Britannica On This Day January 1 2024 * Euro introduced in Europe, Alfred Stieglitz is featured, and more *

This Day in History: January 1

Featured Event

2002





Euro introduced in Europe
On this day in 2002 the euro, the monetary unit of the European Union, was introduced with the issuance of both currency and coins, and by March 2002 it was the sole legal tender of participating member states.

More Events On This Day

The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) debuted on television.Remember when Oprah was sued for dissing a hamburger?
Jason Merritt—Getty Images/Thinkstock
1995

The World Trade Organization was formally established.Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about world organizations
:copyright: Ricochet69/Dreamstime.com
1994

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, eliminating most tariffs and other trade barriers on products and services passing between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.Take our quiz abut famous documents
AP Images
1959

Dictator Fulgencio Batista fled Cuba after his regime was toppled by rebel forces led by Fidel Castro.Discover six interesting facts about Fidel Castro
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1953

American country-and-western musician Hank Williams, Sr., died.Discover famous alter egos of the music industry
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
1919

American author J.D. Salinger—whose only novel, The Catcher in the Rye (1951), won wide critical acclaim—was born.Can you match these opening lines to their works?
Keystone/age fotostock
1909

Barry M. Goldwater, U.S. senator from Arizona (1953–64, 1969–87) who was the Republican presidential candidate in 1964, was born.Test your knowledge of U.S. presidential elections
:copyright: Archive Photos
1902

The first college football bowl game was held as the University of Michigan defeated Stanford in what became known as the Rose Bowl; however, the game did not become an annual event until 1916.How much do you know about American football?
:copyright: BananaStock/Jupiterimages
1895

U.S. government official J. Edgar Hoover—who, as director of the FBI (1924–72), built the agency into a highly effective, if occasionally controversial, arm of federal law enforcement—was born.Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Americans
AP
1863

The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed enslaved people in the Confederacy (the states in rebellion against the Union during the American Civil War), was issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.How much do you know about Abraham Lincoln?
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-DIG-pga-02797)
1808

The United States made the slave trade illegal as the Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves went into effect; slavery, however, continued in the country.Take our quiz about slavery and resistance through history
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1804

Haiti declared its independence from France.Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about the Caribbean
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1735

Paul Revere, the horseback-riding folk hero of the American Revolution, was born.How much do you know about the American Revolution?
:copyright: SuperStock
1449

Florentine statesman, ruler, and patron of arts and letters Lorenzo de' Medici was born.Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Europeans
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1943.4.92

Featured Biography

Alfred Stieglitz
American photographer

BornJanuary 1, 1864
Hoboken, New Jersey
(Born on this day)
DiedJuly 13, 1946 (aged 82)
New York City, New York




Christine Lagarde
French lawyer and politician



J.D. Salinger
American author



Barry Goldwater
United States senator



J. Edgar Hoover
United States government official



Paul Revere
United States military officer and silversmith