What are the important events that happened on January 1? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
January 1: Facts & Myths About This Day
January 1 is the 1st day of the year 2020 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 365 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 19, 2019 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 26,297,280 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘henagon’ day.
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Capricorn is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 24 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 2,567 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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January 1: This Day In History
The preceding day is December 31 of the previous year.
During the Middle Ages under the influence of the Christian Church, many countries moved the start of the year to one of several important Christian festivals — December 25 (the Nativity of Jesus), March 1, March 25 (the Annunciation), or even Easter. Eastern European countries (most of them with populations showing allegiance to the Orthodox Church) began their numbered year on September 1 from about 988.
In England, January 1 was celebrated as the New Year festival, but from the 12th century to 1752 the year in England began on March 25 (Lady Day). So, for example, the Parliamentary record records the execution of Charles I occurring in 1648 (as the year did not end until March 24), although modern histories adjust the start of the year to January 1 and record the execution as occurring in 1649.
Most western European countries changed the start of the year to January 1 before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. For example, Scotland changed the start of the Scottish New Year to January 1 in 1600. England, Ireland and the British colonies changed the start of the year to January 1 in 1752. Later that year in September, the Gregorian calendar was introduced throughout Britain and the British colonies. These two reforms were implemented by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.
January 1 became the official start of the year as follows:
- 1522 The Republic of Venice
- 1544 Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
- 1556 Spain, Portugal
- 1559 Prussia, Sweden
- 1564 France
- 1576 Southern Netherlands
- 1579 Lorraine
- 1583 United Provinces of the Netherlands (northern)
- 1600 Scotland
- 1700 Russia
- 1721 Tuscany
- 1752 Great Britain (excluding Scotland) and its colonies
January 1 Historical Events
- 69 –The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.
- 1001 –Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II.
- 1438 –Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.
- 1810 –Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB officially becomes Governor of New South Wales
- 1908 –For the first time, a ball is dropped in New York, New York’s Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight.
- 1923 –Britain’s Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.
- 1970 –Unix time begins at 00:00:00 UTC/GMT.
- 1993 –Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
- 1995 –Sweden, Austria, and Finland are admitted into the European Union.
- 1997 –Zaire officially joins the World Trade Organization.
Who were born on January 1?
- 1911 –Basil Dearden, British film director (d. 1971)
- 1912 –Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek writer and poet (d. 1991)
- 1926 –Richard Verreau, French-Canadian tenor (d. 2005)
- 1930 –Frederick Wiseman, American documentary filmmaker
- 1961 –Fiona Phillips, British television presenter
- 1963 –Dražen Ladić, Croatian footballer
- 1966 –Anna Burke, Australian politician
- 1967 –Tim Dog, American rapper
- 1974 –Hamilton Ricard, Colombian footballer
- 1983 –Calum Davenport, English footballer
Who died on January 1?
- 1730 –Samuel Sewall, English judge (b. 1652)
- 1759 –Jacques-Joachim Trotti, marquis de La Chétardie, French adventurer (b. 1705)
- 1800 –Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French naturalist (b. 1716)
- 1862 –Mikhail Vasilievich Ostrogradsky, Russian physicist (b. 1801)
- 1894 –Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, German physicist (b. 1857)
- 1994 –Edward Arthur Thompson, British historian (b. 1914)
- 1995 –Eugene Wigner, Hungarian American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
- 2003 –Cyril Shaps, English actor (b. 1923)
- 2006 –Bryan Harvey, American musician (House of Freaks) (b. 1956)
- 2012 –Yafa Yarkoni, Israeli singer (b. 1925)
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