January 1
1863
President Abraham Lincoln signs the final Emancipation Proclamation, leading to the end of slavery in the United States. The proclamation freed all slaves in states that were still in rebellion during the time of the American Civil War.
January 2
1960
Senator John F Kennedy, announces his candidacy for the United States Presidency.
January 3
1959
Alaska becomes the United States’ 49th state when President Eisenhower signs a special proclamation admitting the territory into the Union. Alaska became the largest state of the Unites States.
January 4
2007
During the 110th United States Congress, Nancy Pelosi is elected the United States’ first female Speaker of the House.
January 5
1972
President Richard Nixon signs a $5.5 million bill authorizing a development of a space shuttle program.
January 6
1919
The 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, dies at his home in New York. In 1901 he became the youngest president at the age of 43 after his predecessor President William McKinley was assassinated.
January 7
1789
The first U.S. presidential election is held. George Washington won the election and became the first U.S. president on April 30, 1789. The election system used in 1789 is still in use today.
January 8
1790
President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address. President Washington gave a brief outline of his policies designed by Alexander Hamilton.
1867
Congress expands suffrage, granting all American males the right to vote, including African Americans.
January 9
1913
Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the Unites States, is born in California.
January 11
1908
President Theodore Roosevelt makes the Grand Canyon a U.S. National Monument.
January 12
1932
Ophelia Wyatt Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, becomes the first elected female senator.
January 13
1966
Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American cabinet member. Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Weaver became the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
January 14
1943
President Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. President to travel by airplane on official business. President FDR flew on a Boeing 314 Flying Boat to a meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Casablanca, North Africa.
January 15
1870
Today marks the first time a donkey is used to refer to the Democrat Party. The imagery appeared in an issue of Harper’s Weekly magazine. A political cartoon entitled “A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion,” depicted the donkey as a representation of Democrat-dominated newspapers of the South.
January 17
1961
President Dwight D. Eisenhower bids farewell to the nation in a televised speech for the last time as president.
January 18
1919
President Woodrow Wilson attends the Paris Peace Conference, an event which officially marked the end of World War I.
January 19
1945
President Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated to his fourth term in office. He was the only U.S. president to have served three terms in office. President FDR died just three months after his fourth inauguration.
January 20
1961
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th president of the United States.
1969
Richard Nixon becomes the 37th president of the United States.
1981
Ronald Reagan, who was once a Western movie actor, is sworn in as 40th president of the United States.
January 22
1973
President Lyndon B. Johnson dies at the age of 64 due to a heart attack.
January 23
1997
Madeline Albright is sworn in as America’s first female Secretary of State by Vice President Al Gore. Albright became the highest ranking female official in U.S. history.
January 25
1776
Congress authorizes the first national memorial dedicated to Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, who was killed during the Revolutionary War.
1961
President John F. Kennedy holds the first televised news conference.
January 26
2005
President George W. Bush appoints Condoleezza Rice as the Secretary of State, making her the highest ranking African-American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet.
January 29
1843
William McKinley, the 25th president of the Unites States, is born on this day in Ohio.
January 30
1882
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who later became the United States’ only president to be elected four times, is born.
