January 1: UN sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistan War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which is still continuing as of 2013.

January 2: Luis Munoz Marin becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.

January 4: RMS Caronia of the Cunard Line departs Southampton for New York on her maiden voyage.

January 4: February 22: Series of winter storms in Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Colorado and Nevada: winds of up to 72 mph: tens of thousands of cattle and sheep perish.

January 5: U.S. President Harry S. Truman unveils his Fair Deal program.

January 11: Los Angeles, California receives its first recorded snowfall.

January 16: S,emsettin Gunaltay forms the new government of Turkey. (18th government, last single party government of CHP)

January 17: The first VW Type 1 to arrive in the United States, a 1948 model, is brought to New York by Dutch businessman Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sells the sample car to pay his travel expenses. Only two 1949 models were sold in America that year, convincing Volkswagen chairman Heinrich Nordhoff the car had no future in the U.S. (The Type 1 went on to become an automotive phenomenon.)

January 19: The Poe Toaster first appears at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe.

January 20: U.S. President Harry S. Truman is inaugurated for his full term.

January 25: Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA or COMECON) established by Soviet Union and other communist nations. - The first Emmy Awards are presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club. - In the first Israeli election, David Ben-Gurion becomes Prime Minister.

January 26: Australian citizenship comes into being and Constitution of India was prepared.

January 31: Forces from the Communist Party of China enter Beijing. (source: Wikipedia)