1898January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island. January 13 – Novelist Émile Zola's open letter to the President of the French Republic on the Dreyfus affair, J'Accuse...!, is published on the front page of the Paris daily newspaper L'Aurore, accusing the government of wrongfully imprisoning Alfred Dreyfus and of antisemitism.
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.
1902January 1902 January 1 The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's first registered nurse. Nathan Stubblefield demonstrates his wireless telephone device in the U.S. state of Kentucky. January 8 – A train collision in the New York Central Railroad's Park Avenue Tunnel kills 17 people, injures 38, and leads to increased demand for electric trains and the banning of steam locomotives in New York City.
1976January 1976 January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. January 18 – Full diplomatic relations are established between Bangladesh and Pakistan 5 years after the Bangladesh Liberation War. January 27 The United States vetoes a United Nations resolution that calls for an independent Palestinian state. The First Battle of Amgala breaks out between Morocco and Algeria in the Spanish Sahara.
1899January 1 Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. January 2 Bolivia sets up a customs office in Puerto Alonso, leading to the Brazilian settlers there to declare the Republic of Acre in a revolt against Bolivian authorities. The first part of the Jakarta Kota–Anyer Kidul railway on the island of Java is opened between Batavia Zuid (Jakarta Kota) and Tangerang.
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.
1841January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom, and Qishan of the Qing dynasty, agree to the Convention of Chuenpi. January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the island records a population of about 7,500. January 27 – The active volcano Mount Erebus in Antarctica is discovered, and named by James Clark Ross. January 28 – Ross discovers the "Victoria Barrier", later known as the Ross Ice Shelf. On the same voyage, he discovers the Ross Sea, Victoria Land and Mount Terror.
1815January 2 – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, county of Durham, England. January 3 – Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussia and Russia. January 8 – Battle of New Orleans: American forces led by Andrew Jackson defeat British forces led by Sir Edward Pakenham. American forces suffer around 60 casualties and the British lose about 2,000 (the battle lasts for about 30 minutes). January 13 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St.
