The first landing of an aircraft on a ship occurs on January 18, 1911, as Eugene Ely lands a Curtiss Pusher biplane on the USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco Bay.
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What Happened in January?
Tragic deaths, ravaged cities, and great acts of heroism. Discover what happened this month in history and the defining moments that shaped the world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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New Mexico is admitted into the United States becoming the 47th State of the Union.
British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and four members of his expedition reached the South Pole on January 18, 1912, only to discover that Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen had reached the South Pole five weeks earlier, on December 14, 1911. Scott and his men died when trying to return to their base camp.
The first telephone line across the Atlantic Ocean is established between New York and London.
A Magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Avezzano, Italy, kills over 29,000 people on January 13, 1915. The earthquake struck through the Marsica area in the Province of L’Aquila, Abruzzo, with the epicenter beneath the town of Avezzano, which was reduced to rubble.
The U.S. Congress creates the Coast Guard by combining the Revenue Cutter Service with the U.S. Life-Saving Service, and was officially renamed the Coast Guard. In 1939, the Lighthouse Service was folded in and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation was added to the USCG in 1946.
A German cruiser sinks first American merchant ship, the William P. Frye, off the coast of Brazil. More
President Woodrow Wilson delivers his famous "Peace Without Victory" address to the United States Senate on January 22, 1917. As Wilson attempted to position the nation as a mediator to end the conflict through diplomacy rather than total military conquest.
United States President Woodrow Wilson outlines his "Fourteen Points" for peace after World War I.
The 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, establishing prohibition, is ratified by the States on January 16, 1919, becoming effective on January 17, 1920, one year after its ratification. Almost 14 years later on December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment was passed, officially repealing the 18th amendment.
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the sale, manufacture, or transportation of intoxicating liquors, is ratified on January 16, 1919. More
The Paris Peace Conference convenes at Versailles just outside Paris on January 18, 1919. The conference was called to establish the terms of the peace after World War I.
The conference resulted in several treaties, most notably the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, which was signed on June 28, 1919. The treaty's terms led to political instability and resentment in Germany, which ultimately fueled extremist movements like the Nazis and contributed to the outbreak of World War II. More
The Irish War of Independence begins in Dublin on January 21, 1919, when Sinn Féin established an independent Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann). On the same day the first shots were fired at Soloheadbeg, County Tipperary, by IRA volunteers killing two Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) officers. More
The League of Nations officially comes into existence on January 10, 1920, when the Treaty of Versailles took effect, establishing the first worldwide organization aimed at maintaining world peace and promoting international cooperation after World War I. With its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
The League of Nations held its first Assembly meeting on November 15, 1920, in Geneva, Switzerland. It was attended by delegates from 42 member states, symbolizing a new era of international diplomacy after World War I, though the U.S. never joined. More
Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann (the Irish Parliament) on January 10, 1922, succeeding Éamon de Valera after the Anglo-Irish Treaty split the Sinn Féin party, serving until his sudden death in August of that year.
U.S. President Harding issues an executive order on January 10, 1923, halting U.S. occupation of the Rhine allowing the final contingent of American troops to return home, more than four years after the end of World War I.
Vladimir Lenin dies on January 21, 1924, at age 53, from complications of multiple strokes, marking the end of his leadership as the first head of the Soviet state. His embalmed body was placed in a mausoleum in Moscow's Red Square, where it remains a significant historical site.
Lenin led the Bolsheviks to power through the 1917 Russian Revolution the establishment to of the world's first communist state.
The world's first motor race at 300 km/h is won by Malcolm Campbell in a Sunbeam at Pendine Sands, Wales.
The first demonstration of television by John Logie Baird takes place in London.
The first commercial transatlantic telephone service is established between New York and London. on January 7, 1927. The serviced used radio waves for communication, not cables. It opened real-time voice communication across the Atlantic although it was subject to atmospheric interference and was also very expensive to use. (around $6 per minute (equivalent to hundreds today)
The inaugural call was between AT&T President Walter S. Gifford in New York and Sir Evelyn P. Murray of Britain's General Post Office. The first permanent undersea cable (TAT-1) in 1956, significantly improved service quality.