The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the sale, manufacture, or transportation of intoxicating liquors, is ratified on January 16, 1919. More
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What Happened in January?
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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 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.
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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.
The Soviet Union orders the exile of Leon Trotsky internally to Alma-Ata, a remote region in Central Asia on January 10, 1928. He had previously been expelled from the Communist Party in November 1927.
Finally in February 1929, Trotsky was deported from the USSR entirely initially to Turkey; marking a key step in Stalin's consolidation of power after Lenin's death. Trotsky asked for permission to move to Paris and later was aent to Norway, eventualy relocating to Mexico where he was assassinated on August 21, 1940.
Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway becomes first woman elected to U.S. Senate on January 12, 1932, when she defeated two male opponents in a special race in Arkansas. More
President Hoover signs the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) Act ,on January 22, 1932, establishing the Independent government Agency, to aid the struggling U.S. economy during the Great Depression.
It went on to become a vital government agency as the lender of last resort providing emergency financing to banks, railroads, and industries fostering stability during the Great Depression.
Starting in 1933, under Franklin D. Roosevelt the RFC's mandate expanded significantly. It began purchasing preferred stock in banks to boost their capital, helped finance New Deal public works, and supported mortgage relief (including the creation of Fannie Mae). During the World War II Era, the RFC became a massive driver of war production, financing the construction of synthetic rubber plants, defense factories, and funding military-industrial efforts. as private capital returned, the agency was deemed unnecessary and its lending powers were transferred to the Small Business Administration in 1953, and it was officially dissolved in 1957.
The Golden Gate Bridge construction starts on January 5, 1933. Joseph B. Strauss led the way as Chief Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge. He is is also credited as being the leading force behind seeing the Golden Gate Bridge become a reality. The bridge was completed on May May 28, 1937. More
Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg, marking the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of the Nazi dictatorship.
The appointment came after intense political maneuvering and economic instability,. The legal appointment allowed Hitler to rapidly consolidate power, turning Germany into a totalitarian state within months. Following the Reichstag fire in February 1933, the Reichstag Fire Decree was signed, suspending civil liberties. The Enabling Act of 1933 allowed Hitler's cabinet to enact laws without the Reichstag, effectively creating a dictatorship. The first concentration camps were established by mid-March 1933. After Hindenburg's death on August 2, 1934, Hitler merged the offices of President and Chancellor, declaring himself Führer and Reich Chancellor.
The U.S. dollar is significantly devalued on January 30 and 31,1934 when the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, is signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and officially sets the price of gold at $35 per ounce, reducing the dollar's gold content by about 41% from its previous value.
The Act effectively devalued the currency making U.S. goods cheaper for other countries and stimulating the U.S. economy helping to combat the Great Depression. This followed earlier steps like Executive Order 6102, from April 5, 1933 forcing Americans to surrender most of their privately held gold (coins, bullion and certificates) to the Federal Reserve, allowing them to keep only about 5 ounces, in exchange for $20.67 per ounce; moving the U.S. off the gold standard. Executive Order 6102 was repealed by President Gerald Ford in 1974, restoring the right of U.S. citizens to own gold.
Amelia Earhart lands her Lockheed 5C Vega at Oakland Airport, California on January 12,1935 becoming the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California. She had departed from Wheeler Field, Honolulu, Hawaii the day before on her record setting 18 hour solo flight. More
Iceland becomes the first western country to legalize abortion under limited medical/social conditions on January 28, 1935. While not the absolute first globally (Soviet Russia was earlier).
The first all-glass windowless building, the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio, c. January 6, 1936,