2025 New Orleans truck attack
2025
Fourteen people are killed and 57 others injured during a vehicle-ramming and shooting attack in New Orleans, Louisiana..
January-1
Historical Events on January 1
January
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2024 Noto earthquake
A 7.5 Mww earthquake strikes the western coast of Japan, killing more than 500 people and injuring over 1,000 others. A majority of direct deaths were due to collapsed homes.
2024
Steamboat Willie
Disney's copyright protection on Steamboat Willie and the original Mickey Mouse expires as they enter the public domain.
2024
Republic of Artsakh
Artsakh ceases to exist.
2024
Croatia
Croatia officially adopts the Euro, becoming the 20th Eurozone country, and becomes the 27th member of the Schengen Area.
2023
Istanbul nightclub shooting
2017
An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year's celebrations, kills 39 people and injures 79 others..
Eurasian Economic Union
The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
2015
2013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede
At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
2013
2011 Alexandria bombing
A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
2011
Estonia
Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.
2011
2010 Lakki Marwat suicide bombing
2010
A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more..
Santika Club fire
Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
2009
Bulgaria
Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.
2007
Adam Air Flight 574
Adam Air Flight 574 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes near the Makassar Strait, Indonesia, killing all 102 people on board.
2007
Motion of no confidence
In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007.
2004
Greece
2001
Greece adopts the Euro, becoming the 12th Eurozone country..
Euro
The Euro currency is introduced in 11 member nations of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).
1999
Monetary reform in Russia, 1998
Following a currency reform, Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
1998
Juan Maldacena
Argentinian physicist Juan Maldacena publishes a landmark paper initiating the study of AdS/CFT correspondence, which links string theory and quantum gravity.
1998
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization comes into being.
1995
Draupner wave
1995
The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves..
Austria
Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU.
1995
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
1994
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect.
1994
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
1993
David Dinkins
1990
David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor..
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol comes into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.
1989
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
1988
Pueblo of Isleta
The Isleta Pueblo tribe elect Verna Williamson to be their first female governor.
1987
Mobile phone
The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.
1985
Eastern Air Lines Flight 980
1985
Eastern Air Lines Flight 980 crashes into Mount Illimani in Bolivia, killing all 29 aboard..
AT&T Corporation
The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
1984
Brunei
Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
1984
ARPANET
The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet.
1983
Peru
Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
1982
Greece
1981
Greece is admitted into the European Community..
Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations
the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Taiwan Relations Act enter into force. Through the Communiqué, the United States establishes normal diplomatic relations with China. Through the Act, the United States guarantees military support for Taiwan.
1979
Air India Flight 855
Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747, crashes into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Bombay, India, due to instrument failure, spatial disorientation, and pilot error, killing all 213 people on board.
1978
Middle East Airlines Flight 438
A bomb explodes on board Middle East Airlines Flight 438 over Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 81 people on board.
1976
Denmark
Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom are admitted into the European Economic Community.
1973
Cigarette
1971
Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television..
Unix time
The defined beginning of Unix time, at 00:00:00.
1970
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
1965
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
1964
Territory of Western Samoa
Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
1962
Cameroon
1960
Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom..
Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution: Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces.
1959
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community is established.
1958
George Town, Penang
George Town, Penang, is made a city by a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
1957
Lèse-majesté in Thailand
Lèse 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.: 6, 18
1957
Sudan
1956
Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom..
United Nations
United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
1949
Transport in England
The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways.
1948
Cold War
Cold War: The American and British occupation zones in Allied-occupied Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, which later (with the French zone) became part of West Germany.
1947
Canadian Citizenship Act, 1946
The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
1947
World War II
1945
World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed, attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow..
Declaration by United Nations
The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
1942
Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison.
1934
Nazi eugenics
A "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring" comes into effect in Nazi Germany.
1934
United States Post Office Department
The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth.
1932
West Point Grey
1929
The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver..
Boris Bazhanov
Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran to seek asylum in France. He is the only member of Joseph Stalin's secretariat to have defected from the Soviet Union.
1928
Mexico
New Mexican oil legislation goes into effect, leading to the formal outbreak of the Cristero War.
1927
List of railway companies involved in the 1923 grouping
Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.
1923
St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line
The SPT Airboat Line becomes the world's first scheduled airline to use a winged aircraft.
1914
Republic of China (1912–1949)
1912
The Republic of China is established..
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Captain David Beatty is promoted to rear admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for royal family members) since Horatio Nelson.
1910
College football
The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California.
1902
Southern Nigeria Protectorate
The Southern Nigeria Protectorate is established within the British Empire.
1901
New South Wales
The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister.
1901
Nigeria
1900
Nigeria becomes a British protectorate with Frederick Lugard as high commissioner..
Captaincy General of Cuba
Spanish rule ends in Cuba.
1899
New York City
New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
1898
Ellis Island
Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States.
1892
Eritrea
Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government as Italian Eritrea.
1890
Sandford Fleming
1885
Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming's proposal for standard time (and also, time zones)..
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.
1877
American Civil War
American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory.
1863
Liberal Party (Mexico)
Liberal forces supporting Benito Juárez enter Mexico City.
1861
Postage stamps and postal history of Poland
The first Polish postage stamp is issued, replacing the Russian stamps previously in use.
1860
UPMC Mercy
1847
The world's first "Mercy" Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh, United States, by a group of Sisters of Mercy from Ireland; the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world..
Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa
The Philippines moves its national calendar to align with other Asian countries' calendars by skipping Tuesday, December 31, 1844. The change has been ordered by Governor–General Narciso Claveria to reform the country's calendar so that it aligns with the rest of Asia. Its territory has been one day behind the rest of Asia for 323 years since the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines on March 16, 1521.
1845
Zollverein
Most of Germany forms the Zollverein customs union, the first such union between sovereign states.
1834
Greek Constitution of 1822
The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
1822
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (anonymously) publishes the pioneering work of science fiction, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, in London.
1818
Lachlan Macquarie
1810
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales..
Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves
The United States bans the importation of slaves.
1808
French Republican calendar
The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
1806
Saint-Domingue
French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America after the United States.
1804
Kingdom of Great Britain
The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is proclaimed.
1801
Ceres (dwarf planet)
1801
Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi..
The Times
The first edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
1788
6th Pennsylvania Regiment
American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781.
1781
American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War: Burning of Norfolk – Norfolk, Virginia, is burned to the ground by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action.
1776
George Washington
General George Washington hoists the first United States flag, the Continental Union Flag, at Prospect Hill.
1776
Amazing Grace
1773
The hymn that becomes known as "Amazing Grace", previously titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17, Faith's Review and Expectation", is first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England..
Traveller's cheque
The first traveler's cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, are issued by the London Credit Exchange Company.
1772
Bouvet Island
Bouvet Island, the world's remotest island, is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
1739
Johann Sebastian Bach
J. 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.
1726
Johann Sebastian Bach
J. 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.
1725
John V of Portugal
1707
John V is proclaimed King of Portugal and the Algarves in Lisbon..
Anno Domini
Russia begins using the Anno Domini era instead of the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.
1700
Charles II of England
Charles II is crowned King of Scotland at Scone Palace.
1651
The Masque of Indian and China Knights
The Masque of Indian and China Knights is performed by courtiers of James VI and I at Hampton Court.
1604
Kingdom of Scotland
Scotland recognises January 1 as the start of the year, instead of March 25.
1600
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
1527
Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria as King of Croatia in the 1527 election in Cetin..
Francis I of France
Twenty-year-old Francis, Duke of Brittany, succeeds to the French throne following the death of his father-in-law, Louis XII.
1515
Rio de Janeiro
The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is first explored by the Portuguese.
1502
Albert II of Germany
Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.
1438
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.
1259
Romanos IV Diogenes
1068
Romanos IV Diogenes marries Eudokia Makrembolitissa and is crowned Byzantine Emperor..
Stephen I of Hungary
Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II (probable).
1001
Emperor Taizong of Liao
Emperor Taizong of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty captures Daliang, ending the dynasty and empire of the Later Jin.
947
Honorius
Emperor Honorius forces Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militum) (probable).
417
AD 404
Saint Telemachus tries to stop a gladiatorial fight in a Roman amphitheatre, and is stoned to death by the crowd. This act impresses the Christian Emperor Honorius, who issues a historic ban on gladiatorial fights.
404
Pertinax
193
The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emperor..
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.
-42
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Republic, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year.
-45
Roman consul
For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1.
-153