January This Day in History, Historic Events
What Historic January Events Occurred on Your Birthday?
Our “This Day in History for January” section contains historical January events categorized by month and day. See what happened on your birthday, or any day of the year. Find out what happened on this day in January.
Major January Events:
January 1 Historical Events
The Julian calendar is first used. (45 B.C.)
Emma M. Nutt becomes the first woman telephone operator. (1878)
The first Rose Bowl Parade was held. The first Rose Bowl football game was played in 1902, to help pay for the cost of the parade. (1890)
New York City’s New Year celebration introduces the “Ball Drop”. It begins to fall in the last 10 seconds of 1907 and lands in 1908. (1907/1908)
January 2 Historical Events
Mahatma Gandhi begins his march for peace in East Bengal. (1947)
January 3 Historical Events
Martin Luther is excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X. (1521)
Construction begins on the Brooklyn Bridge. (1870)
January 4 Historical Events
Columbia University is founded as Kings College in New York City. (1754)
Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government. (1847)
January 5 Historical Events
President Richard M. Nixon signs a $5.5B over 6 years to build and test a space shuttle. (1972)
January 6 Historical Events
Samuel Morse demonstrates the telegraph. (1838)
January 7 Historical Events
Astronomer Galileo Galilei discovers four of Jupiter’s moons. (1610)
January 8 Historical Events
President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union Address. (1790)
In his State of the Union address, President Lyndon B. Johnson declares his “War on Poverty Program”. (1964)
The United Nations opens its headquarters in New York City. (1951)
January 9 Historical Events
Television game show “Wheel of Fortune” premieres. (1975)
January 10 Historical Events
The world’s first underground passenger railway system opens in London, England. (1863)
January This Day in History - Includes Memorable Snowstorms
January 11 Historical Events
Samuel Morse and Alford Vail demonstrate the magnetic electric telegraph using Morse code. (1838)
American League baseball adopts the “Designated Hitter” rule. (1973)
January 12 Epic Events
Batman debuts on television. (1966)
The television comedy “All in the Family” premieres. (1971)
January 13 Historical Events
Germany’s Adolf Hitler declares “Total War” against the Allies. (1943)
January 14 Historical Events
The United States of America ratifies a treaty with England ending the Revolutionary War. (1784)
The Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins in Superbowl VII, and become the first undefeated team in NFL history. (1973)
The Simpsons debut on television. Will TV ever be the same again!?! (1990)
January 15 Historical Events
The Pentagon opens. It is the world’s largest office building at 6.5 million square feet. (1943)
Green Bay beats Kansas City in the first NFL Super Bowl in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. (1967)
Happy Days premieres on television. (1974)
January 16 Special Events
Operation Desert Storm begins to oust Saddam Hussein’s’ Iraqi forces from Kuwait. (1991)
January 17 Epic Events
Andrew Hallikie receives a patent for a cable car system in San Francisco, which began service in 1873. (1873)
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that taping on home VCRs does not violate copyright laws. (1984)
January 18 Historical Events
Captain James Cook discovers the Hawaiian Islands. (1778)
January 19 Historical Events
The first electrical lighting system using overhead wires was constructed by Thomas Edison. (1883)
January 20 EpicEvents
The Beatles release “Meet the Beatles”, their first album to the U.S., sparking a new “English invasion”. (1964)
At 69 years, 349 days old, Ronald Reagan becomes the oldest person to become U.S. president. (1981)
January This Day in History - Beer is sold in cans for the first time
January 21 Historical Events
Edward Jenner introduces the smallpox vaccine, which eventually leads to wiping out this deadly disease. (1799)
The first Kiwanis club is formed in Detroit. (1915)
Science fiction writer George Orwell dies. (1950)
January 22 Epic Events
The historic Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade legalizes abortion. (1973)
The world’s first vaccine against malaria is introduced. It saves one in three lives. (2024)
January 23 Historical Events
The deadliest earthquake in history strikes Shansi, China, killing 830,000 people. (1556)
January 24 Epic Events
Beer was first sold in cans. See Beer Can Appreciation Day. (1935)
WWII Yalta agreement signed by the U.S., England, and Russia. The agreement defined how Germany would be divided and administered after the war’s end. (1945)
January 25 Historical Events
The first Winter Olympic Games begin in Chamonix, France. (1924)
The first Emmy awards are given out. (1949)
January 26 Epic Events
Britain establishes a penal colony in Sydney, Australia when 11 ships with 778 convicts arrive. (1788)
The Dental Drill was patented. Now open your mouth and say “Ahhh”. (1875)
January 27 Epic Events
The Russians liberate Auschwitz in WWII. (1945)
Tragedy strikes the Apollo space program as a fire in the command module kills astronauts Lt. Col. Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Lt. Col. Edward H. White, and Lt. Cdr. Roger Chafee. (1967)
January 28 Historical Events
The U.S. Coast Guard is created by an Act of Congress. (1915)
U.S. space shuttle Challenger explodes 72 seconds after liftoff, killing the seven crew members. Among the crew was school teacher ChristaMcAuliffe. (1986)
January 29 Epic Events
Hawaii proclaims Liliuokalani as its queen. Renowned for her song Aloha Oe, her reign lasts just four years. (1891)
Baseball’s American League is founded. (1900)
January 30 This Day in History
President Andrew Jackson survives the first assassination attempt on a U.S. President. (1835)
Tet New Year offensive launched by Viet Cong guerillas in Vietnam. (1968)
The Beatles held their last concert on the roof of their Apple Studio in London. It was interrupted when police received noise complaints from neighbors. (1969)
January 31 This Day in History
U.S. House of Representatives approves a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. (1865)
Confederates appoint Robert E. Lee as their Commander in Chief. (1865)
Ida Fuller of Ludlow, VT receives the first Social Security. The monthly check was $22.54. (1940)
January This Day in History - Additional Resources
Famous Birthdays Who else was born on your Birthday? Find out now!
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