January
(Jan.) is the first
month
of the
year
in the
Julian
and
Gregorian calendars
, coming between
December
(of the previous year) and
February
(of the current year). It has 31
days
.
January begins on the same day of the week as
October
in
common years
, and
April
and
July
in
leap years
. January ends on the same day of the week as
February
and
October
in
common years
, and
July
in
leap years
.
January is named for
Janus
, the
Roman
god
of
doors
and
gates
.
January and
February
were put on the
calendar
after all the other months. This is because in the original Roman calendar,
winter
did not have months. Although
March
was originally the first month, January became the new first month because that was when people chose the new
consuls
(Roman leaders). The month has 31 days.
January is a
winter
month in the
Northern Hemisphere
and a
summer
month in the
Southern Hemisphere
. In each
hemisphere
, it is the seasonal equivalent of
July
in the other.
Perihelion
, the point in its orbit where the
Earth
is closest to the
Sun
, also occurs in this month, between
January 2
and
January 5
. January is the only month of the year that always has a "twin" - a month that both begins and ends on the same day of the week as it does. In a common year, this is
October
, and in a leap year,
July
.
January begins on the same day of the week as
October
in
common years
and on the same day of the week as
April
and
July
in
leap years
. January ends on the same day of the week as
February
and
October
in
common years
and on the same day of the week as
July
in
leap years
.
Every year, January both starts and finishes on the same day of the week as
May
of the previous year, as each other's first and last days are exactly 35 weeks (245 days) apart.
In common years immediately before other common years, January starts on the same day of the week as April and July of the following year, and in leap years and years immediately before that, September and December of the following year. In common years immediately before other common years, January finishes on the same day of the week as July of the following year, and in leap years and years immediately before that, April and December of the following year.
January's flower is the
carnation
with its
birthstone
being the
garnet
.
The first day of January is called
New Year's Day
. It is said that it became this date when Roman consuls took office on this day in
153 BC
. Different calendars across
Europe
made this the start of the New Year at different times, as some observed it on
March 25
.
Reaching over from
December
, the
Christmas
season in
Christianity
also extends into this month. Eastern
churches
celebrate
Christmas
on
January 6
or
January 7
, and
Epiphany
on
January 18
or
January 19
- In Western Christianity this occurs on
January 6
, with
Christmas
occurring on
December 25
.
January 1 is celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, that is a feast day of precept of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
.
[1]
- January 1
,
153 BC
-
Roman
consuls are said to have taken office on this day for the first time.
- January 1
,
1801
- The
United Kingdom
is created, with the inclusion of
Ireland
.
- January 1
,
1804
-
Haiti
becomes the second independent country in the Americas, after the
US
.
- January 1
,
1901
-
Australia
is given self-government.
- January 1
,
1956
-
Sudan
becomes independent.
- January 1
,
1959
-
Fidel Castro
takes over in
Cuba
.
- January 1
,
1962
-
Samoa
becomes independent.
- January 1
,
1984
-
Brunei
becomes independent.
- January 1
,
2002
- The
Euro
currency comes into use in 12
EU
countries.
- January 2
,
1492
- Spanish
Reconquista
:
Granada
, the last
Moorish
stronghold, surrenders.
- January 3
,
1868
-
Meiji Restoration
in
Japan
.
- January 3
,
1959
-
Alaska
becomes the 49th
US
State.
- January 4
,
1948
-
Burma
becomes independent.
- January 4
,
2010
- The world's tallest building, the
Burj Khalifa
in
Dubai
, opens.
- January 5
,
1066
-
Edward the Confessor
,
King
of
England
, dies.
- January 6
,
1066
-
Harold Godwinson
is crowned
King
of
England
.
- January 7
,
1610
-
Galileo Galilei
discovers
Jupiter
's four
Galilean moons
-
Io
,
Callisto
,
Ganymede
and
Europa
.
- January 7
,
1979
- The
Khmer Rouge
in
Cambodia
is overthrown by
Vietnamese
troops.
- January 7
,
1989
-
Japanese
Emperor
Hirohito
dies, aged 87.
- January 7
,
2015
-
Charlie Hebdo shooting
in
Paris
.
- January 8
,
1642
-
Galileo Galilei
dies.
- January 8
,
1912
- The
African National Congress
is founded.
- January 8
,
1935
-
Elvis Presley
is born.
- January 10
,
1863
- The first section of the
London Underground
opens.
- January 12
,
2010
- The
2010 Haiti earthquake
causes many deaths and destruction across
Haiti
.
- January 13
,
1915
- The Avezzano
earthquake
in
Italy
kills 29,800 people.
- January 13
,
1935
- Most voters in
Saarland
choose to be part of
Germany
.
- January 14
,
1954
-
Marilyn Monroe
marries
Joe DiMaggio
.
- January 14
,
1972
-
Margrethe II of Denmark
becomes the first Danish Queen since
1412
.
- January 15
,
1929
- Civil rights leader
Martin Luther King, Jr.
is born in
Atlanta
,
Georgia
,
US
.
- January 15
,
2001
-
Wikipedia
goes online.
- January 15
,
2009
-
US Airways Flight 1549
is safely landed on the
Hudson River
in
New York City
by
Chesley Sullenberger
, after experiencing difficulties shortly after take-off.
- January 16
,
2006
-
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
of
Liberia
becomes the first female
President
in
Africa
.
- January 17
,
1893
- American and European
sugar
planters overthrow the government of Queen
Liliuokalani
of
Hawaii
.
- January 17
,
1912
-
Robert Falcon Scott
's expedition reaches the
South Pole
over a month after that of
Roald Amundsen
.
- January 17
,
1991
-
Operation Desert Storm
in the
Gulf War
.
- January 17
,
1995
- The Great Hanshin
earthquake
strikes
Japan
, mainly the city of
Kobe
, killing over 6,000 people.
- January 18
,
1778
-
James Cook
reaches the
Hawaiian
Islands.
- January 20
,
1936
- King
George V of the United Kingdom
dies, leaving the throne to
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
, who lasts less than 11 months in the post.
- January 20
,
2009
-
Barack Obama
becomes the first
African American
President of the United States
.
- January 21
,
1793
- King
Louis XVI of France
is executed by
guillotine
.
- January 22
,
1901
-
Queen Victoria
dies aged 81, ending Britain's Victorian Era.
- January 22
,
1968
-
Apollo 5
lifts off, carrying the first
lunar
module.
- January 23
,
1960
- In the Bathyscaphe
Trieste
, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, dive to the deepest point of the
Pacific Ocean
, the
Challenger Deep
in the
Mariana Trench
.
- January 24
,
41
- Roman Emperor
Caligula
is assassinated by the Praetorian Guard.
- January 24
,
1965
- British
statesman
Winston Churchill
dies.
- January 24
,
1986
-
Voyager 2
flies by the
planet
Uranus
.
- January 25
,
1919
- The
League of Nations
is founded.
- January 25
,
2011
- The
2011 Egyptian protests
begin.
- January 26
,
1788
- The first British fleet arrives in what is now
Sydney
Harbour,
Australia
.
- January 26
,
1950
-
India
becomes a
Republic
.
- January 26
,
2020
-
NBA
legend
Kobe Bryant
, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others are killed in a helicopter crash in
Calabasas, California
.
- January 27
,
1945
- The
Red Army
liberates
Auschwitz
.
- January 27
,
1967
- US
astronauts
Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a
fire
while testing the
Apollo 1
spacecraft.
- January 28
,
1897
- The
Criminal Tribes Act of 1871
was amended by the
British Raj
within
British India
respectively.
- January 28
,
1935
-
Iceland
becomes the first country to legalize
abortion
.
- January 28
,
1986
- The
Space Shuttle Challenger
explodes shortly after take-off from
Cape Canaveral, Florida
, killing all seven astronauts on board.
- January 29
,
1996
-
Venice
's
La Fenice
opera
house is destroyed by
fire
.
- January 30
,
1649
- King
Charles I of England
is executed.
- January 30
,
1933
-
Adolf Hitler
comes to power in
Germany
.
- January 30
,
1948
- Indian independence and non-violence campaigner
Mahatma Gandhi
is shot dead by a Hindu extremist in
Delhi
.
- January 31
,
1968
-
Nauru
becomes independent from
Australia
.
- January 31
,
1990
-
Moscow
's first
McDonald's
restaurant opens.
- January is named after the Roman God
Janus
, who was the Roman God of
doors
and
gates
.
- January and July are the only pair of 31-day month's that are exactly six months apart. In the English language, they are also the only pair of months to both begin and end with the same letters (J and Y respectively).
- The star signs for January are
Capricorn
(
December 22
to
January 20
) and
Aquarius
(
January 21
to
February 19
).
- It is the coldest month in the
Northern Hemisphere
, and the warmest in the
Southern Hemisphere
.
- It is one of three months in the
English language
to begin with "J", along with
June
and
July
, but unlike the latter two, does not have a "U" as a second letter.