Historical Events on January 1
- 1707: John V becomes Portugal’s King.
- 1739: French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.discovers what would become known as Bouvet Island.
- 1773: “1 Chronicles 17: 16-17” is performed for the first time following a sermon given by John Newton in Olney, Buckinghamshire in England. This hymn would later become known as Amazing Grace.
- 1776: After intense fighting by Royal Navy and Continental Army forces, the city of Norfolk in Virginia catches on fire during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1781: During the American Revolutionary War, fifteen hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment rebel against the Continental Army’s winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey. This would become known as the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781.
- 1801: The largest known object to date in the Asteroid Belt – a minor planet known as Ceres – is discovered on this day by Giuseppe Piazzi.
- 1808: Importing slaves into the U.S is outlawed on this day, although slavery remains legal.
- 1847: The Sisters of Mercy establish the first hospital in the U.S with the name “Mercy” in it. “Mercy” would eventually go on to grace over thirty hospitals all over the world.
- 1892: Ellis Island opens on this day and begins processing immigrants into the U.S.
- 1908: At midnight, for the first time in American history, a ball is dropped in New York’s Times Square to announce the start of New Year.
- 1927: In Mexico, the Cristero War starts.
Famous Birthdays on January 1
- American silversmith and patriot, Paul Revere is born in 1735.
- American general Anthony Wayne is born in 1745.
- American seamstress Betsy Ross is born in 1752.
- British science writer Jane Marcet is born in 1769.
- English author and playwright, E.M. Forster is born in 1879.
- American actor Charles Bickford is born in 1889.
- Slovenian geographer Anton Melik is born in 1890.
- American law enforcement official and 1st Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover is born in 1895.
- American novelist J.D. Salinger is born in 1919.
- English general John Strawson is born in 1921.
- American illustrator Jerry Robinson is born in 1922.