blizzard strikes with a record 23 inches of snow fall causing 800 buses and 50,000 automobiles to be abandoned
- Jan 26 USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan USSR
Apollo 1 Fire
Jan 27 A fire in the Apollo 1 Command Module kills astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee during a launch rehearsal
- Jan 27 New Orleans Saints sign their 1st player (Paige Cothren-kicker)
- Jan 27 The Beatles sign a 9 year worldwide contract with EMI records
- Jan 27 Treaty signed banning military use of nuclear weapons in space
- Jan 29 "Let's Sing Yiddish" closes at Brooks Atkinson NYC after 107 performances
Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 29 Branch Rickey and Lloyd Waner elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jan 29 Kees Verkerk becomes European skating champ
- Jan 29 The Arusha Declaration written by Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere is issued, clarifying Tanzania's path towards Ujamaa (African socialism)
- Jan 29 WDAZ TV channel 8 in Devils Lake, ND (NBC) begins broadcasting
Emerson Defeats Ashe
Jan 30 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson repeats previous year's result; beats American Arthur Ashe 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 for his 5th straight Australian title
Richey's Only Australian Title
Jan 30 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: American Nancy Richey wins her first and only Australian title; beats home favourite Lesley Turner Bowrey 6-1, 6-4
Authors
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
Spies