- Jan 1 "Flying Karamzov Brothers" closes at Helen Hayes NYC after 50 performances
- Jan 1 "Grand Night after Singing" closes at Criterion NYC after 52 performances
- Jan 1 23rd Fiesta Bowl: #16 Arizona beats #10 Miami, 29-0
- Jan 1 60th Orange Bowl: #1 Florida State beats #2 Nebraska, 18-16
- Jan 1 60th Sugar Bowl: #8 Florida beats #3 West Virginia, 41-7
- Jan 1 80th Rose Bowl: #9 Wisconsin beats #14 UCLA, 21-16
- Jan 1 Aleksandr Popov swims world record 100m free style (47.83)
- Jan 1 Carquest Bowl 4: Boston College beats Virginia, 32-13
Stern's Beauty Pageant
Jan 1 Howard Stern's New Year's Eve Beauty Pageant
- Jan 1 International Year of Family begins
- Jan 1 Jacobs Field opens with "Gateway's New Year's Eve Countdown to '94"
- Jan 1 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect
- Jan 1 The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican State of Chiapas
- Jan 2 "Shakespeare after My Father" closes at Helen Hayes NYC after 266 performances
- Jan 2 Battles between army & rebellious indians in South Mexico, kill 57
- Jan 2 Revival of Robert E. Sherman's stage drama "Abe Lincoln in Illinois", starring Sam Waterston, closes at Beaumont NYC after 40 performances
- Jan 3 "Gray's Anatomy" closes at Beaumont Theater NYC after 13 performances
- Jan 3 100s killed in Venezuela in prison revolt
- Jan 3 35-foot-tall Chief Wahoo, trademark of Indians on top of Stadium since 1962, is taken down, to be moved to Jacob's Field
Black Citizenship Restored
Jan 3 More than 7 million Black South Africans have their citizenship restored (announced on 15 December 1993 by parliament of President F. W. de Klerk, effective four months before first non-racial polls 27 April, 1994)
Young's Record 3rd Passing Title
Jan 3 Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers becomes first quarterback to win 3 straight NFL passing titles despite a 37-34 OT loss to the Philadelphia Eagles; first to lodge 3 consecutive passer ratings of 100+
- Jan 3 Tupolev-154M crashes at Irkutsk, Siberia: 122 killed
- Jan 4 10th largest wrestling crowd (58,000-Tokyo Dome)
- Jan 5 26th NAACP Image Awards: "Sister Act" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
- Jan 5 Aleksandr Popov swims world record 100m free style (47.82)
- Jan 6 "The Government Inspector" opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 37 performances
- Jan 6 Dow-Jones hits record 3803.88
Nancy Kerrigan Attacked
Jan 6 US figure skating champion Nancy Kerrigan is attacked by Tonya Harding's bodyguard at the US Championships in Detroit
- Jan 7 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Petr Korda defeats Bernd Karbacher of Germany 6-3, 6-3 for an unassailable 2-0 lead (ends 2-1) and the Czech Republic's first title
- Jan 7 South Africa beat Australia in the Sydney Test by 5 runs
- Jan 7 United Express commuter plane crashes in Ohio, killing 5
- Jan 7 US female Figure Skating championship won by Tonya Harding
- Jan 8 Rintje Ritsma skates world record 1500m (1:51.60)
- Jan 8 Russian manned space craft TM-18, launches into orbit
- Jan 8 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Davis
- Jan 9 14th United Negro College Fund raises $11,000,000
- Jan 9 Gunda Niemann skates world record (167.282 pts)
- Jan 9 Rintje Ritsma skates world record (156.201 points)
- Jan 10 Trial of Lorena Bobbitt who cut off her husband's penis, begins
- Jan 10 Ukraine says it will give up world's 3rd largest nuclear arsenal
- Jan 10 Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan agrees to abolish trade tariffs
- Jan 11 Hyderabad score 6 for 944 against Andhra Pradesh in Ranji Trophy
- Jan 11 Irish government announces end of a 20-year broadcasting ban on IRA
Baseball Hall of Fame
Jan 12 Lefthanded pitcher Steve Carlton (Philadelphia Phillies) elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- Jan 13 Italian government of Carlo Ciampi resigns
- Jan 13 Tonya Harding's bodyguard, Shawn Eric Eckardt & Derrick Brian Smith arrested & charged with conspiracy in attack of figure skater Nancy Kerrigan
- Jan 14 Inna Lassovskaya triple-jumps ladies world record (14.61m)
- Jan 14 Russian manned space craft TM-17, lands
- Jan 14 The Duchess of Kent converts to Catholicism, the first member of the Royal Family to do so in more than 300 years
- Jan 15 15th ACE Cable Awards: Michael Fuchs wins the Golden CableACE for outstanding achievements in advancing the development of cable programming
- Jan 15 Dallas Mavericks drop a 104-87 decision to the San Antonio Spurs at Reunion Arena to set an unwanted NBA record with their 17th consecutive home defeat; break mark of 16 set by Orlando in 1990
- Jan 15 Hague motorist with .51% alcohol in blood, breaks Dutch record (.47%)
Lawrence Taylor Retires
Jan 15 Lawrence Taylor announces his retirement from the NFL
Taylor Released From Hospital
Jan 17 Actress Elizabeth Taylor released from the hospital after hip treatment
Ewing's 15,000 Points
Jan 17 Patrick Ewing becomes first New York player to reach the 15,000-point mark in his NBA career; scores a game-high 34 points in the Knicks' 106-94 win over visiting Minnesota
9th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Jan 19 9th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Animals; The Band; Duane Eddy; The Grateful Dead; Elton John; John Lennon; Bob Marley; Rod Stewart; Willie Dixon; and Johnny Otis
"Four Weddings and a Funeral" Premieres
Jan 20 British comedy "Four Weddings and a Funeral" written by Richard Curtis, starring Hugh Grant premieres at the Sundance Film Festival
- Jan 21 Dallas Mavericks suffer 19th straight loss at Reunion Arena, 91-87 to the Seattle SuperSonics; extends an unwanted NBA record for the most consecutive home defeats
- Jan 21 Dow Jones passes 3900 (record 3,914.20)
- Jan 21 Lorena Bobbitt found temporarily insane when she cut off her husband's penis
- Jan 22 45th NHL All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden, NYC: East beats West, 9-8; MVP: Mike Richter, NY Rangers, G
- Jan 22 5.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Sumatra
51st Golden Globes
Jan 22 51st Golden Globes: Schlinder's List, Tom Hanks, & Holly Hunter win
- Jan 23 AFC Championship, Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY: Buffalo Bills beat Kansas City Chiefs, 30-13
- Jan 23 Bernie Kosar is 2nd QB to throw TD passes in AFC & NFC Champ games
- Jan 23 NFC Championship, Texas Stadium, Irving: Dallas Cowboys beat San Francisco 49ers, 38-21
- Jan 23 Worldwide Day for peace in Bosnia-Hercegovina
- Jan 24 Dow Jones closes above 3,900 for 1st time (3,914.48)
Jackson Settles Lawsuit
Jan 25 Accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy, Michael Jackson settles a civil lawsuit out of court
- Jan 25 Australia beat South Africa 2-1 to win cricket's World Series Cup
- Jan 25 Mine fire at Asansol, India, kills 55
- Jan 25 US space probe Clementine launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
- Jan 27 "No Man's Land" opens at Criterion Theater NYC for 61 performances
- Jan 27 Carlos Reina succeeds pres Callejas in Honduras
- Jan 27 Romanian social democrats form government with anti-Semites
- Jan 28 Helicopter crashes into office building in San Jose California, 1 dead
- Jan 28 Inna Lassovskaja jumps ladies world record (14.78m)
- Jan 29 Frankie Randall beats Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez by split decision to win WBC super lightweight title at MGM Grand, Las Vegas; Chavez's 1st knockdown of career in 11th and 1st loss in 91 pro fights
- Jan 30 10th Sundance Film Festival: "What Happened Was" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Sampras Defeats Martin
Jan 30 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Pete Sampras wins 1st of 2 Australian titles; fellow American Todd Martin 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
Graf Defeats Sánchez Vicario
Jan 30 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Steffi Graf beats Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-0, 6-2
World Record 500m
Jan 30 Dan Jansen skates world record 500m (35.76)
Dev Equals Hadlee's Record
Jan 30 Kapil Dev takes 2/41 as India beats Sri Lanka by an innings and 95 runs in 2nd Cricket Test in Bengaluru; equals Sir Richard Hadlee's world record of 431 Test wickets
- Jan 30 Péter Lékó becomes the youngest chess grand master.
Super Bowl XXVIII
Jan 30 Super Bowl XXVIII, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA: Dallas Cowboys beat Buffalo Bills, 30-13; MVP: Emmitt Smith, Dallas, RB
- Jan 31 Barcelona opera theater "Gran Teatro del Liceo", built in 1847, burns down for the second time; re-built and re-opens in 1999
- Jan 31 Dow Jones hits a record 3,978.36
"Marimar"
Jan 31 Mexican telenovela "Marimar" starring Thalia and Eduardo Capetillo premieres
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