20092009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Johannes Kepler. It was also declared as the International Year of Natural Fibres by the United Nations General Assembly, as well as the International Year of Reconciliation and the Year of the Gorilla (UNEP and UNESCO). January 1 Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda assume their seats on the United Nations Security Council.
1984January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). January 9 – Van Halen releases their sixth studio album 1984 (MCMLXXXIV), which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and went on to sell over 10 million copies in the United States. January 10 The United States and the Vatican (Holy See) restore full diplomatic relations.
1980January 1980 January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. January 9 – In Saudi Arabia, 63 Islamist insurgents are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November 1979. January 14 – Congress (I) party leader, Indira Gandhi returns to power as the Prime Minister of India. January 20 – At least 200 people are killed when the Corralejas Bullring collapses at Sincelejo, Colombia.
1935January 1935 January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. January 12 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to successfully complete a solo flight from Hawaii to California, a distance of 2,408 miles. January 13 – A plebiscite in the Territory of the Saar Basin shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Germany.
19921992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. January 6 The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is proclaimed by the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. 1991–92 Georgian coup d'état: President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia flees the country as a result of the military coup.
1930January 1930 January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on January 1, 2257, at . January 26 – The Indian National Congress declares this date as Independence Day, or as the day for Poorna Swaraj (Complete Independence). January 28 – The first patent for a field-effect transistor is granted in the United States, to Julius Edgar Lilienfeld.
1954January 1954 January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head office of IBM. January 10 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland Comet jet plane, disintegrates in mid-air due to metal fatigue, and crashes in the Mediterranean near Elba; all 35 people on board are killed.
1950January 1950 January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: Aeroflot Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 aboard are killed, including almost the entire national ice hockey team (VVS Moscow) of the Soviet Air Force – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur. January 6 – The UK recognizes the People's Republic of China; the Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
1932January 1932 January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hirohito of Japan. The Kuomintang's official newspaper runs an editorial expressing regret that the attempt failed, which is used by the Japanese as a pretext to attack Shanghai later in the month. January 22 – The 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising begins; it is suppressed by the government of Maximiliano Hernández Martínez.
1934January 1934 February 1934 January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people. January 26 – A 10-year German–Polish declaration of non-aggression is signed by Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic.