What Happened in January?

The first claim under the Homestead Act is made by Daniel Freeman for a farm in Nebraska. The law went into effect on January 1, 1863, and Freeman staked his claim near Beatrice, Nebraska, initiating a process that would continue until 1988, when Ken Deardorff received the deed for his claim in Alaska.  Expand +

The Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln, issued on September 22 1862, goes into effect, freeing slaves in Confederate-held territories. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." More

General William T. Sherman begins his march through the Carolinas during the American Civil War.

The United States Congress passes the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery and sends it to the States for ratification. The amendment passed 119 to 56, barely above the required two-thirds majority. Ratification from the States was received on December 1865, ending the institution of slavery in the U.S. with a final constitutional solution. More

The Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, the precursor to the modern-day Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) is formed in London, becoming the world's oldest aeronautical society.

The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City begins.

The Bear River Massacre (also known as the Marias Massacre or the Baker Massacre) was the largest massacre of Indigenous people in present-day Montana. Over 150 Blackfeet—most of whom were women, children, the elderly, and those suffering from disease—were massacred by U.S. Second Cavalry soldiers under the command of Major Eugene Baker near the Marias River. More

Wilhelm I is proclaimed the first German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Following the surrender by the French army in Sedan and the south German states, except for Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, joined the North German Confederation and recognized the Prussian King as the German Emperor More

French poet Arthur Rimbaud decides to stop writing at the age of 18.

The first electric dental drill is patented by George F. Green in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for the telephone.

Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last major battle against the U.S. Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana. More

The world's first telephone directory is issued, by the New Haven District Telephone Company in Connecticut.

The Anglo - Zulu war begins when British troops invade Zululand from the southern African republic of Natal after Zululand King Cetshwayo refuses the British demands for him to disband his army or join a federation of British colonies and Boer Republics. The Zulus proved to be formidable opponents but could not overcome the technological advantage the British and were eventually defeated after a series of particularly bloody battles which lasted eight months. It wasn't until 1887 that Zululand was declared British territory and finally annexed to Natal ten years later. More

The Salvation Army begins operations in the United States.

John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust is formed.

The Philippines formally becomes a Spanish colony.

Supreme Court rules that Native Americans cannot be barred from voting in the U.S.

The first successful appendectomy is performed by Dr. William Grant in Iowa; saving the life of 22-year-old Mary Gartside. The event was a major turning point in treating appendicitis.

Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.