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Historical events on January 1

JANUARY 1, 1810
Lachlan Macquarie (pictured) became Governor of New South Wales, eventually playing a major role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony in Australia.
Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of Read More
JANUARY 1, 2019
The NASA space probe New Horizons flew by the trans-Neptunian object Arrokoth, making it the farthest object visited by a spacecraft.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space Read More
JANUARY 1, 1945
Second World War: The Luftwaffe launched Operation Bodenplatte in an attempt to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all Read More
JANUARY 1, 1808
As a result of the lobbying efforts by the abolitionist movement (emblem pictured), the importation of slaves into the United States was officially banned, although slavery itself remained permitted.
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.
JANUARY 1, 1994
The revolutionary leftist Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiated twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum Read More
JANUARY 1, 1800
Quasi-War: An American convoy of four merchant vessels escorted by a schooner was attacked by a squadron of armed barges manned by Haitians.
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic. It was fought Read More
JANUARY 1, 2011
A suicide bombing took place outside a Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt, following a New Year service, killing 23 people.
The 2011 Alexandria bombing was an attack on Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, on New Year, 1 January 2011. Twenty-three people were Read More
JANUARY 1, 1068
Having been pardoned by Eudokia Makrembolitissa, the regent of the Byzantine Empire, for attempting to usurp the throne, Romanos IV Diogenes married her to become Byzantine emperor.
Eudokia Makrembolitissa was a Byzantine empress by her successive marriages to Constantine X Doukas and Romanos IV Diogenes. She acted as ruler Read More
JANUARY 1, 1776
American Revolutionary War: The town of Norfolk, Virginia, was burned and destroyed by the combined actions of British and Whig forces.
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the Read More
JANUARY 1, 1914
The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line in the U.S. state of Florida became the first scheduled airline using a winged aircraft.
The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line was the first scheduled airline using a fixed wing aircraft. The airline provided service between St. Petersburg, Read More
JANUARY 1, 1915
Russia withdraws from its occupation of northwestern Iran, enabling a subsequent Ottoman invasion and massacres of Assyrians and Armenians.
The Sayfo, also known as the Seyfo or the Assyrian genocide, was the mass murder and deportation of Assyrian/Syriac Christians in southeastern Read More
JANUARY 1, 1945
World War II: In retaliation for the massacre of captured Americans by Waffen SS soldiers, U.S. Army personnel killed an estimated 80 Wehrmacht prisoners near Chenogne, Belgium.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all Read More
JANUARY 1, 1892
The immigration station on Ellis Island (pictured) in New York Harbor opened, and would process almost 12 million immigrants to the United States over the course of its existence.
Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. Owned by the Read More
JANUARY 1, 2022
Emais Roberts succeeds Temmy Shmull as Governor of Peleliu.
Emais Roberts is a Palauan politician and physician who has served as Governor of Peleliu since 2022. He previously served as the Read More
JANUARY 1, 1957
The revised Thai criminal code came into force, strengthening the law on lèse-majesté in Thailand to include insult and treating it as a crime against national security.
In Thailand, lèse-majesté is a crime according to Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, which makes it illegal to defame, insult, Read More
JANUARY 1, 1965
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which later helped the country become a republic, was founded.
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), known as the Homeland Party from June 1990, was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan Read More
JANUARY 1, 1801
Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the dwarf planet Ceres, naming it after the Roman goddess of agriculture and of motherly love.
Giuseppe Piazzi was an Italian Catholic priest of the Theatine order, mathematician, and astronomer. He established an observatory at Palermo, now the Read More
JANUARY 1, 2007
Adam Air Flight 574 crashed into the sea off Polewali, Indonesia, killing all 102 people on board, when the pilots inadvertently disconnected the autopilot.
Adam Air Flight 574 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Adam Air between the Indonesian cities of Jakarta, Surabaya, and Read More
JANUARY 1, 2010
A suicide bomber killed 105 spectators at a volleyball game in the Lakki Marwat District of Pakistan.
The 2010 Lakki Marwat suicide bombing occurred on 1 January 2010, in the village of Shah Hassan Khel, Lakki Marwat District, in Read More
JANUARY 1, 1773
The hymn "Amazing Grace" was probably first used in a prayer meeting in Olney, England, without the music familiar to modern listeners.
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, Read More
JANUARY 1, 1725
J. S. Bach led the first performance of his chorale cantata Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, which features trumpet fanfares at the start and end.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across Read More
JANUARY 1, 1928
Joseph Stalin's personal secretary, Boris Bazhanov, crossed the Iranian border and defected from the Soviet Union.
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He Read More
JANUARY 1, 1998
Argentinian physicist Juan Maldacena published a landmark paper initiating the study of AdS/CFT correspondence, which links string theory and quantum gravity.
Juan Martín Maldacena is an Argentine theoretical physicist and the Carl P. Feinberg Professor in the School of Natural Sciences at the Read More
JANUARY 1, 1739
Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, the most remote island in the world, was discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
Bouvet Island is an uninhabited subantarctic volcanic island and dependency of Norway. It is a protected nature reserve, and situated in the Read More
JANUARY 1, 1960
Three men were killed and two wounded in a mass shooting at a public house in Sheffield, England.
On New Year's Day 1960, three men were shot and killed and two wounded in a mass shooting at the East House Read More
JANUARY 1, 417
Galla Placidia was forced by her brother Honorius into marriage with Constantius III, his magister militum.
Galla Placidia, daughter of the Roman emperor Theodosius I, was a mother, tutor, and advisor to emperor Valentinian III. She was queen Read More

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