EVENTS:
- 1801 – The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
- 1804 – French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black republic and second independent country in North America after the United States
- 1822 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
- 1906 – British India officially adopts Indian Standard Time.
- 1912 – The Republic of China is established.
- 1913 – The British Board of Censors is established.
- 1949 – United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
- 1978 – Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 crashes into the sea, due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing 213.
- 1995 – The World Trade Organization goes into effect.
- 2016 – The Address Downtown Dubai burns over midnight as the New Year is rung in. The blaze started on the night of New Year’s Eve 2015, by currently unknown causes. There was one fatality.
- 2017 – An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year’s celebrations, kills at least 39 people and injures more than 60 others.
- 2017 – Portuguese politician and diplomat António Guterres was officially elected Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- 2023 – Croatia officially adopts the Euro, becoming the 20th Eurozone country, and becomes the 27th member of the Schengen Area.
- 2024
BIRTHS:
- 1871 – Montagu Toller, English cricketer and lawyer (d. 1948)
- 1891 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 3rd Governor of Rajasthan (d. 1969)
- 1892 – Mahadev Desai, Indian author and activist (d. 1942)
- 1894 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist and mathematician (d. 1974)
- 1902 – Buster Nupen, South African cricketer and lawyer (d. 1977)
- 1904 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (d. 1982)
- 1909 – Dattaram Hindlekar, Indian cricketer (d. 1949)
- 1927 – Doak Walker, American football player and businessman (d. 1998)
- 1936 – Don Nehlen, American football player and coach
- 1941 – Asrani, Indian actor and producer
- 1946 – Rivellino, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1950 – Tony Currie, English footballer
- 1950 – Deepa Mehta, Indian-Canadian director and screenwriter
- 1952 – Shaji N. Karun, Indian director and cinematographer
- 1960 – Danny Wilson, English footballer and manager
- 1971 – Kalabhavan Mani, Indian actor and singer (d. 2016)
- 1978 – Vidya Balan, Indian model and actress
- 1984 – Alok Kapali, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1995 – Adam Campbell, English footballer
- 1998 – Patrick Carrigan, Australian rugby league player
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
