- Jan 1 53rd Orange Bowl: #3 Oklahoma beats #9 Arkansas, 42-8
- Jan 1 53rd Sugar Bowl: #6 Nebraska beats #5 LSU, 30-15
- Jan 1 60 bodies recovered in Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico
- Jan 1 73rd Rose Bowl: #7 Arizona State beats #4 Michigan, 22-15
- Jan 1 China's rudimentary civil code in effect
- Jan 1 International Year of Shelter for Homeless begins
- Jan 2 16th Fiesta Bowl: #2 Penn State beats #1 Miami, 14-10
- Jan 2 Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-106 to give coach Jack Ramsay his 800th NBA victory; at the time Ramsey is one of only 2 coaches (with Red Auerbach) to reach milestone
Chadian Troops Conquer Fada
Jan 2 Troops of Chadian President Hissène Habré conquer the Fada oasis
Aretha Franklin 1st Female
Jan 3 Aretha Franklin is the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Jan 3 Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Ashman's musical "Smile", loosely based on the 1975 film of the same name, closes at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC, after 48 performances
Musical Finale
Jan 3 Musical revue "Oh, Coward!" featuring the songs of Noël Coward, closes at the Helen Hayes Theater, NYC, after 56 performances
AFC Championship
Jan 11 AFC Championship, Cleveland Stadium: Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns 23-20 (OT)
- Jan 11 Largest crowd (76,633) at NFL NY Giant Stadium (beat Wash 17-0)
- Jan 11 NFC Championship, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford: New York Giants beat Washington Redskins, 17-0
Prince Edward Resigns
Jan 12 Britain's Prince Edward resigns from his Royal Marines training
Larry Bird's Double Accolade
Jan 15 Champion Boston Celtics NBA forward Larry Bird is named Man of the Year by 'The Sporting News' and Athlete of the Year by 'Associated Press'; first time one athlete gains both distinctions
- Jan 15 Police officer who mistakenly shot and paralysed an innocent woman in Brixton, UK, is cleared of all criminal charges
General Secretary Resigns
Jan 17 General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Hu Yaobang is forced to resign, amid demonstrations for greater democracy
Reagan's Covert Arms Sale
Jan 17 US President Reagan signs secret order permitting covert sale of arms to Iran
Turner Wins Cable Award
Jan 20 8th ACE Cable Awards: Ted Turner wins the Golden CableACE
- Jan 20 Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite taken hostage in Beirut, Lebanon by Islamic militia group
Litchfield Arrested
Jan 20 Bank robber Robert A. Litchfield is arrested at Lake Tahoe
- Jan 20 Rhino Records 1st #1, Billy Vera & Beaters' "At This Moment"
- Jan 20 UK Police crackdown on soccer hooligans in biggest operation against violence around football stadiums
Second Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Jan 21 Second Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Coasters; Eddie Cochran; Bo Diddley; Aretha Franklin; Marvin Gaye; Bill Haley; B.B. King; Clyde McPhatter; Ricky Nelson; Roy Orbison; Carl Perkins; Smokey Robinson; Joe Turner; Muddy Waters; Jackie Wilson; Louis Jordan; T-Bone Walker; Hank Williams; Leonard Chess; Ahmet Ertegun; Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; and Jerry Wexler
- Jan 22 Blizzard in NJ, as 334 attend Devils-Flame NHL game, NJ wins 7-5
- Jan 22 Pennsylvania politician R. Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself at a press conference on live national television, leading to debates on boundaries in journalism
- Jan 23 Dow Jones rises 64 points then drops 110 points (44.15 pt loss)
- Jan 23 Japan 1st exceeds military spending cap of 1% of GNP ($23 billion)
Mandlíková Defeats Navratilova
Jan 24 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Hana Mandlíková of Czechoslovakia wins her 4th and final Grand Slam singles crown; beats Martina Navratilova 7-5, 7-6
- Jan 25 3rd Sundance Film Festival: "Waiting for the Moon" and "The Trouble with Dick" (tie) win Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Edberg Defeats Cash
Jan 25 75th Australian Open Men's Tennis: Stefan Edberg of Sweden wins 2nd career Grand Slam title and 2nd Australian title; beats home town favourite Pat Cash 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
- Jan 25 Super Bowl XXI, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA: NY Giants beat Denver Broncos, 39-20; MVP: Phil Simms, NY Giants, QB
14th American Music Awards
Jan 26 14th American Music Awards: Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie & Alabama win
- Jan 26 Hart Foundation beat British Bulldogs for WWF tag team title
- Jan 27 Midnight Rockers beat Buddy Rose & Doug Somers for AWA World Tag Team
Shultz Meets Tambo
Jan 28 US Foreign minister George P. Shultz meets African National Congress leader Oliver Tambo
- Jan 28 Wrestler Jim Neidhart indicted for assaulting a flight attendant
- Jan 29 The president of the Philippines puts down a rebellion against their government in Manila
Casey's CIA Term Ends
Jan 29 William J. Casey term as 13th director of the CIA ends
44th Golden Globes
Jan 31 44th Golden Globes: Platoon, Bob Hoskins, & Marlee Matlin win
- Jan 31 United Steel workers union ratified a concessionary with USX Corp
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