- Jan 1 21st Fiesta Bowl: #6 Penn State beats #10 Tennessee, 42-17
- Jan 1 58th Orange Bowl: #1 Miami (FL) beats #11 Nebraska, 22-0
- Jan 1 58th Sugar Bowl: #18 Notre Dame beats #3 Florida, 39-28
- Jan 1 78th Rose Bowl: #2 Washington beats #4 Michigan, 34-14
Boutros-Ghali Secretary General
Jan 1 Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt begins his term as the 6th Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Jan 1 Bush is 1st US President to address Australian Parliament
- Jan 1 Curacao becomes 1st in Dutch Antilles to have compulsory education
- Jan 1 Europe breaks down trade barriers
- Jan 1 International Space Year begins
- Jan 1 NYC transit fare increases from $1.15 to $1.25
- Jan 1 The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic is renamed the Russian Federation, becoming the successor state to the Soviet Union.
Shane Warne Debut
Jan 2 Australian cricket spin bowling great Shane Warne (145 Tests, 708 wickets; 194 ODIs) makes Test debut v India in 3rd Test at Sydney Cricket Ground
- Jan 3 32 Cubans defect to the US via helicopter
- Jan 3 Australian cricket batsman David Boon scores an unbeaten 129 in drawn 3rd Test against India in Sydney; his 11th Test century
- Jan 3 English club Wigan pays Widnes a world record rugby league transfer fee of £440,000 for Great Britain international winger Martin Offiah
- Jan 3 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Jakob Hlasek beats Karel Nováček of Czechoslovakia 6-4, 6-4 for a 2-0 lead (ends 2-1) and Switzerland's first title
- Jan 4 8th largest wrestling crowd NJPW Starcade (60,000-Tokyo Dome)
Parish's Block Record
Jan 4 Boston's Robert Parish becomes 5th player in NBA history to register 2,000 career blocks during Celtics' 100-96 loss at Minnesota - others Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mark Eaton, Wayne Rollins and George Johnson
- Jan 5 "6 Degrees of Separation" closes at Vivian Beaumont NYC after 496 performances
- Jan 5 "On Borrowed Time" closes at Circle in Sq Theater NYC after 99 performances
- Jan 5 Indian cricket all-rounder Ravi Shastri scores 206 in 3rd Test in Sydney before being Shane Warne's first Test wicket, the first of 708 for Australia
"The Crucible"
Jan 5 Revival of Arthur Miller's dramatic play "The Crucible" closes at Belasco Theater, NYC, after 32 performances
- Jan 5 Revival of Leigh, Charlap, Styne, Comden and Green's musical "Peter Pan", starring Cathy Rigby, closes at Minskoff Theater, NYC, after 48 performances
- Jan 6 NY Yankees sign free agent Danny Tartabul
- Jan 6 Robert Schenkkan's "Kentucky Cycle" premieres in LA
- Jan 6 Sachin Tendulkar completes 148* v Australia at the SCG
- Jan 6 The US Government urges doctors to stop using silicone breast implants, outlining the health effects
- Jan 6 Zviad Gamskahurdia, the President of Georgia, flees the country because of the military coup
- Jan 7 AT&T releases video-telephone ($1,499)
Imran Khan's Last Test Day
Jan 7 Last day of Test cricket for Pakistan's Imran Khan
Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 7 Tom Seaver & Rollie Fingers elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
Bush Vomits on PM
Jan 8 George H. W. Bush falls ill and vomits on Japanese prime minister's lap
Born at the Right Time
Jan 11 American singer-songwriter Paul Simon brings his “Born at the Right Time” tour to South Africa, at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg
Yamaguchi US Champion
Jan 11 US female Figure Skating championship won by Kristi Yamaguchi
- Jan 12 13th ACE Cable Awards: CNN wins the Golden CableACE for the coverage of the Persian Gulf War
- Jan 12 A new constitution, providing for freedom to form political parties, is approved by a referendum in Mali.
Bills Defeat Broncos
Jan 12 AFC Championship, Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY: Buffalo Bills beat Denver Broncos, 10-7
- Jan 12 Algeria's general elections canceled after strong gains by Islamic Salvation Front in the 1st round
- Jan 12 Highest scoring NCAA basketball game; Troy State Trojans defeat DeVry Hoyas 258-149 in Troy, Alabama
- Jan 12 Last building in Gateway area in Cleveland is demolished
- Jan 12 NFC Championship, RFK Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Washington Redskins beat Detroit Lions, 41-10
- Jan 12 US male Figure Skating championship won by Christopher Bowman
Dahmer's Insanity Plea
Jan 13 American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer pleads guilty but insane
- Jan 13 Excavation of new ballpark at Gateway (Jacobs Field) begins
- Jan 13 Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II
Johnny Cash, Isley Brothers Inducted
Jan 15 7th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Bobby "Blue" Bland; Booker T. and the MG's; Johnny Cash; Jimi Hendrix Experience; Isley Brothers; Sam and Dave; The Yardbirds; Elmore James; Professor Longhair; Leo Fender; Bill Graham; and Doc Pomus
- Jan 15 Bulgaria recognizes Macedonia
- Jan 15 Cleaning woman finds intimate photos of Sarah Ferguson with US man
- Jan 15 Supreme Court rules 5-3 that Joseph Doherty isn't entitled to asylum
- Jan 16 "Two Shakespearean Actors" opens at Cort Theater NYC for 29 performances
- Jan 16 Chapultepec Peace Accords are signed in Mexico City which ends the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War
Eric Clapton "Unplugged"
Jan 16 Eric Clapton performs for an episode of MTV "Unplugged" at Bray Film Studios in Windsor, England. Recording won six Grammy Awards, and became Clapton's bestselling album, and the bestselling live album of all time
- Jan 17 Sarah Ferguson attends dinner of Everglades club (club excludes Jews)
Campbell Defeat Wales Conference
Jan 18 43rd NHL All-Star Game, Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA: Campbell beats Wales, 10-6; MVP: Brett Hull, St. Louis, RW
49th Golden Globes
Jan 18 49th Golden Globes: Bugsy, Nick Nolte and Jodie Foster win
- Jan 18 Comedian Pat McCormick injured in a car accident
- Jan 19 Cerebral Palsy telethon raises $23.5 million
- Jan 19 Cy Coleman and David Zippel's musical "City of Angels" closes at the Virginia Theater, NYC, after 879 performances, winning 6 Tony and 8 Drama Desk Awards
- Jan 19 IBM announces a nearly $5B loss for 1992
Piper WWF Intercontinental Champ
Jan 19 Roddy Piper beats Mountie to become WWF Intercontinental Champ
Australia Defeats India
Jan 20 Australia beat India 2-0 to win cricket's World Series Cup; Australian opener David Boon scores the most runs in the series (432)
- Jan 20 Score begins selling international soccer cards
Cowher Steeler's Coach
Jan 21 Bill Cowher becomes the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, becoming only the second head coach of the team since 1970 (Chuck Noll)
- Jan 21 UN serves Libya a resolution to hand over intelligence agents accused of two airliner bombings
- Jan 22 Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.
- Jan 22 Sarah, Duchess of York (aka Fergie) wears paper bag over her head on airline ride
- Jan 22 Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) launches into space
- Jan 23 "Visit" opens at Criterion Theater NYC for 45 performances
- Jan 24 Chalino Sánchez is attacked and shot while performing at the Plaza Los Arcos restaurant in Coachella, California
Seles Beats Fernández
Jan 25 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Monica Seles beats American Mary Joe Fernández 6-2, 6-3 for her 5th career Grand Slam title
Jansen's 500m Record
Jan 25 Dan Jansen skates world record 500m in 36.41"
- Jan 25 Hubble space telescope optics finds NGC3862/3C264
- Jan 26 "Little Hotel on the Side" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 41 performances
- Jan 26 8th Sundance Film Festival: "In the Soup" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Courier Defeats Edberg
Jan 26 Australian Open Men's Tennis: American Jim Courier wins 2nd career Grand Slam title and 1st Australian title; beats Stefan Edberg of Sweden 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
- Jan 26 Super Bowl XXVI, Metrodome, Minneapolis, MI: Washington Redskins beat Buffalo Bills, 37-24; MVP: Mark Rypien, Washington, QB
- Jan 27 "Crazy He Calls Me" opens at Walter Kerr Theater NYC for 7 performances
- Jan 27 19th American Music Awards: C & C Music Factory, Michael Bolton win
Jane Fonda Surgery
Jan 27 Jane Fonda undergoes arthroscopic surgery on her right knee
Mike Tyson Trial
Jan 27 Mike Tyson goes on trial for rape (he is found guilty)
Clinton, Flowers Accusations
Jan 27 Presidential candidate Bill Clinton (D) & Genifer Flowers accuse each other of lying over her assertion they had a 12-year affair
- Jan 28 David Boon completes twelfth Test century, 135 v India at Adelaide
- Jan 28 St. Louis right wing Brett Hull becomes 2nd player (after Wayne Gretzky) in NHL history to record back-to-back seasons of 50 goals in 50 games; #50 comes in 3-3 Blues' tie in Los Angeles
"The Age of Intelligent Machines"
Jan 30 Inventor Ray Kurzweil publishes his first book "The Age of Intelligent Machines" on artificial intelligence, predicting the popularity of the internet
- Jan 30 Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) lands
- Jan 31 MTA raised tolls on most NYC bridges from $2.50 to $3.00
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