January 1 in history

589 sourced entries recorded on January 1, from 105 BCE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

105 BCEGnaeus Mallius Maximus and Publius Rutilius Rufus become Roman consuls.source
49 BCEThe Roman Senate receives a proposal from Julius Caesar that he and Pompey should lay down their commands simultaneously. The Senate responds that Caesar must immediately surrender his command.source
45 BCEThe Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing a solar calendar that is based on the Egyptian calendar of the day.source
38 BCEBeginning of the Hispanic era.source
69The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.source
89Lucius Antonius Saturninus incites a revolt against Emperor Domitian (it is suppressed by January 24).source
98Emperor Nerva suffers a stroke during a private audience.source
124Gaius Bellicius Torquatus and Manius Acilius Glabrio begin the year as the new consuls, but the two are replaced in April.source
193Year of the Five Emperors: The Roman Senate chooses Publius Helvius Pertinax, against his will, to succeed the late Commodus as Emperor. Pertinax is forced to reorganize the handling of finances, which were wrecked under Commodus, to reestablish discipline in the Roman army, and to suspend the food programs established by Trajan, provoking the ire of the Praetorian Guard.source
224Gaius Bellicius Torquatus and Appius Claudius Julianus II begin their one year terms as the new Roman consuls.source
324Flavius Julius Crispus Caesar, the sons of the Emperor Constantine and his expected heir, and Flavius Claudius Constantinus begin their one year terms as the new Roman consuls.source
355Arbitio and Lollianus Mavortius begin their term as Roman consuls.source
404Last known gladiator fight in Rome: This date is usually given as the date of the martyrdom of Saint Telemachus, a Christian monk who was stoned by the crowd for trying to stop a gladiators' fight in a Roman amphitheatre.source
414Galla Placidia, half-sister of emperor Honorius, is married to the Visigothic king Ataulf at Narbonne. The wedding is celebrated with Roman festivities and magnificent gifts from the Gothic booty.source
417Emperor Honorius forces his half-sister Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his general (magister militum). He is appointed patricius and becomes a prominent member of the House of Theodosius.source
524Venantius Opilio is appointed by Byzantium's Emperor Justin to administer the Western Roman Empire as the Roman consul, replacing Anicius Maximus. The Emperor Justin appoints himself as consul for the West, an office vacant since 522, but has Theodorus Filoxenus administering the west.source
534Decius Paulinus enters the office of consul (the last to hold this office in the West).source
541Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius is appointed as consul in Constantinople, the last person to hold this office.source
1007January 1 (New Year’s Day) – Imperial Princess Shushi is granted the title Ippon Shinno (first rank princess).source
1068Empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, wife of the late Emperor Constantine X, marries General Romanos Diogenes (a member of a prominent Cappadocian family) – who is proclaimed co-emperor as Romanos IV of the Byzantine Empire.source
1148The French crusaders under King Louis VII defeat a Turkish ambush next to the Meander River. Three days later they arrive at Laodicea – passing the spot where the German contingent led by Otto of Freising had been so disastrously ambushed (see 1147). The Crusaders are badly mauled as they cross Mount Cadmus (around January 8) before reaching Adalia on January 20.source
1341An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) affects Crimea (disputed event).source
1362The Grand Duchy of Lithuania switches New Year to January 1, before any other country does.source
1380The Republic of Venice's Admiral Carlo Zeno returns to Venice with 18 ships, after the city is on the verge of falling to conquest by the Republic of Genoa.source
1387Charles III ascends to the throne of Navarre, after the death of his father, Charles II.source
1409The Welsh surrender Harlech Castle to the English.source
1432Yusuf IV is placed on the throne as the new Sultan of Granada, after Muhammad IX is deposed with the support of King Juan II of Castile and Leon. Yusuf dies later in the year and Muhammad IX is restored to the throne a third timesource
1432Iliaș succeeds his father as Prince of Moldavia.source
1438Albert II of Habsburg is crowned as King of Hungary at Székesfehérvár.source
1443Pope Eugene IV called for Christians under his jurisdiction to participate in the Crusade of Varna against the incursions of the Ottoman Empire into Central Europe.source
1443The coronation of Christoffer III as King of Denmark and of his wife Dorothea of Brandenburg, as Queen Consort, took place at the Vor Frue Maria Dormkirke in Ribe, nearly three years after he had first claimed the throne on April 9, 1440.source
1445In northern India, Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah becomes the new Sultan of Delhi upon the death of his father, Muhammad Shah IV.source
1466King Edward IV of England gives royal assent to a 40-year extension to the 1464 Treaty of York between England and Scotland. The treaty, signed on June 1, 1464, was originally set for 15 years, to expire June 30, 1479. With the extension, approved by Scotland as well, peace between the two nations in Britain is extended to last until October 31, 1519.source
1469Pope Paul II issues a papal bull establishing the military order of the Knights of Saint George at the request of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and invests Johann Siebenhirter as the order's first Grand Master.source
1473The uninhabited island of Annobón, off of the coast of West Africa, is claimed by Portuguese explorers who name it in honor of the New Year. A year later, it becomes the home of enslaved Africans who either marry or work of Portuguese citizens, or sold.source
1494December 31 – January 6: peaceful French entry into Rome with Pope Alexander VI's permission, but some French looting takes place.source
1496In Venice, historian Marino Sanuto begins the first volume of I Diarii, a diary of the events in his own life and, more importantly, a daily record of events in the Republic of Venice and those reported to him by Venetian representatives in other parts of Europe. What is now described as "probably the largest, most comprehensive, and valuable ever written by one man",he continues his daily work for more than 37 years, ending in June 30, 1533.source
1502Portuguese explorers, led by Gonçalo Coelho, sail into Guanabara Bay, Brazil, mistaking it for the mouth of a river, which they name Rio de Janeiro.source
1504French troops of King Louis XII surrender Gaeta to the Spanish, under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba.source
1504The last French Garrison in Naples, Gaeta, surrendered to the Spanish army ending the French presence in Naples.source
1519Ulrich Zwingli preaches for the first time, as people's priest of the Great Minister in Zurich.source
1527Croatian nobles elect Austrian monarch Ferdinand I as King of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin.source
1537Princess Madeleine of Valois, the 16-year-old daughter of François I, King of France, is married to King James V of Scotland in a ceremony at the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. Already in ill health at the time of the marriage, Madaleine lives only six more months before dying at the Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh on July 7.source
1537James V and Madeleine of Valois are married at Notre-Dame de Paris.source
1540January 1 (New Year's Day), Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, at the invite of King Francis I, visits Paris for the first and only time and stays for 2 months.source
1545King Francis I of France issues the "Arrêt de Mérindol", to destroy the Protestant Waldensians of Provence.source
1562The poet Alexander Scott may have presented Ane New Yeir Gift to Quene Mary at Seton Palace.source
1565Recognized as the first day of the year by the royal chancellery according to the Edict of Roussillon (1564) article 39.source
1573William Kirkcaldy of Grange bombards Edinburgh's markets from the Castle, blowing fish into the air.source
1583The Duchy of Savoy adopts the Gregorian Calendar, replacing the Julian Calendar.source
1600Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25.source
1600today is adopted as New Year's Day following the partial adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in Scotlandsource
1604The earliest recorded performance of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place at Hampton Court prior to the main presentation, The Masque of Indian and China Knights, which is performed by courtiers of King James.source
1605William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, and witnessed by the Viscount Dorchester.source
1608Inauguration in Paris of the Grand Galerie linking the Louvre and Tuileries Palaces.source
1615The New Netherland Company is granted a three-year monopoly in North American trade, between the 40th and 45th parallels.source
1616King James I of England attends the masque The Golden Age Restored, a satire by Ben Jonson on fallen court favorite the Earl of Somerset. The king asks for a repeat performance on January 6.source
1628the first seminarians enter into residence at the Irish College in Rome, established by Cardinal Ludovisi.source
1636Anthony van Diemen takes office as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and will serve until his death in 1645.source
1638James Shirley's comedy The Royal Master is premiered at the Werburgh Street Theatre, Dublin.source
1651Charles II is crowned King of Scots at Scone (his first crowning).source
1651Charles II is crowned King of Scotland at Scone.source
1660At daybreak, English Army Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops from his Scottish occupational force, fords the River Tweed at Coldstream in Scotland to cross the Anglo-Scottish border at Northumberland, with a mission of advancing toward London to end military rule of England by General John Lambert and to accomplish the English Restoration, the return of the monarchy to England. By the end of the day, he and his soldiers have gone 15 mi through knee-deep snow to Wooler while the advance guard of cavalry had covered 50 mi to reach Morpeth.source
1660Colonel George Monck with his regiment crosses from Scotland to England at the village of Coldstream and advances towards London in support of Parliament.source
1660At the same time, rebels within the New Model Army under the command of Colonel Thomas Fairfax take control of York and await the arrival of Monck's troops.source
1660Samuel Pepys begins his diary.source
1660Samuel Pepys, a 36-year-old member of the Parliament of England, begins keeping a diary that later provides a detailed insight into daily life and events in 17th century England. He continues until May 31, 1669, when worsening eyesight leads him to quit. Pepys starts with a preliminary note, "Blessed be God, at the end of the last year I was in very good health, without any sense of my old pain but upon taking of cold. I lived in Axe-yard, having my wife and servant Jane, and no more in family than us three." For his first note on "January 1. 1659/60 Lords-day", he notes "This morning (we lying lately in the garret) I rose, put on my suit with great skirts, having not lately worn any other clothes but them," followed by recounting his attendance at the Exeter-house church in London.source
1663the Franciscan chapel in Cook Street, Dublin, is raided by the military.source
1671The Criminal Ordinance of 1670, the first attempt at a uniform code of criminal procedure in France, goes into effect after having been passed on August 26, 1670.source
1677Jean Racine's tragedy Phèdre is first performed, in Paris.source
1677Jean Racine's tragedy Phèdre is first performed.source
1681Prince Muhammad Akbar, son of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, initiates a civil war in India. With the support of troops from the Rajput states, Akbar declares himself the new Mughal Emperor and prepares to fight his father, but is ultimately defeated.source
1698The Abenaki tribe and Massachusetts colonists sign a treaty, ending the conflict in New England.source
1700Protestant nations in Western Europe, except England, start using the Gregorian calendar. Catholic nations have been using the Gregorian calendar since its introduction in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.source
1700January 1 (Julian) (January 11, Gregorian) – The Tsardom of Russia begins numbering its calendar from the birth of Christ (Anno Domini), instead of since the Creation (Anno Mundi).source
1703the case of Ashby v White is decided in the Court of Queen's Bench. Concerning the right to vote, it is a leading case in the Constitution of England and English tort law, establishing the principle for every wrong there is a remedy.source
1707John V is crowned King of Portugal and the Algarves in Lisbon.source
1708The County of Golsteinsborg is established by Ulrik Adolf Holstein from the manors of Holsteinborg, Snedinge and Fuirendal.source
1708Charles XII of Sweden invades Russia, by crossing the frozen Vistula River with 40,000 men.source
1708Sweden begins to invade Russiasource
1709Battle of St. John's: The French capture St. John's, the capital of the British colony of Newfoundland.source
1709Battle of St. John's: French capture St. John's, capital of the British colony of Newfoundland.source
1710In Prussia, Cölln is merged with Alt-Berlin by Frederick I to form Berlin.source
1712Thomas Mansel, 5th Baronet, becomes 1st Baron Mansel.source
1712War of the Spanish Succession: Peace congress opens at Utrecht.source
1712Thomas Trevor is raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Trevor of Bromham.source
1712Thomas Windsor, son of the Earl of Plymouth, is created Baron Mountjoy. Windsor, the second husband of Charlotte Jeffreys, daughter of Philip Herbert, 7th Earl of Pembroke, would sell much of his family's Welsh property, but their Glamorgan estates would pass through the marriage of a descendant, Charlotte Hickman-Windsor, to John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute.source
1717Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador to Great Britain, was arrested in London for a plot to assist the Pretender to the British throne, James Francis Edward Stuart.source
1717Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador to Great Britain, is arrested in London over a plot to assist the Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart.source
1717Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador, is arrested in London over a plot to assist the Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart.source
1725J. S. Bach leads the first performance of his chorale cantata Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, BWV 41, which features the trumpet fanfares from the beginning also in the end.source
1726J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Herr Gott, dich loben wir, BWV 16, his church cantata for New Year's Day to a libretto by Georg Christian Lehms.source
1727(December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain refuses and the Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar begins on February 22.source
1738At least 664 African slaves drown when the Dutch West Indies Company slave ship Leusden capsizes and sinks in the Maroni River during its arrival in Surinam. The Dutch crew escapes, and leaves the slaves locked below decks to die.source
1739Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, in the South Atlantic Ocean.source
1743The Verendrye brothers, probably Louis-Joseph and François de La Vérendrye, become the first white people to see the Rocky Mountains from the eastern side (the Spanish conquistadors had seen the Rockies from the west side).source
1751As the Province of Georgia undergoes the transition from a trustee-operated territory to a Crown colony, the prohibition against slavery is lifted by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America. At the time, the Black population of Georgia is approximately 400 people, who had been kept in slavery in violation of the law. By 1790, the enslaved population of Georgia increases to over 29,000 and to 462,000 by 1860.source
1752The British Empire (except Scotland, which had changed New Year's Day to January 1 in 1600) adopts today as the first day of the year as part of adoption of the Gregorian calendar, which is completed in September: today is the first day of the New Year under the terms of last year's Calendar Act of the British Parliament.source
1752the British Empire (except Scotland, which had changed New Year's Day to 1 January in 1600) adopts today as the first day of the year as part of adoption of the Gregorian calendar, which is completed in September: today is the first day of the New Year under the terms of last year's Calendar Act.source
1758Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (Animalia) of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, the starting point of modern zoological nomenclature, introducing binomial nomenclature for animals to his established system of Linnaean taxonomy. Among the first examples of his system of identifying an organism by genus and then species, Linnaeus identifies the lamprey with the name Petromyzon marinus. He introduces the term Homo sapiens. (Date of January 1 assigned retrospectively.)source
1766Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie", "the young Pretender") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain as King Charles III and figurehead for Jacobitism, on the death of his father James Francis Edward Stuart in Rome.source
1766Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain as King Charles III and figurehead for Jacobitism, on the death of his father James Francis Edward Stuart, Pretender since 1701. However, the papacy does not recognise his claim, leading to an improvement in British relations with the Holy See.source
1766Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism.source
1767The Banking Company in Aberdeen, a co-partnery, opens for business.source
1767The first annual volume of The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris, produced by British Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, gives navigators the means to find longitude at sea, using tables of lunar distance.source
1770The foundation of Fort George, Bombay is laid by Colonel Keating, principal engineer, on the site of the former Dongri Fort.source
1772Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria established.source
1773The hymn that becomes known as Amazing Grace, at this time titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17", is first used to accompany a sermon led by curate John Newton in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.source
1773the words of the hymn "Amazing Grace" (written by the curate John Newton) are probably first used in a prayer meeting at Olney, Buckinghamshire.source
1776American Revolutionary War: Burning of Norfolk – The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces.source
17791 January–31 March – with a total England and Wales Precipitation of only 44.4 mm, this is the driest three consecutive months since records began in 1766.source
1781Industrial Revolution: The Iron Bridge opens across the River Severn in England.source
1781Industrial Revolution: The Iron Bridge opens across the River Severn.source
1782Threatened by three hostile forces, Vermont is advised by Gen. George Washington, a skilled surveyor, to limit jurisdiction to undisputed territory.source
1783Glasgow Chamber of Commerce is founded by Patrick Colquhoun – the first in Britain.source
1785The Burmese Konbaung Dynasty annexes the Mrauk U Kingdom of Arakan.source
1785The first issue of the Daily Universal Register, later known as The Times, is published in London.source
1787George III writes his first letter to Arthur Young's Annals of Agriculture, under the name of Ralph Robinson of Windsor.source
1788first edition of The Times published under this title (previously The Daily Universal Register).source
1788The first edition of The Times, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published in London.source
1790the Oxford Canal is opened throughout its 91 miles, providing an important link between the River Thames at Oxford and Coventry in the English Midlands.source
1791Austrian composer Joseph Haydn arrives in England, to perform a series of concerts.source
1791Austrian composer Joseph Haydn arrives in England where his concerts are huge successes. On 8 July he is awarded an honorary doctorate of music at the University of Oxford.source
1794The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark).source
1800Quasi-War: Action of 1 January 1800 – A naval battle off the coast of Haiti, between four United States merchant vessels escorted by naval schooner USS Experiment, and a squadron of armed barges manned by Haitian pirates (known as picaroons), under the command of general André Rigaud, ends indecisively.source
1800The Dutch East India Company dissolves.source
1800Robert Owen becomes manager of the New Lanark spinning mills.source
1801The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland is completed under the Act of Union 1800, bringing about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the abolition of the Parliament of Ireland.source
1801legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland completed under the Act of Union 1800, bringing about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.source
1801Giuseppe Piazzi discovers the asteroid and dwarf planet Ceres.source
1801a large earthquake strongly affected the city of La Serena and surrounding areas, causing considerable structural damage.source
1801First one-inch-to-the-mile (1:63,360 scale) map based on the work of the Ordnance Survey is published, covering the county of Kent.source
1803Denmark–Norway abolishes transatlantic slave trade.source
1803The first edition of Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière's Almanach des gourmands, the first guide to restaurant cooking, is published in Paris.source
1804Haiti gains independence from France, becoming the first independent Black state in the New World.source
1806The Kingdom of Bavaria is established by Napoleon.source
1806The French Republican Calendar is abolished.source
1808The importation of slaves into the United States is formally banned, as the 1807 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves takes effect. However Americans still continue the slave trade by transporting Africans to Cuba and Brazil.source
1808Sierra Leone becomes a British Crown Colony.source
1808Sierra Leone becomes a British Crown Colony.source
1808Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves (1807) comes into effect: The importation of slaves into the United States is banned; this is also the earliest day under the United States Constitution that an amendment can be made restricting slavery.source
1810Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales.source
1810Lachlan Macquarie is sworn in as Governor of New South Wales.source
1810Lachlan Macquarie sworn in as governor of New South Wales.source
1812The Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (the Austrian civil code) enters into force in the Austrian Empire.source
1812Tron riot in Edinburgh concludes.source
1812The Bishop of Durham, Shute Barrington, orders troops from Durham Castle to break up a miners' strike in Chester-le-Street, Co. Durhamsource
1814War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine.source
1814War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine.source
1814Brigadier Gabino Gaínza and his military expedition sail from Callao.source
1814The first weekly newspaper in Welsh is published, when Seren Gomer is founded by Joseph Harris (Gomer), a Baptist minister in Swansea.source
1816The first public hospital, the Rum Hospital, is opened.source
1817Sailing through the Sandwich Islands, Otto von Kotzebue discovers New Year Island.source
1818Battle of Koregaon: Troops of the British East India Company score a decisive victory over the Maratha Empire.source
1818English author Mary Shelley publishes the novel Frankenstein anonymously.source
1820A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament to meet on March 7, becoming the nominal beginning of the "Trienio Liberal" in Spain.source
1822The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.source
1827Johan Ludvig Heiberg (poet) publishes the literary journal Kjøbenhavns flyvende Post for the first time.source
1831William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing The Liberator, an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts.source
1831Abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing The Liberator, an antislavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts.source
1832William Lyon Mackenzie readmitted into the Legislative Assembly after being expelledsource
1834The Western Australian Police Force is formed.source
1834Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states.source
1834Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states.source
1836Hill Street Academy is named Colombo Academy and acquired by the Government, establishing the first public school in Sri Lanka.source
1836Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.source
1837The destructive Galilee earthquake causes thousands of deaths in Ottoman Syria.source
1838John Pascoe Fawkner founded The Melbourne Advertiser, the Port Phillip district's first newspaper.source
1840Trial of Chartists John Frost, Zephaniah Williams and William Jones for their part in the Newport Rising of 1839 continues at Monmouth before Chief Justice Tindal. This is the first trial where proceedings are recorded in shorthand.source
1842The Government begins publication of a monthly magazine in Māori, Te Karere o Nui Tireni (The Messenger of New Zealand). It publishes until 1846, and is revived as The Maori Messenger and Te Manuhiri Tuarangi between 1849 and 1863.source
1844Australia's first ringing peal rang from the bells of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydneysource
1844Royal decree establishes spelling rules for Dutch in Belgium.source
1844Vlaemsch België, first Dutch-language daily newspaper in Belgium, launched.source
1845The Philippines began reckoning Asian dates by hopping the International Date Line through skipping Tuesday, December 31, 1844. That time zone shift was a reform made by Governor–General Narciso Claveria on August 16, 1844, in order to align the local calendars in the country with the rest of Asia as trade interests with Imperial China, Dutch East Indies and neighboring countries increased, after Mexico became independent in 1821. The reform also applied to Caroline Islands, Guam, Marianas Islands, Marshall Islands, and Palau as part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines.source
1845The Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed.source
1845Lewis Edwards founds the periodical Y Traethodydd.source
1847The UK's first Medical Officer of Health is appointed, Dr. William Henry Duncan in Liverpool.source
1849France begins issue of the Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps.source
1849King's College becomes the University of Torontosource
1853Valentin Christian Wilhelm Sibbern, government minister (born 1779).source
1855The Telegraphynet between the most important cities in Sweden are completed.source
1857The biggest Estonian newspaper, Postimees, is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen.source
1858the permanent North Unst Lighthouse on Muckle Flugga (Shetland), designed by brothers Thomas and David Stevenson, is first illuminated.source
1859Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman to have her name entered on the General Medical Council's Medical Register, under a clause in the Medical Act 1858 that recognizes doctors with foreign degrees.source
1861Franco-Belgian Tirailleurs renamed Papal Zouaves.source
1861The first steam-powered carousel is recorded, in Bolton, England.source
1862a formal partnership between Edward Harland and Gustav Wilhelm Wolff establishes the Belfast shipbuilders Harland and Wolff.source
1862South Wales Railway leased to Great Western Railway prior to merger.source
1863Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate States of America an official war goal. The signing proclaims the freedom of 3.1 million of the nation's four million slaves and immediately frees 50,000 of them, with the rest freed as the Union Army advances. This event marks the start of America's Reconstruction Era.source
1863President Lincoln issues the second executive order of the Emancipation Proclamation, specifying ten Confederate states in which slaves were to be freed.source
1863The Torrens title system is introduced in New South Wales with the commencement of the Real Property Act 1862.source
1864The Queensland Police Force is established and begins operations with approximately 143 employees.source
1864The All England Eleven cricket team defeats the Victorian XXII at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.source
1865The French government suppresses promulgation of the Papal "Syllabus of Errors" from the pulpit.source
1866The last issue of the abolitionist magazine The Liberator is published.source
1866Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee.source
1867The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It is renamed after its designer, John A. Roebling, in 1983.source
1867The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky, becoming the longest suspension bridge in the world.source
1870Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed.source
1870The first edition of The Northern Echo newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England.source
1871The Constitution of the German Confederation comes into effect. It abolishes all restrictions on Jewish marriage, choice of occupation, place of residence, and property ownership, but exclusion from government employment and discrimination in social relations remain in effect.source
1871The Civil Code of Argentina, written by Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield, comes into effect.source
1871Church of Ireland disestablished. St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, becomes the National Cathedral.source
1871disestablishment of the Church of Ireland by the Irish Church Act 1869 comes into effect.source
1871Belgium repeals import duty on salt.source
1873Japan begins using the Gregorian calendar.source
1873Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar.source
1873The California Penal Code goes into effect.source
1874New York City annexes The Bronx.source
1874Wreck of the Surat, carrying 271 passengers and 37 crew, on the Catlins coast. All survived.source
1875the krone replaces the rigsdaler as the official currency of Denmark.source
1875The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third Class is renamed Second Class in 1956).source
1876The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol, in the United Kingdom.source
1876the Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the first registered trademark symbol, under the Trade Mark Registration Act 1875.source
1877Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act 1876, introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the prime minister of the United Kingdom .source
1879The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War.source
1879The Specie Resumption Act takes effect: the Greenback is valued the same as gold for the first time since the American Civil War.source
18791 January to 31 December – the combination of the severest winter since 1814, a late spring, an exceptionally cool summer and a cold dry autumn produces the third-coldest year in the CET series and the coldest since 1740, with an annual mean of 7.44 °C.source
1879Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim as soloist and the composer conducting.source
1881January 1–24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans.source
1881January 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: the Turkomans is defeated by Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev.source
1882Bilateral conventions for the exchange of money orders come into effect between the United States of America and the colonies of New South Wales and Victoria.source
1883Augustus Pitt Rivers takes office as Britain's first Inspector of Ancient Monuments.source
1886Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885.source
1887Clement Wragge is appointed Government Meteorologist for Queenslandsource
1889The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada.source
1889A total solar eclipse is seen over parts of California and Nevada.source
1889Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the Dakotas.source
1890The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony in the Horn of Africa.source
1890The Kingdom of Italy establishes Italian Eritrea as its colony in the Horn of Africa.source
1891Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories.source
1891A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence.source
1892Ellis Island begins processing immigrants to the United States.source
1893Transvaal – Germiston to Pretoria, 35 mi.source
1894the town of Calgary is incorporated as a citysource
1895First ever local elections were held as per the Maura Law passed in 1893.source
1898New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island.source
1899In Samoa, followers of Mataafa, claimant to the rule of the island's subjects, burn the town of Upolu in an ambush of followers of other claimants, Malietoa Tanus and Tamasese, who are evacuated by the British warship HMS Porpoise.source
1901Nigeria becomes a British protectorate.source
1901The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minister of Australia.source
1901Pentecostalism is born, at a prayer meeting at Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas.source
1901The Constitution of Australia comes into force, as the federation of Australia is complete. John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun appoints Edmund Barton as the first Prime Minister following the Hopetoun blunder of 1900. Hopetoun had himself been commissioned as the first Governor-General of Australia by Queen Victoria in letters patent dated 29 October 1900 prior to the Constitution coming into force.source
1902Nathan Stubblefield demonstrates his wireless telephone device in the U.S. state of Kentucky.source
1902The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's first registered nurse.source
1903Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India.source
1905In a major defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, Russian General Anatoly Stessel surrenders Port Arthur, located on mainland China, to the Japanese.source
1905The official opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway.source
1906Canada's first movie theatre Ouimetoscope opens in Montrealsource
1907Cardiff beat the touring South Africa national team, 17 - 0.source
1908The British Nimrod Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand for Antarctica on the Nimrod.source
1908Harry Bensley leaves for his would-be trip around the world pushing a pram and wearing an iron mask, beginning from Trafalgar Square in London.source
1908Georgia introduces a law prohibiting alcohol.source
1909The Quackery Prevention Act 1908 becomes law, preventing false advertising in relation to ingredients, composition, structure, nature or operation of a medicine.source
1909January 1–31 – Torrential rain in California sees Helena Mine record 71.54 inch of precipitation for the month, the highest official monthly total in the contiguous United States.source
1911A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia.source
1912The Republic of China is established.source
1912Croatian is introduced as the official language in Dalmatia.source
1913The National Board of Health and Welfare is foundedsource
1914The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line in the United States starts services between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, becoming the first airline to provide scheduled regular commercial passenger services with heavier-than-air aircraft.source
19141 January at 12:00 a.m. Local Mean Time States and territories now observe the four standard time zones, moving clocks forward or backward by a few minutes and seconds according to the then civil time by law since 18 June, 1913.source
1915First flight of the Walsh Brothers' Curtiss-type flying boat. The flight takes place at Bastion Point and it is the first such aircraft built and flown in the Southern Hemisphere.source
1915WWI: British Royal Navy battleship HMS Formidable is sunk off Lyme Regis, England, by an Imperial German Navy U-boat, with the loss of 547 crew.source
1916The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored and cooled.source
1916the Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion using blood that has been stored and cooled.source
1919The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.source
1919HMY Iolaire is wrecked on rocks off Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis: 205 die, mostly servicemen returning home.source
1920Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.source
1920Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own market town.source
1925Turkey gained the right of duty tax (according to the treaty of Lausanne)source
1925The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria.source
1925National scheme for vehicle registration plates comes into forcesource
1925Ernest Rutherford is appointed to the Order of Meritsource
1926Law of Property Act 1925 and Administration of Estates Act 1925 come into effect modernising the laws on real estate and intestacy.source
1926the city of Cologne is badly hit by flooding in the river Rhine.source
1927Cristero War: Rebellion begins with a manifesto issued by René Capistrán Garza.source
1927the currency was changed: the marks were replaced by the krones.source
1927The British Broadcasting Company becomes the British Broadcasting Corporation, when its royal charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General.source
1928Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, Joseph Stalin's personal secretary, crosses the border to Iran to defect from the Soviet Union.source
1928Battle of Las Cruces (1928)source
1930The Ministry of Rail adopts the metric system for all of Japan's railways.source
1933May 31 – Defense of the Great Wallsource
1933Establishment of the cooperative bus company Egged through a merger of four smaller bus cooperatives.source
1934The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.source
1934Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring".source
1937Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.source
1938The Merrie Melodies cartoon short Daffy Duck & Egghead is released, being the first cartoon to give Daffy Duck his continuing name, as well as his second appearance.source
1938State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS).source
1939Philipp Etter takes over as President of the Swiss Confederation.source
1939With his traditional call to the New Year in Nazi Germany, Führer and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler addresses the members of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP).source
1939The Hewlett-Packard technology and scientific instruments manufacturing company is founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard, in a garage in Palo Alto, California, considered the birthplace of Silicon Valley.source
1939The Protection of Young Persons Act, passed on April 30, 1938, the Working Hours Regulations.source
1939The Third Soviet Five Year Plan is launched.source
1939The small businesses obligation to maintain adequate accounting.source
1941Thailand's Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram decrees January 1 as the official start of the Thai solar calendar new year (thus the previous year that began April 1 had only 9 months).source
1942WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in which they agree "not to make any separate peace with the Axis powers".source
1942Clogher Valley Railway ceases operations and closes.source
1946Emperor Shōwa renounces his divinity, known in Japanese as the Human Declarationsource
1946Gideon Brand van Zyl is appointed the 7th Governor-General of the Union of South Africa.source
1947A massive hailstorm strikes Sydney, causing hundreds of injuries and an estimated £1 million damage.source
1947The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.source
1948The current Constitutions of Italy and of New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) go into effect.source
1948The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.source
1948The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British Railways.source
1949A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2026source
1950The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.source
1951The restructuring of Taiwan Cement Limited Corporation to be Taiwan Cement Corporation.source
1953Liberal rebel groups attack the Palanquero Air Base with the hope of taking its jet planes and bombing Bogotá to force the resignation of Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez/Laureano Gómez.source
1956The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years.source
1957The Saarland joins West Germany.source
1957Lèse majesté in Thailand is strengthened to include "insult" and changed to a crime against national security, after the Thai criminal code of 1956 went into effect.source
1957The first Canadian peacekeepers arrive in Egypt after the Suez Crisissource
1959Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.source
1960The Chilean escudo is placed in circulation.source
1961Tzvi Tzur is appointed as the 6th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.source
1961Monetary reform in the Soviet Union.source
1962Sweden's GNP increases by 4.5%.source
1963Bogle–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.source
1964The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.source
1965Trans-Canada Airlines is renamed Air Canada.source
1966Start of The Troubles as retrospectively defined by the UK Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 for the purposes of the act.source
1966New Zealand Australia Free Trade Agreement comes into force.source
19671967 Laotian parliamentary electionsource
1970Value added tax (TVA) is introduced at 8%, with a reduced rate of 4%.source
1970New uniforms for police personnel and school pupils are introduced.source
1971The Monetary Authority of Singapore was established to regulate the financial sector and as Singapore's central bank.source
1971Veronika Mavrikievna and Avdotya Nikitichna, a comic variety duet of actors, appear in the telecast 'Terem-Teremok'.source
1971Fifth Street Women's Building Takeover: A coalition of over 100 feminists illegally occupy an abandoned city building in New York City. They establish a women's center, homeless shelter, food co-operative, and lesbian center before being raided by police 13 days later.source
1972Future President of Austria Kurt Waldheim becomes Secretary-General of the United Nations.source
1972Kurt Waldheim becomes Secretary-General of the United Nations.source
1973The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.source
1973The 1973 New Year Honours are announcedsource
1974The first piling works for the KOMTAR building in Penang were undertaken.source
1975Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up.source
1975The Singapore Maritime Museum is opened in Sentosa, albeit still under construction.source
1977Canada's offshore exclusive economic zone is extended to 200 nmi.source
1978Another Vietnamese refugee boat arrives at night, from a camp off the Malaysian coast.source
1978Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.source
1979The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full diplomatic relations.source
1979People's Republic of China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress published the Message to the Compatriots in Taiwansource
1979Following a deal agreed during 1978, French carmaker Peugeot completes a takeover of American manufacturer Chrysler's European operations, which are based in Britain's former Rootes Group factories, as well as the former Simca factories in France.source
1979The commune of Rodenbourg is merged into the commune of Junglinster.source
1979United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the International Year of the Child. Many musicians donate to the Music for UNICEF Concert fund, among them ABBA, who write the song Chiquitita to commemorate the event.source
19801980 Azores Islands earthquakesource
1980Changes to the succession to the Swedish throne come into effect, introducing absolute primogeniture, thus placing Crown Princess Victoria first in line to the throne (heir apparent), ahead of her baby brother. Sweden is the first monarchy to adopt this rule of succession. Members of the royal family may also now marry commoners without losing their place in the succession.source
1981Palau becomes a self-governing territory.source
1981Greece joins European Communities.source
1981Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.source
1982The time zone in Singapore has changed to UTC+08:00 and it has not changed since.source
1982In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).source
1982The time zone in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore changed to GMT+08:00, and it has not changed since.source
1982The metric system of weights and measurements was introduced to replace the British imperial systems.source
1982Lydie Polfer becomes the new Mayor of Luxembourg City.source
1983The Trade Development Board is formed to promote trade, taking over the Timber Industry Board and the Department of Trade with responsibility for domestic trading of commodities handled by the Domestic Trade Section of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and metrication taken over by the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research.source
1983The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the true Internet).source
1984The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.source
1984Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was established.source
1984Hotel Majestic (later occupied by Balai Seni Lukis Negara (National Art Gallery)) was closed after 52 years of operation. It reopened in 2012.source
1984The establishment of Kenting National Park in Pingtung County.source
1985Value added tax (KDV) introduced.source
1985The Internet's Domain Name System is created.source
1985Law on tobacco control comes into forcesource
1985Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a new agreement on fishing rights.source
1986Spain and Portugal enter the European Community, which becomes the European Union in 1993.source
1986Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.source
1986President H. M. Ershad founded his own political party named Jatiya Party.source
1986The New Israeli shekel (NIS) replaces the old shekel as Israel's official currency.source
1986The establishment of National Museum of Natural Science in North District, Taichung City.source
1987Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.source
1987Reflectors on each side of your tires become mandatory when you’re cycling.source
1988The Soviet Union begins its program of economic restructuring (perestroika) with legislation initiated by Premier Mikhail Gorbachev (though Gorbachev had begun minor restructuring in 1985).source
1989The New York Times discloses involvement of West German company Imhausen and Salzgitter AG in building a chemical weapon plant in Rabta, Libya.source
1990A new convertible Yugoslav dinar is introduced to combat inflation, at an exchange rate of 10,000 old dinars for 1 new convertible dinar.source
1990The Northern Ireland Fair Employment Act becomes law.source
1990The first Internet companies catering to commercial users, PSINet and EUnet begin selling Internet access to commercial customers in the United States and Netherlands respectively.source
1990The Fishery Management Act (Act 38/1990) takes effect, making permanent, fully transferable individual quotas the legal basis of Iceland's fisheries regime.source
1990The comedy television series of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean first airs on ITV in the United Kingdom.source
1990Glasgow begins its year as European Capital of Culture.source
1990Poland becomes the first country in Eastern Europe to begin abolishing its state socialist controls.source
1992Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.source
1992Iván Balliu, footballersource
1992Radio Luxembourg shuts down its English language terrestrial signal on 208 MW.source
1993Czechoslovakia ceases to exist, as the Czech Republic and Slovakia separate in the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia.source
1993The European Economic Community eliminates trade barriers and creates a European single market.source
1994Beginning of the Zapatista uprising in Mexico.source
1994Visit Malaysia Year 1994 officially began.source
1994The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is established.source
1994The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, Canada and the United States goes into effectsource
1995Austria, Finland and Sweden join the European Union.source
1995The World Trade Organization (WTO) is established to replace the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).source
1995The G3 Free Trade Agreement between Colombia, México, and Venezuela goes into effect.source
1995The display of cigarette packets in advertisements was banned by the Malaysian federal government.source
1995Final The Far Side comic by Gary Larson is published.source
1996The inauguration of the new Penghu Great Bridge in Penghu County.source
1996The old laminated NRICs are no longer valid for identification in Singapore.source
1997The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.source
1998Visit Nepal Year 1998 begins.source
1999Fernando Henrique Cardoso begins his second term as president of Brazil.source
1999ECOMOG succeeds in the battle with rebels in Port Loko.source
1999The euro currency is established, and the European Central Bank assumes full powers.source
1999The Euro Currency officially entered circulation in the European Union (EU) Eurozone member area countries, then formally made its debut on European and the world financial markets.source
1999The Euro Currency officially entered circulation in the European Union (EU) Eurozone member area countries, then formally made its debut on European and the worldwide financial markets.source
2000Broadcasts from the Chatham Islands and the New Zealand mainland are watched worldwide as New Zealand, by virtue of time zone, kicks off the worldwide millennium celebrations.source
2000The year 2000 problem, a time formatting and storage bug, takes effect, but is successfully mitigated in many cases.source
2000Millennium celebrations are held around the world to celebrate the beginning of the 3rd millennium.source
2001Bangladesh High Court bans religious edicts also known as Fatwassource
2001Greece adopted the Euro Currency eventually becoming officially the 12 European country to specifically join the European Union (EU) Eurozone member area country, replacing the Greek drachma in the digital transactions.source
2002The Euro is introduced as the official physical currency in the Eurozone countries. The first physical transactions are carried out on Réunion. The former currencies of all the countries that use the Euro cease to be legal tender on February 28.source
2002The Euro Currency officially became the legal tender for Greece, along with the other European Union (EU) Eurozone member area countries, replacing the Greek drachma by being introduced physically with the official launch of the currency coins and banknotes. Greece entered a period on the same day where specifically both the Euro Currency and the Greek drachma were in dual circulation until exactly 28 February.source
2002The Euro Currency officially became the legal tender for Luxembourg, along with the other European Union (EU) Eurozone member area countries, replacing the Luxembourgish franc by being introduced physically with the official launch of the currency coins and banknotes. Luxembourg entered a period where specifically both the Euro Currency and the Luxembourgish franc were in dual circulation until specifically 28 February.source
2002The Euro Currency officially became the legal tender for The Netherlands, along with the other European Union (EU) Eurozone member area countries, replacing the Dutch guilder by being introduced physically with the official launch of the currency coins and banknotes. The Netherlands entered an economic period where specifically both the Euro Currency and the Dutch guilder were in dual circulation until specifically February 28.source
2002The government of Bangladesh banned the sale of polyethylene bags in the capital, Dhaka, for environmental reasons.source
2003The Ravenstein municipality ceases to exist and is amalgamated into the Oss municipality.source
2005Jeanna Giese from Wisconsin, United States, comes home from the hospital and officially becomes the first person to ever survive rabies without a vaccination.source
2005New Year's celebrations all over the Netherlands fall silent for two minutes as mark of respect for Dutch memorial service for those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.source
2006January 1–4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.source
2007Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eurozone.source
2007The Bulgarian political party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, which had only been founded on 2006-12-03 by Sofia mayor Boyko Borisov, instantly comes second in a public poll on party support, trailing only the Bulgarian Socialist Party.source
2007Adam Air Flight 574, en route to Manado, Indonesia, from Surabaya, Indonesia, crashes into the Makassar Strait; killing all 102 on board.source
2008Israeli settlers from the Efrat and El'eazar settlements ignited a fire in a 700-year-old mosque situated on the lands of Al Khader village, close to the settlements near Bethlehem.source
2008Cyprus and Malta adopt the euro currency.source
2008Cyprus adopts and the euro, along with Malta, becoming the 14th and 15th countries respectively to do so. The Cypriot pound notes and coins will remain valid in shops until the end of the month, and exchangeable at the central bank for some years.source
2008Several new year's road running races were won by Kenyans. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot won the Saint Silvester Road Race in Brazil and Patrick Ivuti finished second. Alice Timbilili won the women's race. San Silvestre Vallecana race in Spain was won by Josphat Kiprono Menjo and Vivian Cheruiyot respectively. Edwin Soi and Sylvia Kibet were the winners of Boclassic Silvesterlauf race in Bolzano, Italy. Micah Kogo won Corrida Pedestre Internationale de Houilles race in France, setting a new course record.source
2009Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda assume their seats on the United Nations Security Council.source
2009The official adaptation of Hanyu Pinyin in Taiwan.source
2009Slovakia adopts the euro as its national currency, replacing the Slovak koruna.source
2009Slovakia changes currency, replacing the koruna with the euro.source
2009A Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer shoots and kills Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man, at Fruitvale station in Oakland, United States. The event becomes one of the inciting incidents for the global Black Lives Matter movement.source
2009Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, becomes the American Capital of Culture and Vilnius and Linz become the European Capitals of Culture.source
2010An armed skirmish occurs between the country's soldiers and the army of Ethiopia near the border town of Zalambesa, Eritrea.source
2011A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt leave a new year service, killing 23 people.source
2011Mass graves are discovered in Côte d'Ivoire amid other political violence as United Nations peacekeepers come under increased tension in the country when allies of Alassane Ouattara call for a forceful removal of Laurent Gbagbo.source
2011Hungary assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.source
2011Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.source
2011Flight 348 with 134 occupants, operated by Metrojet, catches fire while taxiing out for take-off. Three people are killed and 43 are injured, four critically, from smoke inhalation or burns.source
2012Moldova security zone incidentsource
2012South Sudan is to send more troops and police to Pibor, the scene of ethnic violence.source
2012The renaming of Council for Hakka Affairs to Hakka Affairs Council.source
2012Nigeria announces an end to its fuel subsidy scheme leading the Nigeria Labour Congress to call for strikes and street protests.source
2012Ada Bridge, one of the tallest bridges in Europe, is completed and open to the public in Belgrade, Serbia.source
2014Latvia adopts the euro as its currency and becomes the 18th member of the Eurozone.source
2014Latvia officially adopts the Euro as its currency and becomes the 18th member of the Eurozone.source
2014A SriLankan Airlines flight to London Heathrow Airport is forced to return to Bandaranaike International Airport after a crack appears on the wind screen.source
2014Malta issued Public Transport changes. New buses were added later onsource
2015Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes the 19th Eurozone country.source
2015Cambodia achieves a lower middle-income status, with a GDP of USD 31.77 billion and GDP per capita of USD 1,875.source
2017President Jammeh accuses the ECOWAS bloc of "declaring war" on the Gambia after it was said they were putting forces on alert in case he refuses to step down by the deadline of January 19.source
2017Malta takes over the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.source
2017Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 39 people and injuring 79 others.source
2017Environmental minister, Emmanuel Niyonkuru, is gunned down in Bujumbura.source
2018Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.source
2018Saudi Arabia introduces a 5% value-added tax (VAT) for the first time, with exemptions for basic necessities, medical, cultural, educational products, and financial services.source
2019Romania takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Austrian presidency.source
2019Qatar withdraws from OPEC.source
2019New Horizons makes a close approach to the Kuiper belt object (KBO) 486958 Arrokoth at 05:33 UTC.source
2019The law on a defined contribution plan—mandatory for legally employed people under 40—comes into effect. Critics say the saved money is not properly secured against risks.source
2019a ban on single-use plastic shopping bags comes into effect.source
2020Flash floods struck Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 66 people in the worst flooding in over a decade.source
2021The African Continental Free Trade Area comes into effect.source
2021The United States adds Banco Financiero International SA (BFI) to the Cuba Restricted List. The Trump administration is considering adding Cuba to its list of state-sponsored terrorism.source
2022France takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Slovenian presidency.source
2022The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the largest free trade area in the world, comes into effect for Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.source
2022Bahrain authorizes the emergency use of Pfizer's anti-viral oral drug Paxlovid for adults over the age of 18 years.source
2023Uzbekistan's Latin alphabet transition is completed.source
2023Croatia adopts the euro and joins the Schengen Area, becoming the 20th member state of the Eurozone and the 27th member of the Schengen Area. This is the first enlargement of the Eurozone since Lithuania's entry in 2015, and the first enlargement of the Schengen Area since Liechtenstein's entry in 2011.source
2024The Republic of Artsakh is formally dissolved following the recapture of the Nagorno-Karabakh region by Azerbaijan.source
2024Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates become BRICS members.source
2024A 7.5 M ww earthquake strikes the western coast of Japan (Noto Peninsula), killing at least 504 people and injuring 1,389 others. A further 5 are killed the next day when a Coast Guard aircraft carrying humanitarian aid was involved in a collision with a Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900 aircraft, destroying both aircraft. All 379 people aboard the passenger jet are evacuated safely.source
2025Poland takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Hungarian presidency.source
2025The corporate income tax law takes effect.source
2025Ukraine halts the transportation of many Russian gas supplies through the country following the expiration of a five-year transit deal, while also becoming a state party in the International Criminal Court.source
2025The first versions of the Popeye and Tintin characters have entered the Public domain.source
2025Liechtenstein becomes the 37th country to legalize same-sex marriage.source

Births

1227Mujū Dōkyō, Japanese Buddhist monk (died 1312)source
1236Baldwin de Redvers, English nobleman (died 1262)source
1424Louis IV, Elector Palatine (1436–1449) (died 1449)source
1431Pope Alexander VI (died 1503)source
1449Lorenzo de' Medici, Italian statesman (died 1492)source
1465Lachlan Cattanach Maclean, 11th Chief, Scottish clan chief (died 1523)source
1467Sigismund I the Old, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (died 1548)source
1470Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, German noble (died 1543)source
1484Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss religious reformer (died 1531)source
1514George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, Scottish noble (died 1562)source
1515Johann Weyer, Dutch physician (died 1588)source
1516Margaret Leijonhufvud, queen of Gustav Vasa of Sweden (died 1551)source
1545Magnus Heinason, Faroese naval hero (died 1589)source
1557Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (died 1606)source
1561Thomas Walsingham, English literary patron (died 1630)source
1570Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Spouse of Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (died 1649)source
1586Pau Claris i Casademunt, Catalan ecclesiastic (died 1641)source
1596Elizabeth Ribbing, morganatic consort of prince Carl Philip (died 1662)source
1618January 1 (bapt.) – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter (died 1682)source
1631January 1 or 1632 – Katherine Philips, Anglo-Welsh poet (died 1664)source
1638Nicolas Steno, Danish pioneer in anatomy and geology, bishop (died 1686)source
1638Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (died 1685)source
1638Nicolas Steno, scientist (died 1686)source
1638Emperor Go-Sai (died 1685)source
1650George Rooke, Royal Navy admiral (died 1709)source
1662Balaji Vishwanath, Peshwa of the Maratha Empire (died 1720)source
1690Susanna Montgomerie, Countess of Eglinton, Scottish literary patron and society hostess (died 1780)source
1690Christian Falster, poet and philologist (died 1752)source
1704Soame Jenyns, English writer and Member of Parliament (died 1787)source
1723Goronwy Owen, poet (died 1769)source
1735Paul Revere, American silversmith and patriot (died 1818)source
1745Anthony Wayne, United States Army officer, statesman and member of the United States House of Representatives (died 1796)source
1752Betsy Ross, American entrepreneur, creator of the American flag (died 1836)source
1759Joseph Foster-Barham, owner of the Trecŵn estate (died 1832)source
1766Magdalena Rudenschöld, Swedish conspirator (died 1823)source
1768Maria Edgeworth, Irish novelist (died 1849)source
1769Jane Marcet, British science writer (died 1858)source
1787Manuel José Arce, Revolutionary General and first President of The Federal Republic of Central America (died 1847)source
1800Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, English landowner (died 1857)source
1803Daniel Egan, politician (died 1870)source
1814Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel (died 1864)source
1823Manuel Baquedano (died 1897)source
1833Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (died 1902)source
18331 January (in Scotland): Robert Lawson, architect.source
1859Henrique Pousão, painter (died 1884)source
1863Pierre de Coubertin, French founder of the modern Olympic Games (died 1937)source
1874Gustave Whitehead, German-born aviation pioneer (died 1927)source
1894Shitsu Nakano, super-centenarian (died 2007)source
1895J. Edgar Hoover, American Federal Bureau of Investigation director (died 1972)source
1909Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian nationalist leader (died 1959)source
1944Omar al-Bashir, 7th President of Sudansource
1960Shakil Auj, Islamic scholar (died 2014)source
1987Abdullah Al Buraiki.source
1995Poppy, American musician and modelsource
1999Hasan Abdulkareem Jabbar, footballersource
2007Choe Il-son, footballersource

Deaths

138Lucius Aelius Caesar, Roman politician and adopted son of Hadrian (born 101)source
362Paulus Catena, Roman politiciansource
379Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea Mazaca (born 330)source
404Telemachus, Christian monk and martyrsource
466Emperor Qianfei, emperor of the Liu Song dynasty (born 449)source
510Eugendus, abbot of Condat Abbeysource
669Javanshir, king of Caucasian Albania (born 616)source
827Adalard of Corbie, Frankish abbotsource
898King Odo I (or Eudes) dies at La Fère (Northern France) after a 10-year reign. His rival, the 18-year-old Charles the Simple in Laon, gains sovereignty and becomes ruler (with no real authority) of the West Frankish Kingdom. This puts an end to five years of civil war between the Frankish nobles.source
898Odo I, king of the West Frankish Kingdomsource
951Ramiro II, king of León and Galiciasource
1031William of Volpiano, Italian abbot (born 962)source
1049Odilo of Cluny, French Benedictine abbotsource
1128Albero I, prince-bishop of Liège (born 1070)source
1189Henry of Marcy, French cardinal-bishop (born 1136)source
1204King Haakon III of Norwaysource
1252Saint Zdislava Berka, Bohemian lay Dominican benefactresssource
1387King Charles II of Navarre (born 1332)source
1432Alexandru cel Bun, Prince of Moldaviasource
1457Osmund of Salisbury (died 1099) is canonised, the last English saint created until the 20th century. His remains are translated from Old Sarum to Salisbury Cathedral on 23 July.source
1496Charles, Count of Angoulême (born 1459)source
1496Charles, Count of Angoulême (born 1459)source
1515King Louis XII of France dies of severe gout after a reign of 17 years, and his son-in-law, François, inherits the throne.source
1515King Louis XII of France (born 1462)source
1515Louis XII, King of France (b.1462)source
1556Humayun of Mughal India (born 1508)source
1559King Christian III of Denmark and Norway (born 1503)source
1560Joachim du Bellay, French poet (born 1522)source
1591Andreas Laurentii Björnram, Archbishop of Uppsala (born 1520)source
1617Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter (born 1558)source
1631Thomas Hobson, English carrier and origin of the phrase "Hobson's choice" (born 1544)source
1632Giovanni Battista Agucchi, Italian churchman, papal diplomat and writer on art theory (born 1570)source
1710William Bruce, Scottish architect (born c. 1630)source
1710William Lloyd, bishop of Norwich, 72source
1715John Morgan, lord of the manor and lordship of Gwynllwg, merchant and MP for Monmouth Boroughs, 74?source
1730Samuel Sewall, English-born judge (born 1652)source
1730Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English politician (born 1647)source
1730Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, politician (born 1647)source
1748Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (born 1667)source
1766James Francis Edward Stuart, The Old Pretender to the British throne (born 1688)source
1766James Francis Edward Stuart, 77, nominally Prince of Wales from his birth until 1701source
1775Ahmad Shah Bahadur, 13th Mughal Emperor (born 1725)source
1817Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist who discovered uranium (1789), zirconium (1789), and cerium (1803) (born 1743)source
1817Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist who discovered uranium (1789), zirconium (1789), and cerium (1803) (born 1743)source
1829President Pedro Blanco Soto is assassinated in the La Recoletta convent; at six days in office, he becomes the president with the shortest term served. He is succeeded by José Miguel de Velasco, who serves as president pending the arrival of Andrés de Santa Cruz.source
1869James B. Longacre, fourth Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint (born 1794)source
1877Karl von Urban, Austrian field marshal (suicide) (born 1802)source
1881Louis Auguste Blanqui, French socialist, political activist (born 1805)source
1894Heinrich Hertz, German physicist (born 1857)source
1897Joseph S. Skerrett, American admiral (born 1833)source
1915WWI: Battle of Broken Hill: A train ambush near Broken Hill, Australia, is carried out by two men (claiming to be in support of the Ottoman Empire) who are killed, together with four civilians.source
1919HMY Iolaire sinks off the coast of the Hebrides; 201 people, mostly servicemen returning home to Lewis and Harris, are killed.source
1921Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, 5th Chancellor of Germany (born 1856)source
1953Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1923)source
1953Maganlal Gangaram, former President of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and director of Maganlal Nagindas & Co (born 1905).source
1957Lim Boon Keng, doctor and reformer (born 1869).source
1958Edward Weston, American photographer (born 1886)source
1995Fred West, 53, English serial killer, suicide.source
2005Shirley Chisholm, 80, American politician, first black woman ever to serve in the U.S. Congress.source
2012Hermann Guggiari, 87, engineer and sculptor. (born 1924) (Spanish)source
2025Fifteen people (including the perpetrator) are killed and 57 others are injured during a vehicle-ramming and shooting attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.source