Events in History on January 1 (Part 2)

Events 201 - 393 of 393

• 1947 Britain nationalizes its coal industry
• 1948 1st color newsreel filmed (Pasadena, California)

• 1948 After partition, India declines to pay the agreed share of Rs.550 million in cash balances to Pakistan.
• 1948 General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade effective
• 1948 Orissa province accedes to India
• 1948 The Constitution of Italy comes into force
• 1948 Transport Act of 1947 comes into force in the United Kingdom, nationalizing the British rail system under the name British Railways
• 1949 Tokelau (Union) Islands declared part of New Zealand
• 1950 Dutch government raises all wages 5%, minimally fl. 5 per week

• 1950 The state of Ajaigarh is ceded to the Government of India.
• 1951 Massive Chinese/North Korean assault on UN-lines
• 1952 Norman McLaren's anti-war film "Neighbours" is released (Academy Award Best Documentary Short Subject) [1]
• 1953 Ernest Blochs "Suite Hebraique," premieres
• 1953 The Bantu Education Act (later renamed the Black Education Act) commenced, providing the legal underpinning of several aspects of the apartheid system, most importantly in education

• 1955 Bhutan issues its 1st postage stamps
• 1956 A new year event causes panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, central Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people
• 1956 Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan) declares independence from Egypt & UK
• 1957 An Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacks Brookeborough RUC barracks in one of the most famous incidents of the IRA's Operation Harvest.
• 1957 France returns Saar to becomes the 10th state of German Federal Rep

• 1957 International Geophysical Year begins; ends 6/30/1958 (18-mo year)
• 1958 BOAC Britannia flies London to NY in a record 7h57m
• 1958 European Economic Community, better known as the European Common Market starts operation
• 1959 Chad becomes autonomous republic in French Community

• 1959 Rohan Kanhai completes 256 v India at Calcutta
• 1960 A photograph of a South African boy in a torn vest is published in the Daily Herald; it was illegal to employ a 'native' under 18 in the mines under the Native Labour Regulation Act
• 1960 Bank of France issues new franc, worth 100 times the value of existing francs
• 1960 Cameroon (French Cameroon) gains independence from France
• 1960 Montserrat adopts constitution
• 1961 Largest check issued, National Bank of Chicago to Sears ($960.242 billion)
• 1961 Russia introduces a new ruble worth $1.11
• 1962 Rwanda granted internal self-government by Belgium
• 1962 United States Navy SEALs established.
• 1962 Western Samoa gains independence from New Zealand Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II becomes co-chief of Western Samoa
• 1963 G Woods succeeds Eugene Black as president of the World Bank
• 1964 Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland dissolved
• 1965 International Cooperation Year begins
• 1965 Palestinian al-Fatah organization forms
• 1965 The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul.
• 1966 12 day transit worker strike shuts down NYC subway
• 1966 All US cigarette packs have to carry "Caution Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health"

• 1967 FCC requires AM-FM sister stations to be at least 50% different
• 1967 St Helena adopts constitution
• 1967 Tonga revises constitution
• 1968 Pennsylvania Railroad and NYC Central merge into Pennsylvania Central
• 1969 People's Democracy (PD) begin a march from Belfast to Derry, inspired by ML King's Selma to Montgomery march in the US
• 1970 "The Epoch" (Time 0 for UNIX systems, Midnight GMT)
• 1970 Afro-American Historical Calendar Series Established
• 1970 Revised calendar for Western (RC) Church goes into effect
• 1970 The Netherland Christian Workers Union (NCW) forms
• 1970 The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), an infantry regiment of the British Army, comes into existence
• 1970 The University College of Zululand, formerly affiliated to the University of South Africa, attains full academic autonomy as the University of Zululand.
• 1970 US Federal oil depletion allowance reduced from 27.5 to 22.0 percent
• 1971 Cigarette advertisements banned on TV
• 1972 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
• 1972 International Book Year begins
• 1972 Policewomen are enlisted as full members of South African Police Force for the first time.
• 1973 Britain, Ireland and Denmark become 7th, 8th and 9th members of the European Common Market
• 1973 West African Economic Community formed (Benin, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Upper Volta)
• 1974 With effect from this date the New Zealand government terminates all tariff preferences previously granted to South Africa
• 1974 World Population Year begins

• 1975 International Women's Year begins
• 1975 Sweden adopts constitution
• 1975 U.S. Federal oil depletion allowance eliminated for large producers

• 1976 Venezuela nationalizes oil fields
• 1977 1st woman formally ordained an Episcopal priest (Jacqueline Means)
• 1977 Belgium reapportions 2,359 communities into 596
• 1977 Czech intellects begin Human Rights Group Chapter 77
• 1978 Air India B747 explodes near Bombay killing 213
• 1978 Los Angeles Police chief Edward Davis retires from police force
• 1978 News editor Donald Woods finally arrives in London after escaping the apartheid regime in South Africa
• 1979 International Year of the Child begins
• 1979 Jura, 26th canton of Switzerland, established
• 1979 US & China (Peoples Republic) begin diplomatic relations
• 1980 Chrysler UK renamed Talbot

• 1980 International Decade of Water & Sanitation begins
• 1980 Mob storms Russian embassy in Tehran
• 1980 Premier Adbou Diouf becomes president of Senegal
• 1980 Sweden changes order of succession to throne
• 1980 Victoria is crowned princess of Sweden.
• 1981 Greece is 10th country to join European Economic Community
• 1981 International Year for the Disabled begins
• 1981 Palau (Trust Territory of Pacific Is) becomes self-governing

• 1981 Roger Smith becomes CEO of General Motors
• 1982 30 Something stars Ken Olin & Patricia Wettig meet, later they marry
• 1982 MTA launches a 5 year capital program to upgrade the NYC subway system

• 1983 TCP/IP protocols become the only approved protocol on the ARPANET, replacing the earlier NCP protocol
• 1983 World Communications Year begins
• 1984 AT&T's 22 owned Bell system companies divests into 8 companies
• 1984 Brunei becomes independent of UK
• 1984 NYC transit fare rises from 75 cents to 90 cents
• 1985 International Youth Year begins
• 1985 The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone
• 1985 The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
• 1985 US's 1st mandatory seat belt law goes into effect (NY)
• 1985 VH-1 made its broadcasting debut
• 1986 Aruba becomes independent from neighbor island Curacao
• 1986 International Peace Year begins
• 1986 NYC transit fare rises from 90 cents to $1.00
• 1986 South African Government closes its borders with Lesotho, cutting off important food and fuel supplies, after Lesotho refuses to sign a non-aggression pact
• 1986 Spain & Portugal are 11th & 12th to join European Economic Community
• 1987 60 bodies recovered in Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico
• 1987 China's rudimentary civil code in effect
• 1987 International Year of Shelter for Homeless begins
• 1988 Year of the Reader begins
• 1989 NYC transit fare rises from $1.00 to $1.15
• 1989 Year of the Young Reader begins
• 1990 David Dinkins sworn in as 1st African American mayor of New York City
• 1990 Mitsuko Nishiwaki beats Nakano to become Japan Women wrestling champ
• 1990 NYC MTA stops token redemption at subway stations
• 1991 5% sales tax on consumer goods & services goes into effect in USSR

• 1992 Bush is 1st US President to address Australian Parliament
• 1992 Curacao becomes 1st in Dutch Antilles to have compulsory education
• 1992 Europe breaks down trade barriers
• 1992 International Space Year begins
• 1992 NYC transit fare increases from $1.15 to $1.25
• 1992 The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic is renamed the Russian Federation, becoming the successor state to the Soviet Union.
• 1993 12 member European Economic Community set up vast free trade zone
• 1993 Cigarette advertisements are banned in NYC's MTA
• 1993 Czechoslovakia separates into Czech Republic (Bohemia) & Slovakia
• 1994 Carquest Bowl 4: Boston College beats Virginia, 32-13
• 1994 International Year of Family
• 1994 Jacobs Field opens with "Gateway's New Year's Eve Countdown to '94"
• 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect
• 1994 The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican State of Chiapas.
• 1995 Austria, Finland & Sweden act to join European Union
• 1995 Centennial of Canadian Mounties presence in Canada's Yukon Territory
• 1995 Fernando Henrique Cardoso installed as president of Brazil
• 1995 International Year of Tolerance
• 1995 Last "The Far Side" by cartoonist Gary Larson (started 1980)
• 1995 The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
• 1996 After 27 years, Betty Rubble debuts as a Flintstone vitamin
• 1996 Curacao gains limited form of self rule (Status Aparte)
• 1997 The Republic of Zaïre officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Zaïre.
• 1998 All California bars, clubs & card rooms must be smoke-free
• 1998 Mongolia switches from a 46 hour to 40 hour work week
• 1998 Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
• 1998 US Census Bureau estimates population at 268,921,733
• 1999 International Year of Elderly
• 1999 The Euro currency is introduced.
• 2000 Gisbourne, New Zealand population 32,754 is first city in the world to welcome in the new millennium
• 2000 Opening of St Mary Major's holy doors by Pope John Paul II
• 2002 Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states.
• 2002 Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.
• 2002 The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially comes into force.

• 2006 Sydney, Australia swelters through its hottest New Year's Day then on record with the temperature peaking at 45 degrees celsius, sparking bush fires and power outages
• 2007 Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board.
• 2007 Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Also, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, joining 20 other official languages.
• 2007 Slovenia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the thirteenth Eurozone country.
• 2008 A New Hampshire law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples comes into effect.
• 2008 Malta and Cyprus officially adopt the Euro currency and become the fourteenth and fifteenth Eurozone countries.
• 2009 61 die in nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
• 2009 Slovakia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the sixteenth Eurozone country.

• 2010 New FINA rules re competition swimsuits come into effect; all body-length swimsuits banned; men's suits to maximally cover from the waist to knee, and women's from shoulder to knee; fabric must be a "textile" or woven material
• 2013 10 people are killed and 120 are injured in a stampede in Luanda, Angola
• 2013 13 Boko Harem members are killed by Nigeria’s military in Maiduguri
• 2013 13 FARC members are killed by an airstrike by the Colombian military
• 2013 18 people are killed and 16 wounded after a bus and mini-bus collision in Thiès, Senegal
• 2013 60 people are killed and 200 are injured after a stampede following New Year celebrations
• 2013 US bi-partisan deal temporarily avoids the fiscal cliff
• 2015 Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
• 2015 Lithuania adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas and becoming the 19th member of the Eurozone
• 2016 After floods along the Mississippi River kill 31, Exxon Mobil Corp decides to close a plant in flood threatened Memphis
• 2016 Dubai skyscraper "The Address" burns as the New Year is rung in. Fire started on the 31st.

• 2018 California becomes largest US state to legalise cannabis for recreational use

• 2019 Millions of women create a 300 mile 'Women's Wall' across state of Kerala, India, in support of women's access to temple of Sabarimala
• 2019 Qatar introduces a 100% tax on alcohol and other "health-damaging goods", doubling the price of alcohol, tobacco, energy drinks and pork in the oil-rich, predominantly Muslim nation
• 2019 Qatar withdraws from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) after 57 years of membership
• 2019 Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Austria
• 2020 Pro-Iranian protesters end siege of US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq
• 2021 African Continental Free Trade Area, signed by 54 countries comes into effect, largely symbolically with full implementation expected to take years [1]
• 2021 Cuba's "day zero" unifies its two currencies by withdrawing the Cuban convertible peso (CUC), alongside steep increases in prices and salaries, effectively devaluing the remaining Cuban Peso for the first time since 1959 [1]

• 2023 Croatia adopts the euro and joins the Schengen Area

• 6000 1st reversible date since 11/11/1999

• Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next