January 1st Events |
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| January 1st, 2045 (January 01 2045) | Event | The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time. | Julian Quotes |
| January 1st, 2008 (January 01 2008) | Event | A New Hampshire law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples comes into effect. | |
| January 1st, 2008 (January 01 2008) | Event | Malta and Cyprus officially adopt the Euro currency. | |
| January 1st, 2007 (January 01 2007) | Event | Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Also, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, joining 20 other official languages. | |
| January 1st, 2007 (January 01 2007) | Event | Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board. | |
| January 1st, 2004 (January 01 2004) | Event | In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007. | |
| January 1st, 2002 (January 01 2002) | Event | Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union s member states. | |
| January 1st, 2002 (January 01 2002) | Event | Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei. | |
| January 1st, 2002 (January 01 2002) | Event | The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially comes into force. | |
| January 1st, 2002 (January 01 2002) | Event | Pluto is officially declared not a planet. | |
| January 1st, 2000 (January 01 2000) | Event | As the world celebrates, no major crisis arises from the dreaded Y2K computer "millennium bug". | |
| January 1st, 1999 (January 01 1999) | Event | The Euro currency is introduced. | |
| January 1st, 1999 (January 01 1999) | Event | new administrative division of Polandthe country is divided in 16 voivodeships (regions) instead of previous 49. | |
| January 1st, 1998 (January 01 1998) | Event | Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence. | |
| January 1st, 1998 (January 01 1998) | Event | The European Central Bank is established. | |
| January 1st, 1997 (January 01 1997) | Event | The Republic of Zaire officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Zaire. | |
| January 1st, 1997 (January 01 1997) | Event | Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan is appointed Secretary General of the United Nations. | |
| January 1st, 1996 (January 01 1996) | Event | Curacao gains limited self-government, though it remains within free association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. | Cao Cao Quotes |
| January 1st, 1995 (January 01 1995) | Event | The World Trade Organization comes into effect. | |
| January 1st, 1995 (January 01 1995) | Event | The Kingdom of Sweden and the republics of Austria and Finland are admitted into the European Union. | |
| January 1st, 1995 (January 01 1995) | Event | The Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe becomes the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. | |
| January 1st, 1995 (January 01 1995) | Event | The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves. | |
| January 1st, 1995 (January 01 1995) | Event | Firecrackers are banned in Vietnam on T?t for safety reasons. | |
| January 1st, 1994 (January 01 1994) | Event | The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican State of Chiapas. | |
| January 1st, 1994 (January 01 1994) | Event | The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect. | |
| January 1st, 1994 (January 01 1994) | Event | The European Economic Area comes into effect. | |
| January 1st, 1994 (January 01 1994) | Event | The International Tropical Timber Agreement comes into effect. | |
| January 1st, 1993 (January 01 1993) | Event | Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. | |
| January 1st, 1993 (January 01 1993) | Event | A single market within the European Community is introduced. | |
| January 1st, 1990 (January 01 1990) | Event | David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City s first black mayor. | |
| January 1st, 1989 (January 01 1989) | Event | The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer comes into force. | |
| January 1st, 1988 (January 01 1988) | Event | The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. | |
| January 1st, 1986 (January 01 1986) | Event | Aruba becomes independent of Curacao, though it remains in free association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. | Cao Cao Quotes |
| January 1st, 1986 (January 01 1986) | Event | The Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic are admitted into the European Community. | |
| January 1st, 1985 (January 01 1985) | Event | The Internet s Domain Name System is created. | |
| January 1st, 1985 (January 01 1985) | Event | The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone. | |
| January 1st, 1984 (January 01 1984) | Event | The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is broken up into twenty-two independent units as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T . | |
| January 1st, 1984 (January 01 1984) | Event | The Sultanate of Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. | |
| January 1st, 1983 (January 01 1983) | Event | The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. | |
| January 1st, 1982 (January 01 1982) | Event | Peruvian Javier Perez de Cuellar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary General of the United Nations. | |
| January 1st, 1981 (January 01 1981) | Event | The Republic of Greece is admitted into the European Community. | |
| January 1st, 1981 (January 01 1981) | Event | The Republic of Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States. | |
| January 1st, 1980 (January 01 1980) | Event | Victoria is crowned princess of Sweden. | |
| January 1st, 1979 (January 01 1979) | Event | Formal diplomatic relations are established between the People s Republic of China and the United States of America. | |
| January 1st, 1978 (January 01 1978) | Event | Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 crashes into the sea, due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation, off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. | |
| January 1st, 1978 (January 01 1978) | Event | The Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands becomes effective. | |
| January 1st, 1973 (January 01 1973) | Event | Denmark, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland are admitted into the European Community. | |
| January 1st, 1972 (January 01 1972) | Event | Austrian diplomat Kurt Waldheim becomes Secretary General of the United Nations. | |
| January 1st, 1971 (January 01 1971) | Event | Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television. | |
| January 1st, 1966 (January 01 1966) | Event | A twelve-day New York City transit strike begins. | |
| January 1st, 1966 (January 01 1966) | Event | After a coup, Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa assumes power as president of the Central African Republic. | Bede Quotes |
| January 1st, 1965 (January 01 1965) | Event | The People s Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul. | |
| January 1st, 1964 (January 01 1964) | Event | The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia. | |
| January 1st, 1962 (January 01 1962) | Event | Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa. | |
| January 1st, 1962 (January 01 1962) | Event | United States Navy SEALs established. | |
| January 1st, 1962 (January 01 1962) | Event | The Beatles unsuccessfully auditions for Decca Records. | |
| January 1st, 1960 (January 01 1960) | Event | The Republic of Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. | |
| January 1st, 1959 (January 01 1959) | Event | Cultivars of plants named after this date must be named in a modern language, not in Latin.[citation needed] | |
| January 1st, 1959 (January 01 1959) | Event | Fulgencio Batista, president of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro s forces during the Cuban Revolution. | Fidel Castro Quotes |
| January 1st, 1958 (January 01 1958) | Event | The European Community is established. | |
| January 1st, 1957 (January 01 1957) | Event | George Town, Penang becomes a city by a royal charter granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. | |
| January 1st, 1957 (January 01 1957) | Event | An Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacks Brookeborough RUC barracks in one of the most famous incidents of the IRA s Operation Harvest. | |
| January 1st, 1956 (January 01 1956) | Event | The Republic of the Sudan achieves independence from the Egyptian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. | |
| January 1st, 1956 (January 01 1956) | Event | A new year event causes panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, central Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people. | |
| January 1st, 1950 (January 01 1950) | Event | The state of Ajaigarh is ceded to the Government of India. | |
| January 1st, 1949 (January 01 1949) | Event | United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly. | |
| January 1st, 1948 (January 01 1948) | Event | British railways are nationalised to form British Rail. | |
| January 1st, 1948 (January 01 1948) | Event | After partition, India declines to pay the agreed share of Rs.550 million in cash balances to Pakistan. | |
| January 1st, 1948 (January 01 1948) | Event | The Constitution of Italy comes into force. | |
| January 1st, 1947 (January 01 1947) | Event | The American and British occupation zones in Germany, after the World War II, merge to form the Bizone, that later became the Federal Republic of Germany. | |
| January 1st, 1946 (January 01 1946) | Event | The first civil flight from Heathrow Airport occurs. | |
| January 1st, 1945 (January 01 1945) | Event | World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops massacre 30 SS prisoners at Chenogne. | |
| January 1st, 1945 (January 01 1945) | Event | World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Unternehmen Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow. | |
| January 1st, 1942 (January 01 1942) | Event | The Declaration by the United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations. | |
| January 1st, 1942 (January 01 1942) | Event | World War II: The U.S. Office of Production Management prohibits sales of new cars and trucks to civilians. | |
| January 1st, 1939 (January 01 1939) | Event | William Hewlett and David Packard found Hewlett-Packard. | |
| January 1st, 1939 (January 01 1939) | Event | Sydney, Australia, swelters in 45 ?C (113 ?F) heat, a record for the city. | |
| January 1st, 1937 (January 01 1937) | Event | Safety glass in vehicle windscreens becomes mandatory in Great Britain. | |
| January 1st, 1937 (January 01 1937) | Event | Public Order Act is passed in Great Britain | |
| January 1st, 1934 (January 01 1934) | Event | Alcatraz Island becomes a United States federal prison. | |
| January 1st, 1934 (January 01 1934) | Event | Nazi Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring". | |
| January 1st, 1929 (January 01 1929) | Event | The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver. | |
| January 1st, 1927 (January 01 1927) | Event | Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), is immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian). | Julian Quotes |
| January 1st, 1925 (January 01 1925) | Event | The American astronomer Edwin Hubble announces the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way. | |
| January 1st, 1923 (January 01 1923) | Event | Britain s Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMSR. | |
| January 1st, 1922 (January 01 1922) | Event | The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly of Epidaurus. | |
| January 1st, 1920 (January 01 1920) | Event | The Belorussian Communist Organisation is founded as a separate party. | |
| January 1st, 1919 (January 01 1919) | Event | Edsel Ford succeeds his father, Henry Ford, as president of the Ford Motor Company. | Henry Ford Quotes |
| January 1st, 1916 (January 01 1916) | Event | German troops abandon Yaounde and their Kamerun colony to British forces and begin the long march to Spanish Guinea. | |
| January 1st, 1912 (January 01 1912) | Event | The Republic of China is established. | |
| January 1st, 1911 (January 01 1911) | Event | Northern Territory is separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control. | |
| January 1st, 1910 (January 01 1910) | Event | Captain David Beatty is promoted to Rear Admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal family members), since Horatio Nelson. | Horatio Nelson Quotes |
| January 1st, 1909 (January 01 1909) | Event | Drilling begins on the Lakeview Gusher. | |
| January 1st, 1908 (January 01 1908) | Event | For the first time, a ball is dropped in New York City s Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight. | |
| January 1st, 1906 (January 01 1906) | Event | British India officially adopts the Indian Standard Time. | |
| January 1st, 1902 (January 01 1902) | Event | The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena. | |
| January 1st, 1901 (January 01 1901) | Event | Nigeria becomes a British protectorate. | |
| January 1st, 1901 (January 01 1901) | Event | The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister. | |
| January 1st, 1899 (January 01 1899) | Event | Spanish rule ends in Cuba. | |
| January 1st, 1898 (January 01 1898) | Event | New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs. | |
| January 1st, 1894 (January 01 1894) | Event | The Manchester Ship Canal, England, is officially opened to traffic. | |
| January 1st, 1893 (January 01 1893) | Event | Japan begins using the Gregorian calendar. | |
| January 1st, 1892 (January 01 1892) | Event | Ellis Island opens to begin processing immigrants into the United States. | |
| January 1st, 1890 (January 01 1890) | Event | Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government. | |
| January 1st, 1880 (January 01 1880) | Event | Ferdinand de Lesseps begins French construction of the Panama Canal. | |
| January 1st, 1877 (January 01 1877) | Event | Queen Victoria of Britain is proclaimed Empress of India. | |
| January 1st, 1876 (January 01 1876) | Event | The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. | |
| January 1st, 1863 (January 01 1863) | Event | American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory. | |
| January 1st, 1863 (January 01 1863) | Event | The first claim under the Homestead Act is made by Daniel Freeman for a farm in Nebraska. | |
| January 1st, 1861 (January 01 1861) | Event | Porfirio Diaz conquers Mexico City. | |
| January 1st, 1845 (January 01 1845) | Event | The Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed. | |
| January 1st, 1833 (January 01 1833) | Event | The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. | |
| January 1st, 1808 (January 01 1808) | Event | The importation of slaves into the United States is banned. | |
| January 1st, 1806 (January 01 1806) | Event | The French Republican Calendar is abolished. | |
| January 1st, 1804 (January 01 1804) | Event | French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black republic and first independent country in the West Indies. | |
| January 1st, 1803 (January 01 1803) | Event | Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tay Son Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Hu?, Vietnam. | |
| January 1st, 1801 (January 01 1801) | Event | The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. | |
| January 1st, 1801 (January 01 1801) | Event | The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi. | |
| January 1st, 1800 (January 01 1800) | Event | The Dutch East India Company is dissolved. | |
| January 1st, 1797 (January 01 1797) | Event | Albany replaces Kingston as the capital of New York State. | |
| January 1st, 1788 (January 01 1788) | Event | First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published. | |
| January 1st, 1781 (January 01 1781) | Event | 1,500 soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne s command rebel against the Continental Army s winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey as part of the Pennsylvania (Continentals; Regiment) Mutiny of 1781. | |
| January 1st, 1772 (January 01 1772) | Event | The first traveler s cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale in London. | |
| January 1st, 1739 (January 01 1739) | Event | Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier. | |
| January 1st, 1707 (January 01 1707) | Event | John V is crowned King of Portugal. | |
| January 1st, 1700 (January 01 1700) | Event | Russia begins using the Anno Domini era and no longer uses the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire. | |
| January 1st, 1673 (January 01 1673) | Event | Regular mail service begins between New York and Boston. | |
| January 1st, 1651 (January 01 1651) | Event | Charles II is crowned King of Scotland. | |
| January 1st, 1600 (January 01 1600) | Event | Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of 25 March. | |
| January 1st, 1527 (January 01 1527) | Event | Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as king of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin. | |
| January 1st, 1515 (January 01 1515) | Event | King Francis I of France succeeds to the French throne. | |
| January 1st, 1438 (January 01 1438) | Event | Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary. | |
| January 1st, 1259 (January 01 1259) | Event | Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris. | |
| January 1st, 1001 (January 01 1001) | Event | Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Silvester II. | Stephen King Quotes |
| January 1st, 0630 (January 01 0630) | Event | The Prophet Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with the army that captures it bloodlessly. | |
| January 1st, 0404 (January 01 0404) | Event | The last known gladiatorial competition in Rome takes place. | |
| January 1st, 0153 (January 01 0153) | Event | Roman consuls begin their year in office. | |
