January 1949
January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2023.
January 2 – Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
January 11 – The first "networked" television broadcasts take place, as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air, connecting east coast and mid-west programming in the United States.
January 16 – Şemsettin Günaltay forms the new government of Turkey. It is the 18th government, last single party government of the Republican People's Party.
January 17 – The first VW Type 1 to arrive in the United States, a 1948 model, is brought to New York by Dutch businessman Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sells the sample car to pay his travel expenses. Only two 1949 models are sold in America that year, convincing Volkswagen chairman Heinrich Nordhoff the car has no future in the U.S. (The Type 1 goes on to become an automotive phenomenon.)
January 20 – Harry S. Truman is sworn in for a full term, as President of the United States.
January 25
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA or COMECON) is established by the Soviet Union and other communist nations.
In the first Israeli elections, David Ben-Gurion becomes Prime Minister.
January 26
Australian citizenship comes into being.
c. January 28 – Stalin and antisemitism: The media in the Soviet Union resume a savage propaganda campaign against "rootless cosmopolitans", a euphemism for Soviet Jews, accusing them of being pro-Western and antisocialist.
January 31 – Forces from the Chinese Communist Party enter Beijing.
February 1949
February 10 – Arthur Miller's tragedy Death of a Salesman opens at the Morosco Theatre in New York City, and runs for 742 performances.
February 11 – The London Mozart Players perform their first concert at the Wigmore Hall, London.
February 13 – António Óscar Carmona is re-elected president of Portugal, for lack of an opposing candidate.
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1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January 1945 January 1 – WWII: Germany begins Operation Bodenplatte, an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries. Chenogne massacre: German prisoners are allegedly killed by American forces near the village of Chenogne, Belgium.
January 1946 January 6 – The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. January 7 – The Allies of World War II recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. January 10 The first meeting of the United Nations is held, at Methodist Central Hall Westminster in London. Project Diana bounces radar waves off the Moon, measuring the exact distance between the Earth and the Moon, and proves that communication is possible between Earth and outer space, effectively opening the Space Age.
January 1979 January 1 United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the International Year of the Child. Many musicians donate to the Music for UNICEF Concert fund, among them ABBA, who write the song Chiquitita to commemorate the event. The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full diplomatic relations. Following a deal agreed during 1978, French carmaker Peugeot completes a takeover of American manufacturer Chrysler's European operations, which are based in Britain's former Rootes Group factories, as well as the former Simca factories in France.