Historical events on this day

01 Jan 1259

Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris

01 Jan 1430

Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services

01 Jan 1438

Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes King of Hungary

01 Jan 1504

King Louis XII loses last bulwark in Naples Caeta

01 Jan 1527

Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as king of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin

01 Jan 1583

1st day of the Gregorian calendar in Holland & Flanders

01 Jan 1600

Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of 25 March.

01 Jan 1622

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

01 Jan 1660

General Moncks army battles with the Tweed on way to London

01 Jan 1660

Academia de Bellas Artes is founded in Seville with painter Bartolom Esteban Murillo its first president

01 Jan 1673

Regular mail delivery begins between NY & Boston

01 Jan 1675

Don Carlos de GurreaAragon becomes Spanish land guardian of S Neth

01 Jan 1700

Protestant Western Europe (except England) begins using the Gregorian calendar

01 Jan 1700

Russia begins using the Anno Domini era and no longer uses the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire

01 Jan 1707

John V succeeds his father Pedro II as King of Portugal

01 Jan 1710

Paris merchant Jean Marius obtains 5-year royal privilege for his invention of a folding umbrella - first in Europe

01 Jan 1739

J B C Bouvet de Lozier discovers Bouvet Island near Antarctica

01 Jan 1772

First travelers cheques go on sale in London can be used in 90 European cities

01 Jan 1785

Daily Universal Register (Times of London) publishes 1st issue

01 Jan 1788

Londons Daily Universal Registrar becomes the Times

01 Jan 1788

Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipate their slaves

01 Jan 1797

Albany replaces New York City as capital of New York

01 Jan 1798

Russia appoints 1st Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books

01 Jan 1801

The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Italian monk Giuseppe Piazzi

01 Jan 1803

Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Ty Sn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Hu Vietnam.

01 Jan 1804

Haiti gains independence from France (National Day) making it the only state ever founded by former slaves and without slavery

01 Jan 1807

Curacao is taken by English (until March 1816)

01 Jan 1809

Holland Brigade under Brigadier-General David Hendrik Chass reaches Madrid (Napoleonic Wars)

01 Jan 1814

Field marshal Bluchers troops cross the Rhine at Kaub

01 Jan 1826

Baron Van der Capellen resigns as governor of Dutch-Indies

01 Jan 1827

Dutch Trade Company NHM gets opium monopoly on Java

01 Jan 1833

Curacao census 2602 whites 6531 free people 5894 slaves

01 Jan 1838

1st official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide

01 Jan 1840

1st recorded bowling match in US Knickerbocker Alleys NYC

01 Jan 1842

1st illustrated weekly magazine in US publishes 1st issue NYC

01 Jan 1844

1st edition of New Rotterdams Daily (3x per week)

01 Jan 1845

The Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed

01 Jan 1847

Michigan is 1st state to abolish capital punishment

01 Jan 1847

Neths Haarlems Current newspaper starts publishing

01 Jan 1851

City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line

01 Jan 1852

National debt of Britain & Ireland is 765126582 pounds

01 Jan 1853

1st practical fire engine (horse-drawn) in US enters service

01 Jan 1854

Lincoln University a black college chartered (Oxford Pennsylvania)

01 Jan 1862

1st US income tax (3% of incomes 600 5% of incomes 10000)

01 Jan 1863

1st homestead under the Homestead Act claimed near Beatrice Nebraska

01 Jan 1863

Battle of Galveston Texas-Confederates recapture the city

01 Jan 1872

Moerdijk railway bridge over Hollands Diep South Holland opens - then longest bridge in Europe

01 Jan 1879

John Brahms Violin Concerto in D major premieres in Leipzig

01 Jan 1881

Dr John H Watson is introduced to Sherlock Holmes

01 Jan 1890

Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government.

01 Jan 1891

French troops occupy Nioro West-Sudan 3000 killed

01 Jan 1892

Ellis Island becomes the reception center for new immigrants to the United States

01 Jan 1893

1st US college extension courses for credit University of Chicago

01 Jan 1893

The railway line from Germiston to Pretoria South Africa is opened to traffic

01 Jan 1894

Manchester Ship Canal in England opens to traffic

01 Jan 1894

South African Amateur Athletic Union is founded in Johannesburg

01 Jan 1897

1st football game between black colleges-Atlanta U 10 Tuskegee 0

01 Jan 1898

Brooklyn merges with NY to form present City of NY

01 Jan 1898

Lightship replaces whistling buoy at mouth of San Francisco Bay

01 Jan 1898

dAnnunzios Sogno dun mattino di primavera premieres in Rome

01 Jan 1899

Cuba liberated from Spanish rule by the US American occupation continues till 1902

01 Jan 1900

1st date in John dos Passos USA trilogy (The 42nd Parallel)

01 Jan 1900

Compulsory education in Netherlands goes into effect

01 Jan 1900

British protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria are established

01 Jan 1901

The Commonwealth of Australia is formed when the British (Imperial) Parliament Act the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 comes into effect

01 Jan 1902

Nathan Stubblefield makes 1st public demonstration of radio Pennsylvania

01 Jan 1903

In Delhi a great durbar or formal reception marks the coronation of King Edward VII as Emperor of India the British release some 16000 prisoners in honor of the occasion

01 Jan 1906

The poll tax of 1 per head on all adult male inhabitants of Natal South Africa except indentured Indians and married Blacks imposed by the Natal parliament in 1905 becomes payable.

01 Jan 1907

Joe Gans lands a devastating right to the head of Canadian challenger Kid Herman to retain his world lightweight boxing title with an 8th round knockout in Tonopah Nevada

01 Jan 1908

1st time ball signifying new year dropped at Times Square

01 Jan 1908

Sir Jack Hobbs the leading run scorer and century maker in first-class cricket history makes his international debut in Englands 2nd Test win over Australia at the MCG (83 & 28)

01 Jan 1909

American Robert Fowler runs then world record marathon 25245.4 at Yonkers NY

01 Jan 1909

In Great Britain the Old Age Pension Law is finally instituted providing pensions for every British subject over 70 with low income

01 Jan 1910

England cricket underhand bowler George Simpson-Hayward takes 6-43 on debut with underarm lobs in 1st Test against South Africa in Johannesburg SA wins by 19 runs

01 Jan 1911

Belgian Mining law introduces 9 hour work day

01 Jan 1911

South Australia transfers Northern Territory to federal government

01 Jan 1912

1st running of San Franciscos famed Bay to Breakers footrace (7.63 miles12.3 km) first winner Robert Vlught 4410

01 Jan 1913

Australasian Championships Mens Tennis Hastings NZ Irishman James Cecil Parke beats Alfred Beamish of England 3-6 6-3 1-6 6-1 7-5

01 Jan 1914

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

01 Jan 1914

Klaas ter Laan becomes The Netherlands 1st socialist mayor (Zaandam)

01 Jan 1914

Northern & Southern Nigeria united in British colony of Nigeria

01 Jan 1915

DW Griffith shows Clansman at a sneak preview

01 Jan 1916

1st issue of Journal of Negro History published

01 Jan 1916

1st first blood transfusion using stored and cooled blood is performed

01 Jan 1919

British naval officer David Beatty is promoted to fulladmiral

01 Jan 1920

The Belorussian Communist Organisation is founded as a separate party.

01 Jan 1922

Vancouver BC starts driving on the right side of road

01 Jan 1922

Coal miners in the Transvaal South Africa embark on a strike in response to a wage cut which quickly escalated into a large-scale revolt against the government known as the Rand Rebellion.

01 Jan 1923

Union of Socialist Soviet Republics established

01 Jan 1923

Britains Railways are grouped into the Big Four LNER GWR SR and LMSR.

01 Jan 1924

Grossdeutsche VolksgemeinschaftVolkische Block replaces NSDAP

01 Jan 1925

Norways capital Christiania changes name to Oslo

01 Jan 1925

Australian cricketer Bill Ponsford becomes the first batsman to score a century in each of his first 2 Tests when he hits 128 against England in the 2nd Test in Melbourne Australia wins by 81 runs

01 Jan 1927

Brooklyn announces release of future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Zack Wheat after 18 consecutive seasons with Robins Wheat hits .324 in final season with Philadelphia As

01 Jan 1927

Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar December 18 1926 (Julian) is immediately followed by January 1 (Gregorian).

01 Jan 1928

1st US air-conditioned office building opens San Antonio

01 Jan 1928

Algemeene Vereeniging Radio Omroep (AVRO) begins broadcasting (Neth)

01 Jan 1930

Earl Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to 2nd lieutenant

01 Jan 1930

Jurgens & Van den Berg merge with Lever Brothers to form Unilever

01 Jan 1932

Jacob Cocey Sr chosen as Mayor of Massillon Ohio

01 Jan 1932

The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washingtons birth.

01 Jan 1934

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (US bank guarantor) effective

01 Jan 1934

International Telecommunication Union established

01 Jan 1934

Nazi Germany passes the Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring.

01 Jan 1935

Eastern Airlines hires Eddie Rickenbacker as GM

01 Jan 1935

President Mustapha Kemal Pasha names himself Ataturk Father of Turkey

01 Jan 1935

1st Orange Bowl Bucknell beats Miami (FL) 26-0

01 Jan 1936

1st newspaper to microfilm its current issues NY Herald Tribune

01 Jan 1937

Anastasio Somoza Garca becomes President of Nicaragua

01 Jan 1937

Count Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to captain

01 Jan 1937

US Army Air Corps physiological research laboratory completed Ohio

01 Jan 1937

Safety glass in vehicle windscreens becomes mandatory in Great Britain.

01 Jan 1939

Sydney Australia swelters in 45 C (113 F) heat a record for the city.

01 Jan 1942

US & 25 other countries sign a united declaration against the Axis

01 Jan 1943

Count Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to lt-colonel

01 Jan 1943

Negro Baseball League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown admitted to hospital for rest and treatment released in time for pre-season training

01 Jan 1944

1st feature-length foreign movie African Journey shown on TV NYC

01 Jan 1944

Army defeats Navy 10-7 in football Arab Bowl Oran North Africa

01 Jan 1944

General Clark replaces Gen Patton as commander of 7th Army

01 Jan 1879

Johannes Brahms Violin Concerto in D major premieres in Leipzig

01 Jan 1890

The Rose Parade then known as the Tournament of Roses is first held in Pasadena California

01 Jan 1892

Ellis Island opens as a US immigration inspection station - it would go on to be the gateway to the US for more than 12 million people

01 Jan 1902

1st Rose Bowl Tournament Park Pasadena California Michigan beats Stanford 49-0 MVP Neil Snow Michigan FB

01 Jan 1907

US President Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8513 hands in 1 day

01 Jan 1909

American Robert Fowler runs then world record marathon (25245.4) at Yonkers NY

01 Jan 1898

Gabriele DAnnunzios Sogno dun mattino di primavera premieres in Rome

01 Jan 1908

Jack Hobbs makes his international debut in Englands 2nd Test win over Australia at the MCG scoring 83 and 28 in his two innings. Goes onto become the leading run scorer and century maker in 1st-class cricket history.

01 Jan 1775

English potter Josiah Wedgwood writes that he has developed his famous wedgwood blue color in a letter to Thomas Bentley [1]

01 Jan 1914

The St. PetersburgTampa Airboat Line becomes the worlds first scheduled airline covering the 18 mile distance 23 minutes. Service ceased after three months.

01 Jan 1592

Korean naval commander Admiral Yi Sun-sin begins his famous war diary Nanjung ilgi (included in UNESCOs Memory of the World 2013) [1]

01 Jan 1805

Worlds first iron bridge opens to the public crossing the Severn River at Coalbrookdale England. Regarded as the symbol of the Industrial Revolution. [1]

01 Jan 1831

Slave plantation owner Charles Farquharson begins his diary at Prospect Hill Plantation Watlings Island (San Salvador). Only plantation diary to survive from the Bahamas (ends Dec 1832). [1]

01 Jan 1854

Presbyterian minister John Miller Dickey and his wife Sarah Emlen Cresson found Ashmun Institute a Black college (later Lincoln University)in Hinsonville Pennsylvania

01 Jan 1875

Britains Midlands Railway abolishes second class travel ending the practice of carrying third class passengers in open air wagons [1]

01 Jan 1937

German officer Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to captain

01 Jan 1438

Albert II of Habsburg crowned King of Hungary after the death of his father-in-law King Sigismund

01 Jan 1675

Don Carlos de Gurrea becomes Spanish land guardian of Southern Netherlands

01 Jan 1739

French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier discovers the uninhabited Bouvet Island the worlds most remote island near Antarctica [1]

01 Jan 1743

French explorers Louis-Joseph and Franois de La Vrendrye are the first Europeans to reach the foot of the Rocky Mountains at the Yellow River having crossed the Great Plains [1]

01 Jan 1785

John Walter publishes the 1st issue of his newspaper The Daily Universal Register renamed The Times of London in 1788

01 Jan 1826

Godert van der Capellen resigns as governor of Dutch-Indies

01 Jan 1860

Slavery abolished in the Dutch East Indies for areas under direct rule

01 Jan 1865

General Shermans Union army begins its Carolinas campaign (lasts until Apr 26th)

01 Jan 1904

Dutch East Indies government takes control of opium distribution

01 Jan 1906

First permanent movie theater in Canada The Ouimetoscope is opened by Lo Ouimet in Montreal Quebec

01 Jan 1919

Battle of Jutland British naval commander David Beatty is promoted to fulladmiral

01 Jan 1922

Vancouver British Columbia starts driving on the right side of road

01 Jan 1600

Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25

01 Jan 1622

Papal Chancery adopts January 1 as the beginning of the year (previously March 25)

01 Jan 1660

English Colonel George Monck with two brigades of troops crosses the Anglo-Scottish border by fording the River Tweed at Coldstream and heads through knee-deep snow to London to end military rule and restore the monarchy

01 Jan 1673

Regular mail delivery begins between New York and Boston

01 Jan 1710

Parisian merchant Jean Marius obtains a 5-year royal privilege for his invention of a folding umbrella the first in Europe

01 Jan 1862

First US income tax (3% of income over 600 5% of income over 10000)

01 Jan 1863

First homestead under the Homestead Act is claimed near Beatrice Nebraska

01 Jan 1876

The Reichsbank central bank of the German Empire opens in Berlin

01 Jan 1892

Ellis Island opens as a US immigration inspection station becomes the gateway to the US for more than 12 million people

01 Jan 1900

Compulsory education in the Netherlands goes into effect

01 Jan 1906

Poll tax of 1 per head on all adult male inhabitants of Natal South Africa becomes payable except for indentured Indians and married Blacks imposed by the Natal parliament in 1905

01 Jan 1911

Belgian mining law introduces a 9-hour workday

01 Jan 1912

First running of San Franciscos famed Bay to Breakers footrace (7.63 miles12.3 km) Robert Vlught wins in 4410

01 Jan 1914

Klaas ter Laan becomes The Netherlands first socialist mayor (Zaandam)

01 Jan 1914

Northern and Southern Nigeria are united in British colony of Nigeria

01 Jan 1914

St. PetersburgTampa Airboat Line becomes the worlds first scheduled airline covering the 18-mile distance in 23 minutes piloted by Tony Jannus. Service ceases after three months

01 Jan 1915

D.W. Griffith shows The Clansman at a sneak preview

01 Jan 1916

First issue of Journal of Negro History is published

01 Jan 1920

Belarusian Communist Organization is founded as a separate party

01 Jan 1927

MLB Brooklyn Robins announce release of future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Zack Wheat after 18 consecutive seasons with the team Wheat hits .324 in final season with Philadelphia As

01 Jan 1928

Algemeene Vereeniging Radio Omroep (AVRO) begins broadcasting in the Netherlands

01 Jan 1937

Safety glass in vehicle windscreens becomes mandatory in the UK

01 Jan 1937

US Army Air Corps physiological research laboratory is completed in Ohio

01 Jan 1939

Sydney Australia swelters in 45C (113F) heat a record for the city

01 Jan 1259

Michael VIII Palaiologos is formally proclaimed Emperor of Nicaea in Nymphaion

01 Jan 1430

Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversion services

01 Jan 1438

Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary after the death of his father-in-law King Sigismund

01 Jan 1660

The Academia de Bellas Artes is founded in Seville with painter Bartolom Esteban Murillo as its first president

01 Jan 1675

Don Carlos de Gurrea becomes the Spanish land guardian of Southern Netherlands

01 Jan 1700

Protestant Western Europe except England begins to use the Gregorian calendar

01 Jan 1707

John V succeeds his father Peter II as King of Portugal

01 Jan 1710

Parisian merchant Jean Marius obtains a five-year royal privilege for his invention of a folding umbrella the first in Europe

01 Jan 1770

Date of action in Victor Herbert and Grant Stewarts opera Madeleine

01 Jan 1772

The London Credit Exchange Company issues the first travelers cheques which can be used in 90 European cities

01 Jan 1781

Worlds first iron bridge opens to the public crossing the Severn River at Coalbrookdale England regarded as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution

01 Jan 1785

John Walter publishes the first issue of his newspaper The Daily Universal Register which is renamed The Times of London in 1788

01 Jan 1788

London newspaper The Daily Universal Registrar changes name to The Times

01 Jan 1788

Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipate their enslaved people

01 Jan 1797

Albany replaces New York City as the capital of New York

01 Jan 1798

Russia appoints first Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books

01 Jan 1800

The dissolution of the Dutch East India Company comes into effect

01 Jan 1801

Italian monk Giuseppe Piazzi discovers the dwarf planet Ceres

01 Jan 1801

The Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

01 Jan 1804

Haiti gains independence from France (National Day) becoming the only state ever founded by formerly enslaved people and without slavery

01 Jan 1804

Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares Saint-Domingue (Haiti) independent ending the 13-year-long Haitian Revolution

01 Jan 1806

Napoleon Bonaparte abolishes the French Republican calendar after 12 years of use

01 Jan 1807

Curaao is taken by the English during the Napoleonic Wars until March 1816

01 Jan 1808

The US Congress prohibits the importation of slaves

01 Jan 1809

Holland Brigade under Brigadier-General David Hendrik Chass reaches Madrid during the Napoleonic Wars

01 Jan 1814

Field Marshal Blchers troops cross the Rhine at Kaub

01 Jan 1826

Godert van der Capellen resigns as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies

01 Jan 1827

The Dutch Trading Company (NHM) is granted a monopoly on the sale of opium in Java and Madura

01 Jan 1831

Slave plantation owner Charles Farquharson begins his diary at Prospect Hill Plantation Watlings Island (San Salvador) the only plantation diary to survive from the Bahamas (ends Dec 1832) [1]

01 Jan 1833

Curaao census 2602 white people 6531 free people 5894 enslaved people

01 Jan 1833

The British government reasserts its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands

01 Jan 1834

German Zollverein (Customs Union) comes into effect

01 Jan 1838

First official horse race in South Australia takes place in Adelaide

01 Jan 1840

First recorded bowling match in the US takes place at Knickerbocker Alleys New York

01 Jan 1842

New York Illustrated News the first illustrated weekly magazine in the US publishes its first issue in New York

01 Jan 1844

First edition of New Rotterdams Daily is published (three times per week)

01 Jan 1845

Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed becoming the worlds first subway tunnel

01 Jan 1846

Legislative Assembly of Yucatn declares independence from Mexico

01 Jan 1848

British forces forcibly seize the port of San Juan del Norte (later Greytown) from Nicaragua

01 Jan 1852

National debt of Britain and Ireland is 765126582

01 Jan 1852

Netherlands begins issuing its first postage stamps

01 Jan 1852

The first US public bath opens in New York City

01 Jan 1853

The first practical horse-drawn fire engine in the US enters service

01 Jan 1854

Presbyterian minister John Miller Dickey and his wife Sarah Emlen Cresson found Ashmun Institute a historically Black college later known as Lincoln University in Hinsonville Pennsylvania

01 Jan 1860

Slavery is abolished in the Dutch East Indies for areas under direct rule

01 Jan 1863

The first homestead under the Homestead Act is claimed near Beatrice Nebraska

01 Jan 1872

The Moerdijk railway bridge over Hollands Diep in South Holland opens becoming the longest bridge in Europe at that time

01 Jan 1875

Britains Midland Railway abolishes second-class travel ending the practice of carrying third-class passengers in open-air wagons [1]

01 Jan 1876

The Reichsbank the central bank of the German Empire opens in Berlin

01 Jan 1881

The French Panama Canal Company begins construction of the Panama Canal

01 Jan 1891

French troops occupy Nioro West Sudan and 3000 people are killed

01 Jan 1892

Ellis Island opens as a US immigration inspection station and becomes the gateway to the United States for more than 12 million people

01 Jan 1893

First U.S. college extension courses for credit are offered at the University of Chicago

01 Jan 1894

The South African Amateur Athletic Union is founded in Johannesburg

01 Jan 1895

Philippine revolutionary Emilio Aguinaldo becomes a Freemason joining Pilar Lodge No. 203 in Imus Cavite

01 Jan 1898

Brooklyn merges with New York City to form the present-day City of New York

01 Jan 1898

Lightship replaces whistling buoy at the mouth of San Francisco Bay

01 Jan 1899

The government of Cuba is handed over to the US from Spanish rule American occupation continues until 1902

01 Jan 1900

Compulsory primary school education in the Netherlands goes into effect

01 Jan 1900

TheProtectorate of Northern Nigeriaand theProtectorate of Southern Nigeria are officially established

01 Jan 1901

The Commonwealth of Australia is formed when the British (Imperial) Parliament Act and the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 come into effect

01 Jan 1902

1st Rose Bowl Tournament Park Pasadena California Michigan defeats Stanford 49-0 MVP Michigan fullback Neil Snow

01 Jan 1902

Nathan Stubblefield makes his first public demonstration of radio in Kentucky

01 Jan 1904

The Dutch East Indies government takes control of opium distribution

01 Jan 1906

The first permanent movie theater in Canada the Ouimetoscope opens by Lo Ouimet in Montreal Quebec

01 Jan 1906

The poll tax of 1 per head on all adult male inhabitants of Natal South Africa becomes payable except for indentured Indians and married Blacks imposed by the Natal Parliament in 1905

01 Jan 1907

US President Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8513 hands in one day

01 Jan 1914

St. PetersburgTampa Airboat Line becomes the worlds first scheduled airline covering the 18-mile distance in 23 minutes piloted by Tony Jannus. Service ceases after three months.

01 Jan 1942

US and 25 other countries sign a united declaration against the Axis

01 Jan 1943

Chicago Black Hawks field first trio of brothers to play together in an NHL game Max Doug and Reggie Bentley appear for the Hawks in a 6-5 win over the New York Rangers at Chicago Stadium

01 Jan 1943

German officer Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to lt-colonel

Never Miss A Post

Historical Events