What happened on 1 January?

24 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 1863 Emancipation Proclamation Lincoln declares slaves in rebel states to be free; shifts the Civil War's moral purpose.
2. 1901 Federation of Australia Six colonies federate into the Commonwealth of Australia.
3. 1912 Republic of China founded Sun Yat-sen proclaims the Republic on 1 January 1912.
4. 1959 Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro overthrows Batista; Cuba aligns with the Soviet bloc.
5. 1912 Sun Yat-sen's provisional presidency Ten weeks as the Chinese republic's first provisional president before ceding office to Yuan Shikai.
6. 1999 Euro introduced Euro launched as accounting currency in 11 EU states; physical notes and coins in 2002; reshapes European economy.
7. 1804 Haitian Declaration of Independence Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaims independence at Gonaïves; first independent state in Latin America; first Black-led republic.
8. 1973 UK joins the EEC Britain becomes a member of the European Economic Community after 12 years of trying.
9. 1995 World Trade Organization founded Permanent multilateral trade body replaces GATT.
10. 1956 Independence of Sudan Sudan becomes independent from Britain and Egypt.
11. 2002 France adopts the euro France replaces the franc with the euro as physical currency.
12. 1834 Zollverein (German customs union) Customs union among most German states under Prussian leadership; economic integration that prefigures political unification.
13. 1973 Ireland joins the EEC Ireland enters the European Economic Community alongside the UK and Denmark, reshaping its economy.
14. 1946 Humanity Declaration In a New Year rescript, Hirohito disavows the 'false conception' that the emperor is divine, while keeping his throne under the new constitution.
15. 1127 The barons swear to Matilda With no legitimate son left, Henry I makes his barons — Stephen of Blois conspicuously among them — swear to accept his daughter Matilda, widow of the German emperor, as his heir.
16. 45 BCE Julian calendar introduced Caesar's reform, in force from 1 January 45 BCE, replaces the irregular Roman calendar with a 365.25-day solar year; used until the Gregorian reform.
17. 1986 Spain joins the European Communities A decade after Franco, Spain (with Portugal) enters the EC, sealing its return to democratic Europe.
18. 1994 NAFTA enters force North American Free Trade Agreement creates a trilateral free-trade zone.
19. 1547 Michelangelo becomes architect of St Peter's At 71, Michelangelo reluctantly takes charge of the new basilica, sweeping away Sangallo's plans and designing the great dome finished after his death.
20. 1994 Zapatista uprising Indigenous Zapatista rebels rise in Chiapas, Mexico, on the day NAFTA takes effect, becoming an icon of anti-globalisation.
21. 1993 Velvet Divorce Czechoslovakia dissolves itself without a shot or a referendum; the Czech Republic and Slovakia part as friends — the peaceful exception among post-communist breakups.
22. 1879 Brahms's Violin Concerto Written for his friend Joseph Joachim, who premieres it in Leipzig on New Year's Day, the concerto becomes a cornerstone of the violin repertoire.
23. 1974 Three-Day Week Energy crisis forces commercial electricity rationing to three consecutive days; brings down Heath government.
24. 1947 Britain's coal mines nationalised On Vesting Day notices go up at every pit — 'This colliery is now managed by the National Coal Board on behalf of the people' — the flagship of Attlee's nationalisation programme.