History for January 1

History for January 1 - On-This-Day.com 

Barry Goldwater 1909

• 1808 - The U.S. prohibited import of slaves from Africa.
• 1863 - U.S. President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all slaves in the rebel states were free.
• 1934 - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) began operation.
• 1959 - Fidel Castro overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista, and seized power in Cuba.
• 1979 - The United States and China held celebrations in Washington, DC, and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
• 1987 - A pro-democracy rally took place in Beijing's Tiananmen Square (China).
• 1994 - The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect.
• 1995 - The World Trade Organization came into existence. The group of 125 nations monitors global trade.
• 1999 - The euro became currency for 11 Member States of the European Union. Coins and notes were not available until January 1, 2002.