1944Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January 1944 January 2 – WWII: Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in North Africa. Landing at Saidor: 13,000 US and Australian troops land on Papua New Guinea, in an attempt to cut off a Japanese retreat. January 8 – WWII: Philippine Commonwealth troops enter the province of Ilocos Sur in northern Luzon and attack Japanese forces. January 11 President of the United States Franklin D.
1972Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar time [the legal time scale], its duration was 31622401.141 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or Ephemeris Time), which is slightly shorter than 1908). January 1972 January 1 – Kurt Waldheim becomes Secretary-General of the United Nations.
1912This year is notable for the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912. January 1912 January 1 – The Republic of China is established. January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. January 6 German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift. New Mexico become the 47th U.S. State. January 8 – The African National Congress is founded as the South African Native National Congress, at the Waaihoek Wesleyan Church in Bloemfontein, to promote improved rights for black South Africans, with John Langalibalele Dube as its first president.
19451945 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.
1919January 1919 January 1 The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. HMY Iolaire sinks off the coast of the Hebrides; 201 people, mostly servicemen returning home to Lewis and Harris, are killed. January 2–22 – Russian Civil War: The Red Army's Caspian-Caucasian Front begins the Northern Caucasus Operation against the White Army, but fails to make progress.
1916Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January 1916 January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. January 9 – WWI: Gallipoli Campaign: The last British troops are evacuated from Gallipoli, as the Ottoman Empire prevails over a joint British and French operation to capture Constantinople. January 10 – WWI: Erzurum Offensive: Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire.
1979January 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.
1867January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed after its designer, John A. Roebling, in 1983. January 8 – African-American men are granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia. January 11 – Benito Juárez becomes Mexican president again. January 15 – London Skating Disaster where 40 people died when the ice broke.
1977January 1977 January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). January 17 49 marines from the and are killed as a result of a collision in Barcelona harbour, Spain. January 18 Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease. Australia's worst railway disaster at Granville, a suburb of Sydney, leaves 83 people dead.
1967January 1967 January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. January 5 Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and commercial relations (not diplomatic ones). Charlie Chaplin launches his last film, A Countess from Hong Kong, in the UK. January 6 – Vietnam War: USMC and ARVN troops launch Operation Deckhouse Five in the Mekong Delta. January 8 – Vietnam War: Operation Cedar Falls starts.
