Historical Events and Current Affairs on January 1

1430 : Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services
1430 : Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services
1438 : Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes king of Hungary
1438 : Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes king of Hungary
1494 : Juw Dekama elected potentate of Frisia
1494 : Juw Dekama elected potentate of Frisia
1502 : Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro
1502 : Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro
1504 : King Louis XII loses last bulwark in Naples, Caeta
1504 : King Louis XII loses last bulwark in Naples, Caeta
1515 : Fran?ois, Duke of Angoul?me succeeds Louis XII as Fran?ois I of France
1515 : Fran?ois, Duke of Angoul?me succeeds Louis XII as Fran?ois I of France
1515 : Jews are expelled from Laibach Austria
1515 : Jews are expelled from Laibach Austria
1573 : Geuzen sets fire to Woudrichem
1573 : Geuzen sets fire to Woudrichem
1583 : 1st day of the Gregorian calendar in Holland & Flanders
1583 : 1st day of the Gregorian calendar in Holland & Flanders
1610 : but does not officially report it, Galileo does on July 1 1610
1610 : but does not officially report it, Galileo does on July 1 1610
1610 : German astronomer Simon Marius 1st discovers the Jupiter moons,
1610 : German astronomer Simon Marius 1st discovers the Jupiter moons,
1622 : Papal Chancery adopts Jan 1 as beginning of the year (was Mar 25)
1622 : Papal Chancery adopts Jan 1 as beginning of the year (was Mar 25)
1651 : Charles II Stuart crowned king of Scotland
1651 : Charles II Stuart crowned king of Scotland
1660 : 1st entry in Samuel Pepys' diary
1660 : General Moncks army battles with the Tweed on way to London
1660 : Thomas Fairfax' New Model-army occupies York
1672 : Jean Racine's "Bajazet," premieres in Paris
1673 : Regular mail delivery begins between NY & Boston
1675 : Don Carlos de Gurrea/Arag?n becomes Spanish land guardian of S Neth
1689 : Pro-James II-earl of Danby occupies York
1700 : Protestant West-Europe (except England) begin using Gregorian calendar
1700 : Russia replaces Byzantines with Julian calendar
1701 : Great Britain & Ireland union is in effect, creating United Kingdom
1707 : Jacob V succeeds his father Pedro II as king of Portugal
1739 : J B C Bouvet de Lozier discovers Bouvet Island, near Antarctica
1770 : Date of action in the opera "Madeleine"
1772 : 1st traveller's checks issued (London)
1776 : Gen George Washington hoists Continental Union Flag
1785 : "Daily Universal Register" (Times of London) publishes 1st issue
1788 : London's Daily Universal Registrar becomes the Times
1788 : Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipate their slaves
1797 : Albany replaces NYC as capital of NY
1798 : Russia appoints 1st Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books
1800 : Dutch East Indies Company dissolves
1801 : Ireland & Great Britain (England & Scotland) form United Kingdom
1804 : Haiti gains independence from France (National Day)
1807 : Cura?ao is taken by English (until March, 1816)
1808 : African Benevolent Society (education) forms
1808 : Congress prohibits importation of slaves
1808 : Sierra Leone becomes a British colony
1809 : Holland Brigade under brig gen Chass? reaches Madrid
1814 : Field marshal Bl?cher's troops cross the Rhine at Kaub
1818 : Official reopening of the White House
1826 : Baron Van der Capellen resigns as governor of Dutch-Indies
1827 : Dutch Trade Company NHM gets opium monopoly on Java
1831 : William Lloyd Garrison publishes 1st issue of abolitionist journal
1833 : British government demands Falkland islands
1833 : Cura?ao census: 2,602 whites, 6,531 free people & 5,894 slaves
1834 : German Tolunie goes into effect
1838 : 1st official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide
1840 : 1st recorded bowling match in US, Knickerbocker Alleys, NYC
1842 : 1st illustrated weekly magazine in US publishes 1st issue, NYC
1844 : 1st edition of New Rotterdam's Daily (3x per week)
1846 : Yucatan declares independence from M?xico
1847 : Michigan is 1st state to abolish capital punishment
1847 : Neth's Haarlem's Current newspaper starts publishing
1848 : Britain takes Mosquito Coast from Nicaragua
1851 : City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line
1852 : 1st US public bath opens, in NYC
1852 : National debt of Britain & Ireland is ?765,126,582
1852 : Netherlands begins issuing postage stamps
1853 : 1st practical fire engine (horse-drawn) in US enters service
1854 : Lincoln University, a black college, chartered (Oxford, Penn)
1858 : Canada begins using decimal currency system
1860 : Slavery ends of in Neth Indies
1861 : Porfirio Diaz conquers Mexico City
1861 : Pres Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful
1862 : 1st US income tax (3% of incomes > $600, 5% of incomes > $10,000)
1862 : Battle of Ft McRee, FL
1862 : Battle of Port Royal, SC (Port Royal Ferry)
1863 : 1st homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, Nebr
1863 : Battle of Galveston, Texas-Confederates recapture the city
1863 : Battle of Helena, AK
1863 : Emancipation Proclamation (ending slavery) issued by Lincoln
1863 : Franz Schuberts "Missa Solemnis," premieres in Leipzig
1865 : -Apr 26th] Carolinas' campaign
1871 : Belgium disbands salt tax
1873 : Origin of Japanese Era
1874 : New York City annexes the Bronx
1877 : England's Queen Victoria proclaimed empress of India
1879 : John Brahms' Violin Concerto in D major premieres in Leipzig
1880 : Building of Panama Canal, begins
1881 : Dr John H Watson is introduced to Sherlock Holmes
1886 : 1st Tournament of Roses (Pasadena Calif)
1891 : French troops occupy Nioro, West-Sudan, 3000 killed
1891 : King Pakketvaart sails to Neth Indies
1892 : Ellis Island becomes reception center for new immigrants
1893 : 1st US college extension courses for credit, Univ of Chicago
1893 : Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar
1894 : Denmark adopts Mid-European time
1894 : Manchester Ship Canal in England opens to traffic
1895 : Norway adopts Mid-European time
1896 : Wilhelm R?ntgen announces his discovery of x-rays
1897 : 1st football game between black colleges-Atlanta U 10, Tuskegee 0
1897 : Brooklyn merges with NY to form present City of NY
1898 : d'Annunzio's "Sogno d'un mattino di primavera," premieres in Rome
1898 : Lightship replaces whistling buoy at mouth of SF Bay
1899 : Cuba liberated from Spain by US (Natl Day) (US occupies till 1902)
1900 : 1st date in John dos Passos' USA trilogy (The 42nd Parallel)
1900 : British protectorates of Northern & Southern Nigeria established
1900 : Compulsory education in Netherlands goes into effect
1901 : Australia declares independence from federation of UK colonies
1902 : 1st Rose Bowl game (Pasadena, California) (U of Mich-49, Sanford-0)
1902 : Nathan Stubblefield makes 1st public demonstration of radio, Penn
1904 : Neth Indies colony begins opium production
1905 : 9 hour work day for diamond miners
1906 : Dutch law makes driver's license mandatory
1907 : Pres Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8,513 hands in 1 day
1908 : 1st time, ball signifying new year dropped at Times Square
1908 : Jack Hobbs makes his Test debut at the MCG (83 & 28)
1910 : Simpson-Hayward (England) takes 6-43 on debut with underarm lobs
1911 : Belgian Mining law introduces 9?-hour work day
1911 : South Australia transfers Northern Territory to federal government
1912 : 1st running of SF's famed "Bay to Breakers" race (7.63 miles/12.3 km)
1912 : Sun Yat-sen forms Chinese Republic
1913 : Post office begins parcel post deliveries
1914 : 1st scheduled airline flight, St Petersburg-Tampa (Tony Jannus pilot)
1914 : Klaas ter Laan becomes Neth's 1st socialist mayor (Zaandam)
1914 : Northern & Southern Nigeria united in British colony of Nigeria
1915 : DW Griffith shows "Clansman" at a sneak preview
1915 : Jews of Laibach Austria expelled
1916 : 1st football game in Rose Bowl (Washington State-Brown)
1916 : 1st issue of "Journal of Negro History" published
1918 : Last day of the Julian calendar in Finland
1919 : Belorussian SSR established
1922 : Vancouver, BC starts driving on the right side of road
1923 : Union of Socialist Soviet Republics established
1924 : Grossdeutsche Volksgemeinschaft/V?lkische Block replaces NSDAP
1925 : Norway's capital Christiania changes name to Oslo
1926 : Flood in Rhine strikes Cologne
1927 : Communist uprising in West Java
1927 : Dodgers announce release of future Hall of Fame Zack Wheat
1928 : 1st US air-conditioned office building opens, San Antonio
1928 : Algemeene Vereeniging Radio Omroep (AVRO) begins broadcasting (Neth)
1929 : Roy Riegels runs 60 yds the wrong way with Rose Bowl fumble recovery
1930 : Earl Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to 2nd lieutenant
1930 : Jurgens & Van den Berg merge with Lever Brothers to form Unilever
1932 : Jacob Cocey Sr chosen as mayor of Massillon Ohio
1932 : Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt publishes Himmler's wedding laws
1934 : Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison
1934 : Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (US bank guarantor) effective
1934 : International Telecommunication Union established
1935 : 1st Sugar Bowl & 1st Orange Bowl
1935 : Associated Press inaugurates Wirephoto
1935 : Eastern Airlines hires Eddie Rickenbacker as GM
1935 : Pres Mustapha Kemal Pasha names himself "Atat?rk: Father of Turkey"
1936 : 1st newspaper to microfilm its current issues, NY Herald Tribune
1937 : Anastasio Somoza becomes president of Nicaragua
1937 : Count Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to captain
1937 : US Army Air Corps physiological research laboratory completed, Ohio
1941 : Netherlands begins taxing wages
1941 : Russian general Zhukov appointed chief of general staff
1942 : Rose Bowl played in NC due to Japanese threat-Oregon 20, Duke 16
1942 : US & 25 other countries sign a united declaration against the Axis
1943 : Count Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to lt-colonel
1943 : Negro League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown
1944 : 1st feature-length foreign movie, African Journey, shown on TV, NYC
1944 : Army defeats Navy 10-7 in football "Arab Bowl," Oran, North Africa
1944 : Gen Clark replaces Gen Patton as commander of 7th Army
1945 : France joins the UN
1945 : German air raid on allied airports at Eindhoven/Saint-Trond/Brussels
1946 : Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god
1946 : ENIAC, US 1st computer finished by Mauchly/Eckert
1946 : National Assembly proclaims Hungary a republic
1947 : Benelux agress to work related issues
1947 : Britain nationalizes its coal industry
1947 : WTTG TV channel 5 in Washington, DC (MET) begins broadcasting
1948 : 1st color newsreel filmed (Pasadena Calif)]=
1948 : Bradman scores 132 in the 1st innings of the 3rd Test v India
1948 : Britain nationalizes its railways
1948 : General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade effective
1948 : Italy adopts constitution
1948 : Orissa province accedes to India
1949 : KPRC TV channel 2 in Houston, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
1949 : KTTV TV channel 11 in Los Angeles, CA (MET) begins broadcasting
1949 : Tokelau (Union) Islands declared part of New Zealand
1950 : Dutch Govt raises all wages 5%, minimally ? 5 per week
1950 : Ho Chi Minh begins offensive against French troops in Indo China
1951 : Massive Chinese/North Korean assault on UN-lines
1952 : Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 5th string quartet
1953 : Ernest Blochs "Suite Hebraique," premieres
1953 : WBRE TV channel 28 in Wilkes-Barre Scranton, PA (NBC) 1st broadcast
1954 : KSLA TV channel 12 in Shreveport, LA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1954 : Rose & Cotton Bowl are 1st sport colorcasts
1954 : WWTV TV channel 9 in Cadillac-Traverse City, MI (CBS) 1st broadcast
1954 : Yugoslav parliament chairman/VP Milovan Djilas criticize communism
1955 : Bhutan issues its 1st postage stamps
1955 : WEAT (now WPEC) TV channel 12 in West Palm Beach, FL (CBS) begins
1956 : Elvis Presley records Heartbreak Hotel for RCA in Nashville
1956 : KHAS TV channel 5 in Hastings, NB (NBC) begins broadcasting
1956 : KOSA TV channel 7 in Odessa, TX (CBS) begins broadcasting
1956 : Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan) declares independence from Egypt & UK
1956 : WREC (now WREG) TV channel 3 in Memphis, TN (CBS) begins broadcasting
1957 : Benjamin Britten's ballet "Prince & the Pauper," premieres in London
1957 : France returns Saar to becomes the 10th state of German Federal Rep
1957 : International Geophysical Year begins; ends 6/30/1958 (18-mo year)
1958 : BOAC Britannia flies London to NY in a record 7h57m
1958 : European Economic Community (Common Market) starts operation
1958 : Sammy Davis Jr marries Loray White
1958 : Treaties establish European Economic Community (Common Market)
1958 : WMBD TV channel 31 in Peoria, IL (CBS) begins broadcasting
1959 : Castro leads Cuba to victory as Fulgencio Batista flees to Dom Rep
1959 : Chad becomes autonomous republic in French Community
1959 : Rohan Kanhai completes 256 v India at Calcutta
1960 : Bank of France issues new franc, worth 20?
1960 : Cameroon (French Cameroon) gains independence from France
1960 : Johnny Cash plays 1st of many free concerts behind bars
1960 : Montserrat adopts constitution
1960 : US census at 179,245,000
1961 : Briggs Stadium is renamed Tigers Stadium
1961 : Houston Oilers beat LA Chargers 24-16 in AFL championship game
1961 : Largest check issued, Natl Bank of Chicago to Sears ($960.242 billion)
1961 : Russia introduces a new ruble worth $1.11
1962 : Beatles' Decca audition is unsuccessful
1962 : Rwanda granted internal self-government by Belgium
1962 : Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II becomes co-chief of Western Samoa
1962 : Western Samoa gains independence from New Zealand
1963 : G Woods succeeds Eugene Black as president of the World Bank
1963 : WTEV (now WLNE) TV channel 6 in Providence RI begins broadcasting
1964 : Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland dissolved
1964 : KNMT TV channel 12 in Walker, MN (CBS) begins broadcasting
1964 : KTVS TV channel 3 in Sterling, CO (CBS) begins broadcasting
1965 : International Cooperation Year begins
1965 : Palestinian al-Fatah organization forms
1966 : 12 day transit worker strike shuts down NYC subway
1966 : All US cigarette packs have to carry "Caution Cigarette smoking may
1966 : be hazardous to your health"
1966 : Milt coup by Col Jean-B?del Bokassa in Central African Republic
1966 : Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" reaches #1
1967 : CRU becomes the CAFA & turns over the Grey Cup trophy to the CFL
1967 : Day's play in the Calcutta Test v W Indies cancelled by riots
1967 : FCC requires AM-FM sister stations to be at least 50% different
1967 : KC Chiefs beat Buffalo Bills 31-7 in AFL championship game
1967 : St Helena adopts constitution
1967 : Tonga revises constitution
1967 : WABW TV channel 14 in Pelham, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
1968 : ABC radio splits into 4 networks (Info, Entertainment, Contemp & FM)
1968 : Evel Knievel fails in his attempt to jump C?sar's Palace Fountain
1968 : Netherlands gets color TV
1968 : WDCO TV channel 15 in Cochran, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
1969 : "NOT" arguing with the referee
1969 : Jack Kent Cooke, owner of NHL's LA Kings, fines each player $100 for
1969 : VAT forms
1970 : "The Epoch" (Time 0 for UNIX systems, Midnight GMT)
1970 : Afro-American Historical Calendar Series Established
1970 : Charles "Chub" Feeney becomes president of baseball's National League
1970 : Neth Christian Workers Union (NCW) forms
1970 : Revised calendar for Western (RC) Church goes into effect
1971 : Cigarette advertisements banned on TV
1972 : "Company" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 690 performances
1972 : "On the Town" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 65 performances
1972 : "Promises Promises" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 1281 perfs
1972 : China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC
1972 : International Book Year begins
1972 : KDSD TV channel 16 in Aberdeen, SD (PBS) begins broadcasting
1973 : 47th Australian Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats Goolagong (64 75)
1973 : Britain, Ireland & Denmark become 7th-9th members of Common Market
1973 : Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Upper Volta)
1973 : West African Economic Community formed (Benin, Ivory Coast, Mali,
1974 : Lee MacPhail takes over as AL president, succeeding Joe Cronin
1974 : NBC radio begins on the hour news 24 hours a day (following CBS lead)
1974 : World Population Year begins
1975 : Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell & Mardian convicted of Watergate crime
1975 : International Women's Year begins
1975 : Sweden adopts constitution
1976 : "Musical Jubilee" closes at St James Theater NYC after 92 performances
1976 : Liberty Bell moves to new home behind Independence Hall
1976 : NBC replaces the peacock logo
1976 : Venezuela nationalizes oil fields
1977 : 1st woman formally ordained an Episcopal priest (Jacqueline Means)
1977 : Belgium reapportions 2,359 communities into 596
1977 : Czech intellects begin Human Rights Group Chapter 77
1977 : Tony Dorsett runs for record 202 yards in the Sugar Bowl
1978 : "Your Arm's Too Short..." closes at Lyceum NYC after 429 perfs
1978 : Air India B747 explodes near Bombay killing 213
1978 : Pres Ford signs 1st major revision of copyright law since 1909
1979 : International Year of the Child begins
1979 : Jura, 26th canton of Switzerland, established
1979 : US & China (Peoples Republic) begin diplomatic relations
1980 : 54th Australian Womens Tennis: Barbara Jordan beats S Walsh (63 63)
1980 : Alabama beats Arkansas in Sugar Bowl for college football championship
1980 : Chrysler UK renamed Talbot
1980 : International Decade of Water & Sanitation begins
1980 : Mob storms Russian embassy in Teheran
1980 : Premier Adbou Diouf becomes president of Senegal
1980 : Sweden changes order of succession to throne
1981 : Georgia beats Notre Dame in Sugar Bowl for college football title
1981 : Greece is 10th country to join European Economic Community
1981 : International Year for the Disabled begins
1981 : Palau (Trust Territory of Pacific Is) becomes self-governing
1981 : Roger Smith becomes CEO of General Motors
1982 : 30 Something stars Ken Olin & Patricia Wettig meet, later they marry
1982 : Clemson wins the Orange Bowl for college football championship
1982 : Javier P?rez de Cuellar becomes sec-gen of UN
1982 : MTA launches a 5 year plan to upgrade the NYC subway system
1982 : Pope John Paul II prays for an end to martial law in Poland
1982 : TA launches 5 year capital program to overhaul NYC subway system
1983 : Penn State beats Georgia in Sugar Bowl for college football title
1983 : World Communications Year begins
1984 : AT&T's 22 owned Bell system companies divests into 8 companies
1984 : Brunei becomes independent of UK
1984 : NYC transit fare rises from 75? to 90?
1985 : Actress Judith Licht (Who's the Boss) gets married
1985 : International Youth Year begins
1985 : US's 1st manadatory seat belt law goes into effect (NY)
1985 : VH-1 made its broadcasting debut
1986 : Aruba becomes independent from neighbor island Cura?ao
1986 : Barbra Striesand & Jon Peters relationship breaks up
1986 : International Peace Year begins
1986 : Iowa's All-American running back, Ronnie Harmon, fumbles the ball 4
1986 : NYC transit fare rises from 90? to $1.00
1986 : Oklahoma wins Orange Bowl for college football championship
1986 : Spain & Portugal are 11th & 12th to join European Economic Community
1986 : times in his last game-the Rose Bowl
1987 : 60 bodies recovered in Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico
1987 : China's rudimentary civil code in effect
1987 : International Year of Shelter for Homeless begins
1988 : Miami beats Oklahoma for college football championship
1988 : Year of the Reader begins
1989 : Actress Kelly McGillis gets married
1989 : NYC transit fare rises from $1.00 to $1.15
1989 : Year of the Young Reader begins
1990 : cable TV outlets for exclusive syndicated programs
1990 : David Dinkins sworn in as 1st black mayor of NYC
1990 : FCC implements "SYNDEX" giving independent stations more rights over
1990 : Mitsuko Nishiwaki beats Nakano to become Japan Women wrestling champ
1990 : NYC MTA stops token redemption at subway stations
1990 : Sports News Network begins operation on cable TV
1991 : 5% sales tax on consumer goods & services goes into effect in USSR
1991 : Iraq rejects peace proposal from Egyptian Pres Hosi Mubarak
1991 : Les Miserables opens at Festival Theatre, Adelaide
1992 : Bush is 1st US pres to address Australian Parliament
1992 : Cura?ao becomes 1st in Dutch Antilles to have compulsory education
1992 : Europe breaks down trade barriers
1992 : International Space Year begins
1992 : NYC transit fare increases from $1.15 to $1.25
1993 : 12 member European Economic Community set up vast free trade zone
1993 : Blockbuster Bowl 3: Stanford beats Penn State, 24-3
1993 : Cigarette advertisements are banned in NYC's MTA
1993 : Czechoslovakia separates into Czech Republic (Bohemia) & Slovakia
1993 : Harry Connick Jr arrested at a NY airport for gun possession
1994 : "Flying Karamzov Brothers" closes at Helen Hayes NYC after 50 perfs
1994 : "Grand Night after Singing" closes at Criterion NYC after 52 perfs
1994 : Carquest Bowl 4: Boston College beats Virginia, 32-13
1994 : Howard Stern's New Year's Eve Beauty Pageant
1994 : International Year of Family
1994 : Jacobs Field opens with "Gateway's New Year's Eve Countdown to '94"
1994 : Microsoft CEO Bill Gates (38) marries Melinda French (29)
1994 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect
1995 : "Glass Menagerie" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 57 perfs
1995 : "Shadow Box" closes at Circle in Sq Theater NYC after 49 performances
1995 : Austria, Finland & Sweden act to join European Union
1995 : Centennial of Canadian Mounties presence in Canada's Yukon Territory
1995 : Fernando Henrique Cardoso installed as president of Brazil
1995 : for"Tuna Christmas" closes at Booth Theater NYC 20 performances
1995 : International Year of Tolerance
1995 : Last "Far Side" by cartoonist Gary Larson (started 1980)
1995 : Raman Lamba & Ravi Sehgal score 464 for 1st wicket for Delhi
1996 : After 27 years, Betty Rubble debuts as a Flintstone vitamin
1996 : Cura?ao gains limited form of self rule (Status Aparte)
1998 : All Calif bars, clubs & card rooms must be smoke-free
1998 : Mongolia switches from a 46 hour to 40 hour work week
1998 : US Census Bureau estimates population at 268,921,733
1999 : International Year of Elderly

News Updates

Birthdays

Death Days

Events