Historical People and Events for January

If you have ever wondered what happened on a certain day in history in January, you will find some of the more important events and people listed here. Check your birthday or another special day - it's fun to learn what happened when!

January 1

Paul Revere was born in Boston, 1735

Flag maker Betsy Ross was born in Philadelphia, 1752

Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, 1863

Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opened, 1892

January 2

Georgia entered the Union (4th), 1788

First Lady Helen Taft was born, 1861

United States & Canada reached free trade agreement, 1988

January 3

First Lady Grace Coolidge was born, 1879

Alaska entered Union, 1959 (49^th)

United States planes shot down two Libyan fighters, 1989

General Manuel Noreiga surrendered in Panama, 1990

January 4

Utah entered the Union, 1896 (45^th)

United States Supreme Court ruled that citizens of Puerto Rico were not aliens,1904

United States planes shot down two Libyan fighters, 1989

January 5

Union & Confederate troops skirmish near Hancock, Maryland, 1862

President Calvin Coolidge died, 1933

January 6

New Mexico entered Union, 1912 (47^th)

President Theodore Roosevelt died, 1919

January 7

Galileo Galilei sighted four of Jupiter's moons., 1610

The first presidential election was held, 1789

President Millard Fillmore was born, 1800

First Lady Lou Hoover died, 1944

January 8

United States forces led by General Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans, ending the War of 1812, 1814

First Lady Mary McElroy died, 1917

Singer Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, 1935

January 9

Connecticut entered Union, 1788 (5^th)

Mississippi seceded from the Union, 1861

President Richard M. Nixon was born, 1913

January 10

Thomas Paine's Common Sense was published, 1776

London's Metropolitan; World's first underground railway, opened to the public, 1863

The League of Nations established 1920

The Holocaust began, 1933

January 11

Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury was born, 1757

Alabama seceded from the Union, 1861

Major League Baseball (American League) adopted the designated-hitter rule, 1973

January 12

Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I died, 1519

The Alamo, a Franciscan Mission, was built, 1722

The first public museum in United States (South Carolina) established, 1773

January 13

Hood resigned as commander of the Army of Tennessee, 1865

Hubert H. Humphrey, former vice president, died in Waverly, Minnesota at age 66, 1978

Air Florida jet crashed in Washington, D.C., 1982

The Beatles US album Yellow Submarine was released, 1969

January 14

The first constitution of Connecticut "The Fundamental Orders" was adopted, 1639

Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris formally, 1784

Henry Ford introduced assembly line, 1914

NBC's "Today" show premiered, 1952

January 15

Queen Elizabeth I crowned, 1559

First Lady Eliza Johnson died, 1876

Martin Luther King, Jr., was born 1929

First Super Bowl held, 1967

January 16

United States Civil Service was established, 1883

United States Prohibition began, 1920

General Eisenhower took command of Allied Invasion Force in London, 1944

"Hello Dolly!"" opened on Broadway, 1964

January 17

Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House, 1806

President Rutherford B. Hayes died, 1893

Brink's Inc. reported robbery of $2.8 million, 1950

The Beatles UK album Yellow Submarine was released, 1969

January 18

President John Tyler died, 1862

White males, age 18-50 (later changed to 17-50), conscripted into Southern Army, 1864

January 19

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, 1809

Georgia seceded from the Union, 1861

First presidential news conference filmed for television with permission of President Eisenhower, 1955

January 20

Pearl Harbor leased by the United States from Hawaii for naval station,1887

Nazi officials held the "Wannsee Conference" 1942

Iran released 52 American hostages, 1981

Martin Luther King Day first observed, 1986

The Beatles US album Meet The Beatles was released, 1964

January 21

First atomic submarine, the Nautilus, was launched, 1954

President James Carter pardoned Vietnam draft evaders, 1977

January 22

President Lyndon B. Johnson died, 1973

Vietnam peace agreement signed by United States, North and South Vietnam, and the Vietcong, 1973

United States Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision, 1973

January 23

Georgetown University was established, 1789

First State Bureau of Labor in United States organized in Massachusetts, 1870

USS Pueblo seized by North Koreans, 1968

January 24

Caligula, Emperor of Rome, died, A.D. 41

Gold was discovered in California,1848

First United States Congressional Medal of Honor awarded, 1894

First Boy Scout troop organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell, 1908

January 25

Shay's Rebellion failed, 1787

First Emmy Awards held, 1949

Charles Manson convicted of the 1969 murder of Sharon Tate and others, 1971

January 26

First Lady Julia Grant was born, 1826

Michigan entered Union, 1837 (26^th)

First American expeditionary force to go to Europe during WWII went ashore in Northern Ireland, 1942

Virginia readmitted to the Union, 1870

January 27

Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp, 1880

Apollo Astronauts Grissom, White & Chaffee killed in aircraft accident, 1967

End of Military Draft announced, 1973

The Vietnam War ended, 1973

January 28

Henry VIII died, 1547

First telephone exchange opened, 1878

Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, 1986

January 29

President William McKinley born, 1843

Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven was published, 1845

Kansas entered the Union, 1861 (34^th)

Editor-essayist H.L. Mencken died in Baltimore, Maryland, 1956

January 30

President Franklin D. Roosevelt born, 1882

Adolf Hitler becomes the chancellor of Germany, 1933

Mohandas Gandhi assassinated, 1948

Vietnam War "TET Offensive," began, 1968

January 31

13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery was submitted, 1865

General Robert E. Lee named general-in-chief of all Confederate armies, 1865

During WWII, Pvt. Eddie Slovik was the only American soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion, 1945