History For January

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Some persons on mylot expressed an interest in some of my posts about the fact that each day of the year has a bit of history to be learned, so I thought that I would start the NEW year off with some historical trivia. I’m already behind a few days, so I will play some “catch-up” and then try to stay on track. For January 1, here are a few things that I found that might be of interest. According to the Associated Press, “Today’s Highlight in History” is this. “On Jan. 1, 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states were free.” There is so much more to this story. Mainly, about what the Emancipation Proclamation actually accomplished. Also on this date in 1892, “the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opened.” Many of those now living in the USA are descendants of immigrants who came through this Station in the late 1800s and 1900s. I’m working on my ancestry now. And in 1898, on Jan. 1, “Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island were consolidated into New York City.” For anyone in Australia, you probably already know that on Jan. 1, 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed. For Country Music fans, Jan. 1, 1953 was the date that Hank Williams, Sr. died of drug and alcohol overdose while on his way to a concert in Canton, Ohio. He was only 29 years old. In 1959, which I remember well, since that is the year I graduated from high school, Cuba was definitely in the news. Fidel Castro led revolutionaries to overtake the Cuban government, defeating Batista. Another thing that I remember well, since I was worked as a telephone operator for AT&T, was that on Jan. 1, 1984, the break-up of the AT&T telecommunications giant took place. For those in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Jan. 1, 1993 was the date that Czechoslovakia spilt into the two separate countries. These were just a few of the historical events that I found for January 1. I’m sure there are many others. Perhaps you can add to the list.