On this day in History - Jan. 01
- 153 BC - Roman consuls begin their year in office.
- 045 BC - Julian calendar goes into effect.
- 0379 - Saint Basil of Caesarea dies (b. 0330).
- 0431 - Pope Alexander VI [Rodrigo Borgia] Spanish/Italian pope (1492-1503) was born (d. 1503).
- 0630 - Prophet Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with the army that will capture it bloodlessly.
- 0766 - Ali ar-Rida was born (d. 0818). Shia Imam.
- 0874 - Hasan al-Askari dies (b. 0846). Eleventh Shia Imam.
- 0898 - Odo, Count of Paris dies (b. 0860).
- 0962 - Baldwin III, Count of Flanders dies.
- 0990 - Kievan Rus' adopts the Julian calendar.
- 1001 - Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Silvester II.
- 1204 - King Haakon III of Norway dies.
- 1259 - Michael VIII Palaeologus is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Lascaris.
- 1387 - King Charles II of Navarre dies (b. 1332).
- 1431 - Pope Alexander VI was born (d. 1503).
- 1438 - Albert II of Habsburg becomes King of Hungary.
- 1449 - Lorenzo de Medici was born (d.1492). Italian statesman.
- 1467 - Sigismund I the Old was born (d. 1548). King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
- 1484 - Huldreich Zwingli was born (d. 1531). Swiss Protestant leader.
- 1502 - Navegadores portugueses exploram a Baía da Guanabara e confundem-na com a foz de um rio a que chamam Rio de Janeiro.
- 1502 - Gregorius XIII, [Ugo Buoncampagni] dies. Italian Pope (1572-85).
- 1511 - The first Henry, Duke of Cornwall was born (d. 1511)
- 1515 - Louis XII of France dies (b. 1462) and King Francis I of France succeeds to the French throne.
- 1516 - Margareta Leijonhufvud was born (d. 1551). Queen of Sweden.
- 1527 - Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as king of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin.
- 1554 - Pedro de Valdivia dies (b. 1500). Spanish conquistador.
- 1557 - István Bocskay was born (d. 1606)., Prince of Transylvania.
- 1559 - Christian III of Denmark and Norway dies (b. 1503).
- 1560 - Joachim du Bellay dies (b. c. 1522). French poet.
- 1574 - Bolivia: el conquistador español Santiago Barba de Padilla funda la ciudad de Oropesa, que fue llamada Cochabamba a partir de 1786.
- 1600 - Scotland first began the numbered year of its Julian calendar .
- 1600 - Friedrich Spanheim was born (d. 1649). Dutch theologian.
- 1614 - John Wilkins was born (d. 1672). English Bishop of Chester.
- 1617 - Hendrik Goltzius dies (b. 1558). Dutch painter.
- 1618 - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was born (d. 1682). Spanish painter.
- 1622 - No seguimento das reformas do calendário, começadas em fins do século XVI, o Papado adopta o dia 1 de Janeiro como início do ano novo, em vez do dia 25 de Março.
- 1638 - Emperor Go-Sai of Japan was born (d. 1685)
- 1648 - Elkanah Settle was born (d. 1724). English writer.
- 1651 - Charles II crowned King of Scotland .
- 1655 - Christian Thomasius was born (d. 1728). German jurist.
- 1660 - Samuel Pepys starts his diary / Samuel Pepys, começou a escrever o seu famoso diário, em que descreveu a vida londrina da segunda metade do século XVII, incluindo a Grande Peste de 1664-1665, o Grande Incêndio de 1666, assim como a vida da corte inglesa, em que se inclui notícias sobre a chegada da infanta portuguesa D. Catarina de Bragança.
- 1684 - Arnold Drakenborch was born (d. 1748). Dutch classical scholar.
- 1697 - Filippo Baldinucci dies (b. 1624). Florentine biographer/ historian.
- 1700 - Russia begins using the Julian calendar.
- 1701 - Great Britain & Ireland union is in effect, creating United Kingdom .
- 1704 - Soame Jenyns was born (d. 1787). English writer.
- 1711 - Franz Freiherr von der Trenck was born (d. 1749). Austrian soldier.
- 1714 - Kristijonas Donelaitis was born (d. 1780). Lithuanian poet.
- 1716 - William Wycherley dies (b. c. 1640). English dramatist.
- 1730 - Samuel Sewall dies (b. 1652). English-born judge.
- 1735 - Paul Revere was born (d. 1818). American silversmith, patriot.
- 1742 - Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven dies (b. 1686). English statesman.
- 1745 - Anthony Wayne was born (d. 1796). American general and statesman.
- 1748 - Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1667)
- 1750 - Frederick Muhlenberg was born (d. 1801). 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1752 - Betsy Ross was born (d. 1836). American seamstress.
- 1752 - England and its colonies first began the numbered year of their calendar .
- 1759 - Jacques-Joachim Trotti, marquis de La Chétardie dies (b. 1705). French adventurer.
- 1763 - O Brasil é elevado a vice-reino. A capital é transferida de Salvador para o Rio de Janeiro
- 1766 - James Francis Edward Stuart dies (b. 16888). "The Old Pretender".
- 1767 - Maria Edgeworth was born (d. 1849). Anglo-Irish novelist.
- 1772 - The first traveller's cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale in London for the first time.
- 1774 - André Marie Constant Duméril was born (d. 1860). French zoologist.
- 1779 - William Clowes was born (d. 1847). English printer.
- 1781 - 1,500 soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey as part of the Pennsylvania (Continentals; Regiment) Mutiny of 1781.
- 1782 - Johann Christian Bach dies (b. 1735). German composer.
- 1787 - José Anastácio da Cunha dies (b. 11 Mar 1744). Portuguese mathematician and poet.
- 1788 - First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, was published.
- 1789 - Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley was born (d. 1716). English politician.
- 1790 - Portugal: Fundação da Academia Real de Fortificação, Artilharia e Desenho.
- 1793 - Alvarenga Peixoto [Ignácio José de Alvarenga Peixoto] dies in Angola (b. 1744 in Rio de Janeiro). Portuguese poet and judge.
- 1793 - Francesco Guardi dies (b. 1712). Venetian painter.
- 1796 - Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde dies (b. 1735). French mathematician.
- 1800 - The Dutch East India Company ceases to exist.
- 1800 - Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton dies (b. 1716). French naturalist.
- 1801 - The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland completed to form United Kingdom .
- 1801 - Dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
- 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 - French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black republic and first country independent in the West Indies.
- 1806 - The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
- 1808 - The importation of slaves into the United States is banned .
- 1808 - Sierra Leone becomes a British colony.
- 1816 - Manuel Murillo Toro was born. Colombian politician and writer who was for two times President of Republic of Colombia
- 1817 - Martin Heinrich Klaproth dies (b. 1743). German chemist.
- 1820 - Revolução liberal em Espanha. O general Riego revolta-se em Cádis, sendo acompanhado por levantamentos na Corunha, Saragoça e Barcelona. A Constituição espanhola de 1812 é restabelecida.
- 1821 - A guarnição militar da cidade do Pará, no Brasil, estabelece uma junta constitucional, na ausência do governador.
- 1823 - Sándor Petöfi was born (d. 1849). Hungarian poet and revolutionary.
- 1833 - United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
- 1836 - Casamento por procuração de D. Maria II com o príncipe Fernando Augusto de Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha, irmão do primeiro rei dos Belgas, Leopoldo.
- 1837 - Um violento terramoto atinge Israel, matando aproximadamente 4000 pessoas. Quase todos os mortos foram judeus. Mais de 2000 pessoas morreram em Tzfat e 700 em T’veriya.
- 1838 - 1st official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide .
- 1841 - Francisco Ferrera is elected the first President of Republic in Honduras.
- 1845 - The Cobble Hill Tunnel, in Brooklyn, was finished.
- 1852 - Netherlands begins issuing postage stamps .
- 1858 - Canada begins using decimal currency system .
- 1859 - Henrique Pousão was born in Vila Viçosa. Portuguese naturalist painter prematured died with 25 years old.
- 1861 - Porfirio Diaz conquers Mexico City.
- 1862 - Mikhail Vasilievich Ostrogradsky dies (b. 1801). Russian physicist.
- 1863 - Abraham Lincoln delivers the Emancipation Proclamation during the second year of the American Civil War.
- 1863 - Pierre de Coubertin was born (d. 1937). French historian and pedagogue, initiator of modern Olympic Games
- 1864 - Alfred Stieglitz was born (d. 1946). American photographer .
- 1865 - Chile: se establece el sistema métrico decimal.
- 1869 - Martin W. Bates dies (b. 1786). U.S. Senator from Delaware.
- 1870 - First edition of The Northern Echo newspaper is published.
- 1871 - Argentina: entra en vigor el Código Civil argentino, redactado por Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield.
- 1873 - Mariano Azuela was born. Mexican novelist (The Flies, The Bosses) .
- 1874 - New York City annexes The Bronx .
- 1874 - Gustave Whitehead was born (d. 1927). German-born inventor.
- 1874 - Frank Knox was born (d. 1944). American Secretary of the Navy.
- 1876 - The Reichsbank opens in Berlin.
- 1877 - Queen Victoria of Britain is proclaimed Empress of India.
- 1878 - Agner Krarup Erlang was born (d. 1929). Danish scientist.
- 1879 - E. M. Forster was born (d. 1979). English novelist.
- 1879 - Ernest Jones was born (d. 1958). Welsh psychoanalyst who introduced psychoanalysis into Great Britain and North America.
- 1881 - Vajiravudh was born (d. 1925). King of Thailand.
- 1885 - The Montgolfier brothers cross the English Channel .
- 1886 - Afonso Duarte was born in Ereira, Montemor-o-Velho (d. in Coimbra on 5 Mar 1958). Portuguese poet.
- 1887 - Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India at the first Imperial Assemblage (Durbar) in Delhi.
- 1887 - Wilhelm Canaris was born (d. 1945). German admiral.
- 1890 - The first Tournament of Roses is held in Pasadena, California.
- 1890 - Anton Melik was born (d. 1966). Slovenian geographer.
- 1892 - Ellis Island opens to begin accepting immigrants to the United States .
- 1892 - Artur Rodziński was born (d. 1958). Croatian conductor.
- 1892 - Roswell B. Mason dies (b. 1805). Mayor of Chicago
- 1893 - Japan accepts the Gregorian calendar .
- 1894 - The Manchester Ship Canal, England, is officially opened to traffic.
- 1894 - Satyendra Nath Bose was born (d. 1974). Indian mathematician and physicist who collaborated with Albert Einstein to develop a theory of statistical quantum mechanics, now called Bose-Einstein statistics.
- 1894 - Heinrich Hertz dies (b. 1857). German physicist.
- 1895 - J. Edgar Hoover was born (d. 1972). FBI director.
- 1897 - Brooklyn, New York merges with New York City.
- 1898 - New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island.
- 1900 - Chiune Sugihara was born (d. 1986). Japanese diplomat
- 1900 - Xavier Cugat was born (d. 27 Oct 1990). Spanish composer and conductor.
- 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.
- 1901 - The first official Mummers Parade is held.
- 1901 - The French rugby team play their first Test against the New Zealand All Blacks.
- 1902 - Earl King Gill, Texas A&M University's original 12th Man, was born.
- 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.
- 1902 - Buster Nupen was born (d. 1977). South African cricketer.
- 1904 - Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was born (d. 1982).Pakistani politician.
- 1904 - Ethan Allen was born (d. 1993). American baseball player.
- 1905 - Kamatari Fujiwara was born (d. 1985). Japanese actor.
- 1906 - British India officially adopts the Indian Standard Time
- 1906 - Giovanni D'Anzi was born (d. 1974). Italian songwriter.
- 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 - Dana Andrews was born (d. 1992). American actor.
- 1909 - Barry M. Goldwater was born (d. 1998). American politician.
- 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 - Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield is founded (Argentina).
- 1911 - Northern Territory is separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.
- 1911 - Hank Greenberg was born (d. 1986). American baseball player.
- 1912 - The Republic of China is established.
- 1912 - Kim Philby was born (d. 1988). British spy.
- 1912 - Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko was born (d. 1995). Russian mathematician.
- 1912 - Pyotr Nikolaevich Lebedev dies (b. 1866). Russian phsyicist.
- 1916 - German troops abandon Yaoundé and their Kamerun colony to British forces and begin the long march to Spanish Guinea.
- 1916 - Revolución de México, el político Venustiano Carranza llega con su séquito a Querétaro, ciudad a la que proclama capital de la república.
- 1917 - Jule Gregory Charney was born (d. 1981). American meteorologist who, working with John von Neumann, first introduced the electronic computer into weather prediction (1950) and improved understanding of the large-scale circulation of the atmosphere .
- 1917 - Albert Mol was born (d. 2004). Dutch actor.
- 1918 - Patrick Anthony Porteous was born (d. 2000). Scottish Victoria Cross recipient.
- 1919 - J. D. Salinger was born. American novelist
- 1919 - Mikhail Drozdovsky dies (b. 1881). Russian general.
- 1920 - The Belorussian Communist Organisation is founded as a separate party.
- 1920 - Virgilio Savona was born. Italian singer (Quartetto Cetra)
- 1921 - António de Sousa Freitas was born in Buarcos (d. 30 Jun 2004). Portuguese poet.
- 1921 - Nicaragua, Diego Manuel Chamorro comienza su mandato presidencial, caracterizado por la constante agitación.
- 1921 - Isma'il Raji' al-Faruqi was born (d. 1986). Palestinian-born philosopher.
- 1921 - Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg dies (b. 1856). Chancellor of Germany.
- 1922 - The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly of Epidaurus.
- 1922 - Sport Clube Beira-Mar is founded (Aveiro, Portugal)
- 1922 - Rocky Graziano was born (d. 1990). American boxer.
- 1922 - Ernest Hollings was born. American politician
- 1923 - Daniel Gorenstein was born (d. 1992). American mathematician.
- 1923 - Milt Jackson was born (d. 1999). American jazz vibraphonist.
- 1925 - Norway's capital Christiania changes name to Oslo.
- 1925 - The American astronomer Edwin Hubble announces the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way.
- 1925 - Raymond Pellegrin was born. French actor.
- 1925 - Matthew "Stymie" Beard was born (d. 1981). American actor.
- 1925 - Valentina Cortese was born. Italian actress
- 1926 - Richard Verreau was born (d. 2005). French Canadian tenor.
- 1927 - Vernon L. Smith was born. American economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner
- 1927 - Doak Walker was born (d. 1998). American football star.
- 1927 - Maurice Béjart was born. French choregrapher
- 1927 - Calum MacKay was born (d. 2001). Canadian hockey player
- 1927 - Pat Heywood was born. Scottish born actress
- 1928 - Ernest Tidyman was born (d. 1984). American writer.
- 1930 - Hossain Mohammad Ershad was born. President of Bangladesh
- 1931 - Esporte Clube Bahia is founded (Brazil).
- 1931 - Chun Doo Hwan was born. President of South Korea.
- 1931 - Martinus Beijerinck dies (b. 1851). Dutch microbiologist and botanist.
- 1932 - Jackie Parker was born (d. 2006). American football player.
- 1933 - Galícia Esporte Clube (Baía - Brazil) is founded.
- 1933 - Frederick Lowy was born. Canadian medical educator.
- 1933 - Joe Orton was born (d. 1967). English writer.
- 1933 - Harriet Brooks dies (b. 1876). Canadian physicist.
- 1934 - Alcatraz becomes a federal prison.
- 1934 - Nazi Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring".
- 1935 - Italian colonies of Tripoli, Cyrenaica and Fezzan are merged to form Libya.
- 1937 - Anastasio Somoza becomes President of Nicaragua.
- 1937 - The first Cotton Bowl game is played in Dallas, Texas. TCU defeats Marquette University 16-6.
- 1937 - Safety glass in windshields became mandatory in Great Britain.
- 1937 - Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg was born (d. 1995). Polish author.
- 1938 - Clay Cole was born. Television host and producer.
- 1938 - Robert Jankel was born (d. 2005). British coachbuilder.
- 1939 - The first Vienna New Year's Concert is held.
- 1939 - Michèle Mercier was born. French actress
- 1940 - Frank Langella was born. American actor
- 1940 - Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao dies (b. 1865). Indian writer and essayist.
- 1942 - The Declaration by the United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
- 1942 - The U.S. Office of Production Management prohibited sales of new cars and trucks to civilians.
- 1942 - Martin Frost was born. American politician
- 1942 - Country Joe McDonald was born. American musician (Country Joe and the Fish)
- 1942 - Gennadi Sarafanov was born (d. 2005). Soviet cosmonaut.
- 1942 - Alassane Ouattara was born. Former Prime Minister of Ivory Coast
- 1943 - Don Novello was born. American actor.
- 1943 - Jimmy Hart was born. Wrestling manager.
- 1943 - Raghunath Anant Mashelkar was born. Indian scientist.
- 1944 - Zafarullah Khan Jamali was born. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan
- 1944 - Charles Turner dies (b. 1862). Australian cricketer.
- 1944 - Francisco Espínola de Mendonça dies in Ponta daDelgada, Azores (b. 8 Feb. 1891 in Ponta Delgada). Portuguese poet.
- 1945 - Bahawalpur State issues its own stamps.
- 1945 - France joins the UN .
- 1945 - In retaliation of the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops massacre 30 SS prisoners at Chenogne.
- 1945 - Jacky Ickx was born. Belgian race car driver.
- 1946 - The first civil flight from Heathrow Airport occurs.
- 1946 - Roberto Rivelino was born. Brazilian football player.
- 1946 - Susannah McCorkle was born (d. 2001). American singer.
- 1946 - Rivelino was born. Brazilian football player.
- 1946 - Rick Hurst was born. American actor.
- 1946 - Carl B. Hamilton was born. Swedish economist and politician.
- 1947 - Britain nationalizes its coal industry.
- 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 Germany.
- 1947 - Jon Corzine was born. American politician
- 1947 - Paula Tsui was born. Hong Kong singer
- 1948 - Entra en vigor el Acuerdo General sobre Tarifas Aduaneras y Comercio (GATT).
- 1948 - The Constitution of Italy comes into force.
- 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 - Pavel Grachev was born. Russian general
- 1949 - The British Nationality Act 1948 comes into force.
- 1949 - United Nation cease-fire orders to operate in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
- 1950 - Ho Chi Minh begins offensive against French troops in Indo-China.
- 1950 - The state of Ajaigarh acceded to the Government of India.
- 1950 - Morgan Fisher was born. English musician (Mott the Hoople).
- 1951 - Ashfaq Hussain was born. Urdu poet.
- 1951 - Nana Patekar was born. Indian film and stage actor.
- 1951 - Rodger Bumpass was born. American actor (Squidward Tentacles)
- 1951 - Hans-Joachim Stuck was born. German-born race car driver.
- 1953 - Greg Carmichael was born. British guitarist.
- 1953 - Hank Williams dies (b. 1923). American singer.
- 1954 - Robert Menendez was born. American politician
- 1955 - Bhutan issues its 1st postage stamps .
- 1956 - The Republic of the Sudan achieves independence from the Egyptian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- 1956 - Progressing new year event that panic and stampede at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, central Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people.
- 1956 - Mark R. Hughes was born (d. 2000). American enterpeneur.
- 1956 - Kôji Yakusho was born. Japanese actor.
- 1956 - Mike Mitchell was born. American basketball player.
- 1957 - George Town, Penang became a city by a royal charter granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
- 1957 - Ewa Kasprzyk was born. Polish actress.
- 1957 - Evangelos Venizelos was born. Greek lawyer, professor and politician.
- 1957 - Luis Guzmán was born. Puerto Rican actor.
- 1958 - The European Community is established.
- 1958 - Grandmaster Flash was born. Barbados-born musician
- 1958 - Edward Weston dies (b. 1886). American photographer.
- 1959 - Cultivars of plants named after this date must be named in a modern language, not in Latin.
- 1959 - Fulgencio Batista, President of the Republic of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces.
- 1959 - Azali Assoumani was born. Comorian president
- 1959 - Panagiotis Giannakis was born. Greek basketball player and coach
- 1959 - Jennifer Edwards was born. American actress
- 1960 - Benín becomes independent from France .
- 1960 - Montserrat adopts constitution.
- 1960 - The Republic of Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- 1960 - Margaret Sullavan dies (b. 1911). American actress.
- 1961 - Fiona Phillips was born. British television presenter
- 1961 - Mark Wingett was born. British actor
- 1962 - Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. Its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
- 1962 - Decca Records turn down the Beatles
- 1962 - US Navy SEAL teams established.
- 1962 - La República Dominicana, tras la muerte del dictador Trujillo, asume el poder el Consejo de Estado, presidido por Joaquín Balaguer.
- 1962 - Sophie Thompson was born. British actress.
- 1964 - The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
- 1964 - Dedee Pfeiffer was born. American actress.
- 1964 - Bechara El Khoury dies (b. 1890). President of Lebanon.
- 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 - Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" reaches #1
- 1966 - Anna Burke was born. Australian politician
- 1966 - Vincent Auriol dies (b. 1884). French politician.
- 1967 - St Helena adopts constitution .
- 1967 - Tonga revises constitution .
- 1967 - Derrick Thomas was born (d. 2000). American football player.
- 1967 - John Digweed was born. English DJ.
- 1967 - Tim Dog was born. American rapper.
- 1967 - Juanma Bajo Ulloa was born. Spanish film director.
- 1968 - Netherlands gets color TV.
- 1968 - Davor Šuker was born. Croatian footballer.
- 1968 - Miki Higashino was born. Japanese composer.
- 1968 - Joey Stefano was born (d. 1994). American adult actor.
- 1969 - Marien Ngouabi becomes President of the Republic of Congo.
- 1969 - Barton MacLane dies (b. 1902). American actor.
- 1969 - Bruno Söderström dies (b. 1888). Swedish athlete.
- 1970 - Unix epoch begins at 00:00:00 UTC.
- 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 - Gabriel Jarret was born. American actor.
- 1970 - Shelley O'Donnell was born. Australian netballer.
- 1970 - Kimberly Page was born. American actress.
- 1971 - Paul Luscher was born. Singer/songwriter.
- 1971 - Bobby Holik was born. Czech hockey player.
- 1971 - Saint Amphilochios dies (b. 1894). Ukrainian Orthodox Christian Saint.
- 1972 - Neve McIntosh was born. Scottish actress
- 1972 - Lilian Thuram was born. French footballer
- 1972 - Maurice Chevalier dies (b. 1888). French actor and singer.
- 1972 - Lucinda do Carmo dies. Portuguese actress.
- 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.
- 1973 - Clyde Wijnhard was born. Soccer player (Ajax, RKC).
- 1973 - West African Economic Community formed (Benin, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Upper Volta) .
- 1974 - Catalina Guirado was born. English model and TV personality.
- 1975 - International Women's Year begins .
- 1975 - Sweden adopts constitution.
- 1975 - Joe Cannon was born. American soccer player
- 1975 - Sonali Bendre was born. Indian model and film actress
- 1975 - Robert Westerholt was born. Dutch guitarist (Within Temptation)
- 1975 - Eiichiro Oda was born. Japanese Manga artist
- 1976 - Venezuela nationalizes oil fields .
- 1976 - Caleb Wyatt was born. American motocross rider.
- 1976 - Vidya Balan was born. Indian actress.
- 1977 - 1st woman formally ordained an Episcopal priest (Jacqueline Means) .
- 1977 - Hasan Salihamidžić was born. Bosnian footballer.
- 1977 - Keeley Hawes was born. British actress.
- 1977 - Zachary Quinto was born. American actor.
- 1978 - Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 exploded and crashed into the sea off the coast of Bombay killing 213.
- 1978 - The Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands becomes effective.
- 1978 - Nina Bott was born. German actress.
- 1978 - Jared Fogle was born. American personality.
- 1978 - Phillip Mulryne was born. Northern Irish footballer.
- 1978 - Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda was born. Indian spiritualist.
- 1978 - Tarik O'Regan was born. British composer.
- 1979 - Formal diplomatic relations are established between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America.
- 1979 - International Year of the Child begins.
- 1979 - Brody Dalle was born. Australian singer (The Distillers)
- 1979 - Koichi Domoto was born. Japanese artist
- 1980 - Elin Nordegren was born. Swedish model.
- 1980 - Nils-Eric Johansson was born. Swedish footballer.
- 1981 - International Year for the Disabled begins.
- 1981 - The Republic of Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States.
- 1981 - The Republic of Greece is admitted into the European Community.
- 1981 - Zsolt Baumgartner was born. Hungarian race car driver
- 1981 - Abdulkadir Kocak was born. Turkish boxer
- 1981 - Eden Riegel was born. American actress
- 1981 - Jonas Armstrong was born. Irish actor
- 1981 - Beulah Bondi dies (b. 1888). American actress.
- 1982 - Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- 1982 - David Nalbandian was born.Argentinian tennis player
- 1982 - Victor Buono dies (b. 1938). American actor.
- 1983 - The ARPANET officially changes to use the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.
- 1983 - Calum Davenport was born. English footballer
- 1983 - Emi Kobayashi was born. Japanese model.
- 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.
- 1984 - Alok Kapali was born. Bangladeshi cricketer.
- 1984 - Shareefa was born. American singer.
- 1984 - Michael Witt was born. Australian rugby league footballer.
- 1984 - Jose Paolo Guerrero was born. Peruvian footballer.
- 1984 - Claudio Estrada dies. Mexican composer and guitarist.
- 1985 - The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
- 1985 - Steven Davis was born. Northern Irish footballer.
- 1985 - Don Paysan was born. Canadian professional wrestler.
- 1985 - Kamatari Fujiwara dies (b. 1905). Japanese actor.
- 1986 - Aruba becomes independent of Curaçao, though it remains in free association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- 1986 - International Peace Year begins.
- 1986 - Alexa Ray Joel was born. American musician.
- 1986 - Glen Davis was born. American basketball player.
- 1986 - Alfredo Binda dies (b. 1902). Italian cyclist.
- 1987 - Gilbert Brule was born. Canadian hockey player
- 1987 - Meryl Davis was born. American ice dancer
- 1987 - Devin Setoguchi was born. Professional hockey player.
- 1988 - Czech born tennis star Hana Mandikova becomes an Australian Citizen.
- 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.
- 1990 - David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor.
- 1991 - Buck Ram dies (b. 1907). American songwriter and businessman (The Platters)
- 1992 - George H. W. Bush is first President of the United States to address the Australian Parliament .
- 1992 - Argentina: el peso reemplaza al austral como moneda argentina.
- 1992 - Grace Hopper dies (b. 1906). American computer pioneer.
- 1993 - Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic.
- 1993 - A single market within the European Community is introduced.
- 1993 - Portugal assumes the presidency of EEC.
- 1994 - The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican State of Chiapas.
- 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 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect.
- 1994 - International Year of Family .
- 1994 - Lord Arthur Espie Porritt dies (b. 1900). Governor-General of New Zealand.
- 1994 - Cesar Romero dies (b. 1907). American actor.
- 1995 - International Year of Tolerance .
- 1995 - World Trade Organization goes into effect.
- 1995 - Fernando Henrique Cardoso toma posse como presidente do Brasil.
- 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 are banned in Vietnam on Têt because of safety reasons.
- 1995 - Fred West dies (suicide) (b. 1941). British serial killer.
- 1995 - Eugene Wigner dies (b. 1902). Hungarian physicist, Nobel laureate.
- 1996 - Curacao gains limited self-government.
- 1996 - Arleigh Burke dies (b. 1901). American admiral.
- 1996 - Arthur Rudolph dies (b. 1906). German engineer.
- 1997 - The Republic of Zaïre officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Zaïre.
- 1997 - Townes Van Zandt dies (b. 1944). American musician.
- 1997 - Hagood Hardy dies (b. 1937). Canadian composer and musician.
- 1998 - The European Central Bank is established.
- 1998 - Smoking is banned in all California bars and restaurants.
- 1998 - Fernando Henrique Cardoso toma posse fazendo seu 2º mandato como presidente do Brasil.
- 1998 - Mongolia switches from a 46 hour to 40 hour work week .
- 1998 - Marlene Lawston was born. American child actress.
- 1998 - Helen Wills Moody dies (b. 1905).American tennis player.
- 1999 - The Euro currency is introduced.
- 1999 - The Polish administrative region of Opole Voivodeship is created, out of the former Opole Voivodeship and parts of Częstochowa Voivodeship.
- 2000 - As the world celebrates, no major crisis arises from the dreaded Y2K computer 'millennium bug'.
- 2000 - Colin Vaughan dies (b. 1931). Australian-born political journalist
- 2001 - Ray Walston dies (b. 1914). American actor.
- 2002 - Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states.
- 2002 - The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially enters into force.
- 2002 - Julia Phillips dies (b. 1944). American film producer.
- 2003 - Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva assumes as the President of Brazil.
- 2003 - Joe Foss dies (b. 1915). American politician and fighter pilot.
- 2003 - F. William Free dies (b. 1928). American advertising executive.
- 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.
- 2004 - Estádio do Algarve (Portugal) is inaugurated wit the first football match there.
- 2005 - José Serra toma posse como prefeito da maior cidade do Brasil São Paulo.
- 2005 - Shirley Chisholm dies (b. 1924). American politician.
- 2005 - Hugh John Frederick Lawson, 6th Baron Burnham dies (b. 1931). British newspaperman.
- 2005 - Bob Matsui dies (b. 1941). American politician.
- 2005 - Eugene J. Martin dies (b. 1938). American painter, artist.
- 2006 - The Football Federation Australia moved from the Oceania Football Confederation to the Asian Football Confederation.
- 2006 - Harry Magdoff dies (b. 1913). American magazine editor.
- 2006 - Hugh McLaughlin dies (b. 1918). Irish publisher and inventor.
- 2006 - Bryan Harvey dies (b. 1956). American musician (House of Freaks).
- 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 officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the thirteenth Eurozone country.
- 2007 - Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board.
- 2007 - Leonard Fraser dies (b. 1951). Australian serial killer.
- 2007 - Ernie Koy dies (b. 1909). American baseball player.
- 2007 - Tillie Olsen dies (b. 1912). American writer.
- 2007 - Del Reeves dies (b. 1932). American country singer.
- 2007 - Darrent Williams dies (b. 1982). American football player.
- 2007 - Leon Davidson dies (b. 1922). American scientist known for studying UFOs.
- 2007 - Roland Levinsky dies (b. 1943). South African medical scientist.
- 2007 - Tad Jones dies (b. 1952). American jazz music historian.
- 2007 - Julius Hegyi dies (b. 1923). American conductor.
- 2007 - A. I. Bezzerides dies (b. 1908). American novelist and screenwriter.
- 2008 - A New Hampshire law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples comes into effect.
- 2008 - Malta and Cyprus officially adopt the Euro currency and become the fourteenth and fifteenth Eurozone countries.
- 2008 - Harold Corsini dies (b. 1919). American photographer.
- 2008 - Peter Caffrey dies (b. 1949). Irish actor.
- 2008 - Pratap Chandra Chunder, union minister of India (b. 1919)
- 2008 - Salvatore Bonanno dies (b. 1932). Son of Joseph Bonnano
- 2009 - Slovakia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the sixteenth Eurozone country.
- 2009 - A fire breaks out in a nightclub in Bangkok, Thailand during a New Year's party killing 59 people.
- Haiti Independence Day
- Taiwan Founding of Republic of China.
- Sudan Independence Day
- Cuba Liberation Day
- Slovakia: Establishment of Slovak Republic.
- Last day of Kwanzaa
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