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These are some of many widely recognized historic events that occurred during the month of January, listed by year.  Dates provided for earlier time events may be approximate. Select another month

753 BCE, January 1 -  Traditional date of the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus.

753 BCE, January 11 -  According to Roman tradition, Romulus dedicates the Temple of Jupiter Stator on the Capitoline Hill.

535 BCE, January 18 - Thales of Miletus, a Greek philosopher often considered the first Western philosopher, dies in Greece.

509 BCE, January 1 - The Roman Republic is established after the overthrow of the Roman monarchy.

509 BCE, January 24 - The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of January.

480 BCE, January 1 - Leonidas I, King of Sparta, is born.

475 BCE, January 19 -  The Greek city-state of Argos defeats Sparta at the Battle of Tiryns.

460 BCE, January 21 - Greek playwright Aeschylus dies in Gela, Sicily.

450 BCE, January 29 - Birth of the historian and philosopher, Herodotus, often called the "Father of History."

431 BCE, January 1 - The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta officially begins.

429 BCE, January 8 - Pericles, influential Athenian statesman and general, dies during the Plague of Athens.

396 BCE, January 1 - The Romans celebrate a triumph for their victory over the Etruscans.

323 BCE, January 1 - Death of Alexander the Great, leaving his empire to be divided among his generals after his passing.

73 BCE, January 1 - The Roman Senate recognizes the legal validity of the will of the wealthy Roman merchant Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus.

68 BCE, January 9 - Birth of Roman statesman and orator, Publius Clodius Pulcher.

49 BCE, January 10 - Julius Caesar, defying the order of the Roman Senate not to so, crosses the Rubicon River with his legion, famously uttering "alea iacta est" meaning "the die has been cast and leading to the Roman Civil War. He was assassinated in 44 BCE

48 BCE, January 4 - Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus.

47 BCE, January 10 - Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion with her.

45 BCE, January 1 - The Julian Calendar takes effect replacing the traditional Roman calendar which had been introduced around the seventh century B.C. which followed the lunar cycle.

44 BCE, January 14 -  Assassination of Julius Caesar by a group of Roman senators led by Brutus and Cassius.

44 BCE, January 15 - Birth of the Roman historian and politician, Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust).

40 BCE, January 15 - Birth of the Roman poet and philosopher, Gaius Maecenas.

31 BCE, January 16 - Octavian (later known as Augustus) celebrates a triple triumph in Rome for his victories in the Battle of Actium.

27 BCE, January 16 - Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title "Augustus" by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.

9 BCE, January 12 - The Roman general Drusus completes the conquest of Raetia (modern-day Switzerland and Bavaria).

4 BCE, January 1 - The day considered by some scholars as the possible date of the birth of Jesus Christ.

6 BCE, January 2 - Jesus is presented at the Temple in Jerusalem in accordance with Jewish law.

2 BCE, January 25 - Emperor Augustus renews the law against bachelors and childless marriages in Rome.

1 BCE, January 16 - Herod the Great dies in Jericho, according to historical calculations by some scholars.

1 BCE, January 1 - The Roman Senate and people honor Caesar Augustus with the title "Pater Patriae" (Father of the Country).

1 CE, January 1 - The first day of the Julian calendar in the Roman Empire, inaugurated by Emperor Augustus.

5 CE, January 17 - Birth of the Roman historian Tacitus.

29 CE, January 6 - According to some Christian traditions, the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River occurs.

49 CE, January 24 - The Roman Senate confers upon Claudius the title "Pater Patriae" (Father of the Country).

64 CE, January 18 - The Roman Emperor Nero orders the construction of the Domus Aurea (Golden House) after the Great Fire of Rome.

69 CE, January 15: Roman legions in Germania Superior proclaim their commander, Vitellius, as emperor.

95 CE, January 14 - Birth of the Roman historian and senator, Gaius Cornelius Tacitus.

98 CE, January 27 - Trajan becomes Roman emperor following the death of Nerva.

167 CE, January 24 - The Roman Empire defeats the Marcomanni in the Battle of Sirmium under the reign of Marcus Aurelius.

212 CE, January 19 - Emperor Caracalla grants Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire.

225 CE, January 16 -  The Roman Emperor Severus Alexander is born.

303 CE, January 23 - Saint Emerentiana, a Christian martyr, is stoned to death in Rome during the Diocletianic Persecution.

378 CE, January 19 - The Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I defeats the Western Roman usurper Magnus Maximus at the Battle of Siscia.

395 CE, January 17 - The Roman Empire is permanently divided into Eastern and Western halves upon the death of Emperor Theodosius I.

418 CE, January 10 - Theodosius II becomes co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire at the age of 7.

457 CE, January 27 - Leo I becomes the Byzantine Emperor following the death of his predecessor Marcian.

532 CE, January 18 - The Byzantine general Belisarius enters Rome during the Gothic War.

565 CE, January 2 - Justin II succeeds his uncle Justinian I as Eastern Roman Emperor.

632 CE, January 23 - The Rashidun Caliphate is established following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

681 CE, January 4 - The Bulgarian Khan Asparukh defeats the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV at the Battle of Ongal.

742 CE, January 26 - Charlemagne, King of the Franks, is born in modern-day Belgium.

814 CE, January 28 - Charlemagne's son, Louis the Pious, succeeds him as Holy Roman Emperor.

861 CE, January 20 - The Byzantine Empire defeats the Abbasid Caliphate at the Battle of Lalakaon.

871 CE, January 6 - Alfred the Great leads the West Saxon army to repel a Danish invasion at the Battle of Ashdown.

899 CE, January 26 - Arnulf of Carinthia, King of East Francia, dies, leading to a period of instability in the Carolingian Empire.

919 CE, January 14: The coronation of Henry the Fowler as King of East Francia (Germany) marks the beginning of the Saxon Dynasty.

949 CE, January 7 - The caliphate of Abd al-Rahman III in Al-Andalus is recognized by the Fatimid Caliphate in North Africa.

962 CE, January 6 - Otto I is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII in Rome.

988 CE, January 1 - Baptism of Kievan Rus' ruler Vladimir the Great, leading to the Christianization of the region.

999 CE, January 1 - Gregory V becomes Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.

1000, January 1 - Stephen I becomes the first Christian king of Hungary following his coronation.

1001, January 1 - Vikings led by Leif Erikson land in present-day Canada, possibly becoming the first Europeans to reach North America.

1002, January 23 - Emperor Otto III, ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, dies unexpectedly at the age of 22.

1007, January 5 - Henry II becomes King of Germany after the death of his father, Henry the Quarrelsome.

1014, January 30 - King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark dies, and his son, Cnut the Great, becomes king of Denmark.

1016, January 6 - Edmund Ironside, King of England, dies, solidifying Cnut the Great's rule over England.

1028, January 20 - Constantine VIII, Byzantine Emperor, dies, ending the Macedonian dynasty.

1035, January 5 - King Canute the Great of England and Denmark dies, leading to disputes over succession.

1046, January 28 - Pope Clement II, who had been installed by Emperor Henry III, dies suddenly.

1066, January 5 - Edward the Confessor, King of England, dies, leading to a succession crisis and the events of the Norman Conquest.

1066, January 6 - Harold Godwineson, head of the most powerful noble family in England, is crowned King Harold II, following the death of Edward the Confessor, leading to a war of succession involving Tostig, brother of Harold, King Harald III Hardraade of Norway and William, duke of Normandy. King Harold managed to fight and kill Tostig and King Harald III at the Battle of Stamford Bridge near York but was himself soon defeated and killed by William at the Battle of Hastings. Almost a year after Edward the Confessor's death, on Christmas Day, 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned the first Norman king of England. More

1077, January 27 - Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV arrives at the fortress of Canossa, beginning the famous Walk to Canossa to seek forgiveness from Pope Gregory VII.

1078, January 9 - Sultan Malik Shah I, ruler of the Seljuk Empire, dies, leading to a period of internal strife.

1086, January 14 - The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England, is completed by order of William the Conqueror.

1092, January 8 - Prince Vsevolod I becomes Grand Prince of Kiev, marking a significant period in Kievan Rus' history.

1094, January 22 - Alfonso VI of León and Castile conquers the city of Valencia from the Moors.

1095, January 10 - The Council of Clermont begins, where Pope Urban II delivers a sermon urging Christians to reclaim the Holy Land, sparking the First Crusade.

1097, January 13 - Crusaders led by Bohemond I of Antioch begin the siege of Antioch during the First Crusade.

1098, January 13 - Crusaders under Raymond IV of Toulouse capture Ma'arrat al-Numan in Syria during the First Crusade.

1098, January 31 - The Crusaders, besieged in Antioch, capture a tower, gaining a strategic advantage in the ongoing siege.

1099, January 12 - Crusaders start constructing siege engines for the siege of Arqa during the First Crusade.

1099, January 13 - Raymond IV of Toulouse leads Crusaders in capturing the town of Arqa, Lebanon, during the First Crusade.

1099, January 20 - The Crusaders besiege the city of Arqa, an important strategic point in Lebanon, during the First Crusade.

1099, January 31 -  Crusaders begin constructing siege engines for the siege of Tripoli during the First Crusade.

1100, January 6 - Henry I of England marries Matilda of Scotland, consolidating his rule after the turmoil following his brother's death.

1100, January 7 - Henry I is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, succeeding his brother William II.

1100, January 8 - Archbishop Anselm is consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury, restoring ecclesiastical authority in England.

1100, January 27 -  Grand Prince Sviatopolk II of Kiev is murdered, leading to political unrest in Kievan Rus'.

1100, January 31 - William II of England's courtier and rumored successor, William de Warenne, dies, furthering uncertainties over succession.

1100, January 31 -  Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester, a prominent Norman magnate in England, dies, impacting the power dynamics of the time.

1107, January 24 - Edgar the Ætheling, the last male member of the House of Wessex, dies in England.

1110, January 13 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Paschal II.

1118, January 29 - Pope Gelasius II succeeds Pope Paschal II as the 161st pope.

1124, January 14 - Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor, is crowned King of Italy.

1129, January 13 - The Council of Troyes, convened by Bernard of Clairvaux, acting as a Legate of Pope Honorius II, grants official sanction from the papacy to the Templar Order (Knights Templar) which had been founded in 1119 by some French noblemen. The order and the rules were subsequently approved by Pope Honorius II. The Templar Order gradually increase it size,  power and gaining considerable influence. It was eventually abolished by Pope Clement V who disbanded the order in 1312. More

1131, January 13 - King Sigurd I of Norway dies, and his son Magnus IV becomes king at the age of 11.

1138, January 24 - The Treaty of Durham between Scotland and England recognizes the River Tees as the boundary between the two countries.

1141, January 2 - Pope Innocent II is elected.

1143, January 15 - The Kingdom of Portugal is recognized by the Kingdom of León.

1145, January 19 -  The archbishopric of Uppsala in Sweden is established.

1152, January 29 - King Stephen of England and Empress Matilda sign the Treaty of Wallingford, recognizing Stephen as king while allowing Matilda's son to inherit the throne.

1158, January 1 - Vladislaus II, King of Bohemia, is crowned.

1169, January 14 - A severe earthquake strikes the Levant, causing significant damage and loss of life in Palestine.

1170, January 8 - Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated in Canterbury Cathedral.

1173, January 1 - Pope Alexander III canonizes Saint Thomas Becket.

1177, January 10 - Pope Alexander III issues the papal bull "Manifestis Probatum," recognizing Portugal as an independent kingdom.

1189, January 6 - Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey.

1192, January 1 - Emperor Henry VI is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Celestine III in Rome.

1198, January 8 - Lotario dei Conti di Segni is elected Pope Innocent III.

1199, January 13 - King Richard I of England is wounded while besieging the castle of Châlus-Chabrol in France and dies shortly after.

1199, January 20 - King Richard I's brother, John, becomes King of England after Richard's death.

1200, January 15 - King Philip II of France and King John of England sign the Treaty of Le Goulet, marking the end of a conflict.

1200, January 20 - King Philip II of France marries Agnes of Merania.

1200, January 24 - King John of England marries Isabella of Angoulême, causing tensions in the region.

1201, January 21 - The Fourth Crusade begins with a call for a crusade against Alexios III Angelos, the Byzantine Emperor.

1202, January 1 - The Fourth Crusade reaches Venice, negotiating with the Venetians for transport to Egypt.

1202, January 28 - Alexios IV Angelos is crowned co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire, following the Fourth Crusade's arrival in Constantinople.

1204, January 17 - Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade capture the Byzantine city of Thessalonica.

1204, January 26 - Crusaders sack the city of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, leading to the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

1205, January 7 - Theodosius III is proclaimed Byzantine Emperor after the deposition of Alexios V.

1205, January 24 - Pope Innocent III excommunicates Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, for supporting the antipope.

1208, January 15 - Philip of Swabia becomes King of Germany.

1215, January 6 - King John of England marries Isabella of Angoulême.

1215, January 17 - King John of England appoints Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury.

1215, January 27 - The Fourth Lateran Council is convened by Pope Innocent III, addressing church reform and promulgating decrees.

1225, January 6 - Louis VIII of France enters into negotiations with Henry III of England for the release of English lands in France.

1236, January 28 - The city of Ryazan in Russia is captured and burned by Mongol forces under Batu Khan.

1248, January 7 - Construction of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany begins.

1259, January 18 - Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

1264, January 16 - The Parliament of Ireland meets at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first Irish parliament on record.

1265, January 20 - The first English Parliament summoned by Simon de Montfort meets in London.

1272, January 20 - Alfonso X is crowned King of Castile and León.

1274, January 18 - The Second Council of Lyon is convened by Pope Gregory X, focusing on church reunification and crusade plans.

1277, January 22 - The University of Paris condemns the teachings of philosopher and theologian Peter Abelard.

1283, January 22 - War breaks out between England and Wales as King Edward I launches a campaign against Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.

1284, January 13 - The Principality of Wales becomes united with England following the Statute of Rhuddlan.

1287, January 14 - A massive flood known as the "Saint Lucia's flood" strikes the Netherlands, causing widespread destruction.

1290, January 18 - King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, ordering the expulsion of Jews from England.

1291, January 18: The Council of Acre ends, marking the collapse of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

1292, January 20 - John Balliol is crowned King of Scotland.

1293, January 10 - King Rudolf I of Germany grants the Privilegium Majus, a document asserting the independence of Austria.

1297, January 8 - François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, captures the fortress of Monaco, establishing the Grimaldi family's rule.

1298, January 26 - Duke Albert I of Austria defeats King Adolf of Germany at the Battle of Göllheim.

1299, January 1 - Ottoman Turks led by Osman I begin the Ottoman Empire's expansion from their base in Anatolia.

1299, January 25 - The Mongols under Ghazan Khan capture the Syrian Citadel of Aleppo, marking Mongol expansion into the region.

1299, January 26 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the papal bull "Super Cathedram," affirming papal supremacy over temporal rulers.

1299, January 31 - Edward I of England summons Parliament, instructing on measures to raise funds for military campaigns.

1299, January - The Mamluks capture the city of Jaffa, ending Crusader control in the Holy Land.

1299, January - Serbian King Stefan Milutin conquers the city of Skopje from the Byzantine Empire.

1299, January - The city of Pamplona in Spain becomes a part of the Kingdom of Navarre.

1299, January - Scottish forces under William Wallace achieve victory against English troops at the Battle of Scone Moor.

1300, January 1 - Dante Alighieri becomes one of the six priors of Florence, Italy.

1301, January 27 - Andrew III of Hungary dies, leading to succession disputes and internal conflicts in Hungary.

1302, January 18 - The Pope confirms the Knights Templar's privileges despite ongoing controversies surrounding the order.

1302, January 27 - Dante  Alighieri is accused of corruption in political office like others from the White Guelphs political party (supporters independence for the city-state who were not aligned with the Pope). Dante's sentence was a hefty fine  and banishment for two years from Florence and permanent exclusion from public office. Dante refused any pardon that required him to admit guilt against the city he loved and later that year, he was banned for life and threatened with execution if he returned. The poet never returned to Florence and died of malaria 20 years later in Ravenna on the Adriatic coast. 

1303, January 16 - The papal fortress of Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome is seized by forces loyal to Pope Boniface VIII.

1304, January 3 - The town of Helsingborg in Sweden receives its city rights.

1305, January 5 - Pope Clement V is elected, beginning the Avignon Papacy.

1306, January 5 - Robert the Bruce renounces his allegiance to England's King Edward I, beginning his campaign for the Scottish throne.

1307, January 12 - Marriage negotiations between King Edward II of England and Isabella of France, daughter of King Philip IV, begin.

1308, January 19 - Edward II of England marries Isabella of France at Boulogne-sur-Mer.

1309, January 7 - The papal court moves from Rome to Avignon, beginning the Avignon Papacy.

1310, January 27 - The Knights Templar's leadership is condemned by the Council of Vienne, leading to their suppression.

1311, January 6 - The Council of Vienne begins, discussing various church matters including the Templar Order.

1312, January 23 - Pope Clement V officially dissolves the Knights Templar by papal decree.

1313, January 20 - Emperor Henry VII is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement V in Rome.

1314, January 2 - Pope Clement V sends a letter to King Philip IV of France regarding the suppression of the Templars.

1315, January 23 - The Council of Ten established in Venice to safeguard internal security and stability.

1316, January 4 - Louis X of France dies, leading to a succession crisis in France.

1317, January 16 - The first Treaty of Leake is signed between England and Scotland, temporarily ending hostilities.

1318, January 24 - The Council of Ravenna convenes to address church reform and discipline.

1319, January 30 - A peace treaty is signed between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England.

1320, January 25 - King Władysław I of Poland issues the formal establishment of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Union with the coronation of his son.

1321, January 1 - Marsilius of Padua presents his political treatise "Defensor Pacis" to the Archbishop of Mainz.

1322, January 16 - The Battle of Burton Bridge takes place during the Despenser War in England.

1323, January 23 - Treaty of Paris between England and Scotland recognizes Scottish independence.

1324, January 24 - Louis IV becomes King of Germany, later Holy Roman Emperor.

1325, January 16 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Aragon after the death of his father, James II.

1326, January 24 - Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer invade England, starting the downfall of Edward II.

1327, January 25 - Edward II of England is formally deposed, and his son, Edward III, becomes king.

1328, January 6 - The Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton is signed, recognizing Scottish independence from England.

1329, January 13 - King Casimir III of Poland begins his reign, focusing on domestic reforms and strengthening the kingdom.

1330, January 8 - Emperor Frederick III of Sicily dies, leading to a succession crisis.

1331, January 10 - The Battle of Emesa takes place during the Byzantine civil war between factions led by Andronikos III and John Kantakouzenos.

1332, January 10 - A truce is agreed upon between England and Scotland during the Second War of Scottish Independence.

1333, January 19 - The English capture the town of Dunbar in Scotland during the Second War of Scottish Independence.

1334, January 13 - King Edward III of England convenes Parliament at York, establishing the principle of the northern host.

1335, January 30 - A peace treaty is signed between England and Scotland in the midst of the Second War of Scottish
Independence.

1336, January 7 - Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, confirms the city rights of Bern, Switzerland.

1337, January 24 - King Edward III of England proclaims himself rightful heir to the French throne, initiating the Hundred Years' War.

1338, January 13 - The English Parliament grants funds for King Edward III's war against France.

1339, January 10 - Philip VI of France creates a naval blockade against English wool exports in retaliation for the Hundred Years' War.

1340, January 22 - Pope Benedict XII is consecrated as Pope in Avignon.

1341, January 25 - King David II of Scotland holds a Parliament at Scone, attempting to raise funds for the ransom to free himself from English captivity.

1342, January 5 - King Edward III of England creates the Knights of the Garter, an elite chivalric order.

1343, January 26 - King Edward III of England establishes the Truce of Malestroit with France, temporarily halting hostilities.

1344, January 20 - The Scots under Sir Andrew Murray defeat the English at the Battle of Happrew, part of the Second War of Scottish Independence.

1345, January 8 - Pope Clement VI confirms the privileges of the University of Prague, Bohemia.

1346, January 6 - The House of Commons convenes for the first time in England.

1347, January 12 - Henry, Duke of Lancaster, arrives in Calais to aid King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.

1348, January 13 - Charles IV of Luxembourg is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Bonn.

1349, January 17 - An earthquake strikes the region of Huesca, Spain, causing significant damage.

1350, January 17 - King John II of France, a prisoner in England, agrees to the Treaty of London, promising to pay a large ransom.

1351, January 18 - The Cortes of Leiria in Portugal is convened by King Afonso IV to address various issues in the kingdom.

1352, January 18 - The Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV establishes the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire.

1353, January 5 - A peace treaty is signed between Sweden and Denmark, known as the Treaty of Gottorp.

1354, January 7 - Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Golden Bull of 1354, formalizing the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire.

1355, January 10 - The St. Scholastica Day riot occurs in Oxford, England, resulting in significant violence between town and gown.

1356, January 1 - Edward Balliol, supported by England, is crowned King of Scotland in Scone.

1357, January 25 - King Edward III of England establishes the Order of the Garter, England's highest chivalric order.

1358, January 17 - The Jacquerie peasant revolt begins in France, triggered by social and economic grievances.

1359, January 30 - The Battle of Saintes takes place during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, resulting in an English victory.

1360, January 6 - The Treaty of Calais is signed, ending the first phase of the Hundred Years' War between England and France.

1361, January 9 - King Henry of Trastámara becomes King Henry II of Castile after defeating his half-brother, King Peter, at the Battle of Campo de Montiel.

1362, January 11 - A truce is agreed upon between England and Scotland, temporarily halting hostilities during the Hundred Years' War.

1363, January 27 - King Charles V of France creates the first franc coin, a new currency for France.

1364, January 22 - Charles V is crowned King of France at Reims Cathedral after the death of his father, King John II.

1365, January 19 - The Parliament of Ireland meets in Dublin, strengthening English control over Ireland.

1366, January 9 - King Peter I of Portugal leads a successful expedition to conquer the city of Badajoz in Spain.

1367, January 6 - Richard II of England begins his reign as king at the age of 10 following the death of his grandfather, Edward III.

1368, January 23 - The Ming Dynasty officially begins in China with the ascension of Zhu Yuanzhang as the Hongwu Emperor.

1369, January 12 - King Peter I of Portugal dies, succeeded by his daughter, Beatrice, and her husband, John I of Castile.

1370, January 25 - Pope Gregory XI publishes five papal bulls condemning the doctrines of John Wycliffe.

1371, January 22 - King Robert II of Scotland defeats a much smaller English force at the Battle of Invernahavon.

1372, January 9 - The Treaty of Calais is renewed, extending the truce between England and France.

1373, January 23 - Pope Gregory XI sends a letter to England denouncing the teachings of John Wycliffe.

1374, January 6 - An earthquake strikes Cyprus, causing significant damage and loss of life.

1375, January 9 - The Parliament of England convenes in Westminster, focusing on financial matters and reforms.

1376, January 23 - The Great Schism in the Catholic Church begins when Pope Gregory XI dies, leading to rival papal claimants.

1377, January 28 - Richard II of England marries Anne of Bohemia, daughter of Emperor Charles IV.

1378, January 17 - Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch), Italian poet and scholar, dies in Arquà Petrarca, Italy.

1379, January 9 - The Treaty of Neuberg is signed, ending a war between Austria and Bavaria.

1380, January 20 - King Charles VI of France is crowned at Reims Cathedral at the age of 11 following the death of his father, Charles V.

1381, January 7 - John Wycliffe presents his views on church reform to Parliament in England.

1382, January 9 - The Golden Horde under Tokhtamysh attacks Moscow, leading to the Battle of Kulikovo.

1383, January 19 - King Richard II of England marries Anne of Bohemia at Westminster Abbey.

1384, January 25 - Louis I of Anjou is crowned King of Naples, initiating the Angevin dynasty's rule in southern Italy.

1385, January 10 - Portuguese forces under Nuno Álvares Pereira defeat Castilian forces at the Battle of Trancoso.

1386, January 8 - King John I of Castile marries Beatrice of Portugal, sealing the Treaty of Windsor.

1387, January 23 - King Charles III of Naples is crowned King of Hungary in Naples, beginning a personal union between the two kingdoms.

1388, January 23 - Ming forces under Zhu Yuanzhang defeat the Mongol army at the Battle of Yongtai, consolidating Ming control in China.

1399, January 22 - King Richard II of England meets with Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, leading to his eventual deposition.

1400, January 7 - John Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, and Thomas Holland, Duke of Surrey, are executed for their involvement in a plot against King Henry IV of England.

1401, January 10 - The Welsh rebel leader, Owain Glyndŵr, proclaims himself Prince of Wales, initiating a revolt against English rule.

1402, January 6 - King Henry IV of England declares Owain Glyndŵr a traitor and offers a reward for his capture.

1403, January 21 - King Henry IV of England grants a royal charter to the Guild of Tailors in London.

1404, January 4 - The English Parliament passes the Act of Multipliers, addressing economic issues by controlling wages and prices.

1405, January 3 - French forces under Louis, Duke of Orléans, capture the city of Bordeaux, a significant English stronghold.

1406, January 3 - The Treaty of Windsor is signed between England and Scotland, establishing peace and a marriage alliance between the two kingdoms.

1407, January 6 - Pope Gregory XII issues a papal bull against the Avignon Pope, Benedict XIII, as part of efforts to end the Western Schism.

1408, January 13 - The Council of Pisa is announced, aiming to resolve the Western Schism by deposing both Pope Gregory XII and Antipope Benedict XIII.

1409, January 3 - The Council of Pisa officially opens, attempting to resolve the Western Schism by electing a new pope, Alexander V.

1410, January 8 - The Peace of Bicêtre is signed, temporarily halting the Armagnac-Burgundian civil war in France.

1411, January 26 - The University of St. Andrews in Scotland is chartered by a papal bull from Pope Benedict XIII.

1412, January 6 - The Medici family gains power in Florence as Giovanni de' Medici becomes head of the family's bank.

1413, January 4 - King Henry IV of England dies, and his son becomes King Henry V.

1414, January 11 - Pope Gregory XII resigns from the papacy as part of efforts to resolve the Western Schism.

1415, January 20 - The Council of Constance is convened, aiming to resolve the Western Schism and address church reform.

1416, January 6 - The Council of Constance condemns the teachings of Jan Hus, leading to his trial for heresy.

1417, January 6 - The Council of Constance elects Cardinal Oddone Colonna as Pope Martin V, effectively ending the Western Schism.

1418, January 4 - The Hussite Wars in Bohemia intensify as followers of Jan Hus take control of Prague and overthrow King Wenceslaus IV's regents.

1419, January 9 - Jan Žižka leads the Hussites in the Battle of Sudoměř, defeating King Wenceslaus IV's forces.

1420, January 14 - The Treaty of Troyes is signed, establishing Henry V of England as heir to the French throne.

1421, January 23 - The University of St. Andrews in Scotland receives its papal bull of confirmation from Pope Martin V.

1422, January 11 - King Henry V of England dies, and his infant son becomes King Henry VI.

1423, January 15 - The Council of Siena is convened by Pope Martin V to discuss church reforms and the Crusades.

1424, January 2 - The Treaty of Melun is signed, temporarily ending hostilities between France and England.

1425, January 17 - The reign of King Henry VI of England officially begins with his coronation at Westminster Abbey.

1426, January 7 - The Medici Bank in Florence suffers a financial crisis, leading to its restructuring.

1427, January 6 - The University of Basel is founded in Switzerland.

1428, January 6 - King Alfonso V of Aragon establishes the University of Barcelona.

1429, January 8 - The Siege of Orléans by the English during the Hundred Years' War begins, marking a turning point in the conflict.

1431, January 9  - The trial of Joan of Arc begins in Rouen, France, presided over by an ecclesiastical court.

1432, January 10 - The Battle of San Romano takes place between Florence and Siena, a conflict depicted in famous Renaissance artworks.

1433, January 1 - Pope Eugenius IV succeeds Pope Martin V as the 207th pope.

1434, January 15 - Pope Eugenius IV grants the privileges of the University of Leuven in Belgium.

1435, January 6 - The Congress of Arras opens, aiming to negotiate peace between Burgundy and France.

1436, January 1 - The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV, beginning a period of tension between the Council and the papacy.

1437, January 21 - James I of Scotland is assassinated in Perth, Scotland.

1438, January 9 - Albert II of Habsburg is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.

1439, January 18 - The Union of Florence is signed, aiming to reconcile the Eastern and Western churches.

1440, January 15 - Gilles de Rais, a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc, is condemned and executed for crimes including murder and heresy.

1441, January 17 - Afonso V becomes King of Portugal at the age of six following the death of his father, Edward of Portugal.

1442, January 10 - Alfonso V of Aragon reconquers Naples from the Angevins, establishing Aragonese rule in southern Italy.

1443, January 5 - Albert II, Holy Roman Emperor, dies, leaving Frederick III as his successor.

1444, January 2 - The Peace of Szeged is signed, ending the 1443-1444 Crusade of Varna between Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.
1445, January 6 - Alfonso V of Aragon is crowned King of Sicily, consolidating his control over the Italian peninsula.

1446, January 17 - The Treaty of Ragusa is signed, establishing peace between Venice and the Kingdom of Hungary.

1447, January 21: The Eton College Foundation Charter is signed, establishing Eton College near Windsor, England.

1448, January 2 - Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, dies.

1449, January 23 - The siege of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire begins, leading to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.

1450, January 1 - The University of Barcelona is established by King Alfonso V of Aragon.

1451, January 3 - Sultan Murad II of the Ottoman Empire abdicates the throne in favor of his son, Mehmed II.

1452, January 23 - The Gutenberg Bible, the first major book printed with movable type in the West, begins production in Mainz, Germany.

1453, January 6 - Mehmed II ascends the throne as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire after the death of his father, Murad II.

1454, January 28 - The Treaty of Prenzlau is signed, ending the war between the Teutonic Order and Poland.

1455, January 2 - The Gutenberg Bible is completed, marking a pivotal moment in the history of printing.

1456, January 6 - The Siege of Belgrade begins, with Hungarian and Serbian forces defending the city against the Ottomans.

1457, January 28 - King Henry VII of England is born, later becoming the first Tudor monarch.

1458, January 6 - Alfonso V of Aragon takes control of the Kingdom of Naples after his victory over René of Anjou.

1459, January 28 - The Treaty of Olomouc is signed, establishing a peace settlement between Hungary and Austria.

1460, January 10 - Richard, Duke of York, is proclaimed King of England, challenging the reign of King Henry VI during the Wars of the Roses.

1461, January 14 - The Battle of Mortimer's Cross takes place during the Wars of the Roses in England, where Yorkists defeat Lancastrians.

1462, January 2 - The Ottomans capture Constantinople's strategically important region, the Morea, completing their conquest of the Byzantine Empire.

1463, January 13 - Completion of the Trondheim Cathedral in Norway after several decades of construction.

1464, January 10 - The Treaty of Westminster is signed between England and Scotland, securing peace between the two kingdoms.

1465, January 15 - Charles the Bold of Burgundy marries Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV of England, solidifying an alliance.

1466, January 27 - The Second Peace of Thorn is signed, ending the Thirteen Years' War between the Teutonic Order and Poland.

1467, January 21 - The Battle of Nancy takes place, resulting in the death of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, at the hands of the Swiss.

1468, January 5 - During the Wars of the Roses, the Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV, is executed for treason.

1469, January 19 - Ferdinand II of Aragon marries Isabella I of Castile, leading to the unification of Spain.

1470, January 7 - The Battle of Tewkesbury is fought during the Wars of the Roses, resulting in a decisive Yorkist victory.

1471, January 10 - The Battle of Harlaw in Scotland sees the victory of the Scottish over the Highland clans.

1472, January 4 - Florentine painter Sandro Botticelli is commissioned to paint "Adoration of the Magi."

1473, January 6 - Nicolaus Copernicus, the astronomer who proposed a heliocentric model of the universe, is born in Poland.

1474, January 5 - The University of Copenhagen is founded in Denmark.

1475, January 17 - Battle of Vaslui between the Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great and the Ottoman Empire.

1476, January 5 - Birth of Anne of Brittany, future queen consort of France and duchess of Brittany.

1477, January 5 - The Battle of Nancy takes place, where Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy is killed.

1478, January 7 - The Grand Duke of Muscovy, Ivan III, marries Zoe Palaiologina, niece of the last Byzantine Emperor.

1479, January 17 - Treaty of Alcáçovas is signed, ending the War of Castilian Succession between Portugal and Castile.

1480, January 6 - Ivan III of Russia launches the Great Stand on the Ugra River, halting the advance of the Golden Horde.

1481, January 26 - King Afonso V of Portugal dies, and his son, John II, becomes king.

1482, January 8 - The inauguration of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican takes place.

1483, January 26 - King Richard III of England convenes the first Parliament of his reign.

1484, January 18 - The first printed edition of the Vulgate Bible is published by Johann von Speyer in Rome.

1485, January 7 - The reign of King Henry VII of England begins after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

1486, January 18 - The Treaty of Bagnolo is signed, ending the War of Ferrara between Venice and the Papal States.

1487, January 6 - The funeral of Henry VI of England takes place in Windsor.

1488, January 4 - Bartolomeu Dias, Portuguese explorer, anchors near the mouth of the Congo River during his expedition.

1492, January 2 - Granada, the last stronghold of the Moorish kingdom in Spain surrenders to Spain ending the Reconquest led by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II and Isabella I

1497, January 2 - Vasco da Gama departs from Lisbon on his first voyage to India.

1498, January 25 - During his third voyage, Christopher Columbus discovers the island of Isla de Margarita off the coast of Venezuela.

1501, January 1 - The Battle of Vedrosha is fought between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

1502, January 6 - Portuguese explorer Gaspar de Lemos reaches the Bay of Guanabara in Brazil.

1503, January 26 - The Treaty of Lyons is signed, establishing peace between France and Spain.

1504, January 2 - King Ferdinand II of Aragon abandons the Kingdom of Naples, leaving it under the control of Louis XII of France.

1505, January 13 - The University of Copenhagen is officially inaugurated in Denmark.

1506, January 8 - The construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome begins under Pope Julius II.

1507, January 16 - Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint the Mona Lisa by Francesco del Giocondo.

1508, January 23 - Construction of the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican City begins.

1509, January 28 - The accession of Henry VIII to the throne of England after the death of his father, Henry VII.

1510, January 2 - King Henry VIII of England orders the burning of all Lutheran books.

1511, January 3 - The Swiss Confederation defeats the Holy League at the Battle of Ravenna in Italy.

1512, January 6 - The cornerstone of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling is laid in the Vatican City.

1513, January 25 - Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa reaches the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Isthmus of Panama.

1514, January 4 - The Treaty of Maline is signed, forming an alliance between King Henry VIII of England and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I.

1515, January 14 - François I of France is crowned king in Reims.

1516, January 23 - The Habsburg Charles I of Spain becomes the ruler of the Spanish Empire after the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon.

1517, January 29 - The Ottoman Sultan Selim I occupies Egypt, marking the end of the Mamluk Sultanate.

1518, January 3 - Cardinal Wolsey becomes Lord Chancellor of England under Henry VIII.

1519, January 22 - Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I dies, and his grandson Charles V becomes the new emperor.

1520, January 28 - The Diet of Worms begins in Germany, where Martin Luther defends his religious beliefs.

1521, January 9 - Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther from the Catholic Church.

1522, January 11 - The Treaty of Brussels is signed, ending the Anglo-French War of 1522–1526.

1523, January 6 - Christian II is crowned King of Denmark and Norway.

1524, January 22 - The French troops under King Francis I capture the city of Milan from the Holy Roman Empire.

1525, January 17 - The Swiss Confederation defeats the French at the Battle of Pavia during the Italian War of 1521–1526.

1526, January 26 - King Charles V's troops sack Rome, capturing Pope Clement VII.

1527, January 28 - The Anabaptist movement starts in Zurich, Switzerland, with the first adult baptism by Conrad Grebel.

1528, January 23 - England and France sign the Treaty of Westminster, establishing peace between the two nations.

1529, January 26 - The Spanish defeat the French at the Battle of Landriano during the War of the League of Cognac.

1530, January 3 - Cardinal Thomas Wolsey is arrested for high treason in England.

1531, January 5 - Pope Clement VII  forbids  Henry VIII from remarrying until his first marriage is resolved and forbidding the clergy in England from trying the case. More

 forbidding Henry from remarrying until his first marriage is resolved and forbidding the clergy in England from trying the case.

1531, January 21 - The Protestant city of Zürich declares independence from the Catholic cantons, leading to the First War of Kappel in Switzerland.

1532, January 26 - The English parliament bans payments to Rome, marking a step towards the English Reformation.

1533, January 25 - King Henry VIII of England secretly marries Anne Boleyn.

1534, January 6 - French explorer Jacques Cartier lands in Newfoundland, marking the beginning of French exploration in North America.

1535, January 10 - Henry VIII declares himself head of the Church in England, formally separating from the Roman Catholic Church.

1535, January 18 - The city of Lima, Peru, is founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on the central coast of Peru.  Founded on the then Julian Calendar's Catholic holiday of Epiphany, when the Three Kings visited the baby Jesus, and was therefore known as Ciudad de los Reyes or City of the Kings.

1536, January 25 - Henry VIII of England marries his third wife, Jane Seymour, following the execution of Anne Boleyn.

1537, January 14 - The first complete English-language Bible, the Matthew Bible, is printed.

1538, January 1 - King Francis I of France issues the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, making French the official language of legal documents.

1539, January 27 - Spain annexes Cuba.

1540, January 6 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, a marriage that will be annulled after a few months.

1541, January 18 - Santiago, Chile, is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia.

1542, January  - King James V of Scotland dies, leaving his daughter Mary, Queen of Scots, as his heir.

1543, January 9 - England and Scotland sign the Treaty of Greenwich, aiming to unite the two kingdoms through the marriage of King Henry VIII's son, Edward, to Mary, Queen of Scots.

1544, January 12 - King Henry VIII of England leads an invasion of France during the Italian War of 1542–1546.

1545, January 10 - The Council of Trent reconvenes in Trento, Italy, to discuss reforms in response to the Protestant Reformation.

1546, January 18 - Protestant reformer Martin Luther dies in Eisleben, Germany.

1547, January 28 - King Henry VIII of England dies, and his nine-year-old son Edward VI succeeds him as king.

1548, January 7- The city of Nuestra Señora de La Paz (La Paz) is founded in Bolivia by Spanish conquistadors.

1549, January 22 - The execution of Thomas Seymour, brother of Jane Seymour and uncle of King Edward VI, takes place for treason.

1550, January 1 - The first version of the Gutenberg Bible is auctioned in London. More

1552, January 15 -  The German cities of Würzburg and Bamberg surrender to the forces of Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.

1554, January 18 - A French army led by Henry II of France and the Duke of Guise capture the city of Siena, Italy, during the Italian War of 1551–1559.

1554. January 25 -  The City of São Paulo is founded in Brazil. The city’s name derives from its having been founded by Jesuit missionaries on the anniversary of the conversion of St. Paul.

1555, January 5 - The election of Pope Julius III takes place, succeeding Pope Paul IV.

1556, January 24 - The Shaanxi earthquake, believed to be the deadliest earthquake ever recorded, strikes China's Shaanxi and neighboring Shanxi province, killing or injuring and estimated 830,000 people. Although the quake lasted only seconds, it leveled mountains, altered the path of rivers, ignited fires that burned for days and caused massive flooding. More

1557, January 17 - England declares war on France during the Italian War of 1551–1559.

1558, January 7 - Calais, the last English possession on mainland France, falls to the French, ending English territorial claims in France.

1559, January 6 - The Council of Trent concludes its discussions on the Counter-Reformation.

1559, January 15 - Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn and succeeded to the throne on the death of her half-sister Mary I .1558. Elizabeth's 45-year reign is generally considered one of the most glorious in English history. During it, a secure Church of England was established. Its doctrines were laid down in the 39 Articles of 1563, a compromise between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. More

1560, January 20 - The Treaty of Berwick is signed, ending hostilities between England and Scotland.

1562, January 1 - The Edict of Saint-Germain is signed, granting French Protestants limited religious freedoms.

1563, January 2 - The Council of Trent concludes its meetings, marking the end of the Council's discussions on church reform.

1564, January 14 - The Council of Trent formally adopts the Tridentine Creed as the official doctrine of the Catholic Church.

1565, January 18 - Battle of Talikota in India sees the defeat of the Vijayanagara Empire by a coalition of Deccan Sultanates.

1566, January 5 - Antonio de Espinosa, Spanish viceroy of Peru, issues an ordinance banning foreign silver coins in the Americas.

1567, January 17 - The Battle of Rio de Janeiro takes place between the Portuguese and French, resulting in a Portuguese victory.

1568, January 18 - The Netherlands' Duke of Alva sets the penalty for treason at confiscation of property and death.

1569, January 4 - The Union of Lublin establishes the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, uniting the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

1570, January 1 - Tsar Ivan the Terrible suppresses a rebellion in Novgorod, Russia, executing thousands.

1571, January 22 - The Royal Exchange opens in London, designed by Sir Thomas Gresham as a center for commerce.

1572, January 23 - The stipulations of the 1571 Marriage Act in England are published, requiring approval from the Queen or Privy Council for marriages of nobles.

1573, January 13 - English astronomer Thomas Digges publishes a work promoting the Copernican system of astronomy.

1574, January 31 - Louis de Nogaret de La Valette becomes the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller after the death of Jean Parisot de Valette.

1575, January 6 - King Frederick II of Denmark establishes a Lutheran state church in Norway.

1576, January 1 - The Union of Arras is signed, reconciling the Catholic southern provinces of the Netherlands with King Philip II of Spain.

1577, January 4 - The Truce of Bergerac is signed, temporarily halting the French Wars of Religion.

1578, January 23 - The Battle of Gembloux sees Spanish forces defeat the rebel States Army during the Eighty Years' War.

1579, January 6 - The Union of Arras unites Catholic provinces in the southern Netherlands against the Calvinist Dutch Revolt.

1580, January 25 - The assassination of Henry I, Duke of Guise, takes place during the French Wars of Religion.

1581, January 23 - The States-General of the Netherlands declare independence from Spain with the Act of Abjuration.

1582, January 1 - The Gregorian calendar is adopted in Catholic countries, adjusting the calendar by 10 days to correct discrepancies.

1583, January 25 - Geneva expels Catholic residents, following the escalation of religious tensions.

1584, January 10 - Spain's King Philip II revokes William the Silent's amnesty, renewing hostilities in the Dutch Revolt.

1585, January 5 - The Treaty of Nonsuch is signed between England and the Dutch rebels, formalizing their alliance against Spain.

1586, January 6 - Sir Francis Drake takes the fort at Santo Domingo in the Caribbean, capturing it briefly.

1587, January 25 - Elizabeth I of England signs the death warrant for Mary, Queen of Scots, who is executed three days later.

1588, January 7 - A document detailing the Spanish Armada's preparations for invasion is discovered in Madrid.

1591, January 18 - King Naresuan of Siam kills the Crown Prince of Burma in single combat, leading to Siamese independence.

1600, January 1 - Scotland adopts January 1 as the start of the new year, aligning with the Gregorian calendar but only in part. More

1601, January 7 - The Long Parliament of England is convened, marking a significant period in English history.

1602, January 1 - The Dutch East India Company is chartered by the Netherlands government, beginning its trade dominance in Asia.

1603, January 7 - Queen Elizabeth I of England dies, and James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England, uniting the crowns.

1604, January 19 - Tsar Boris Godunov of Russia grants trading privileges to the English Muscovy Company.

1605, January 16 - Miguel de Cervantes’s masterpiece Don Quixote ("The Ingenious Nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha")  is published. The second portion of the book was published in 1615. More
  
1605, January 25 - A document detailing the Gunpowder Plot is anonymously delivered to English authorities, leading to the plot's exposure.

1606, January 1 - The Union Flag, combining the flags of England and Scotland, is adopted for the first time.

1607, January 21 - San Agustin Church in Manila, the oldest stone church in the Philippines, is completed.

1608, January 4 - Fire destroys a significant portion of Edo (modern-day Tokyo), leading to the rebuilding of the city.

1609, January 5 - The publication of Galileo Galilei's "Sidereus Nuncius" announces the discovery of Jupiter's moons.

1610, January 14 - Galileo Galilei discovers Callisto, the fourth moon of Jupiter.

1611, January 7 - Johannes Fabricius observes sunspots through a telescope, contributing to early astronomy studies.

1612, January 5 - Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei observes Neptune but mistakes it for a fixed star.

1613, January 21- Michael Romanov is elected as the Tsar of Russia, founding the Romanov dynasty.

1614, January 4 - The University of Groningen is established in the Netherlands.

1615, January 7 - The New River, an artificial waterway supplying London with fresh water, is opened.

1616, January 15 - French explorer Samuel de Champlain discovers Lake Champlain in North America.

1617, January 16 - The Treaty of Stolbovo ends the Ingrian War between Sweden and Russia.

1618, January 23 -  The Thirty Years' War begins with the Defenestration of Prague, where Protestant officials are thrown from a window.

1619, January 1 - The first recorded African slaves arrive in North America at Jamestown, Virginia.

1620, January 21 - The Mayflower Compact is signed by Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, establishing a self-governing colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

1621, January 1 - The Old Burying Ground, the oldest cemetery in North America, is established in Massachusetts.

1622, January 26 - The Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (later New York City) is incorporated.

1623, January 22 - William Shakespeare's "First Folio" is published, compiling his plays.

1624, January 19 - The first submarine is tested in London's River Thames by its inventor, Cornelius Drebbel.

1625, January 4 - England's King James I dies, and his son Charles I ascends to the throne.

1626, January 2 - The Dutch buy Manhattan Island from Native Americans for trinkets and tools, founding New Amsterdam.

1627, January 6 - The Spanish galleon "Nuestra Señora de Atocha" sinks off the coast of Florida with a significant cargo of treasure.

1628, January 19 - The Petition of Right is accepted by England's King Charles I, limiting his power.

1629, January 26 - Charles I dissolves the English Parliament, initiating the period known as the Eleven Years' Tyranny.

1631, January 16 - The Treaty of Bärwalde is signed between Sweden and the Electorate of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War.

1632, January 23 - Galileo Galilei publishes "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems," defending the Copernican theory of heliocentrism.

1633, January 8 - The Dutch East India Company retakes the city of Quilon in India from the Portuguese.

1634, January 27 - The first recorded sighting of Maryland is made by English settlers.

1635, January 16 - France establishes the Académie Française, a council for matters related to the French language and literature.

1636, January 16 - The Papal States release Galileo Galilei from house arrest after his trial for heresy.

1637, January 24 - The Dutch attempt to capture the Portuguese fort at Elmina in West Africa but fail.

1638, January 2 - The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh, opposing religious reforms imposed by King Charles I of England.

1639, January 14 - The Puritan political leaders in Connecticut, representing the populations of Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield, approved and adopt a set of written laws agreed upon by the colonists, known as the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut  which stated the powers and limits of government. This document became the first complete, written constitution in the history of the world.

1639, January 28 - The Treaty of Madras is signed between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire.

1640, January 13 - Cardinal Richelieu lays the foundation stone for the Church of the Sorbonne in Paris.

1641, January 3 - The United East India Company (VOC) conquers Malacca from the Portuguese.

1642, January 4 - King Charles I of England attempts to arrest five members of the Parliament, leading to tension between the king and parliamentarians.

1643, January 24 - Abel Tasman's expedition reaches Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga.

1644, January 20 - The Ming dynasty in China falls as Beijing is captured by Li Zicheng's rebel forces.

1645, January 9 - Archbishop William Laud is executed in London for high treason during the English Civil War.

1646, January 12 - The Royalist stronghold of Bolesworth Castle surrenders to the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War.

1647, January 30 - King Charles I is handed over to the English Parliamentarians by the Scots, marking a pivotal moment in the English Civil War.

1648, January 25 - The Thirty Years' War ends with the Treaty of Westphalia which changed the map of Europe irrevocably. The peace was negotiated, from 1644, in the Westphalian towns of Münster and Osnabrück. The Spanish-Dutch Peace of Münster treaty was signed on January 30, 1648. 

1649, January 30 - King Charles I of England is executed by beheading after being found guilty of treason. Thousands had perished during the seven years of fighting between Charles’ supporters and Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarians and finally the life of the King himself. #gs.4c0dnr">More

1651, January 20 - Charles II of England is crowned king of Scotland at Scone.

1652, January 3 - The Dutch East India Company's forces defeat the Portuguese at the Battle of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

1653, January 20 - Oliver Cromwell dissolves the English Parliament, leading to the establishment of the Protectorate.

1654, January 23 - The Dutch surrender Recife, Brazil, to the Portuguese after an unsuccessful attempt to regain control.

1655, January 1 - The Bishop's War between England and Scotland ends with the Treaty of Edinburgh.

1656, January 4 - The Portuguese defeat the Dutch at the Battle of São Jorge da Mina, leading to the recapture of Elmina Castle in West Africa.

1657, January 30 - The English Parliament passes the Humble Petition and Advice, seeking to reinstate a monarchy under Oliver Cromwell.

1658, January 9 - Swedish troops under Charles X Gustav invade Denmark during the Dano-Swedish War.

1659, January 19 - The Treaty of the Pyrenees is signed between France and Spain, ending the Franco-Spanish War.

1661, January 1 - Samuel Pepys completes his famous manuscript of "Diary of Samuel Pepys," documenting daily life in London which he had started a year before.

1662, January 18 - The first portrait of a reigning monarch, King Charles II of England, is painted by Sir Peter Lely.

1663, January 29 - The Ottoman Empire agrees to the Peace of Vasvar with Austria and Holy Roman Empire, ending the Fifteen Years' War.

1664, January 9 - England's King Charles II grants a trading charter to the Royal African Company to facilitate the Atlantic slave trade.

1665, January 30 - The colonial territory of New Jersey is established.

1666, January 7 - The first edition of French newspaper "Mercure Galant" is published in Paris.

1667, January 21 - The Treaty of Andrusovo ends the Russo-Polish War and establishes the Truce of Andrusovo between Russia and Poland.

1668, January 20 - England, the Dutch Republic, and Sweden sign the Triple Alliance against France.

1669, January 26 - The island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic is named after Saint Helena by the English East India Company.

1670, January 15 - Henry Morgan, a Welsh pirate, attacks Panama City, Panama, looting and causing destruction.

1671, January 1 - Pirate Henry Morgan is knighted by England's King Charles II for protecting Jamaica from French attacks.

1672, January 19 - France declares war on the Dutch Republic, initiating the Franco-Dutch War.

1673, January 31 - France's King Louis XIV suspends the Edict of Nantes, revoking the religious rights of Huguenots.

1674, January 4 - The Treaty of Westminster ends England's involvement in the Franco-Dutch War.

1675, January 30 - The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London is established by King Charles II.

1676, January 14 - King Charles II disbands the English Parliament due to conflicts over foreign policy and taxation.

1677, January 24 - King Charles II ratifies the Treaty of Middle Plantation, guaranteeing peace between the Virginia colonists and Native American tribes.

1678, January 30 - The Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Franco-Dutch War, resulting in territorial changes and peace in Europe.

1679, January 30 - King Charles II calls the English Parliament to session after a prolonged period of dissolution.

1680, January 4 - A great comet appears in the night sky, visible in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

1681, January 28 - English Quaker William Penn receives a land grant from King Charles II, founding Pennsylvania.

1682, January 6 - Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the French minister of finance, creates the Académie Royale d'Architecture.

1683, January 31 - The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, the world's first university museum, opens to the public.

1684, January 8 - King Charles II grants a charter to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, reaffirming its rights.

1685, January 31 - King Charles II of England dies, and James II ascends to the throne.

1686, January 28 - The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb reopens the Hindu temple at Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi, India.

1687, January 5 - Isaac Newton's "Principia Mathematica" is published, outlining the laws of motion and universal gravitation.

1688, January 11 - England's Glorious Revolution begins as William of Orange lands at Torbay to overthrow King James II.

1689, January 16 - The Convention Parliament declares that James II has abdicated the throne, leading to the crowning of William III and Mary II.

1690, January 26 - The Iroquois League signs the Treaty of Lachine, ending hostilities with the New France government.

1691, January 7 - The Williamite War in Ireland concludes with the Treaty of Limerick, granting religious freedom to Catholics under certain conditions.

1692, January 13 - The Massacre of Glencoe occurs in Scotland when government troops slaughter the MacDonald clan.

1693, January 26 - Mount Etna in Sicily erupts, causing significant destruction to nearby towns.

1694, January 25 - The Bank of England is chartered by the English Parliament, becoming the first national bank in the world.

1695, January 1 - The window tax, a property tax based on the number of windows in a house, is imposed in England.

1696, January 16 - The Bank of Scotland is established by an Act of the Scottish Parliament.

1697, January 26 - The Treaty of Ryswick ends the Nine Years' War (War of the Grand Alliance) between France and the Grand Alliance.

1698, January 16: Russia's Peter the Great imposes a tax on beards as part of his efforts to modernize the country.

1699, January 1 - A treaty is signed between Denmark and the Tsardom of Russia, ending the Russo-Swedish War.

1700, January 30 - Sweden introduces the Julian calendar, shifting from the old-style calendar to the Gregorian calendar.

1701, January 30 - Frederick I of Prussia crowns himself as King in Prussia.

1702, January 15 - The Palace of Versailles in France catches fire, causing substantial damage to the building.

1703, January 2 - Tsar Peter the Great founds Saint Petersburg, Russia, as the new Russian capital.

1704, January 24 - The Battle of Ayubale establishes Russian dominance in the Caucasus, securing territories.

1705, January 6 - The Spanish ship San Jose y las Animas sinks off the coast of Florida, becoming a subject of treasure hunting.

1707, January 16 - The Acts of Union between England and Scotland are ratified, forming the Kingdom of Great Britain.

1708, January 15 - James Francis Edward Stuart, known as the Old Pretender, declares himself King of England and Scotland.

1709, January 26 - The Great Northern War sees Swedish forces defeat a Russian army at the Battle of Poltava.

1710, January 6 - The first copyright legislation is enacted in Great Britain, known as the Statute of Anne.

1711, January 17 - The Ottoman Empire declares war on Venice, initiating the Ottoman-Venetian War.

1712, January 5 - The Duke of Marlborough is dismissed from his command by Queen Anne during the War of the Spanish Succession.

1713, January 11 - A peace conference begins in Utrecht, aiming to end the War of the Spanish Succession.

1714, January 22 - The German mathematician and physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invents the mercury thermometer.

1715, January 17 - The Boston Riot of 1715 erupts in Boston, Massachusetts, protesting taxation without representation.

1716, January 6 - The Battle of Rio de Janeiro sees Portuguese forces repel a French attack during the War of the Spanish Succession.

1717, January 24 - The first Freemasons' Grand Lodge is founded in London, establishing modern Freemasonry.

1718, January 28 - France declares war on Spain, escalating the War of the Quadruple Alliance.

1719, January 25 - The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.

1720, January 23 - The South Sea Bubble bursts, leading to a financial crisis in England and affecting the stock market.

1721, January 22 - Peter the Great of Russia establishes the city of Saint Petersburg as the new capital.

1722, January 15 - Czar Peter the Great begins a military campaign in Persia, capturing the Persian capital of Isfahan.

1723, January 28 - Christopher Wren, the English architect who designed St. Paul's Cathedral in London, dies at the age of 90.

1724, January 11 - Royal astronomer Edmond Halley presents his paper on the periodicity of his namesake comet to the Royal Society.

1725, January 14 - Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe," is rescued after being marooned on an island for four years.

1726, January 28 - The Grafton Estate in Virginia is established by the colonial governor, Sir William Gooch.

1727, January 28 - Sir Isaac Newton, renowned mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, dies in London at the age of 84.

1728, January 16 - The Chinese Emperor Yongzheng bans Christian missions in China.

1729, January 7 - Johann Beringer, a German scholar, discovers the controversial "Lügensteine" or "lying stones," later
revealed as a hoax.

1730, January 29 - The "Baltimore News-Letter," the first newspaper in the American colonies, is published.

1731, January 17 - Benjamin Franklin opens the first library in the United States in Philadelphia.

1732, January 7 - The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, opens in London.

1733, January 12 - James Oglethorpe and 130 English colonists arrive at Charleston, South Carolina, establishing the colony of Georgia.

1734, January 29 - A fire destroys the Palace of Whitehall in London.

1739, January 15 - The British East India Company captures the city of Madras in India from the French.

1740, January 30 - Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, French philosopher, publishes "The Spirit of the Laws."

1741, January 16 - The city of Milan surrenders to Austrian forces during the War of the Austrian Succession.

1742, January 12 - Astronomer Edmond Halley observes the comet that bears his name.

1743, January 23 - The French defeat the Austrians at the Battle of Campo Santo during the War of the Austrian Succession.

1744, January 24 - Charles Edward Stuart, known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, arrives in France after his defeat in the Jacobite Rising.

1745, January 17 - The city of Prague surrenders to the Prussian army during the War of the Austrian Succession.

1746, January 31 - Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite forces defeat government troops at the Battle of Falkirk Muir in Scotland.

1747, January 8 - The Austrian army secures a victory against the French at the Battle of Bergen in the Netherlands.

1748, January 18 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession, restoring territorial boundaries.

1750, January 30 - The publication of "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society" features Benjamin Franklin's account of his kite experiment to study electricity.

1751, January 1 - Sweden adopts the Gregorian calendar, moving from the Julian calendar.

1752, January 17 - The first hospital in the United States, the Pennsylvania Hospital, is founded in Philadelphia.

1753, January 11 - The first American professional librarian, Louis Timothee, is hired in Philadelphia.

1754, January 5 - Columbia University in New York City holds its first classes.

1755, January 9 - The British Museum opens its doors to the public in Montagu House, London.

1756, January 16 - The Treaty of Westminster between France and Great Britain marks the start of the Seven Years' War.

1758, January 9 - Charles Edward Stuart, known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, flees to France following his failed Jacobite Rising in Scotland.

1759, January 8 - George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis in Virginia.

1759, January 15 - The British Museum, established in 1753, opens to the public. The Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone are among its world-renowned antiquities and archaeological holdings.

1760, January 5 - Afghani ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani defeats the Marathas in the Battle of Barari Ghat, consolidating power in India.

1761, January 22 - The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the first African-American denomination in the United States, is founded in New York City.

1762, January 5 - Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia after a coup that deposes her husband, Peter III.

1763, January 10 - The Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War, redistributing territories and marking significant colonial changes.

1764, January 14 - The English Parliament passes the American Revenue Act, which initiates the taxation of the American colonies.

1765, January 17 - The Leiden University Library, one of the oldest in the Netherlands, burns down with over 100,000 books lost.

1766, January 29 - The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, a major concession to the American colonies.

1768, January 17 - English explorer Captain James Cook anchors at Botany Bay in Australia during his first voyage.

1769, January 19 - The first institution dedicated to the study of volcanoes, the Osservatorio Vesuviano, is established in Naples, Italy.

1770, January 18 - The first shipment of rhubarb from the American colonies arrives in London.

1771, January 28 - The Spanish mission San Gabriel Arcángel is founded in California, becoming one of the oldest Catholic missions.

1772, January 5 - The first traveler's cheques are issued by the London Credit Exchange Company.

1773, January 6 - The Royal Colony of North Carolina issues a legislative act offering £1,000 for the capture of pirate Blackbeard.

1774, January 11 - The first session of the Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia.

1775, January 19 - The American Continental Army is established by the Continental Congress, with George Washington appointed as its commander-in-chief.

1776, January 10 - Thomas Paine publishes "Common Sense," advocating American independence from Britain. More

1777, January 2 - American forces defeat the British at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek in the American Revolutionary War.

1777, January 15 - Vermont declares independence from the British crown and from the Colony of New York. They called the territory New Connecticut but when they met in June to write a constitution, they changed the name to Vermont, loosely  based on the French term for “green mountain,” or “ montagne verte.” Vermont became the 14th State  when it was admitted into the Union on on March 4 1791. More 

1778, January 18 - English Captain James Cook, traveling aboard the 100-foot flagship HMS Resolution and its 90-foot companion HMS Discovery. sights O‘ahu and two days later steps ashore at Waimea on Kaua‘i, becoming the first European to travel to the Hawaiian Islands. After a short stay Capitan Cook went on to explore the west coast of North America, to continue his search for the Northwest Passage. A year later, he returned to Hawaii where he was killed by the Hawaiian natives at Kealakekua Bay on February 14, 1779 after he attempted to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ruling chief (aliʻi nui) of the island and hold him in exchange for the return of a small stolen cutter. A fatal error that led to his death. Cook's arrival in Hawaii eventually led to large migrations of Europeans and Americans to the islands resulting a century later in 1893, in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii by pro-American elements. More

1778, January 27 - The first state constitution of Georgia is adopted.

1779, January 16 - Spain declares war on Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War.

1780, January 17 - American forces win the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War.

1781, January 17 - American forces under Daniel Morgan defeat the British at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War.

1782, January 20 - The Siege of Gibraltar ends with the lifting of the Spanish and French blockade.

1783, January 14 - The signing of the Treaty of Paris formally ends the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States.

1784, January 14 -  The Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, officially establishing the United States as an independent and sovereign nation. The treaty, signed in Paris on September 3, 1783, required Congress to return the ratified document to England within six months. More

1785, January 7 - French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries make the first aerial crossing of the English Channel in a hydrogen balloon. More

1786, January 9 - The first successful balloon flight in America takes place in Philadelphia, piloted by Jean-Pierre Blanchard.

1787, January 6 - The Ordinance of 1787 is passed, establishing the Northwest Territory and laying the groundwork for the eventual creation of new states.

1788, January 2 - Georgia becomes the fourth  State of the Union.

1788, January 26 - The British colony of New South Wales is established as a penal colony. Led by Governor Arthur Phillip, the first settlement, at Sydney, consisted of about 850 convicts and their Marine guards and officers. The early years were increasingly difficult ones as the colony struggled to establish and be able to feed. By 1792, the first signs of stability were appearing but Governor Phillip, weakened by illness and the deprivations of those years, returned to England, leaving the colony in the hands of military Lieutenant-Governors. January 26 is now celebrated nationally as "Australia Day". Many Aboriginal Australians refer to it as "Invasion Day" More

1789, January 9 -  Connecticut becomes the fifth State of the Union.

1788, January 26 - The First Fleet, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrives at Port Jackson, Australia, establishing the first European settlement.

1789, January 7 - The first U.S. presidential election is held, resulting in George Washington's unanimous election as the nation's first president.

1790, January 8 - George Washington delivers the first State of the Union Address in New York City.

1791, January 27 - The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act, dividing Canada into Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

1792, January 21 - The French National Convention declares King Louis XVI guilty of treason, leading to his execution.

1793, January 21 - King Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine during the French Revolution after voting unanimously to find the King guilty.  For the first time in a thousand years, the French people were not ruled by a monarch. More

1794, January 14 - Dr. Jesús H. García discovers the healing powers of the "Niagara" medicinal spring in Colombia.

1795, January 19 - The Batavian Republic, a French client state, is established in the Netherlands.

1796, January 11 - John Jay, on behalf of the United States, signs the Jay Treaty with Great Britain, easing tensions between the two countries.

1797, January 15 - The first top hat is worn in public by John Etherington in London, England.

1798, January 22 - The French Revolutionary Wars see the British fleet under Admiral Horatio Nelson defeat the French fleet off the Egyptian coast at the Battle of the Nile.

1799, January 1 - The income tax is introduced in Britain to finance the Napoleonic Wars.

1800, January 1 - The Dutch East India Company is dissolved by the Netherlands government.

1801, January 1 - The Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland comes into effect, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

1802, January 25 - The Treaty of Amiens is signed, temporarily ending hostilities between France and the United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars.

1803, January 18 - Thomas Jefferson secretly commissions Meriwether Lewis to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory.

1804, January 1 - Haiti gains independence from France, becoming the first independent black-led nation in the Western Hemisphere.

1805, January 22 - The Lewis and Clark Expedition reaches the Pacific Ocean, completing their journey across the American continent.

1806, January 23 - The Pall Mall Gazette becomes the first London newspaper to be published daily.

1807, January 1 - The importation of slaves into the United States is banned by an act of Congress, taking effect in 1808.

1808, January 27 - The Rum Rebellion in Australia sees Governor William Bligh deposed by the New South Wales Corps.

1809, January 19 - Edgar Allan Poe, American author and poet, is born in Boston, Massachusetts.

1810, January 20 - The Argentine Primera Junta is established, marking the beginning of Argentina's independence from Spain.

1811, January 12 - An earthquake in the Midwest, known as the New Madrid earthquake, shakes the central United States.

1812, January 19 - Peninsular War: French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte storm the city of Valencia, Spain.

1813, January 8 - The Creek War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Fort Jackson, ceding Creek territory to the United States.

1814, January 14 - Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden, following the Treaty of Kiel between Sweden and Denmark-Norway.

1815, January 8 - American forces, led by General Andrew Jackson, defeat the British in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

1816, January 1 - The Bank of America opens its doors in New York City.

1817, January 27 - Argentine General José de San Martín begins his crossing of the Andes during the South American Wars of Independence.

1818, January 28 - The British explorer and navigator John Ross reaches the North Magnetic Pole.

1819, January 15 - Simon Bolivar, the South American revolutionary, proclaims the Republic of Colombia.

1820, January 8 - Britain's King George III dies, and his son, King George IV, ascends to the throne.

1821, January 25 - The Mexican War of Independence concludes with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba, recognizing Mexican independence from Spain.

1822, January 8 - The Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire begins with an uprising in the Peloponnese.

1823, January 2 - Stephen F. Austin receives a grant of land in Texas from Mexico, initiating American colonization.

1824, January 26 - Peru defeats Spain in the Battle of Ayacucho, effectively securing South American independence.

1825, January 10 - The first freight train is introduced in the United States, operating in Quincy, Massachusetts.

1826, January 22 - The Treaty of Yandabo is signed, ending the First Anglo-Burmese War and ceding Assam, Manipur, and Arakan to Britain.

1827, January 27 - Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 in F Major premieres in Vienna, Austria.

1828, January 30 - The London Metropolitan Police, led by Sir Robert Peel, begins operating at Scotland Yard.

1829, January 8 - Frenchman Louis Braille publishes his system of raised dots for blind readers.

1830, January 14 - The Great Fire of New Orleans destroys over 200 buildings in the city.

1831, January 1 - William Lloyd Garrison publishes the first edition of the abolitionist newspaper, "The Liberator."

1832, January 26 - The Kingdom of Poland adopts a constitution, granting limited freedoms.

1833, January 1 - The United Kingdom abolishes slavery in its colonies, leading to the gradual emancipation of slaves.

1834, January 1 - The United States Congress approves a plan to dismantle Native American tribes' governments and relocate them west of the Mississippi River.

1835, January 8 - The United States national debt is zero for the first and only time in its history.

1836, January 5 - Davy Crockett arrives in Texas, joining the fight for independence from Mexico.

1837, January 30 - Michigan becomes the 26th state of the United States.

1838, January 11 - Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail demonstrate their telegraph system publicly for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey, by sending a telegram across two miles of wire. Morse continued to improve the system as well as invented the Morse Code while trying to get financial backing. It wasn't until  four years later, on March 1843, that Congress, awarded him $30,00 to construct an experimental telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore, a distance of 44 miles. In May 24, 1844 the now famous message "WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT" was sent over those lines from the Capitol in Washington to the old Mt. Clare Depot in Baltimore marking the beginning of a new era of faster communications. More 

1839, January 25 - The British East India Company captures Aden, establishing a strategic foothold in Yemen.

1840, January 9 - Upper Canada and Lower Canada are merged into the Province of Canada by an Act of Union.

1840. January 19 - The United States Naval officer, Lt. Charles Wilkes, exploring expedition of the South Seas reaches the Antarctic continent. The six U.S. Navy vessels  under Wilkes command had set out in 1838 on a great voyage of exploration with several hundred seamen and scientists to explore and map the Pacific, Antarctica, and the northwest coast of the United States. Lt. Charles Wilkes' tremendous feat of navigation during his 4 year expedition helped broadened the knowledge of uncharted areas of the world and to expand American scientific knowledge, commerce, industry, and world standing. Wilkes is credited with proving the existence of Antarctica as a land continent, a vital contribution to world geography. More

1840, January 22 -  The first group of European settlers arrive at Petone aboard the ship the Aurora, to found the settlement that would become Wellington, named after Named for the first Duke of Wellington. By July of 1840 there were over 1000 settlers in New Zeeland .On May 21 1840, Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over all of New Zealand even though copies of the treaty were still circulating throughout the country for  the Māori to sign.

1841, January 4 - China cedes the Island of Hong Kong to the British as a result of the First Opium War. The treaty was followed in 1898 by a 99-year lease in 1898 that allowed Britain to control even more land. The lease ended in 1997.

1842, January 29 - The Treaty of Nanking is signed, ending the First Opium War between Britain and China.

1843, January 4 - Richard Wagner's opera "Der fliegende Holländer" premieres in Dresden, Germany.

1844, January 13 - The University of Notre Dame is founded in Indiana, United States.

1845, January 3 - Texas is admitted as the 28th state of the United States.

1846, January 13 - The United States Congress establishes the Smithsonian Institution.

1847, January 26 - The Battle of the Sacramento River takes place during the Mexican-American War.

1848, January 24 - Gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill in California by James W. Marshall as he sees shining flecks of gold in the tailrace of the sawmill he was building in partnership with John Sutter. This discovery unleashed the California Gold Rush changing the course of California's and the nation's history. More

1849, January 23 - Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree.

1850, January 29 - Henry Clay presents the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Senate in an attempt to prevent a civil war over slavery.

1851, January 29 - The British East India Company conquers the Kingdom of Punjab.

1852, January 27 - The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Transvaal (South African Republic).

1853,  January 4 -  Solomon Northrup, who was born a free person of color in what is now Minerva, New York, legally regains his freedom after being kidnapped, sold into slavery and spending 12 years as a slave. Northrup was a farmer, laborer, and musician.  He later wrote about his experiences in "Twelve Years a Slave"  More  

1853, January 4 - The first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason, opens in Philadelphia.

1854, January 23 - The San Francisco steamer sinks in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in a significant loss of life.

1855, January 23 - The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1855, January 31 -  Treaty of Neah Bay: Makah Reservation established in US Territory of Washington for Makah nation, preserving tribal rights but ceding over 300,000 acres to the US government  More

1856, January 28 - The Victoria Cross, the highest British military decoration, is established.

1857, January 10 - The Great Eastern ship is launched in England, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

1858, January 11 - The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn is played for the first time at a wedding in Germany.

1859, January 1 - The French conquest of Cochinchina (Vietnam) begins.

1860, January 10 - The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts, collapses, resulting in the death of over 145 workers.

1861, January 9 - Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union before the American Civil War.

1861, January 29 - Kansas is admitted into the Union, becoming the 34th State  

1863, January 1 - The Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln goes into effect, freeing slaves in Confederate-held territories. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." More

1863, January 1 - The first claim under the Homestead Act is made by Daniel Freeman for a farm in Nebraska.

1864, January 17 - General William T. Sherman begins his march through the Carolinas during the American Civil War.

1865, January 31 - The United States Congress passes the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery and sends it to the States for ratification. The amendment passed 119 to 56, barely above the required two-thirds majority. Ratification from the States was received on December 1865, ending the institution of slavery in the U.S. with a final constitutional solution. More

1866, January 1  The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London, becoming the world's oldest aeronautical society.

1867, January 30 - The United States buys Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, known as the Alaska Purchase.

1868, January 1 - The Shogunate in Japan is abolished, marking the beginning of the Meiji Restoration.

1869, January 1 - The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City begins.

1870, January 1 - Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.

1870, January 23 - The Bear River Massacre (also known as the Marias Massacre or the Baker Massacre) was the largest massacre of Indigenous people in present-day Montana. Over 150 Blackfeet—most of whom were women, children, the elderly, and those suffering from disease—were massacred by U.S. Second Cavalry soldiers under the command of Major Eugene Baker  near the Marias River. More 

1871, January 18 - Wilhelm I is proclaimed the first German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Following the surrender by the French army in Sedan and the  south German states, except for Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, joined the North German Confederation  and recognized the Prussian King as the German Emperor More

1873, January 9 - French poet Arthur Rimbaud decides to stop writing at the age of 18.

1874, January 1 - New York City annexes the Bronx, increasing the city's land area by about a third.

1875, January 23 - The first electric dental drill is patented by George F. Green in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

1876, January 8 - Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for the telephone.

1877, January 10 - Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle against the U.S. Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana. More

1878, January 22 - The world's first telephone directory is issued, by the New Haven District Telephone Company in Connecticut.

1879, January 1 - Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time.

1879, January 11 - The Anglo - Zulu war begins when British troops invade Zululand from the southern African republic of Natal after Zululand King Cetshwayo refuses the British demands for him to disband his army or join a federation of British colonies and Boer Republics. The Zulus proved to be formidable opponents but could not overcome the technological advantage the British and were eventually defeated after a series of particularly bloody battles which lasted eight months. It wasn't until 1887 that Zululand was declared British territory and finally annexed to Natal ten years later. More

1880, January 10 - The Salvation Army begins operations in the United States.

1881, January 20 - -The United States Senate ratifies the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the Spanish-American War.

1882, January 1 - John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust is formed.

1883, January 4 - The Philippines formally becomes a Spanish colony.

1884, January 11 - Supreme Court rules that Native Americans cannot be barred from voting in the U.S.

1885, January 27 - The first successful appendectomy is performed by Dr. William Grant in Iowa.

1886, January 29 - Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.

1887, January 9 - Record Snow and cold hit the Northern Plains. The winter of 1886–1887, also known as the Big Die-Up, was extremely harsh for much of continental North America, especially the northern plains of the United States where the cattle industry was decimated. The cattle, already weak from lack of forage from the previous dry summer became weaker as they trudged through the deepening snow in search for food. Hundreds of thousands of cattle are said to have died, Montana ranchers alone lost an estimated 362,000 head of cattle, more than half the territory's herd. The disaster led  to a major reorganization of ranching and ending the open range era. More

1888, January 12 - One of the deadliest winter storms hits the upper Midwest. The blizzard with an epicenter in present-day South Dakota caused the deaths of hundreds of people, including 213 children who never made it home from their one-room schoolhouses and became known as the “Children’s Blizzard”. The frigid temperatures were a nationwide phenomenon. Sub-zero temperatures reached all the way to Texas and Georgia, people could ice skate in San Francisco, and water mains froze in Los Angeles. More

1888, January 14 - The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.

1889, January 22 - Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C., later merging with Edison's company to form Columbia Records.

1890, January 2 - Alice Sanger becomes the first female White House staffer.

1891, January 1 - The British South Africa Company is chartered, marking the start of British colonization in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia).

1892, January 19 - The first official basketball game is played at the YMCA gymnasium in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1893, January 4 - The Independent Labour Party of the UK holds its first meeting.

1893, January 17 - The Kingdom of Hawaii is overthrown by a group which called themselves the Committee of Safety, staged a coup d'état against Queen Liliuokalani and her government. The group composed of 13 Caucasian businessmen and lawyers, six citizens of the Kingdom and seven foreign residents of Hawaii (five Americans, one Scotsman, and one German). Their ultimate goal was annexation to the United States. However it took five years until that goal was achieved. More

1894, January 1 - The Manchester Ship Canal in England opens to traffic, becoming the largest navigation canal in the world.

1895, January 4 - Dreyfus Affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.

1896, January 4 - Utah is admitted into the Union, becomingthe 45th U.S. state.

1897, January 6 - The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is founded in England.

1898, January 25 - The United States battleship Maine is commissioned.

1899, January 13 - The Spanish-American War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, ceding Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States.

1900, January 8 - -U.S. President William McKinley places Alaska under military rule.

1901, January 1 - The Commonwealth of Australia is established by the Federation of six colonies.

1901, January 10 - The Lucas Gusher at Spindletop, just south of Beaumont, Texas, blew a stream of oil over 100 feet high until it was capped nine days later and flowed an estimated 100,000 barrels a day. It was found at a depth of 1,139 feet and it herald the beginning of the American Oil era. While some made fortunes, others lost everything. More

1902, January 4 - The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, is held in Pasadena, California.

1903, January 1 - Edward VII is proclaimed King after the death of Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom.

1904, January 16 - The first large-scale bodybuilding competition in America is held at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

1905, January 9 - The Russian Revolution of 1905 begins as a peaceful protest by Russian workers in St. Petersburg turns violent.

1905, January 25 - The Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever found is discovered near Pretoria in modern-day South Africa. It was named after the chairman of the mining company, Thomas Cullinan. In its uncut state, it weighed 3,106 metric carats with a size of 10.1 x 6.35 x 5.9 cm. with extraordinary blue-white color and exceptional clarity. The rough stone was gifted to King Edward VII in 1907  and cut into nine major diamonds named Cullinan I through IX, ranked from largest to smallest.   More

1906, January 10 - The British SS Valencia runs aground off Vancouver Island, resulting in over 100 deaths.

1907, January 18 - The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle (SMLE) becomes the official service rifle of the British Army.

1908, January 11 - U.S, President Theodore Roosevelt declares the Grand Canyon in Arizona a National Monument after having it established it as a Game Preserve by Proclamation in 1906. Theodore Roosevelt,  protected approximately 230 million acres of public land during his presidency. More

1908, January 21 - New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, prohibiting women from smoking in public establishments.

1909, January 7 - Ernest Shackleton's expedition reaches the magnetic South Pole.

1910, January 20 - The first public radio broadcast takes place in the United States, a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

1911, January 11 - The first landing of an aircraft on a ship occurs as Eugene Ely lands a Curtiss Pusher biplane on the USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco Bay.

1912, January 6 - New Mexico is admitted into the Union, becoming the 47th U.S. state.

1912, January 18 - British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and four members of his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Norwegian explorer Roald Engelbregt Amundsen had reached the South Pole a month earlier. Scott and his men died when trying to return to their base camp.

1913, January 12 - The Mona Lisa is recovered in Florence after being stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1911.

1914, January 16 - The first telephone line across the Atlantic Ocean is established between New York and London.

1915, January 13 - An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy, kills over 29,000 people.

1915, January 28 - A German cruiser sinks first American merchant ship, the William P. Frye, off the coast of Brazil. More

1915, January 28 - The U.S. Congress  creates the Coast Guard by combining the Revenue Cutter Service was merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service, and was officially renamed the Coast Guard. In 1939, the Lighthouse Service was folded in and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation was added to the USCG in 1946. More

1916, January 10 - The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) is established in New York City.

1917, January 22 - President Woodrow Wilson pleads for "peace without victory" in World War I.

1918, January 8 - United States President Woodrow Wilson outlines his "Fourteen Points" for peace after World War I.

1919, January 16: The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the sale, manufacture, or transportation of intoxicating liquors, is ratified. More

1919, January 18 - The Paris Peace Conference convenes at Versailles just outside Paris. The conference was called to establish the terms of the peace after World War I. More

1920, January 10 - The League of Nations officially comes into existence holding its first council meeting in Paris. On November 15, 1920, 41 members states, representing more than 70% of the world’s population, gathered in Geneva for the opening of the first session of the Assembly. More

1921, January 10 - The Irish War of Independence begins as Irish guerrillas attack and burn down the Custom House in Dublin.

1922, January 3 - Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic).

1923, January 3 - British archaeologist Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.

1923, January 10 - U.S. President Harding issues an executive order halting U.S. occupation of the Rhine allowing the return of the final contingent of American troops to return home, more than four years after the end of World War I. More

1924, January 21 - Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin dies, leading to a power struggle in the Soviet Union.

1925, January 26: The world's first motor race at 300 km/h is won by Malcolm Campbell in a Sunbeam at Pendine Sands, Wales.

1926, January 28 - The first demonstration of television by John Logie Baird takes place in London.

1927, January 20 - The first transatlantic telephone service is established between New York and London.

1928, January 10 - The Soviet Union orders the exile of Leon Trotsky.

1929, January 3 - The Soviet Union announces the collectivization of agriculture, leading to significant upheaval in rural areas.

1930, January 4 - British India arrests Mohandas Gandhi in Bombay for organizing resistance against British rule.

1931, January 7 - The Second Italo-Ethiopian War begins as Italy invades Ethiopia.

1932, January 12 - Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway becomes first woman elected to U.S. Senate when she defeated two male opponents in a special race in Arkansas. More

1932, January 23 - Franklin D. Roosevelt institutes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to aid the struggling U.S. economy during the Great Depression.

1933, January 5 - The Golden Gate Bridge construction starts. Joseph B. Strauss led the way as Chief Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge and he is is also credited as being the leading force behind seeing the Golden Gate Bridge become a reality. The bridge was completed on May May 28, 1937. More

1933, January 30 - Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. More

1934, January 17 - The United States formally devalues the dollar against gold for the first time in history.

1935, January 11: Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California. More

1936, January 6: The first all-glass windowless building, the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.

1937, January 7 - The U.S. Senate rejects the nomination of Hugo Black to the Supreme Court due to his Ku Klux Klan involvement.

1938, January 3 - The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis s found by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, an adult victim of polio. The foundation was renamed later "The March of Dimes Foundation" More  

1938, January 5 - Iceland becomes the first country to legalize abortion.

1939, January 1 - The Hewlett-Packard Company is founded in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California.

1940, January 3 -The British Royal Air Force bombs a German seaplane base, marking the first British raid of World War II.

1941, January 6 - Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his "Four Freedoms" speech during the State of the Union Address.

1942, January 14 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues Presidential Proclamation 2537 , requiring."All alien enemies" within the continental United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, to obtain a certificate of identification and carry it "at all times". Along with travel and access restrictions. More

1942, January 19 - Japan begins its invasion of Burma during World War II.

1943, January 14 - The Casablanca Conference begins between Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt to plan Allied strategy during World War II. 

1943, January 27 - The first US raid was conducted on Germany proper as 91 US bombers were sent on a day light raid on the submarine bases at Wilhelmshaven. 53 bombers successfully bombed the target and 3 were lost. The US daylight bombing of Germany continued as the British continue their night  bombing raids. More

1944, January 27- The 900 day siege of Leningrad is broken when the Soviet Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive expels the German forces from the southern outskirts of the city. This was a combined effort by the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts, along with the 1st and 2nd Baltic Fronts. The estimates of the death toll vary, but it is believed than more than 1 million Leningrad residents perished from hunger or bombardments, during the siege.

1945, January 7 -  American troops land on the main Philippine Island of Luzon, after the capture the Philippine islands of  the Leyte and Mindoro Island to the south in late December 1944, where two airfields were established from which aircraft would be launched to assist in the landings on Luzon. Mexican and Australian troops also participated in the battle for Luzon, as well as a very large number of Filipino fighters. Japanese losses were 217,000 dead, with 9,050 taken prisoners. U.S. losses were 8,310 killed and 29,560 wounded. Civilian casualties are estimated at 120,000 to 140,000 dead. More

1945, January 16 - Hitler moves his headquarters to his underground bunker (Führerbunker) as the Soviet Army approaches and Berlin is under bombardment. His aides, bodyguards, servants, and his girlfriend Eva Braun joined him in the bunker. Later, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda moved into the bunker with their six children. Hitler stayed in the bunker for 105 days and married Eva Braun there on 29 April 1945, less than 40 hours before they committed suicide. More

1945, January 17 - Soviet forces capture Warsaw during World War II.

1945, January 27 - The Soviet troops liberate the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland.

1945, January 30 - The German MV Wilhelm Gustloff military transport ship is sunk by the Soviet submarine S-13 in the Baltic Sea while on a mission to evacuate civilians and military personnel from East Prussia and other German occupied areas as the Red army advanced, It was estimated that between 6,000-9,000 people died, making it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. More

1946, January 1 - Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god during a radio broadcast.

1946, January 10, The United Nations convened the First Session of the General Assembly in London, England. Delegates representing 51 nations attended the session, wherein the scope and purpose of the United Nations was defined. More

1947, January 1 - Canada's Citizenship Act comes into effect, allowing Canadians to acquire separate Canadian citizenship from British nationality.

1948, January 4 - Burma (Myanmar) formally achieves independence from Britain after the negotiations between Burmese leader Aung San and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee were completed.

1948, January 17 -The trial of 11 U.S. Communist Party leaders begins in New York City.

1948, January 30 -  Mahatma Gandhi, is assassinated at age 78 following a prayer vigil in New Delhi. His killer was Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a Hindu fanatic Hindu nationalist fanatic and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu paramilitary organization, who believed Gandhi had been too conciliatory to the Indian subcontinent's large Muslim minority. 

1949, January 1 - The Act of Free Choice in The Netherlands grants Indonesia independence.

1950, January 17 - The security firm Brinks, in Boston, Massachusetts, is surprised by five heavily disguised men as they were closing for the day. The men quickly bound the employees and within minutes, they’d stolen more than $1.2 million in cash and another $1.5 million in checks and other securities, making it the largest robbery in the U.S. at the time. More

1950, January 23 - Alger Hiss, a former State Department official, is convicted of perjury for lying about being a Soviet spy.

1950, January 26 - India declares itself a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state with the adoption of the Constitution. Although India had become a free nation on August 15, 1947 (independence day), it officially became a republic on 26 January 1950, (Republic Day) when the Constitution was adopted. Republic Day and Independence Day are national holidays. 

1950, January 31 - U.S. President Harry Truman publicly announces his decision to continue and intensify research and production of thermonuclear weapons.(Hydrogen Bomb), a weapon theorized at that time to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. Five months earlier, the Soviet Union successfully detonated an atomic bomb. Then, several weeks after that, British and U.S. intelligence came to the staggering conclusion that German-born Klaus Fuchs, a top-ranking scientist in the U.S. nuclear program, was a spy for the Soviet Union. More

1951, January 8 - The United Nations headquarters officially opens in New York City. More

1951, January 27 - The Nevada Test Site (NTS), 65 miles north of Las Vegas, detonates the first of several nuclear bombs, Shot Able, a 1-kiloton bomb, as part of Operation Ranger. Between 1951 and 1992, the U.S. government conducted a total of 928 nuclear tests here. Out of these tests 100 were atmospheric, and 828 were underground. More

1952, January 31: The first official TV broadcast in Canada takes place in Montreal.

1953, January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces in his last State of the Union message to Congress that the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb. More

1953, January 20: -Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States.

1954, January 14 - The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation, forming American Motors Corporation (AMC).

1955, January 7 - Marian Anderson, made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York Cityas Ulrica in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera. She was the first African American to perform with the company.

1955, January 14 -The USSR ends its state of war with Germany.

1956, January 26 - The Republic of India's first election commences, making Jawaharlal Nehru the country's first Prime Minister.

1957, January 5 - The Eisenhower Doctrine is announced, providing military and economic aid to Middle Eastern countries threatened by communism.

1958, January 31 - The United States enters the space age by launching its first satellite, Explorer 1.

1959, January 1 Cuban President Fulgencio Batista flees Cuba and flies to the Dominican Republic with his chief military aides leaving behind a junta which the rebels refused to recognize. His eldest son and over 50 other military leaders left on a plane to Jacksonville, Florida.

1959, January 7 - The United States recognizes the new Cuban government after a general strike in early January forces the military Junta Government, left by Batista, to relinquish power to the 26th of July Movement. Fidel Castro arrives in Havana on January 8. The following month, on February 16, 1959, Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba, and accepted the position on the condition that the Prime Minister's powers be increased. More

1959, January 3 - Alaska is admitted into the Union, becoming the 49th U.S. State 

1960, January 1 - Cameroon achieves independence from France.

1960, January 7 - The Aswan High Dam in Egypt construction starts. The rock-fill dam across the Nile River at Aswān, Egypt, was completed in 1970 and inaugurated in 1971. It now generates large amounts of electric power and allows for the control of the annual Nile flood providing major benefits to the Egyptian economy. More

1961, January 3 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba as Fidel Castro solidifies his socialist government.

1962, January 1 - The Western Samoan islands become independent from New Zealand and become Western Samoa, later known as Samoa.

1963, January 14 - George Wallace is inaugurated as Governor of Alabama and delivers his infamous "Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" speech.

1964, January 4 -  Patsy Mink (Patsy Matsu Takemoto) becomes the first Asian-American woman to serve in Congress. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the State of Hawaii. More

1964, January 11 - The United States Surgeon General Luther Terry announces that cigarette smoking may be hazardous to health and it is linked to serious health effects, including lung cancer and heart disease. More

1964, January 28 - A Soviet fighter shot down a U.S. T–39 training aircraft over East Germany. The three U.S. officers aboard were killed. More

1965, January 4 - President Lyndon B. Johnson unveils his "Great Society" vision in his State of the Union address calling for  legislation for major investments in social welfare programs. More 

1966, January 17 - A US B-52 bomber loaded with nuclear weapons collides with a tanker plane during a midair refueling operation off the coast of Almeria, Spain. Seven of the total 11 crew members were killed. The crash caused four hydrogen bombs to tumble from the B-52; one was later recovered intact in the Mediterranean while the other three crashed on land near the coastal village of Palomares. The bombs did not explode but two cracked open and dispersed 7 pounds of radioactive plutonium with the wind. More

1966, January 24 - Indira Gandhi becomes the first female Prime Minister of India.

1967, January 3 - Jack Leon Ruby dies of cancer in a Dallas hospital. Born Jacob Leon Rubenstein, he had been convicted  and sentenced to death for murdering Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The conviction was appealed, and he was to be granted a new trial, but Ruby became ill, was diagnosed with cancer, and died of a pulmonary embolism at a Dallas hospital. More

1967, January 27 - The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign the Outer Space Treaty banning the militarization of space.

1967, January 27 - The Apollo I Tragedy; a fire swept through the Apollo 1 Command Module during a launch rehearsal test, tragically killing astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee. A long investigation concluded that a faulty electrical wire inside the Apollo 1 command module was the probable cause of the fire. More

1968, January 5 - Alexander Dubček comes to power in Czechoslovakia, beginning the period known as the Prague Spring.

1968, January 23 - North Korea, using three torpedo boats, two sub chasers and a couple of MiG fighters  opens fire on the  USS Pueblo (AGER-2) —and captures the virtually unarmed U.S. Ship outfitted as an electronic surveillance platform, in international waters off North Korea’s east coast in the Sea of Japan. More

1969, January 30 - The Beatles perform their last public concert on the rooftop of Apple Records in London.

1970, January 28 - The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is ratified by 43 nations.

1971, January 7 - In a television address, President Richard Nixon announces the end of the convertibility of the United States dollar into gold.

1972, January 5 - President Richard Nixon signs a bill authorizing $5.5 billion for the development of a reusable winged space transportation system commonly known as the space shuttle. The reusability of the shuttle’s components was expected to provide regular access to space to many customers, while at the same time reducing costs. The spacecraft was to be designed to carry seven astronauts and up to 50,000 pounds of cargo into orbits a few hundred miles from Earth. NASA launched Columbia, the first space shuttle, in 1981. More  

1972, January 24 - Japanese Army Sergeant  Shoichi Yokoi is discovered by local farmers on Guam. Yokoi, who fought in World War II, had been hiding in the jungle for almost 28 years. The return of the American forces to Guam and the bloody battle for possession of the island, created a breakdown of the Japanese command on Guam and soldiers like Yokoi were left to fend for themselves and told “to prefer death to the disgrace of getting captured alive”. More

1972, January 30 - British Paratroopers open fire on Roman Catholic civil rights supporters in Derry, Northern Ireland, killing 13 in what becomes known as Bloody Sunday. The demonstration began as a peaceful, but illegal, demonstration by some 10,000 people organized by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in opposition to the British government’s policy of interning suspected members of the IRA without trial. The incident remained a source of controversy for decades, with competing accounts of the events. In 2010 the Saville Report, the final pronouncement of a government inquiry initiated by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998, concluded that none of the victims had posed any threat to the soldiers and that their shooting was without justification.

1973, January 22 - The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade recognized that the decision whether to continue or end a pregnancy belongs to the individual, not the government. Roe held that the specific guarantee of “liberty” in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects individual privacy, includes the right to abortion prior to fetal viability. After Roe, the Supreme Court repeatedly reaffirmed that the Constitution protects for abortion as an essential liberty, which is tied to other liberty rights to make personal decisions about family, relationships, and bodily autonomy. However, the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022. More

1973, January 27 - The Vietnam War Paris Peace Accords are signed, effectively ending direct U.S. involvement in the war. More

1974, January 30 - The 10 millionth Volkswagen Beetle is produced.

1975, January 7 - OPEC ends its oil embargo against the United States, Europe, and Japan.

1976, January 15 - Sara Jane Moore is sentenced to life for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford.

1977, January 20 - Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States.

1977, January 21 - President Jimmy Carter Issues Proclamation 4483 and Executive Order 11967, granting a pardon to those who evaded the draft in the Vietnam War by violating the Military Selective Service Act from August 4, 1964, to March 28, 1973.  It is estimated that the Pardon applied to over 500,000 people, of which 100,000 had left the country. About half of those who left returned. More 

1978, January 1 - The Soviet Union begins a series of five nuclear tests in the Arctic Circle.

1979, January 16 - After almost 40 years of ruling, the  Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi flees Iran amidst growing unrest, paving the way for the Islamic Revolution. More

1980, January 28 - The six United States embassy hostages in Tehran, Iran, are released.

1981, January 20: Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States.

1981, January 20 -The Iran Hostage Crisis finally came to an end within hours from President Ronald Reagan inauguration and the hostages were brought to Germany for family reunions. More

1983, January 17 - The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals 70 years after they were taken away due to his playing semi-professional baseball.

1984, January 24 - Apple Computer Inc. unveils its Macintosh personal computer.

1985, January 28 - The charity single "We Are the World" is recorded by USA for Africa.

1986, January 28 - The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts aboard: Commander Michael J. Smith; Commander Francis R. 'Dick' Scobee; Ronald E. McNair, mission specialist; Ellison Onizuka, mission specialist; S. Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist; Gregory B. Jarvis, payload specialist; Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist. More

1987, January 15 - Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashes in Dallas, Texas, killing 137 people.

1988, January 26 - The Phantom of the Opera, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, opens in London's West End.

1989, January 20 - George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st President of the United States.

1990, January 31 - The first McDonald's restaurant in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow's Pushkin Square.

1991, January 17 - Operation Desert Storm begins as coalition forces led by the United States launch air raids against Iraq, five months after Iraqi forces invaded and annexed Kuwait. More

1993, January 1 - Czechoslovakia peacefully splits into two nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

1994, January 1 - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect.  NAFTA immediately lifted tariffs on the majority of goods produced by the signatory nations. It also calls for the gradual elimination, over a period of 15 years, of most remaining barriers to cross-border investment and to the movement of goods and services among the three countries. More 

1994, January 17 - At 4:30 am, on January 17, 1994, Residents of the greater Los Angeles area were awakened by the strong shaking of the magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake. This was the first earthquake to strike directly under an urban area of the United States since the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. More

1995, January 1 - The World Trade Organization (WTO) is established to promote free trade globally.

1996, January 8 - Chechen separatists seize a hospital in Kizlyar, Russia, leading to the Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye hostage crisis.

1996. January 20, In Yasser Arafat is elected President of the newly created Palestinian National Authority (PNA) with 88.1 percent of the popular vote and a high voter turnout, despite the campaign by his rivals to abstain. 

1997, January 1 - Zaire's President Mobutu Sese Seko flees the country, ending his 32-year rule and leading to the rise of Laurent Kabila.

1998, January 1 - The European Central Bank is established, leading to the introduction of the euro currency.

1998, January 15 -  Fred Korematsu was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His journey to that day started during World War II when he refused to be forced into a Japanese-American relocation center where families lived in horse stalls at an abandoned race track until they were sent to remote internment camps in the West. Korematsu went on to have a historical impact becoming an American civil rights activist and founder of the Korematsu Institute. On January 30, 2011, California celebrated its first of “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution”—the first day named after an Asian American in the United States. which celebrates the legacy of a courageous man who has left a message not just for one community, but for the entire country' More

1998, January 22 - Theodore J. Kaczynski, confesses and pleads guilty, admitting that he was the terrorist Unabomber who killed three and maimed dozens more in a deranged campaign against scientists, computers and jet airplanes. Under terms of the agreement. As part of a last minute plea deal where he was, Kaczynski pleaded guilty to all federal charges against him including 13 counts of transporting explosive devices with the intent to kill or maim. Kaczynski also admitted in court that he placed or mailed another 11 bombs, for which he was not charged. He was spared the death penalty and will serve life in prison without possibility of release. More

1999, January 1 - The euro becomes the official currency for 11 European countries. More

2000, January 1 - The Millennium Summit of the United Nations outlines the Millennium Development Goals.

2001, January 1 - Greece adopts the euro as its official currency.

2002, January 1 - Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in 12 European countries.

2003, January 1 - Estonia introduces the euro as its official currency.

2004, January 1 - Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union.

2004. January 2 - NASA's spacecraft Stardust flies within 155 miles from the comet P/Wild 2, and collects dust grains and the cometary material. Stardust sealed its collected matter inside a sample reentry capsule, which separated from Stardust and landed in the Utah desert on Jan. 15, 2006. They were later revealed to contain the amino acid glycine, an essential building block of life. More 

2004, January 3 - The Mars robotic rover Spirit lands on Mars. Launched on June 10, 2003, lands on March. Its twin, rover, Opportunity, on Mars 21 days later on January 24, 2004. Spirit remained active until March 22, 2010. NASA was not able to regain contact with Spirit and officially concluded its recovery efforts May 25, 2011. More

2004, January 24 - Opportunity. the six-wheeled robotic rover Opportunity lands on Mars. Launched in mid 2003 it readies to analyze Mars soil and rocks and relay pictures back to earth. It remained active on Mars from 2004 until 2018. Its twin rover, Spirit, had landed on Jan 3, 2004 More

2005, January 26 -  A U.S. helicopter crashes in Iraq, killing 31 people, including 13 Americans.

2006, January 26 - Western Union discontinues its Telegram and Commercial Messaging services.

2007, January 1 - Romania and Bulgaria join the European Union.

2007, January 4 - Nancy Pelosi, Congress Woman for the State of California becomes first female Speaker of the House

2008, January 1 - Cyprus and Malta adopt the euro as their official currency.

2009, January 15 - US Airways flight 1549, flight makes an emergency landing in the Hudson River. shortly after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. the Airbus A320airplane flew into a flock of Canada geese. Both engines were severely damaged, causing an almost complete loss of thrust . Repeated attempts to restart the engines were unsuccessful. Five people were seriously injured, but there were no fatalities. . On board were 5 crew members, including Capt. Chesley (“Sully”) Sullenberger III, First Officer Jeffrey Skiles and 150 passengers. The event has been nicknamed "Miracle on the Hudson" More

2009, January 20 - Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.

2010, January 12 - A 7.0-magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti, causing widespread devastation and loss of life.

2011, January 14 - Tunisia's President Ben Ali flees the country, marking the start of the Arab Spring.

2012, January 13 - The Costa Concordia cruise ship runs aground off Italy, resulting in 32 deaths.

2013, January 21 -  Algerian militants attack the Tigantourine gas facility, resulting in multiple casualties.

2014, January 29 - The first case of Ebola is confirmed in the United States, leading to an international health crisis.

2015, January 7 - The Charlie Hebdo shooting occurs in Paris, killing 12 people in an attack on the satirical magazine's office.

2016, January 16 - Implementation of the Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) begins following international agreement.

2017, January 20 - Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States.

2017, January 21, The Women’s March takes place in Washington DC . to protest Donald Trump’s blatant misogyny and history of sexual assault. It was the single largest demonstration in the capital’s history, with over 500,000 people in attendance.  Additional demonstrations, where hundreds of thousands of people gathered, took place in cities across the United States. More

2018, January 13 - A false missile alert causes panic in Hawaii, warning of an incoming ballistic missile threat.

2019, January 1 - Jair Bolsonaro assumes office as the President of Brazil.

2019, January 3 - China successfully lands the Chang'e 4 spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, a first in human space exploration.

2019, January 15 - British Parliament rejects Theresa May's Brexit deal, leading to political uncertainty regarding the UK's departure from the EU.

2019, January 16 - Zimbabwe experiences protests and violent crackdowns over a significant fuel price hike.

2019, January 25 - A viral outbreak of the coronavirus begins in Wuhan, China, which later leads to a global pandemic.

2020, January 3 - A U.S. drone strike kills Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

2020, January 8 - Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 is shot down by Iran, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board.

2020, January 16 - The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump begins in the U.S. Senate.

2020, January 20 - The first case of COVID-19 in the United States was diagnosed in Snohomish County, WA. The patient from had returned to the United States from Wuhan on January 15, 2020,” The Seattle area became an early epicenter of the U.S. outbreak. Notably, 39 residents of a nursing home in Kirkland, WA, died from complications from the virus during a span of one month. The CDC reported that 14 U.S. coronavirus cases were reported by public health agencies between January 21 and February 23, 2020; all patients had traveled to China. On February 26, the first non-travel case was confirmed in California , and the first U.S. death was reported on February 29. More than 110 Million cases were diagnosed in the U.S. alone.

2020, January 23 - The Chinese city of Wuhan is placed under lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19.

2020, January 26 - Basketball legend Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.

2020, January 31 - The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the COVID-19 outbreak a global health emergency.

2020, January 31 - The United Kingdom officially leaves the European Union, implementing Brexit.

2021, January 1 - The United Kingdom officially exits the Brexit transition period, fully separating from the European Union.

2021, January 5 - Democrats win both Senate seats in Georgia's runoff elections, giving them control of the U.S. Senate.

2021, January 6 - Pro-Trump supporters storm the United States Capitol in a violent insurrection, disrupting the certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory forcing lawmakers into hiding. Most of the rioters had come from a nearby rally where Trump urged them to “fight like hell.”

2021, January 8 - Twitter permanently suspends then-President Donald Trump's account, citing the risk of further incitement of violence.

2021, January 13 - The U.S. House of Representatives impeaches President Donald Trump for the second time, charging him with "incitement of insurrection."

2021, January 15 - Uganda holds presidential elections, resulting in a controversial win for incumbent President Yoweri Museveni.

2021, January 20 - Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States, and Kamala Harris becomes the first female Vice President.

2021, January 22: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force, marking a significant step in nuclear disarmament efforts.

2021, January 23 - Anti-government protests erupt in Russia, demanding the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

2021, January 26 - GameStop stocks surge due to a Reddit-driven trading frenzy by small investors, challenging Wall Street hedge funds.

2021, January 29 - Myanmar's military seizes power in a coup, detaining civilian leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi.

2021, January 30 - Mount Semeru in Indonesia erupts, spewing ash and triggering evacuations in nearby areas.

2021, January 31 - The UK surpasses 100,000 COVID-19 deaths, becoming the first European country to reach this grim milestone.

2021, January 31 - The International Criminal Court's jurisdiction is extended to cover war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, angering Israel.

2021, January 31 - NASA's Mars rover, Perseverance, lands successfully on Mars, beginning its mission to search for signs of ancient life.

2021, January 31 - Myanmar experiences widespread internet shutdowns as the military government tightens control following the coup.

2021, January 31  WHO approves the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, aiding global vaccination efforts.

2021, January 31 - The European Union introduces new export controls on COVID-19 vaccines amid supply shortages.
These events cover a broad spectrum, including political turmoil, global health crises, technological advancements, and social movements that have significantly impacted the world in recent years.

Note: Sources for the Historical Content shown, include research and reviews of relevant Online History Resources or printed material. When possible, we show a link to a source which provides additional or unique perspective about the event. We do our best to provide accurate information but would appreciate being notified if any incorrect information is found. You may do so by using this link: Feedback

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Why is Polaris called the North Star? First, Polaris is the nearest bright star toward the north spin axis of the Earth. Therefore, as the Earth turns, stars appear to revolve around Polaris, but Polaris itself always stays in the same northerly direction -- making it the North Star. Since no bright star is near the south spin axis of the Earth, there is currently no bright South Star. Thousands of years ago, Earth's spin axis pointed in a slightly different direction so that Vega was the North Star. Although Polaris is not the brightest star on the sky, it is easily located because it is nearly aligned with two stars in the cup of the Big Dipper. Polaris is near the center of the five-degree wide featured image, a digital composite of hundreds of exposures that brings out faint gas and dust of the Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN) all over the frame. The surface of Cepheid Polaris slowly pulsates, causing the famous star to change its brightness by a few percent over the course of a few days. Today: Zoom APOD Lecture hosted by the Amateur Astronomers of Association of New York

Photo by Davide Coverta

Mute swan (Cygnus olor) at Lake Geneva during the golden hour of sunset.

Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Comet ATLAS is really bright now, but also really close to the Sun. Outside the glow of the Sun, Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) would be one of the more remarkable comet sights of recent years, reflecting about as much sunlight to Earth as Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS did in October, and now rivaling even planet Venus. But the giant snowball is now so close to the Sun that it can only be seen through the light of the early morning dawn or the early evening dusk. Today, Comet ATLAS is at perihelion -- its closest ever to the Sun. Although the future brightness of comets is notoriously hard to predict, there is hope that Comet ATLAS will survive its close pass near the Sun and remain bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye over the next few days -- and possibly a good camera comet for weeks. The featured image was taken early yesterday morning near Tornaľa, Slovakia. Tomorrow: Zoom APOD Lecture hosted by the Amateur Astronomers of Association of New York

Photo by Petr Horalek / Institute of Physics in Opava

Heavy snowfall brought by Storm Filomena hit Spain in January 2021, and persisted on the ground for many days across much of the country, as this Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite image shows.

European Space Agency, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

Albert Camus ~ (1913 – 1960) French philosopher, author, dramatist and journalist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44.  His works include The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Fall and The Rebel.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Whatever hit Mimas nearly destroyed it. What remains is one of the largest impact craters on one of Saturn's smallest round moons. Analysis indicates that a slightly larger impact would have destroyed Mimas entirely. The huge crater, named Herschel after the 1789 discoverer of Mimas, Sir William Herschel, spans about 130 kilometers and is featured here. Mimas' low mass produces a surface gravity just strong enough to create a spherical body but weak enough to allow such relatively large surface features. Mimas is made of mostly water ice with a smattering of rock - so it is accurately described as a big dirty snowball. The featured image was taken during the closest-ever flyby of the robot spacecraft Cassini past Mimas in 2010 while in orbit around Saturn. Interactive: Take a trek across Mimas January 14: Zoom APOD Lecture hosted by the Amateur Astronomers of Association of New York

Olive-bellied sunbird (Cinnyris chloropygius) starting to fly at Kibale National Park, Uganda.

Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.