January 1 – Kristiania, the capital of Norway, reverted to its original name of Oslo.
January 3 – Benito Mussolini made a pivotal speech in the Italian Chamber of Deputies. He took personal responsibility for the actions of his Blackshirts, challenged his political opponents to remove him from office and then promised to take charge of restoring order to Italy within forty-eight hours. Historians now trace this speech to the beginning of Mussolini's dictatorship.
January 5 – Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first female governor (Wyoming) in the United States. Twelve days later, Ma Ferguson became first female governor of Texas.