Euro banknotes and coins officially entered circulation in 12 European countries, replacing national currencies and solidifying the euro as one of the world’s major currencies.
📍 Eurozone (multiple countries)
Greece officially adopted the euro, becoming the twelfth member of the Eurozone, integrating further into the European Union’s financial system.
📍 Athens, Greece
The euro became the official currency of 11 European countries in electronic form, paving the way for its physical introduction in 2002 and transforming Europe’s financial landscape.
📍 Brussels, Belgium
In a peaceful transition known as the Velvet Divorce, Czechoslovakia officially dissolved into two sovereign nations: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
📍 Prague, Czech Republic & Bratislava, Slovakia
The Treaty of Rome entered into force, establishing the EEC to foster economic integration in Europe. This organization later evolved into today’s European Union.
📍 Brussels, Belgium
NASA took control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which became its leading center for robotic space exploration, developing missions like Voyager, Mars rovers, and more.
📍 Pasadena, California, United States
IBM introduced magnetic tape for data storage, a revolutionary innovation in computing that enabled large-scale digital data archiving and processing.
📍 New York, United States
The Declaration by United Nations was signed by 26 countries during World War II, pledging to uphold the Atlantic Charter and laying the groundwork for the formation of the modern United Nations in 1945.
📍 Washington, D.C., United States
James George Frazer, a Scottish social anthropologist and author of *The Golden Bough*, died. His comparative work on religion and myth deeply influenced anthropology and literature.
📍 Cambridge, England
The Royal Air Force (RAF) was formally created as a separate branch of Britain's armed forces, marking the establishment of the world’s first independent air force.
📍 London, United Kingdom
The Republic of China was officially established, ending over two thousand years of imperial rule and marking the beginning of a new era in Chinese political history.
📍 Nanjing, China
The six colonies of Australia united to form the Commonwealth of Australia, establishing a federal government under the British Crown and gaining greater autonomy.
📍 Sydney, Australia
Cuba became a nominally independent republic under U.S. military occupation after the Spanish–American War. Full sovereignty would follow in 1902, though with significant U.S. influence.
📍 Havana, Cuba
Ellis Island opened its doors as the primary immigration inspection station in the United States. Over 12 million immigrants passed through its gates by the time it closed in 1954.
📍 New York Harbor, United States
E.M. Forster, British novelist best known for *A Passage to India*, was born. His works explored class division and colonialism, and he became a key literary figure of the 20th century.
📍 London, United Kingdom
President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation took effect, declaring freedom for all enslaved people in Confederate states, transforming the Civil War into a fight against slavery.
📍 Washington, D.C., United States
Napoleon Bonaparte established the Kingdom of Italy with himself as King, consolidating French control over northern Italy and reshaping European political boundaries.
📍 Milan, Italy
The Times, one of the world's oldest and most influential newspapers, was first published in London as The Daily Universal Register. It was renamed The Times in 1788.
📍 London, United Kingdom
Paul Revere, an American silversmith and patriot known for his midnight ride to warn of British troop movements before the battles of Lexington and Concord, was born.
📍 Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Several Catholic countries officially celebrated New Year’s Day on January 1 for the first time under the newly adopted Gregorian Calendar, which corrected inaccuracies in the Julian system.
📍 Italy, Spain, Portugal and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth