Today:
45 BCE – The Julian calendar, instituted by Julius Caesar, came into effect for the first time, making January 1 the beginning of the new year.
404 CE – The last known gladiatorial competition took place in Rome after being banned by Emperor Honorius.
630 CE – Prophet Muhammad set out from Medina to conquer Mecca with an army of followers.
1502 – Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral discovered the region that would later become Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1622 – The Papal Chancery adopted January 1 as the start of the new year, replacing March 25.
1773 – The hymn “Amazing Grace” was first used in a church service in Olney, England, written by John Newton.
1801 – Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres, the first and largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, later classified as a dwarf planet.
1863 – President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in Confederate-held territory free.
1902 – The first Rose Bowl Game was held in Pasadena, California, marking the start of an enduring New Year’s Day tradition.
1959 – Cuba’s dictator, Fulgencio Batista, fled Havana as Fidel Castro’s revolutionary forces entered the city, signaling a significant turn in the Cuban Revolution.
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