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1999
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1735
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more events on January 1
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1999
The euro, the new money of 11 European nations, goes into effect on the continent of Europe.
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1986
As the United States builds its strength in the Mediterranean, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi threatens to retaliate if attacked.
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1959
Fidel Castro seizes power in Cuba as General Fulgencio Batista flees.
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1945
In Operation Bodenplatte, German planes attack American forward air bases in Europe. This is the last major offensive of the Luftwaffe.
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1937
At a party at the Hormel Mansion in Minnesota, a guest wins $100 for naming a new canned meat–Spam.
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1923
Sadi Lecointe sets a new aviation speed record flying an average of 208 mph at Istres.
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1919
J.D. [Jerome David] Salinger, U.S. novelist (The Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey).
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1918
The first gasoline pipeline begins operation. Along the 40 miles and three inches of pipe from Salt Creek to Casper, Wyoming.
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1915
The German submarine U-24 sinks the British battleship Formidable in the English Channel.
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1907
The Pure Food and Drug Act becomes law in the United States.
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1895
J. Edgar Hoover, founding director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
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1891
Facilities opened on Ellis Island, New York, to cope with the vast flood of immigrants coming into the United States.
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1879
E.M. [Edward Morgan] Forster, English novelist (A Passage to India, A Room With a View).
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1863
President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the Confederacy.
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Confederate General Braxton Bragg and Union General William Rosecrans readjust their troops as the Battle of Murfreesboro continues.