January 1st Major News Events

1942 Car Production Stops

The U.S. government no longer allowed the sale of civilian vehicles (i.e. cars and trucks). It was after this date that automobile manufacturers were required to make only vehicles which were to be used for war purposes.

Automobile plants during this time were dedicated to the sale of bombers, jeeps, military trucks, and other gear.

1942 United Nations Established

Representatives of 26 countries came together and signed a declaration that established the existence of the "United Nations" (the UN). President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were among the leaders that were there.

One of the intentions of establishing the UN was to be able to enforce peacekeeping strategies. This particular meeting took place approximately in the middle of the timeline during which World War II took place.

1946 Japanese Soldiers Surrender

Years after the war was over Japanese Soldiers on the Island of Corregidor read about the end of the war in a local newspaper and surrendered to American Troops

1947 Coal Mines Nationalised

1947 : Following the creation of National Coal Board ( NCB )in 1946 Great Britain nationalises Coal mines transferring the assets of approximately 800 private colliery companies to the National Coal Board. The coal industry continued in this way until 1994 when it was again privatised.

1947 Canadian Citizenship Act

The First Person to become a Canadian Citizen is the Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King when the Canadian Citizenship Act ( passed in 1946 ) comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens.

1948 British Railways Nationalisation

The four largest British rail companies Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR) are taken over by the government and turned into the Nationalised British Railway.

1951 Pay Per View Movies

The first testing of Pay Per View Movies is tested by The Zenith Radio Corporation but Pay Per View Movies only appeared for the mass audience nearly 45 years later in the 1990's

1953 Hank Williams Dies

Hank Williams died this year of a heart attack. He was only 29 years old when he passed away suddenly, on a way to a show in Canton, Ohio. The media had suspected that his death was a result of drug and/or alcohol abuse.

Some of Hank Williams Hits included "Your Cheating Heart" and "Move it On Over". His son, Hank Williams, Jr. followed in his (Hank William's footsteps.)

1954 Rose Bowl Parade

Tournament of Roses Parade is broadcast in color with public demonstrations given across the United States on prototype color receivers.

1959 Batista Flees Castro Takes Over Cuba

Batista was the leader of Cuba that fled the country as of this date. This occurred less than a year after a revolution that was started by Fidel Castro. Castro later became premier in February of 1959.

1962 United States Navy SEALs Created

1962 : ( United States Navy's Sea, Air, Land Teams ) Created better known as Navy SEALS as the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force

1966 Vietnam War - 1st Marine Division

Select portions of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Marine troops were sent to Vietnam on this day, followed by the rest of this division which arrived by March. The 1st Marine Division was stationed at Chu Lai, where its headquarters were established.

During the battles that followed the above-mentioned arrival, 20 members had received the Medal of Honor. This was an award given to those who committed brave acts on the battlefield.

The 1st Marine Division was also awarded the Presidential citation twice. This is considered a very prestigious honor that is usually only given out to military units who carry out extraordinarily brave and heroic acts.

1966 Subway Strike New York

A strike started on the New York Subway and even after putting the Union Leader Michael Quill in Jail a few days later the strike continued bringing the city to it's knees and they achieved the objective with a 15% pay rise

1966 Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Started

Canada Introduces it's earnings-related social insurance program the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) . At age 65 The CPP provides regular pension payments calculated as 25% of the average contributory maximum over the last 5 years.

1966 Early Adopter Of Warnings On Cigarette Packets

The United States becomes one of the earliest countries in the world to place warning notices on cigarette packets.

By law all US cigarette packs began carrying the warning:

"Caution! Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health."

1971 Cigarette Ads Banned On TV

America starts the New Year off with no cigarette ads on television or radio stations. This was one of the first steps to discourage cigarette smoking after it was learned that cigarette smoking was linked to health problems such as lung cancer, heart disease, and emphysema.

1920 UK Joins The EEC

1973 : The United Kingdom becomes a fully-fledged member of the EEC together with Ireland and Denmark in becoming the newest members of the community, bringing the total number of member states to nine.

1974 Watergate

An indictment (formal accusation which leads to a criminal case) had taken place today. Certain top presidential aids such as former Attorney General John M. Mitchell (Nixon's campaign director), Jed Stuart Magruder, (tried guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice), and others. Different bits of information about the Watergate scandal were revealed on this day. For instance, Magruder had said that Mitchell had approved the burglary and wiretapping. Other people were have found out to have had knowledge of the cover-up of the Watergate incident.

1984 Brunei Gains Independence

The Sultanate of Brunei gains independence from Great Britain

1984 AT&T Broken Up

Following the U.S. District Court Judge Harold Greene's ruling on August 5, 1983, AT&T was forced to dispose of 22 Bell Systems companies or baby bells as they were called.

1985 First Mobile Phone Call

1985 : The British comedian Ernie Wise makes the First Mobile Phone Call in Britain to Vodafone.

1989 Montreal Protocol

1989 : The Montreal Protocol to phase out the production of a number of halogenated hydrocarbons ( Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) ) believed to be responsible for ozone depletion enters into force

1991 Canada Goods and Services Tax (GST) Introduced

Canada introduces the national sales tax the Canadian Goods and Services Tax (GST) is introduced which is a 5% tax on all products, except

Food and groceries

residential rent

medical services

financial services

1993 Czech Republic and Slovakia Created

Czechoslovakia splits into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia

1994 North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA)

North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA) for the countries of North America goes into effect, creating the largest trading bloc in the world Canada, the United States and Mexico

1995 Fred West found hanged

The Serial killer Fred West charged with 12 murders, has been found hanged in his prison cell, it is believed to have been suicide.

1995 WTO

The (WTO) World Trade Organization as the successor to the (GATT) organization General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to supervise and liberalize international trade between nations of the world

1998 European Central Bank Created

The European Central Bank is created prior to the introduction and adoption of the Euro in 1999 when it would become responsible for monetary policy covering member States of the Eurozone.

1998 Anti Smoking Laws

California, implements tough new anti smoking laws prohibiting people from lighting up in bars.

1999 The Euro

1999 : Eleven nations have made the Euro their currency during this year. This is part of the effort made by the European Union to create a united "economic giant". This was one of the most recent efforts since World War II to re-unite Europe. The Euro is only to be used in stock markets, financial transactions between banks and cash less shopping with cheques and credit cards. The Euro bank notes and coins will not be introduced for 2 or 3 years so traditional currencies will be in use throughout Europe for some time yet. ( 2002 is the expected date for Euro notes and coins )

2000 New Millennium

This is the day that the New Millennium took place. The big concern that arose during this time was one considering what was called the possible "Y2K Crisis".

In short, it was originally believed that regional, national, or worldwide computer crisis was going to occur after the clock struck midnight in the year 2000. People were reading books about how to prepare for this crisis, which could affect not only offices but roads, homes, amusement parks, and so on. People also prepared water, food, and other emergency items in case the Y2K Crisis would become a reality. It was originally thought that the year 2000 would be read by most computers as the year "1900". Fortunately, the worst imagined did not happen, and there was no real threat. It was either that or the world was so scared that it would happened that it spent over and above the amount of money needed to ensure that it would not happen.

2000 Panama Canal Handed Over To Panama

As the new millennium begins the United States has handed over the Panama Canal to Panama, ending nearly 100 years of American control over one of the world's most strategic waterways. The Panama canal is nearly 50 miles long joining the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and has been run by the US Defense Department since it opened in August 1914

2002 The Euro

Twelve of the European Union's 15 countries have woken to life with a new currency today, as the Euro reached the purses of ordinary citizens across the continent.

2004 Property Prices Boom

The house price boom continued in 2003 with average house price in the UK reaching £135,000, in some areas of the country the increases over the last 12 months have been as high as 65% in Northern parts of the country but overall house prices have risen by 15% over the last 12 months.

2005 Tsunami Death Toll

Saturday, 2005 : One week after tsunami in southern Asia, the confirmed death count is over 120,000.

Indonesia approx 80,000

Sri Lanka approx 28,500

India approx 8,000

Others approx 4,000

Indonesia has now stopped counting and is struggling to deal with the aftermath and prevent a massive outbreak of a typhoid epidemic.

It is estimated 5 - 7 million have been made homeless.

2006 Hottest January 1st On Record

Sydney, Australia temp hits a staggering 45 degrees Celsius ( 113 degrees centigrade ) causing bush fires and power outages.

2007 Adam Air Flight 574 a Boeing 737-4Q8

Adam Air Flight 574 a Boeing 737-4Q8 disappears near Polewali in Sulawesi over the Java Sea presumed crashed with 102 people on board presumed dead .

2008 Ethnic Violence

2008 : The violence in Kenya continues to worsen following the Election with mob shootings and ethnic violence breaking out. The latest is the murder of 50 ethnic Kikuyus as they looked for refuge in a local church when a mob torched a church containing women and children, many were hacked to death with machetes as they tried to escape the burning church. The ethnic violence is beginning to look like Rwanda over again and currently the world is looking on in dismay .

2008 Civil Unions

The law legalizing civil unions between same sex couples goes into effect in New Hampshire.

2008 Cyprus and Malta Adopt The Euro

Cyprus and Malta adopt the Euro joining 13 other European countries using the single currency.

Countries Now Using the Euro Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain.

2008 Anti Smoking Laws

2008 : France implements tough No-smoking rules prohibiting people from lighting up in cafes, bars and restaurants.

2009 Euro Adopted

Slovakia becomes the sixteenth country in the European Union to adopt the Euro as it's currency

2009 Russia-Ukraine Gas Talks Collapse

Talks between Russia and the Ukraine collapse threatening Gas supplies in Europe,

2010 Pakistan Suicide Bombing

2010 : A suicide bomb attack using a Mitsubishi loaded with explosives at a volleyball court leaves at least 88 dead in near Lakki Marwat in the troubled north-west of Pakistan

2010 Magnus Carlsen is ranked as the world's Number One Ranked Chess Player

The World Chess Federation (or FIDE) has released its 2010 rating list, which has the 19-year-old Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in the number one slot with a rating of 2810. Carlsen is the youngest player to have crossed the 2800 mark, and to have reached the highest rank. Known as the 'Mozart of chess,' he is said to play with both natural intuition and deep analysis. The ratings were introduced in 1971.

2011 Tornadoes Hit Southern Midwest States

 Tornadoes hit the states of Arkansas and Missouri on New Year's day, killing seven people and injuring others. The tornadoes destroyed several houses and power lines causing a crisis in the area during the holiday season.

2012 Ethnic Clashes Kill 50 in Nigeria

At least fifty people died after ethnic clashes broke out in Eastern Nigeria. The clashes took place in the state of Ebonyi between the Ezza and Ezilo people over a land dispute.

2013 North Korean Leader Gives Speech

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave a New Year's speech through the state controlled television, the first of such by a leader of the secretive country in nearly twenty years. Kim Jong-un talked about the economy, military and reunification of North and South Korea.

2014 Latvia Joins the Eurozone

Latvia officially became a part of the "Eurozone", the eighteenth country to start using the Euro as their official currency. Latvia boasts one of the European Union's largest growing economy. It was reported that the currency change was met with some skepticism and that over half of the population did not want the change.

2014 Colorado Sells Marijuana

Marijuana for recreational use went on sale starting in the state of Colorado. Colorado became the first state to allow the sale of the drug for recreational purposes in stores and around thirty stores were expected to open. Despite the state legislation, marijuana is still an illegal drug according to federal law.