January 1 - Osamu Tezuka's Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy), Japan's first serialized animated series based on the popular manga, debuts on Japanese television station Fuji Television. - Bogle-Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove River, Sydney, Australia.

January 2 - Vietnam War: The Viet Cong win their first major victory in the Battle of Ap Bac.

January 8 - Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C..

January 14 - George C. Wallace becomes governor of Alabama. In his inaugural speech, he defiantly proclaims "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!" - The steam locomotive Flying Scotsman (British Railways No. 60103) makes its last scheduled run, before going into the hands of Alan Pegler for preservation.

January 18 - Due to severe winter conditions the twelfth elfstedentocht skating tour in the Netherlands turns into an almost total disaster. Of the 9294 participants only 69 manage to finish, making this the heaviest elfstedentocht ever held.

January 22 - France and West Germany sign the Élysée Treaty.

January 26 - The Australia Day shootings rock Perth, Western Australia; 2 people are shot dead and 3 others injured by Eric Edgar Cooke.

January 28 - African American student Harvey Gantt enters Clemson University in South Carolina, the last U.S. state to hold out against racial integration.

January 29 - French President Charles de Gaulle vetoes the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. (source: Wikipedia)