1. Websites… http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/on thisday.aspxhttp://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/on thisday.aspx http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/default.st mhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/default.st m Date, description, image for each.

2. 1 st January 1908 The ball signifying the New Year was dropped for the first time at Times Square in New York City.

3. 2 nd January 1959 The first spacecraft to fly by the Moon and also to orbit the Sun, Mechta (Luna 1) was launched by the USSR.USSR

4. 3 rd January 1870 Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge began. Brooklyn Bridge

5. 4 th January 1999 Former wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as Minnesota's governor. Jesse Ventura Minnesota's

6. 5 th January 1972 President NixonPresident Nixon ordered the development of the space shuttle.space shuttle

7. 6 th January 1898 In Maryland's Patapsco River, the first telephone calls from a submerged submarine to shore are placed.

8. 7 th January 1953 U.S. president Harry Truman announces the development of the hydrogen bomb.

9. 8 th January 1815 The Battle of New Orleans, the last battle in the War of 1812, was fought.War of 1812,

10. 9 th January 1951 The United Nations headquarters open

11. 10 th January 1776 English political writer Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense. It denounces monarchy and proclaims that “the cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.”

12. 11 th January 1935 Amelia Earhart makes the first solo flight from Hawaii to California

13. 12 th January 1998 Carlos Santana is the first Hispanic inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

14. 13 th January 1930 The comic strip "Mickey Mouse" debuts in American newspapers.

15. 14 th January 1990 The Simpsons premiered on television.

16. Queen Elizabeth IQueen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster Abbey.Westminster Abbey 15 th January 1559

17. 16 th January 1919 Prohibition, the legal ban on the manufacture and sale of intoxicating drink, goes into effect

18. 17 th January 1962 Chubby Checker tops the charts with "The Twist."

19. 18 th January 1943 The Nazi siege of Leningrad was broken.NaziLeningrad

20. 19 th January 1953 Lucy Ricardo gave birth to baby Ricky on I Love Lucy. More people tuned in to watch the show than the inauguration of President Eisenhower. President Eisenhower

21. 20 th January 1964 The BeatlesThe Beatles released their first album in the United States, Meet the Beatles.

22. 21 st January 1793 Louis XVI is executed by guillotine for treason.

23. 22 nd January 1905 On this day, which became known as Bloody Sunday, members of the Russian Imperial Guard massacred more than 100 peaceful demonstrators outside the Winter Palace.

24. 23 rd January 1989 British film actor, director, and producer Charlie Chaplin died in Switzerland at age 88.

25. 24 th January 1848 The California Gold Rush kicks off when James Marshall, a construction worker, discovers a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill, California.

26. 25 th January 1947 Notorious Italian American gangster Al Capone dies in Miami.

27. 26 th January 1905 The world's largest diamond is found near Pretoria, South Africa.

28. 27 th January 1984 Michael Jackson's head catches on fire while filming an ad for Pepsi.

29. 28 th January 1986 U.S. shuttle ChallengerU.S. shuttle Challenger exploded 72 seconds after lift off, killing all seven crew members aboard, including school teacher Christa McAuliffe.

30. 29 th January 1845 Edgar Allan Poe'sEdgar Allan Poe's The Raven was published.

31. 30 th January 1948 Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Gandhi is assassinated by Nathuram Godse.

32. 31 st January 1990 McDonald's opens its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow, Russia, serving more than 30,000 customers in one day.