TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – JAN 1
45 BC The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time
404 The last gladiator competition was held in Rome.
630 The Prophet Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with the army that captures it bloodlessly.
1500 The Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral reaches the coast of Brazil and claims the region for Portugal.
1586 Sir Francis Drake launches a surprise attack on the heavily fortified city of Santo Domingo in Hispanola.
1698 The Abenaki Indians and Massachusetts colonists sign a treaty halting hostilities between the two.
1797 Albany became the capital of New York state, replacing New York City.
1801 Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi became the first person to discover an asteroid. He named it Ceres.
1808 A U.S. law banning the import of slaves comes into effect, but is widely ignored.
1830 William Lloyd Garrison publishes the first edition of a journal entitled The Liberator, calling for the complete and immediate emancipation of all slaves in the United States.
1863 President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the Confederacy.
1891 Facilities opened on Ellis Island, New York, to cope with the vast flood of immigrants coming into the United States.
1895 In Battle Creek, MI, C.W. Post created his first usable batch of Monks Brew (later called Postum). It was a cereal-based substitute for caffeinated drinks.
1907 The Pure Food and Drug Act becomes law in the United States.
1908 The ball signifying the New Year was dropped for the first time at Times Square in New York City.
1914 The world’s first airline, St. Petersburg Tampa Airboat Line, starts operation in St. Petersburg, Florida.
1918 The first gasoline pipeline begins operation. Along the 40 miles and three inches of pipe from Salt Creek to Casper, Wyoming.
1919 Henry Ford stood down as president of the Ford Motor Company and his son Edsel Ford took over running the Ford Motor Company
1934 The Island of Alcatraz ( The Rock ) is turned into a federal prison, some of the most hardened criminals are sent to Alcatraz over the next few years.
1937 At a party at the Hormel Mansion in Minnesota, a guest wins $100 for naming a new canned meat–Spam.
1939 The Hewlett-Packard partnership was formed by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard.
1942 The U.S. government no longer allowed the sale of civilian vehicles (i.e. cars and trucks). It was after this date that automobile manufacturers were required to make only vehicles which were to be used for war purposes.
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.
1947 The First Person to become a Canadian Citizen is the Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King when the Canadian Citizenship Act ( passed in 1946 ) comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens.
1959 Fidel Castro seizes power in Cuba as General Fulgencio Batista flees.
1962 The Beatles go for an audition with Decca Records and are turned down in favor of the Tremeloes.
1962 United States Navy SEALs Created (United States Navy’s Sea, Air, Land Teams) as the U.S. Navy’s principal special operations force
1966 A strike started on the New York Subway and even after putting the Union Leader Michael Quill in Jail a few days later the strike continued bringing the city to it’s knees and they achieved the objective with a 15% pay rise
1971 Tobacco ads representing $20 million dollars in advertising were banned from TV and radio broadcast.
1975 John Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman were convicted of obstruction of justice in the Watergate affair.
1979 The United States and China held celebrations in Washington, DC, and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
1984 Following the U.S. District Court Judge Harold Greene’s ruling on August 5th, 1983, AT&T was forced to dispose of 22 Bell Systems companies or baby bells as they were called.
1986 As the United States builds its strength in the Mediterranean, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi threatens to retaliate if attacked.
1993 Czechoslovakia is dissolved The country was peacefully divided into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
1994 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect.
1999 The Euro becomes the official currency in 11 countries
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
