This Day in USA History
January 1

What happened in history on this day: January 1? On January 1 in ... 1791 - The Bank of North America converts accounts from Mexican dollars to US dollars. 1793 - Representative Elias Boudinot recommends portrait of Christopher Columbus be placed on first US coinage. 1861 - US President Abraham Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful. 1862 - Battle of Fort McRee, Florida, and Battle of Port Royal, South Carolina (Port Royal Ferry). 1863 - Battle of Galveston, Texas - Confederates recapture the city. 1863 - Battle of Helena, Arkansas. 1863 - US President Abraham Lincoln issues an executive order, naming ten specific states where his order of September 22 would apply (freedom of slaves in Confederate states). 1865 - (to April 26) Carolinas' campaign. 1899 - Cuba liberated from Spain by US (National Day). 1902 - Nathan Stubblefield makes the first public demonstration of radio in Pennsylvania, USA. 1913 - US Post office begins parcel post deliveries. 1925 - American astronomer Edwin Hubble announces the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way. 1928 - First US air-conditioned office building opens, San Antonio, New Mexico. 1930 - Early US radio comedy program The Cuckoo Hour debuts on NBC-Blue, created by Raymond Knight. 1934 - Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison. 1934 - Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (US bank guarantor) effective. 1934 - Radio horror show Light's Out debuts on WENR Chicago. 1936 - First newspaper to microfilm its current issues, New York Herald Tribune. 1937 - US Army Air Corps physiological research laboratory completed, Ohio. 1939 - William Hewlett and David Packard found Hewlett-Packard in the USA. 1939 - Anglo-American trade agreement goes into effect, cutting tariffs in US, England, and Crown Colonies. 1942 - In Washington, D.C., representatives of 26 countries sign the Declaration of United Nations. 1942 - Japanese forces enter Manila in the Philippines. 1944 - First feature-length foreign movie, African Journey, shown on TV, New York City, New York. 1944 - US General Clark replaces General George Patton as commander of 7th Army. 1947 - The United States and Great Britain join their German zones of administration. 1948 - First color newsreel is filmed, in Pasadena, California, USA. 1958 - BOAC Britannia flies London to New York in a record 7 hours 57 minutes. 1959 - Highway 91 in Nevada is officially renamed Las Vegas Boulevard. 1960 - Johnny Cash plays his first free concert for inmates, at a show at San Quentin Prison in California. 1961 - Largest check issued, National Bank of Chicago to Sears (US$960.242 billion). 1966 - The Aladdin Hotel opens in Las Vegas, with 15-story high Aladdin's lamp. 1966 - All US cigarette packs have to carry "Caution Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health". 1967 - US Federal Communications Commission requires AM-FM sister stations to be at least 50 percent different. 1968 - Criswell predicts in print and on TV that a black civil rights leader would be assassinated before October. 1971 - Tobacco advertisements are banned on radio and TV in the USA. 1974 - NBC radio begins on-the-hour news 24 hours a day (following CBS lead). 1975 - Chief of Staff Harry Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Mardian convicted of Watergate crime. 1975 - Private ownership of gold is legalized in the USA. 1976 - Liberty Bell moves to new home behind Independence Hall. 1976 - NBC Television replaces the 20-year old 'peacock' logo with a new abstract capital "N". 1979 - US and People's Republic of China begin diplomatic relations. 1981 - Roger Smith becomes CEO of General Motors. 1982 - MTA launches five year capital program to overhaul New York City, New York subway system. 1983 - The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. 1984 - AT&T's Bell System companies divest into 24 independent units. 1985 - US's first manadatory seat belt law goes into effect (New York). 1985 - VH-1 premieres on US cable as an adult contemporary music video channel. 1985 - The Internet's Domain Name System is created. 1988 - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is established, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. 1990 - David Dinkins sworn in as first black mayor of New York City, New York. 1990 - US Federal Communications Commission implements "SYNDEX" giving independent stations more rights over cable TV outlets for exclusive syndicated programs. 1992 - George H. W. Bush becomes the first U.S. President to address the Australian Parliament. 1992 - The ESPN Radio Network debuts. 1994 - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect in Canada, USA, and Mexico. 1998 - Smoking is banned in all California bars and restaurants. 1998 - US Census Bureau estimates population at 268,921,733. 2000 - Y2K passes without serious, widespread computer failures, as many experts and businesses had feared. 2009 - The U.S. military in Iraq falls under Iraqi authority for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003. Births on January 1 1891 - Charles Bickford is born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; character actor for 25 years in Hollywood films before the TV era (Playhouse 90, Ford TV Theater, John - The Virginian, Wagon Train, The Dick Powell Show, Days of Wine and Roses). 1895 - Birth of J. Edgar Hoover in Washington DC; Director of US Fedreal Bureau of Investigation (dies 1972). 1900 - Birth of Erwin S. Gelsey New York City, New York, USA; screenwriter (Cover Girl, Touchdown Army). 1900 - Birth of William Haines in Staunton, Virginia, USA; actor (Fast Life, Little Annie Rooney). 1909 - Birth of Dana Andrews in Collins, Mississippi, USA; American actor (Battle of the Bulge, Laura, The Best Years of Our Lives, I was a Communist for the FBI) (dies 1992). 1916 - Birth of Earl Wrightson in Baltimore, Maryland, USA; American singer/actor (The At Home Show, Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue) (dies 1993). 1919 - Birth of Carole Landis in Fairchild, Wisconsin, USA; actress (One Million BC, Topper Returns). 1919 - Birth of Jerome David Salinger in New York City, New York, USA; novelist (Catcher in the Rye). 1923 - Birth of Milton Jackson in the USA; vibraphonist (Milt of Bags). 1927 - Birth of Barbara Baxley in Stockton, California, USA; actress (Norma Rae, Countdown). 1928 - Birth of Ernest R Tidyman in Ohio, USA; novelist/screenwriter (The French Connection). 1940 - Birth of Frank Langella in Bayonne, New Jersey, USA; actor (Dracula, Diary of a Mad Housewife, Twelve Chairs). 1940 - Birth of Jack Kiefer in Columbia, Pennsylvania, USA; PGA golfer (1994 Ralphs Senior Classic). 1942 - Birth of Country Joe McDonald in California, USA; rock guitarist/vocalist (Country Joe and the Fish). 1943 - Birth of Don Novello [Father Guido Sarducci] in Ashtabula, Ohio, USA; comedian (Saturday Night Live). 1943 - Birth of Jerilyn Britz in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; LPGA golfer (1979 US Women's Open). 1946 - Birth of Rick Hurst in Houston, Texas, USA; actor (The Dukes of Hazzard). 1955 - Birth of Michael James Sullivan in Gary, Indiana, USA; PGA golfer (1980 Southern Open). 1958 - Birth of Joseph "Grandmaster Flash" Saddler in New York City, New York, USA; rocker (Message). 1958 - Birth of Ren Woods in Portland, Oregon, USA; actress (Fanta - Roots, Beauty and the Beast, We've Got Each Other). 1965 - Birth of Andrew O Valmon in Brooklyn, New York, USA; 400m runner. 1966 - Birth of Rawley Valberde in Oceanside, California, USA; actor (Amado - Santa Barbara). 1981 - Birth of Eden Riegel; American actress. 1983 - Birth of Jasmine Dustin; American actress and model. 1986 - Birth of Alexa Ray Joel; American singer/songwriter daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley. 1996 - Birth of Mary Gibbs, American actress. Deaths on January 1 1901 - Ignatius Donnelly, US attorney/Lieutenant-Governor (Minnesota), dies at age 69. 1953 - Hank Williams, legendary country singer ("Cold Cold Heart", "Half as Much", "Jambalaya", "Your Cheatin' Heart", "Hey, Good Lookin", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Die"), dies at age 29 from a drug/alcohol-related heart attack. 1957 - Ruth Draper, US elocutionist, dies at age 67. 1972 - Jane Morgan, actress (Mrs Margaret Davis - Our Miss Brooks), dies at age 91. 1972 - Kenneth Patchen, American poet/writer (Cloth of Tempest), dies at age 60. 1982 - Vladimir K Zworykin, Russian/American engineer (cathode-ray tube), dies at age 93. 1988 - Leo Steiner, New York Carnegie Deli's owner, dies. 1992 - American Rear Admiral Grace Hopper dies, at age 85. Her computer-related career included programming the Mark I in the 1940s, helping invent the COBOL language, contributing to the first practical compiler, and coining the term "bug" in 1945. 1994 - Cesar Romero, Cuban-American actor (Joker - Batman, Falcon Crest), dies at age 86 from bronchitis and pneumonia (born 1907). 1995 - Ted Hawkins, US blues singer ("Watch Your Step", "The Next Hundred Years"), dies at age 58 after a stroke, in Los Angeles, California. 1997 - Death of Townes Van Zandt, American folk singer, at age 52 (born 1944). 1998 - Death of Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player (31 Grand Slams), at age 92 (born 1905). 2001 - Death of Ray Walston in his sleep at age 86, American actor (Damn Yankees (Tony award), My Favorite Martian, Picket Fences) (born 1914). 2005 - Death of Shirley Chisholm, U.S. Congresswoman (born 1924). 2005 - Death of Eugene J. Martin, U.S. artist (born 1938). 2005 - Death of Bob Matsui, U.S. Congressman from California (born 1941). 2006 - Death of Charles Steen, American geologist, the "Uranium King". 2007 - Death of Ernie Koy, American baseball player (born 1909). 2007 - Death of Darrent Williams, American football player (born 1982). 2009 - Claiborne Pell, Rhode Island Democratic Senator (1961-97), dies at age 90 of Parkinson's disease.         Your Ad Here You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history. Bookmark this URL:   http://thisdayinhistoryinfo.info/usa/   and revisit each day. (this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events) Or, visit my Timelines of History page. Other web pages of interest: Chronology of the United States of America Today in Disney History Today in Sports History Chronology of World War II Chronology of Personal Computers