January 1......

January 1 is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 364 (365 in leap years) days remaining in the year on this date.

January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Here a calendar year refers to the order in which the months are displayed, January to December. The first day of the medieval Julian year was usually a day other than January 1. This day was adopted as the first day of the Julian year by some European countries between 1522 and 1579 (that is, before the creation of the Gregorian calendar in 1582). The British Empire (including its American colonies) did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752. This change can lead to dating confusion between Old Style and New Style dates. The Gregorian calendar as promulgated in 1582 did not specify that January 1 was to be either New Year's Day or the first day of its numbered year. Although England began its numbered year on March 25 (Lady Day) between the thirteenth century and 1752, January 1 was called New Year's Day, which was a holiday when gifts were exchanged.

{Disclaimer: I have attempted to give credit to the many different sources that I get entries. Any failure to do so is unintentional. Any statement enclosed by brackets like these are the opinion of the blogger, A Proud Liberal.}

EVENTS

● 5777 BC - Origin of Solar Cycle

● 4714 BC - Origin of Julian Period (Year 0)

● 4713 BC - Julian Year 1 begins, at Greenwich mean noon

● 45 BC - The Julian calendar first takes effect.

● 38 BC - Origin of Era of Spain (Cesars)

● 30 BC - Origin of Actian Era

● 1 BC - Origin of Era of Pisa

● 1 - Origin of Christian Era

● 69 - Roman garrison of Mainz uprising

● 89 - Gov Lucius Antonius Saturninus of Germany becomes emperor of Rome

● 313 - Start of Roman (Pontifical) Indiction

● 404 - The last known gladiator competition in Rome takes place.

● 414 - King Ataulf of Narbonne marries emperor Honorius sister Galle Placidia

● 630 - Prophet Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with the army that will capture it bloodlessly.

● 722 - Hofmeier Charles Martel flees from bishop Willibrord

● 990 - Kievan Rus' (Russia) adopts the Julian calendar.

● 1259 - Michael VIII Palaeologus is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Lascaris.

● 1430 - Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services

● 1438 - Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.

● 1494 - Juw Dekama elected potentate of Frisia

● 1502 - Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro

● 1504 - King Louis XII loses last bulwark in Naples, Caeta

● 1515 - King Francis I of France succeeds to the French throne.

● 1515 - Jews are expelled from Laibach Austria

● 1573 - Geuzen sets fire to Woudrichem

● 1583 - 1st day of the Gregorian calendar in Holland & Flanders

● 1600 - Scotland begins using the Julian calendar.

● 1610 - German astronomer Simon Marius 1st discovers the Jupiter moons, but does not officially report it, Galileo does on July 1 1610

● 1622 - Papal Chancery adopts Jan 1 as beginning of the year (was Mar 25)

● 1651 - Charles II Stuart crowned king of Scotland.

● 1660 - Samuel Pepys starts his diary.

● 1660 - General Moncks army battles with the Tweed on way to London

● 1660 - Thomas Fairfax' New Model-army occupies York

● 1673 - Regular mail delivery begins between New York and Boston.

● 1675 - Don Carlos de Gurrea/Aragón becomes Spanish land guardian of South Netherlands

● 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 - Bouvet Island, near Antarctica, is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.

● 1772 - The first traveller's cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale in London for the first time.

● 1776 - General George Washington hoists Continental Union Flag

● 1780 - Pioneer Methodist bishop and circuit rider Francis Asbury wrote in his journal: 'My God, keep me through the water and fire, and let me rather die than live to sin against thee!'

● 1781 - Many wounded as mutinous Pennsylvania Revolutionary War troops at Morristown, New Jersey rush from their huts, seize arms, ammunition, and horses, secure six pieces of artillery, and--after subduing three regiments of loyal soldiers--march to Philadelphia to demand back pay from Congress.

● 1785 - "Daily Universal Register" (later the Times of London) publishes 1st issue

● 1788 - First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.

● 1788 - Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipate their slaves

● 1797 - Albany replaces Kingston (New York City) as the capital of New York.

● 1798 - Russia appoints 1st Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books

● 1800 - Socialist planner Robert Owen assumes control of mills at New Lanark, Scotland.

● 1800 - The Dutch East India Company ceases to exist.

● 1801 - The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed to form the United Kingdom.

● 1801 - Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi became the first person to discover an asteroid. He named it Ceres.

● 1802 - Thomas Jefferson, in a letter written to the Danbury [CT] Baptist Association, coined the metaphor, "a wall of separation between Church and State." From 1947, the "wall of separation" concept gained acceptance as a constitutional guideline.

● 1803 - Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tay Son dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

● 1804 - Haitian slaves, led by Jean Jacques Desalines, declare independence. Haiti becomes first free black nation-state in the world; U.S. refuses to recognize Haiti for the next 70 or so years.

● 1806 - The French Republican Calendar is abolished.

● 1807 - Curaçao is taken by English (until March, 1816)

● 1808 - The importation of slaves into the United States from Africa is banned.

● 1808 - African Benevolent Society (education) forms

● 1808 - Sierra Leone becomes a British colony

● 1809 - Holland Brigade under Brigadier General Chassé reaches Madrid

● 1814 - Field marshal Blücher's troops cross the Rhine at Kaub

● 1818 - Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus is published.

● 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 - First issue of the Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist paper.

● 1832 - First meeting of the New England Anti-Slavery Society.

● 1832 - In Lexington, KY, 12,000 followers of Alexander Campbell, (called "Campbellites") merged with 10,000 followers of Barton W. Stone (known as "Christians") to form the Disciples of Christ (Christian) Church.

● 1833 - Britain claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

● 1833 - Curaçao census 2,602 whites, 6,531 free people & 5,894 slaves

● 1834 - "On the first of January, 1834, I left Mr. Covey, and went to live with Mr. William Freeland, who lived about three miles from St. Michael's. I soon found Mr. Freeland a very different man from Mr. Covey. Though not rich, he was what would be called an educated southern gentleman. Mr. Covey, as I have shown, was a well-trained negro-breaker and slave-driver." Life changes in "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - An American Slave," an autobiographical account of slavery by Frederick Douglass.

● 1834 - German Tolunie goes into effect

● 1838 - 1st official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide

● 1840 - 1st recorded bowling match in US, Knickerbocker Alleys, New York City NY

● 1842 - 1st illustrated weekly magazine in US publishes 1st issue, New York City NY

● 1844 - 1st edition of New Rotterdam's Daily (3x per week)

● 1845 - The Cobble Hill Tunnel, in Brooklyn, was finished.

● 1846 - Yucatan declares independence from México

● 1847 - Michigan is 1st state to abolish capital punishment

● 1847 - Netherlands 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 New York City NY

● 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 PA)

● 1858 - Canada begins using decimal currency system

● 1860 - Slavery ends of in Netherlands Indies

● 1861 - Porfirio Diaz conquers Mexico City.

● 1862 - 1st US income tax (3% of incomes greater than $600, 5% of incomes greater than $10,000)

● 1862 - Battle of Fort McRee FL, Battle of Port Royal SC (Port Royal Ferry)

● 1863 - The provision of the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in rebel states goes into effect, although it has no legal weight since the rebel states are not under U.S. authority. The actual proclamation, issued on Sep. 22, 1862, offered to let any rebel state that rejoined the union before this date keep slavery intact. The principle of what is today considered a document of freedom is that you cannot own another person unless you are loyal to the U.S.

● 1863 - The first claim under the Homestead Act is made by Daniel Freeman for a farm near Beatrice, Nebraska.

● 1863 - Battle of Galveston, TX - Confederates recapture the city

● 1863 - Battle of Helena AK

● 1871 - The Church of Ireland was formally disestablished. Aligned with Anglicanism from 1537, the Irish Church represented the faith of only 12% of the populace by the mid-19th century.

● 1871 - Belgium disbands salt tax

● 1873 - Origin of Japanese Era

● 1874 - New York City annexes the Bronx

● 1875 - Women weavers form union in Fall River, Massachusetts.

● 1876 - The Reichsbank opens in Berlin.

● 1877 - Queen Victoria of Britain is proclaimed Empress of India.

● 1879 - Birth of Hobo King and whorehouse doctor, anarchist sympathizer and one-time lover of Emma Goldman, Ben Reitman.

● 1880 - Ferdinand de Lesseps begins French construction of the Panama Canal.

● 1881 - Paris Commune leader Louis-Auguste Blanqui dies, Paris, France.

● 1883 - Last peace talks held between natives and non-natives at Villarrica, Chile, forced Araucanians onto reservation in southern Chile.

● 1886 - 1st Tournament of Roses, Pasadena CA

● 1887 - Queen Victoria is proclaimed empress of India in Delhi.

● 1890 - The first Tournament of Roses is held in Pasadena, California.

● 1890 - First use of football goal nets in England.

● 1890 - Eritrea consolidates into a colony by the Italian government.

● 1891 - French troops occupy Nioro, West-Sudan, 3000 killed

● 1891 - King Pakketvaart sails to Netherlands Indies

● 1892 - Ellis Island opens to begin accepting immigrants to the United States.

● 1893 - 1st US college extension courses for credit, University of Chicago

● 1893 - Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar

● 1894 - The Manchester Ship Canal, England, is officially opened to traffic.

● 1894 - Denmark adopts Mid-European time

● 1895 - Norway adopts Mid-European time

● 1895 - Birth of J. Edgar Hoover, founder and 50-year leader of America's political police force, the FBI (1924-1972), and {one of the world's most famous cross-dressing blackmailers.}

● 1896 - Wilhelm Röntgen announces his discovery of x-rays

● 1898 - Lightship replaces whistling buoy at mouth of San Francisco Bay

● 1898 - New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.

● 1899 - Cuba liberated from Spain by US (National Day) (US occupies till 1902)

● 1900 - Nigeria became a British protectorate with Frederick Lagard as the high commissioner.

● 1900 - Compulsory education in Netherlands goes into effect

● 1900 - Hawaii asked for a delegate to the Republican national convention.

● 1901 - 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 and Lord Hopetoun officially assumed the duties as the first Governor-General.

● 1901 - The first official Mummers Parade is held.

● 1902 - The first Rose Bowl game is played in Pasadena, California, with the University of Michigan beating Stanford University by a score of 49-0. {Michigan still blows, even then.}

● 1902 - Nathan Stubblefield makes 1st public demonstration of radio, Pennsylvania

● 1904 - Netherlands Indies colony begins opium production

● 1905 - 9 hour work day for diamond miners

● 1906 - Dutch law makes driver's license mandatory

● 1906 - British India officially adopts the Indian Standard Time

● 1907 - President Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8,513 hands in 1 day

● 1908 - For the first time, a ball is dropped in New York City's Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight.

● 1909 - Drilling began on the Lakeview Gusher.

● 1909 - The first payments of old-age pensions were made in Britain. People over 70 received five shillings a week.

● 1910 - Captain David Beatty was promoted to Rear Admiral, and became the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy, except for Royal family members, since Horatio Nelson.

● 1910 - National Urban League founded.

● 1911 - Opening of the Modern School, in New York, With the aid of Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman. Based on the ideas of the Spanish anarchist Ferrer.

● 1911 - Northern Territory is separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.

● 1911 - Belgian Mining law introduces 9½-hour work day

● 1912 - The Republic of China is established as Sun Yat-sen forms Chinese Republic.

● 1912 - 1st running of San Francisco's famed "Bay to Breakers" race (7.63 miles/12.3 km)

● 1913 - Post office begins parcel post deliveries

● 1914 - 1st scheduled airline flight, St Petersburg-Tampa (Tony Jannus pilot)

● 1914 - Northern & Southern Nigeria united in British colony of Nigeria

● 1914 - Klaas ter Laan becomes Netherlands' 1st socialist mayor (Zaandam)

● 1915 - Jews of Laibach Austria expelled

● 1916 - 1st issue of "Journal of Negro History" published

● 1916 - 1st football game in Rose Bowl (Washington State-Brown)

● 1916 - German troops abandon Yaoundé and their Kamerun colony to British forces and begin the long march to Spanish Guinea.

● 1918 - Last day of the Julian calendar in Finland

● 1919 - Belorussian SSR established

● 1922 - Vancouver BC starts driving on the right side of road {and even the proper side of the road}

● 1923 - Britains Railways are grouped into the Big Four,LNER,GWR,SR,LMSR.

● 1923 - Union of Socialist Soviet Republics established

● 1924 - Frank B. Cooney received a patent for ink paste.

● 1924 - Grossdeutsche Völksgemeinschaft/Völkische Block replaces NSDAP

● 1925 - Norway's capital Christiania changes name to Oslo

● 1925 - The American astronomer Edwin Hubble announces the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way.

● 1926 - Flood in Rhine strikes Cologne

● 1927 - Communist uprising in West Java

● 1927 - Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), is immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian).

● 1928 - 1st US air-conditioned office building opens, San Antonio

● 1928 - Algemeene Vereeniging Radio Omroep (AVRO) begins broadcasting (Netherlands)

● 1929 - Roy Riegels runs 60 yards 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 OH

● 1932 - Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt publishes Himmler's wedding laws

● 1933 - U.S. troops leave Nicaragua.

● 1934 - Prohibition (of alcohol) ends in U.S.

● 1934 - Alcatraz Island becomes a U.S. federal prison.

● 1934 - Nazi Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring".

● 1934 - Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (US bank guarantor) effective

● 1934 - International Telecommunication Union established

● 1935 - Associated Press inaugurates Wirephoto

● 1935 - Eastern Airlines hires Eddie Rickenbacker as GM

● 1935 - President Mustapha Kemal Pasha names himself "Atatürk Father of Turkey"

● 1935 - Bucknell University wins the first Orange Bowl 26-0 over the University of Miami.

● 1936 - 1st newspaper to microfilm its current issues, New York Herald Tribune

● 1937 - US Army Air Corps physiological research laboratory completed, Ohio

● 1937 - Anastasio Somoza becomes President of Nicaragua

● 1937 - Count Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to captain

● 1937 - The first Cotton Bowl game is played in Dallas, Texas. TCU defeats Marquette University 16-6.

● 1939 - The first Vienna New Year's Concert is held.

● 1939 - William Hewlett and David Packard found Hewlett-Packard.

● 1939 - Sydney, Australia swelters in 45C heat, a record for the city.

● 1941 - In a speech decrying the war in Europe, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt announces America's principles of "Four Freedoms" (freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and freedom from want and fear) desired for the world – freedoms which pointedly were not encouraged, then or later, for countries whose dictators were installed and/or supported by the U.S. for Cold War purposes.

● 1941 - Netherlands begins taxing wages

● 1941 - Russian General Zhukov appointed chief of General staff

● 1942 - Rose Bowl played in North Carolina due to Japanese threat-Oregon 20, Duke 16

● 1942 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued a declaration called the "United Nations." It was signed by 26 countries that vowed to create an international postwar World War II peacekeeping organization.
● 1942 - Rose Bowl played in North Carolina due to the Japanese threat to Pasadena.

● 1942 - "Uncle Joe" Stalin proclaimed "Time" magazine's "Man of the Year."

● 1942 - Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) founded by James Farmer.

● 1943 - Count Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel

● 1944 - 1st feature-length foreign movie, African Journey, shown on TV, New York City NY

● 1944 - General Clark replaces General Patton as commander of 7th Army

● 1945 - France joins the UN

● 1945 - German air raid on allied airports at Eindhoven/Saint-Trond/Brussels

● 1945 - In retaliation of the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops massacre 30 SS prisoners at Chenogne.

● 1946 - The first civil flight from Heathrow Airport occurs.

● 1946 - Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god

● 1946 - National Assembly proclaims Hungary a republic

● 1946 - ENIAC, US 1st computer finished by Mauchly/Eckert

● 1947 - Britain nationalizes its coal industry

● 1947 - Benelux agress to work related issues

● 1947 - Canada - Saskatchewan government (CCF) introduces first hospital care program in North America.

● 1947 - The American and British occupation zones in Germany, after the World War II, merge to form the Bizone, that later became the Federal Republic of (West) Germany.

● 1948 - British railways are nationalised to form British Rail.

● 1948 - After partition, India declines to pay the agreed share of Rs.550 million in cash balances to Pakistan.

● 1948 - The Constitution of Italy comes into force.

● 1948 - 1st color newsreel filmed, Pasadena CA

● 1948 - General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade effective

● 1948 - Orissa province accedes to India

● 1949 - The British Nationality Act 1948 comes into force.

● 1949 - UN Cease-fire orders to operate in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.

● 1949 - Tokelau (Union) Islands declared part of New Zealand

● 1950 - The state of Ajaigarh acceded to the Government of India.

● 1950 - Ho Chi Minh begins offensive against French troops in Indo-China

● 1951 - Massive Chinese/North Korean assault on UN-lines

● 1953 - Country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, died of a drug and alcohol overdose while en route to a concert in Canton, Ohio.

● 1954 - Yugoslav parliament chairman/Vice President Milovan Djilas criticize communism

● 1955 - Bhutan issues its 1st postage stamps

● 1955 - U.S. begins training South Vietnamese army. How well they do.

● 1956 - The Republic of the Sudan achieves independence from the Egyptian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

● 1956 - Elvis Presley records Heartbreak Hotel for RCA in Nashville

● 1957 - France returns Saar to becomes the 10th state of German Federal Republic

● 1957 - International Geophysical Year begins; ends 6/30/1958 (18-month year)

● 1958 - BOAC Britannia flies London to New York in a record 7hours 57minutes

● 1958 - Sammy Davis Jr marries Loray White

● 1958 - The European Community is established.

● 1959 - Cultivars of plants named after this date must be named in a modern language, not in Latin.

● 1959 - Cuban dictator Juan Batista flees the island; Fidel Castro's forces enter Havana the next day.

● 1959 - Chad becomes autonomous republic in French Community

● 1960 - The Man in Black--singer Johnny Cash--plays San Quentin, the first of many concerts he will perform for prison inmates.

● 1960 - The Republic of Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

● 1960 - Bank of France issues new franc, worth 20¢

● 1960 - Montserrat adopts constitution

● 1960 - US census at 179,245,000

● 1961 - Largest check issued, National Bank of Chicago to Sears ($960.242 billion)

● 1961 - Russia introduces a new ruble worth $1.11

● 1962 - Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa. Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II becomes co-chief of Western Samoa

● 1962 - Decca Records turn down the Beatles

● 1962 - US Navy SEAL teams established

● 1962 - Rwanda granted internal self-government by Belgium

● 1963 - G Woods succeeds Eugene Black as president of the World Bank

● 1964 - The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.

● 1965 - International Cooperation Year begins

● 1965 - Palestinian al-Fatah organization forms

● 1965 - The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was founded in Kabul.

● 1966 - A twelve day New York City transit strike begins.

● 1966 - After a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa assumes power as president of the Central African Republic.

● 1966 - All US cigarette packs have to carry "Caution Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health"

● 1966 - Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" reaches #1

● 1967 - FCC requires AM-FM sister stations to be at least 50% different

● 1967 - St Helena adopts constitution

● 1967 - Tonga revises constitution

● 1968 - ABC radio splits into 4 networks (Info, Entertainment, Contemp & FM)

● 1968 - Evel Knievel, stunt performing daredevil, lost control of his motorcycle midway through a jump of 141 feet over the ornamental fountains in front of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

● 1968 - Netherlands gets color TV

● 1968 - Yippies founded and announce plans to conduct demonstrations the following summer at Democratic convention in Chicago.

● 1969 - Jack Kent Cooke, owner of NHL's Los Angeles Kings, fines each player $100 for "NOT" arguing with the referee

● 1970 - Menominee Indians seize unused Gresham, Wisconsin Roman Catholic novitiate (on February 4, the church promises to deed it to them for a tribal hospital.)

● 1970 - A Twin-engine Cessna takes off from an airport outside Madison, Wisconsin, flies 35 miles north, and drops three bombs on the Badger Army Ammunition Plant. An anonymous phone call to the University of Wisconsin student newspaper, "The Daily Cardinal," identifies the bombers as members of (quote) "The Vanguard of the Revolution."

● 1970 - Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles, and Billy Cox are recorded live at the Fillmore East. The resulting album, Band of Gypsys, is the last Hendrix album to be released before his death.

● 1970 - Revised calendar for Western (Roman Catholic) Church goes into effect

● 1970 - "The Epoch" (Time 0 for UNIX systems, Midnight GMT)

● 1970 - Afro-American Historical Calendar Series Established

● 1970 - Neth Christian Workers Union (NCW) forms

● 1971 - Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.

● 1972 - Austrian diplomat Kurt Waldheim assumes as Secretary General of the United Nations.

● 1972 - International Book Year begins

● 1972 - People's Republic of China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor People's Rebulic of China

● 1973 - West African Economic Community formed (Benin, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Upper Volta)

● 1973 - The Kingdom of Denmark, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland are admitted into the European Community.

● 1974 - World Population Year begins

● 1974 - NBC radio begins on the hour news 24 hours a day (following CBS lead)

● 1975 - The magazine "Popular Electronics" announced the invention of a person computer called Altair. MITS, using an Intel microprocessor, developed the computer. {This original PC can be seen in the movie "War Games."}

● 1975 - Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell & Mardian convicted of Watergate crime

● 1975 - International Women's Year begins

● 1975 - Sweden adopts constitution

● 1976 - NBC replaces the peacock logo

● 1976 - Liberty Bell moves to new home behind Independence Hall

● 1976 - Venezuela nationalizes oil fields

● 1977 - Jacqueline Means, wife of an Indiana truck driver and mother of four, became the first woman in the U.S. to be ordained a priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church.

● 1977 - Czech intellectuals & China's begin Human Rights Group Chapter 77

● 1977 - Belgium reapportions 2,359 communities into 596

● 1978 - President Ford signs 1st major revision of copyright law since 1909

● 1978 - Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 explodes and crashes into the sea off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.

● 1978 - Newspaper editor flees South Africa; Newspaper editor Donald Woods arrives in London after fleeing South Africa's apartheid regime.

● 1978 - The Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands becomes effective.

● 1979 - Formal diplomatic relations are established between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America. They held celebrations in Washington, DC, and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

● 1979 - International Year of the Child begins

● 1979 - Jura, 26th canton of Switzerland, established

● 1980 - Chrysler UK renamed Talbot

● 1980 - International Decade of Water & Sanitation begins

● 1980 - Sweden changes order of succession to throne

● 1980 - Mob storms Russian embassy in Teheran

● 1980 - Premier Adbou Diouf becomes President of Senegal

● 1980 - Victoria is crowned princess of Sweden.

● 1981 - Vancouver (Canada) Municipal and Regional Employees Union goes on the picket line for 13 weeks. Innovative strike tactics, including the complete shutdown of major tourist attractions like the Planetarium, and a propensity to sing labor songs at every rally and picket line, eventually won tremendous settlement.

● 1981 - Greece is 10th country to join European Economic Community

● 1981 - The Republic of Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States.

● 1981 - International Year for the Disabled begins

● 1981 - Roger Smith becomes CEO of General Motors

● 1982 - Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.

● 1982 - Pope John Paul II prays for an end to martial law in Poland

● 1982 - MTA launches 5 year capital program to overhaul New York City NY subway system

● 1983 - Women break into cruise missile base and dance on silos. Greenham Common, Britain.

● 1983 - The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.

● 1983 - World Communications Year begins

● 1984 - AT&T was broken up into 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement with the U.S. Federal government.

● 1984 - New York City NY transit fare rises from 75¢ to 90¢

● 1984 - AT&T is broken up into twenty-two independent units.

● 1984 - The Sultanate of Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

● 1985 - The Internet's Domain Name System is created.

● 1985 - The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone.

● 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 - Arrest of ten anti-nuclear activists for trespassing at Nevada Test Site culminates a 54-day encampment at the main Test Site gate. The camp establishes momentum for what became a movement of over 10,000 arrests in numerous Test Site protests over the following years.

● 1986 - U.S.S.R. leader Mikhael Gorbachev asks for world ban on atomic weapons.

● 1986 - Aruba becomes independent of Curaçao, though it remains in free association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

● 1986 - The Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic are admitted into the European Community.

● 1986 - International Peace Year begins

● 1986 - New York City NY transit fare rises from 90¢ to $1.00

● 1987 - 60 bodies recovered in Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico

● 1987 - International Year of Shelter for Homeless begins

● 1987 - Year of the Reader begins

● 1987 - China's rudimentary civil code in effect

● 1987 - A pro-democracy rally took place in Beijing's Tiananmen Square (China).

● 1988 - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.

● 1989 - The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer comes into force.

● 1989 - New York City NY transit fare rises from $1.00 to $1.15

● 1989 - Year of the Young Reader begins

● 1990 - FCC implements "SYNDEX" giving independent stations more rights over cable TV outlets for exclusive syndicated programs

● 1990 - New York City NY MTA stops token redemption at subway stations

● 1990 - Sports News Network begins operation on cable TV

● 1990 - David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor.

● 1991 - 5% sales tax on consumer goods & services goes into effect in USSR

● 1991 - Iraq rejects peace proposal from Egyptian President Hosi Mubarak

● 1992 - Boutros Boutros-Ghali becomes UN Secretary-General

● 1992 - Europe breaks down trade barriers

● 1992 - International Space Year begins

● 1992 - New York City NY transit fare increases from $1.15 to $1.25

● 1992 - Bush is 1st US President to address Australian Parliament

● 1992 - Curaçao becomes 1st in Dutch Antilles to have compulsory education

● 1992 - Women dance on missile silos, U.S. Air Force Base, Greenham Common, England.

● 1992 - The ESPN Radio Network was officially launched.

● 1993 - Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic (Bohemia). The peaceful division had been engineered in 1992.

● 1993 - A single market within the European Community is introduced through the set up of vast free trade zone.

● 1993 - Cigarette advertisements are banned in New York City NY's MTA

● 1993 - Harry Connick Jr arrested at a New York airport for gun possession

● 1994 - Indigenous army in Chiapas, Mexico rebels in reaction to implementation of NAFTA agreement. Briefly takes over four towns before receding into jungle and beginning a national dialogue on the future of genuine democracy in Mexico.

● 1994 - The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.

● 1994 - The European Economic Area comes into effect.

● 1994 - The International Tropical Timber Agreement comes into effect.

● 1994 - International Year of Family

● 1994 - Microsoft CEO Bill Gates (38) marries Melinda French (29)

● 1994 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect

● 1995 - The World Trade Organization came into existence. The group of 125 nations monitors global trade.

● 1995 - The Kingdom of Sweden and the republics of Austria and Finland are admitted into the European Union.

● 1995 - The Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe becomes the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

● 1995 - The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.

● 1995 - Jean-Claude Juncker assumes as Prime Minister of Luxembourg.

● 1995 - Firecrackers were banned in Vietnam on Tết because of safety reasons. {All the left over landmines provide enough fireworks and damage for any ten countries.}

● 1995 - Frederick West, an alleged killer of 12 women and girls, was found hanged in his jail cell in Winston Green prison, in Birmingham. West had been under almost continuous watch since his arrest in 1994, but security had reportedly been relaxed in the months preceding the apparent suicide.

● 1995 - Centennial of Canadian Mounties presence in Canada's Yukon Territory

● 1995 - Fernando Henrique Cardoso installed as President of Brazil

● 1995 - International Year of Tolerance

● 1995 - Last "Far Side" by cartoonist Gary Larson (started 1980) {Actually last original cartoon, strip is still a "cottage industry" with reprints.}

● 1996 - Curaçao gains limited self-government, though it remains within free association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Status Aparte).

● 1996 - After 27 years, Betty Rubble debuts as a Flintstone vitamin

● 1997 - The Republic of Zaïre officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Zaïre.

● 1997 - Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan assumes as Secretary General of the United Nations.

● 1998 - The European Central Bank is established.

● 1998 - All California 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

● 1999 - The euro became currency for 11 Member States of the European Union. Coins and notes were not available until January 1, 2002.

● 1999 - The Polish administrative region of Opole Voivodeship is created, out of the former Opole Voivodeship and parts of Częstochowa Voivodeship.

● 1999 - In California, a law went into effect that defined "invasion of privacy as trespassing with the intent to capture audio or video images of a celebrity or crime victim engaging in a personal of family activity."

● 2000 - World celebrates New Millennium; Billions of people around the world welcome in the New Millennium with some of the most spectacular celebrations ever seen. {Once again proving that just because billions believe it, doesn't make it any less false. The new millennium would not begin for another year.}

● 2000 - As the world celebrates, no major crisis arises from the dreaded Y2K computer 'millennium bug'.

● 2000 - Hama Amadou assumes as Prime Minister of Niger.

● 2001 - Tommy Remengesau assumes as president of Palau.

● 2001 - The "Texas 7," rented space in an RV park in Woodland Park, CO.

● 2002 - Celebrations as Euro hits the streets; Twelve of the European Union's 15 countries wake up to life with a new currency as the Euro reaches the streets.

● 2002 - Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.

● 2002 - The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially enters into force.

● 2003 - Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva assumes as the President of Brazil.

● 2004 - In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007.

● 2007 - Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Also, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, joining 20 other official languages.

● 2007 - Slovenia is the thirteenth country to adopt Euro currency.

● 2007 - Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board.

● 2304 - Mid-CALENDAR day

● 6000 - 1st reversible date since 11/11/1999

BIRTHS

● 766 - Ali ar-Rida, Shia Imam (d. 818)

● 1431 - Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503)

● 1449 - Lorenzo de Medici, Italian statesman (d. 1492)

● 1467 - Sigismund I the Old, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (d. 1548)

● 1484 - Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss Protestant leader (d. 1531)

● 1511 - The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall (d. 1511)

● 1516 - Margareta Leijonhufvud, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1551)

● 1557 - István Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1606)

● 1600 - Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian (d. 1649)

● 1614 - John Wilkins, English Bishop of Chester (d. 1672)

● 1618 - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter (d. 1682)

● 1638 - Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (d. 1685)

● 1648 - Elkanah Settle, English writer (d. 1724)

● 1655 - Christian Thomasius, German jurist (d. 1728)

● 1684 - Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (d. 1748)

● 1704 - Soame Jenyns, English writer (d. 1787)

● 1711 - Franz Freiherr von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)

● 1714 - Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1780)

● 1735 - Paul Revere, American patriot (d. 1818)

● 1745 - "Mad" Anthony Wayne, American general and statesman (d. 1796)

● 1750 - Frederick Muhlenberg, 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1801)

● 1752 - Betsy Ross, American seamstress (d. 1836)

● 1767 - Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish novelist (d. 1849)

● 1774 - André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist (d. 1860)

● 1779 - William Clowes, English printer (d. 1847)

● 1823 - Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and revolutionary (d. 1849)

● 1833 - Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (d. 1902)

● 1848 - John Goff, Irish lawyer (d. 1924)

● 1854 - Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist (d. 1941)

● 1860 - George Washington Carver, American educator (d. 1943)

● 1863 - Pierre de Coubertin, French Olympic Games initiator(d. 1937)

● 1864 - Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer (d. 1946)

● 1868 - Snitz Edwards, American actor (d. 1937)

● 1873 - Mariano Azuela, Mexican novelist (d. 1952)

● 1874 - Gustave Whitehead, German-born inventor (d. 1927)

● 1874 - Frank Knox, American Secretary of the Navy (d. 1944)

● 1876 - Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist (d. 1933)

● 1878 - Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish scientist (d. 1929)

● 1879 - William Fox, American motion picture executive (d. 1952)

● 1879 - Ernest Jones, British psychoanalyst (d. 1958)

● 1879 - E. M. Forster, English novelist (d. 1970)

● 1881 - Vajiravudh, King of Thailand (d. 1925)

● 1883 - William J Donovan, American Director of the O.S.S. (forerunner of CIA) in WW2 (d. 1959)

● 1887 - Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (d. 1945)

● 1890 - Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer (d. 1966)

● 1892 - Artur Rodziński, Croatian conductor (d. 1958)

● 1894 - Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian mathematician (d. 1974)

● 1895 - J. Edgar Hoover, American FBI director (d. 1972)

● 1895 - Catherine Bowen, American writer (d. 1973)

● 1900 - Xavier Cugat, Spanish musician (d. 1990)

● 1900 - Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (d. 1986)

● 1902 - Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (d. 1977)

● 1904 - Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani politician (d. 1982)

● 1904 - Ethan Allen, American baseball player (d. 1993)

● 1905 - Kamatari Fujiwara, Japanese actor (d. 1985)

● 1906 - Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (d. 1974)

● 1909 - Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)

● 1909 - Barry M. Goldwater, American politician (d. 1998)

● 1911 - Hank Greenberg, American baseball player (d. 1986)

● 1912 - Kim Philby, British spy (d. 1988)

● 1917 - Jule Gregory Charney, American meteorologist (d. 1981)

● 1917 - Albert Mol, Dutch actor (d. 2004)

● 1918 - Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2000)

● 1919 - Rocky Graziano, American boxer (d. 1990)

● 1919 - J. D. Salinger, American novelist ("The Catcher in the Rye")

● 1920 - Virgilio Savona, Italian singer (Quartetto Cetra)

● 1921 - Isma'il Raji' al-Faruqi, Palestinian-born philosopher (d. 1986)

● 1922 - Rocky Graziano, American boxer (d. 1990)

● 1922 - Ernest Hollings, Former U.S. senator, D-S.C.

● 1923 - Milt Jackson, American jazz vibraphonist (d. 1999)

● 1925 - Stymie Beard, American actor (d. 1981)

● 1925 - Valentina Cortese, Italian actress

● 1925 - Raymond Pellegrin, French actor

● 1926 - Richard Verreau, French Canadian tenor (d. 2005)

● 1927 - Maurice Béjart, French choregrapher

● 1927 - Pat Heywood, Scottish born actress

● 1927 - Calum MacKay, National Hockey League player

● 1927 - Vernon L. Smith, American economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner

● 1927 - Doak Walker, American football star (d. 1998)

● 1928 - Ernest Tidyman, American writer (d. 1984)

● 1930 - Hossain Mohammad Ershad, President of Bangladesh

● 1932 - Jackie Parker, American football player (d. 2006)

● 1933 - Frederick Lowy, Canadian medical educator

● 1933 - Joe Orton, English writer (d. 1967)

● 1937 - Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg, Polish author (d. 1995)

● 1938 - Robert Jankel, British coachbuilder (d. 2005)

● 1938 - Frank Langella American actor

● 1939 - Michèle Mercier, French actress

● 1940 - Frank Langella, Actor

● 1942 - Martin Frost, American politician

● 1942 - Country Joe McDonald, American musician (Country Joe and the Fish)

● 1942 - Gennadi Sarafanov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2005)

● 1943 - Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, Indian Scientist

● 1943 - Don Novello, American actor (Father Guido Sarducci)

● 1943 - Jimmy Hart, Wrestling manager

● 1944 - Zafarullah Khan Jamali former Prime Minister of Pakistan

● 1945 - Jacky Ickx, Belgian race car driver

● 1946 - Rick Hurst, Actor

● 1946 - Rivelino, Brazilian football player

● 1947 - Jon Corzine, Governor of New Jersey

● 1947 - Paula Tsui, Hong Kong singer

● 1948 – Grandmaster Flash, Rapper

● 1948 - Pavel Grachev, Russian general

● 1950 - Steve Ripley, Country singer (The Tractors)

● 1951 - Ashfaq Hussain, Urdu poet

● 1951 - Nana Patekar, Indian film and stage actor

● 1953 - Greg Carmichael, British guitarist

● 1954 - Robert Menendez, U.S. senator, D-N.J.

● 1956 - Mark R. Hughes, American enterpeneur (d. 2000)

● 1957 - Luis Guzmán, Puerto Rican actor

● 1958 - Ren Woods, Actress

● 1958 - Grandmaster Flash, Barbados-born musician

● 1959 - Azali Assoumani, Comorese president

● 1959 - Jennifer Edwards, American actress

● 1960 - Adelaide Ferreira, Portuguese singer

● 1961 - Fiona Phillips, British breakfast television presenter and journalist

● 1961 - Mark Wingett, British actor

● 1964 - Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress

● 1966 - Embeth Davidtz, Actress

● 1966 - Anna Burke, Australian politician

● 1967 - Derrick Thomas, American football player (d. 2000)

● 1967 - John Digweed, English DJ

● 1967 - Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Spanish film director

● 1968 - Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer

● 1969 - Morris Chestnut, Actor

● 1969 - Verne Troyer, American actor (''Austin Powers'' movies)

● 1969 - Sarah Parish, British actress

● 1970 - Gabriel Jarret, American actor

● 1970 - Kimberly Page, American actress

● 1971 - Paul Luscher, singer/songwriter

● 1971 - Bobby Holik, Czech hockey player

● 1972 - Neve McIntosh, Scottish actress

● 1972 - Lilian Thuram, French footballer

● 1973 - Saffron Burrows, English actress

● 1975 - Joe Cannon, American soccer player

● 1975 - Sonali Bendre, Indian model and film actress

● 1975 - Robert Westerholt, Dutch guitarist (Within Temptation)

● 1975 - Eiichiro Oda, Japanese Manga artist

● 1976 - Caleb Wyatt, American motocross rider

● 1976 - Vidya Balan, Indian film actress

● 1977 - Hasan Salihamidžić, Bosnian footballer

● 1977 - Zachary Quinto, American actor

● 1977 - Keeley Hawes, British actress

● 1978 - Nina Bott, German actress

● 1978 - Phillip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer

● 1978 - Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda, Indian spiritual guru

● 1979 - Brody Dalle, Australian singer (The Distillers)

● 1979 - Koichi Domoto, Japanese artist

● 1980 - Elin Nordegren Woods, Swedish model and wife of golfer Tiger Woods

● 1980 - Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer

● 1981 - Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian race car driver

● 1981 - Abdulkadir Kocak, Turkish boxer

● 1981 - Eden Riegel, American actress

● 1981 - Jonas Armstrong, Irish actor

● 1982 - David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player

● 1983 - Calum Davenport, English footballer

● 1983 - Emi Kobayashi, Japanese gravure idol

● 1984 - Michael Witt, Australian rugby league footballer

● 1984 - Jose Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian footballer

● 1985 - Steven Davis, Northern Irish footballer

● 1985 - Don Paysan, Canadian professional wrestler

● 1987 - Gilbert Brule, Canadian hockey player

● 1987 - Meryl Davis, American ice dancer

● 1996 - Mary Gibbs, American actress

DEATHS

● 379 - Saint Basil of Caesarea (b. 330)

● 404 - Saint Telemachus

● 874 - Hasan al-Askari, eleventh Shia Imam (b. 846)

● 898 - Odo, Count of Paris (b. 860)

● 1204 - King Haakon III of Norway

● 1387 - King Charles II of Navarre (b. 1332)

● 1515 - King Louis XII of France (b. 1462)

● 1554 - Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador (bc. 1500)

● 1559 - Christian III of Denmark and Norway (b. 1503)

● 1560 - Joachim Du Bellay, French poet (bc. 1522)

● 1617 - Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter (b. 1558)

● 1679 - Jan Steen, Dutch painter

● 1697 - Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine biographer/ historian (b. 1624)

● 1716 - William Wycherley, English dramatist (bc. 1640)

● 1730 - Samuel Sewall, English-born judge (b. 1652)

● 1742 - Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (b. 1686)

● 1748 - Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1667)

● 1759 - Jacques-Joachim Trotti, marquis de La Chétardie, French adventurer (b. 1705)

● 1766 - James Francis Edward Stuart, "The Old Pretender" (b. 1688)

● 1782 - Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)

● 1789 - Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English politician (b. 1716)

● 1793 - Francesco Guardi, Venetian painter (b. 1712)

● 1796 - Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde, French mathematician (b. 1735)

● 1800 - Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French naturalist (b. 1716)

● 1817 - Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist (b. 1743)

● 1862 - Mikhail Vasilievich Ostrogradsky, Russian physicist (b. 1801)

● 1869 - Martin W. Bates, U.S. Senator from Delaware (b. 1786)

● 1892 - Roswell B. Mason, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)

● 1894 - Heinrich Hertz, German physicist (b. 1857)

● 1912 - Pyotr Nikolaevich Lebedev, Russian phsyicist (b. 1866)

● 1919 - Mikhail Drozdovsky, Russian general (b. 1881)

● 1921 - Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1856)

● 1931 - Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (b. 1851)

● 1933 - Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist (b. 1876)

● 1940 - Panuganti Lakshmi Narasimha Rao, Popular Indian writer and Essayist (b.1865)

● 1944 - Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (b. 1862)

● 1953 - Hank Williams, American singer (b. 1923)

● 1958 - Edward Weston, American photographer (b. 1886)

● 1960 - Margaret Sullavan, American actress (b. 1911)

● 1964 - Bechara El Khoury, President of Lebanon (b. 1890)

● 1966 - Vincent Auriol, French politician (b. 1884)

● 1969 - Barton MacLane, American actor (b. 1902)

● 1971 - Saint Amphilochios, Ukrainian Orthodox Christian Saint (b. 1894)

● 1972 - Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (b. 1888)

● 1982 - Victor Buono, American actor (b. 1938)

● 1984 - Alexis Korner, British blues musician (b. 1928)

● 1985 - Kamatari Fujiwara, Japanese actor (b. 1905)

● 1986 - Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (b. 1902)

● 1986 - Bruce Norris, National Hockey League executive (Detroit Red Wings) (b. 1924)

● 1991 - Buck Ram, American songwriter and businessman (The Platters) (b. 1907)

● 1992 - Grace Hopper, American computer pioneer (b. 1906)

● 1994 - Lord Arthur Espie Porritt, Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1900)

● 1994 - Cesar Romero, American actor (b. 1907)

● 1995 - Fred West, British serial killer (suicide) (b. 1941)

● 1995 - Eugene Wigner, Hungarian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)

● 1996 - Arleigh Burke, American admiral (b. 1901)

● 1996 - Arthur Rudolph, German engineer (b. 1906)

● 1997 - Townes Van Zandt, American musician (b. 1944)

● 1997 - Hagood Hardy, Canadian composer and musician (b. 1937)

● 1998 - Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player (b. 1905)

● 2000 - Colin Vaughan, Australian-born political journalist

● 2001 - Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)

● 2002 - Julia Phillips, American film producer (b. 1944)

● 2003 - Joe Foss, American politician and fighter pilot (b. 1915)

● 2003 - F. William Free, American advertising executive (b. 1928)

● 2005 - Shirley Chisholm, American politician (b. 1924)

● 2005 - Hugh John Frederick Lawson, 6th Baron Burnham, British newspaperman (b. 1931)

● 2005 - Bob Matsui, American politician (b. 1941)

● 2005 - Eugene J. Martin, American painter, artist (b. 1938)

● 2006 - Harry Magdoff, American magazine editor (b. 1913)

● 2006 - Bryan Harvey, American musician (b. 1956)

● 2007 - Leonard Fraser, Australian serial killer (b. 1951)

● 2007 - Ernie Koy, American baseball player (b. 1909)

● 2007 - Tillie Olsen, American writer (b. 1913)

● 2007 - Del Reeves, American country singer (b. 1932)

● 2007 - Darrent Williams, American football player (b. 1982)

HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES

● BY FAITH:

● Roman Catholic (New Calendar):
● Holy Day of Obligation in many countries
● Final Day of Octave of Christmas
● Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
● St. Clarus
● St. William of Dijon
● St. Telemachus
● St. Odilo
● St. Almachius
● St. Basil
● St. Concordius
● St. Connat
● St. Cuan
● St. Elvan & Mydwyn
● St. Eugendus
● St. Euphrosyne
● St. Fulgentius
● St. Fanchea
● St. Joseph Mary Tommasi
● St. Justin of Chieti
● St. Maelrhys
● St. Magnus
● Bl. Berka Zdislava

● Roman Catholic (Old Calendar):
● Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus

● Roman Catholic in US
● National Migration Week begins (varying official support by the office of U.S. President, not strictly religious)

● Roman, Greek, Russian, and Syrian Orthodox Churches:
● St. Fulgentius of Ruspe

● Russian Orthodox Christian Menaion Calendar for December 19 (Civil Date: January 1)
● Nativity Fast.
● Martyr Boniface at Tarsus in Cilicia, and Righteous Aglae (Aglaida) of Rome.
● Martyrs Elias, Probus and Ares, in Cilicia.
● Martyrs Polyeuctus at Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Timothy the deacon in Mauretania.
● St. Boniface the Merciful, Bishop of Ferentino.
● St. Gregory, Archbishop of Omirits.
● St. Elias of Murom, Wonderworker of the Kiev Caves.
● Martyrs Hermylus and Phocas.
● Hieromartyr Capito, Bishop of Cherson.

● Greek Calendar:
● Martyrs Eutyches and Thessalonica and with them 200 men and 70 women.
● Martyr Tryphon.
● Repose of Priest martyr Hermogenes, founder of Kirensk
● Repose of Albazin Monasteries in Siberia (1690).

● Orthodox Christian Churches:
● Circumcision of the Lord in the Flesh
● St. Basil, Bishop of Caesaria.

● Anglican, Lutheran:
● Feast of Holy Name of Jesus

● The seventh day of Christmas (and eighth night of same) in Western Christianity.

● Unification Church : God's Day

● BY OBSERVANCE:

● Many countries around the world using Gregorian Calendar - New Year's Day; often celebrated at 0:01 with fireworks.

● Last day of Kwanzaa

● Public Domain Day in many countries. This is the day on which copyrights expire and works enter into the public domain.

● BY COUNTRY:

● Cameroon : Independence Day (1960)

● Cuba: Liberation Day or Revolution Day.

● Czech Republic: Establishment of the Czech Republic.

● Haiti : Independence Day (1804)

● Japan : New Year (year = AD + 660)

● Mozambique : Universal Fraternity

● Scotland: First day of New Year public Holiday (the second being January 2). Most shops and businesses closed on this day.

● Slovakia: Establishment of the Slovak Republic.

● Sudan : Independence Day (1956)

● Taiwan: Founding of Republic of China Day.

● Western Samoa : Independence Day (1962)

● This Holiday is only applicable on a given "day of the week"
● Scotland : Handsel Monday - ( Monday )

● BY STATE OR CITY:

● Alabama : Mobile Carnival

● Capetown, South Africa : Coon Carnival

● New Year’s Day Parade in London, United Kingdom.

● Vienna: New Year's Concert

● Philadelphia : Mummers' Parade

● Pasadena, California: The Tournament of Roses parade and, traditionally, the Rose Bowl football championship.

● DAY OF THE WEEK:

● The day of the week of New Year determines the days of the week of 1 March of the previous year through 28 February of the new year, without distinguishing common years and leap years. It is the day before "Doomsday" of the previous year.

IN FICTION

● 1770 - Date of action in the opera "Madeleine"

● 1881 - Dr John H Watson is introduced to Sherlock Holmes

● 1900 - 1st date in John dos Passos' USA trilogy (The 42nd Parallel)


Click on this LINK to see original Wikipedia list with many having links with details.

Additional facts taken from:

On this day in the New York Times

The BBC’s Take on the day

On This Day Website

Geov Parrish's this Day in Radical History, things that happened on this day that you never had to memorize in school.

Scope Systems Any Day Website

Roman Catholic Saint of the Day

Russian Orthodox Christian Menaion Calendar

Permanent Backlink to Post