This day in .....

25 December 1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening.

Eggnog Riot

The Eggnog Riot, sometimes known as the Grog Mutiny, was a riot that took place at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, on 24–25 December 1826. It was caused by a drunken Christmas Day party in the North Barracks of the academy. Two days prior to the incident, a large quantity of whiskey was smuggled into the academy to make eggnog for the party, giving the riot its name.

The riot eventually involved more than one-third of the cadets by the time it ceased on Christmas morning. A subsequent investigation by academy officials resulted in the implication of 70 cadets and the court-martialing of 20 of them and one enlisted soldier. Among the participants in the riot—though he was not court-martialed—was future Confederate States President Jefferson Davis.

Read More

 

26 December 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou begins.

Battle of Chickasaw Bayou

The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called the Battle of Walnut Hills,^[2] fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton repulsed an advance by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman that was intended to lead to the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

On December 26, three Union divisions under Sherman disembarked at Johnson's Plantation on the Yazoo River to approach the Vicksburg defenses from the northeast while a fourth landed farther upstream on December 27. On December 27, the Federals pushed their lines forward through the swamps toward the Walnut Hills, which were strongly defended. On December 28, several futile attempts were made to get around these defenses. On December 29, Sherman ordered a frontal assault, which was repulsed with heavy casualties, and then withdrew. This Confederate victory frustrated Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's attempts to take Vicksburg by a direct approach.

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Eicher, pp. 390–91.
2. ^ The National Park Service battle description Archived September 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine gives a third alternative name, Chickasaw Bluffs. Although this may be derived from a variation on "Bluffs over Chickasaw Bayou" (referring to Drumgould's Bluff), the geographic location known as Chickasaw Bluffs is distant from the battlefield. Other references to this article do not use this name.

Read More

 

27 December 1979 – The Soviet Union invades the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Soviet–Afghan War

War between the Soviet Union and Afghan insurgents, 1979-89

The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years, from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller Maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war against the Soviet Army and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan government, mostly in the rural countryside. The mujahideen groups were backed primarily by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, making it a Cold War proxy war. Between 562,000^[32] and 2,000,000 civilians were killed and millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees,^{[33][34][36][37]} mostly to Pakistan and Iran.

Prior to the arrival of Soviet troops, Afghanistan's communist party took power after a 1978 coup, installing Nur Mohammad Taraki as president. The party initiated a series of radical modernization reforms throughout the country that were deeply unpopular, particularly among the more traditional rural population and the established traditional power structures.^[38] The regime's nature^[39] of vigorously suppressing opposition, executing thousands of political prisoners and ordering massacres against unarmed civilians, led to the rise of anti-government armed groups, and by April 1979 large parts of the country were in open rebellion.^[40] The government itself experienced in-party rivalry, and in September 1979 Taraki was murdered under orders of his rival and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hafizullah Amin, which soured relations with the Soviet Union. Eventually the Soviet government, under leader Leonid Brezhnev, decided to deploy the 40th Army on December 24, 1979.^[41] Arriving in the capital Kabul, they staged a coup,^[42] killing president Amin and installing Soviet loyalist Babrak Karmal from a rival faction.^[40] The deployment had been variously called an "invasion" (by Western media and the rebels) or a legitimate supporting intervention (by the Soviet Union and the Afghan government)^[43][44] on the basis of the Brezhnev Doctrine.

In January 1980, foreign ministers from 34 nations of the Islamic Conference adopted a resolution demanding "the immediate, urgent and unconditional withdrawal of Soviet troops" from Afghanistan.^[45] The UN General Assembly passed a resolution protesting the Soviet intervention by a vote of 104 (for) to 18 (against), with 18 abstentions and 12 members of the 152-nation Assembly absent or not participating in the vote;^[45][46] only Soviet allies Angola, East Germany and Vietnam, along with India, supported the intervention.^[47] Afghan insurgents began to receive massive amounts of aid and military training in neighboring Pakistan and China,^[16] paid for primarily by the United States and Arab monarchies in the Persian Gulf.^{[8][9][16][12][48][49][50][51]} As documented by the National Security Archive, "the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) played a significant role in asserting U.S. influence in Afghanistan by funding military operations designed to frustrate the Soviet invasion of that country. CIA covert action worked through Pakistani intelligence services to reach Afghan rebel groups."^[52] Soviet troops occupied the cities and main arteries of communication, while the mujahideen waged guerrilla war in small groups operating in the almost 80 percent of the country that was outside government and Soviet control, almost exclusively being the rural countryside.^[53] The Soviets used their air power to deal harshly with both rebels and civilians, levelling villages to deny safe haven to the mujahideen, destroying vital irrigation ditches, and laying millions of land mines.^{[54][55][56][57]}

The international community imposed numerous sanctions and embargoes against the Soviet Union, and the U.S. led a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow. The boycott and sanctions exacerbated Cold War tensions and enraged the Soviet government, which later led a revenge boycott of the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles.^[58] The Soviets initially planned to secure towns and roads, stabilize the government under new leader Karmal, and withdraw within six months or a year. But they were met with fierce resistance from the guerillas,^[59] and were stuck in a bloody war that lasted nine years.^[60] By the mid-1980s, the Soviet contingent was increased to 108,800 and fighting increased, but the military and diplomatic cost of the war to the USSR was high.^[10] By mid-1987 the Soviet Union, now under reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev, announced it would start withdrawing its forces after meetings with the Afghan government.^[6][7] The final troop withdrawal started on May 15, 1988, and ended on February 15, 1989, leaving the government forces alone in the battle against the insurgents, which continued until 1992 when the former Soviet-backed government collapsed. Due to its length, it has sometimes been referred to as the "Soviet Union's Vietnam War" or the "Bear Trap" by the Western media.^[61][62][63] The Soviets' failure in the war^[64] is thought to be a contributing factor to the fall of the Soviet Union.^[65]

1. ^ Peter Marsden (2009). Afghanistan – Aid, Armies and Empires: Aid, Armies and Empires. I.B.Tauris. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-85771-007-9.
2. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1990/10/14/east-germanys-dirty-secret/09375b6f-2ae1-4173-a0dc-77a9c276aa4b/
3. ^ . Delfi.lv. 7 March 1989 https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/07/world/india-to-provide-aid-to-government-in-afghanistan.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Goodson, Larry P. (2001). Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban. University of Washington Press. pp. 147, 165. ISBN 978-0-295-98050-8.
5. ^ McElroy, Damien (27 February 2012). "Stratfor: Osama bin Laden 'was in routine contact with Pakistan's spy agency'". The Telegraph. London.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Afghanistan War – 2001–2014".
7. ^ ^{a b c d} "Afghan War – 1978–1992".
8. ^ ^{a b c} "Interview with Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski-(13/6/97)". Archived from the original on 2000-08-29. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
9. ^ ^{a b c d} Cornwell, Rupert (February 13, 2010). "Charlie Wilson: Congressman whose support for the mujahideen helped force the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan". The Independent. London. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
10. ^ ^{a b} Crile, George (2003). Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-854-9.
11. ^ "Saudi Arabia and the Future of Afghanistan". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
12. ^ ^{a b} Barlett, Donald L.; Steele, James B. (May 13, 2003). "The Oily Americans". Time. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
13. ^ ""Reagan Doctrine, 1985," United States State Department". State.gov. Archived from the original on 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
14. ^ Interview with Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski – (June 13, 1997). Part 2. Episode 17. Good Guys, Bad Guys. June 13, 1997.
15. ^ Corera, Gordon (2011). MI6: Life and Death in the British Secret Service. London: Phoenix. ISBN 978-0-7538-2833-5.
16. ^ ^{a b c d} Frederick Starr, S. (2004). Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 157–158. ISBN 978-0-7656-3192-3.
17. ^ Renz, Michael (October 6, 2012). "Operation Sommerregen" (in German) (40). Die Welt. Die Welt. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
18. ^ Borer, Douglas A. (1999). Superpowers defeated: Vietnam and Afghanistan compared. London: Cass. p. 216. ISBN 0-7146-4851-5.
19. ^ Krivosheev, p. 365
20. ^ Nyrop, Richard F.; Donald M. Seekins (January 1986). Afghanistan: A Country Study (PDF). Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office. pp. XVIII–XXV. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2001.
21. ^ Mark N. Katz (March 9, 2011). "Middle East Policy Council | Lessons of the Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan". Mepc.org. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
22. ^ Maxime Rischard. "Al Qa'ida's American Connection". Global-Politics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-11-21. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
23. ^ "Soviet or the USA the strongest" (in Norwegian). Translate.google.no. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
24. ^ "Afghanistan hits Soviet milestone – Army News". Armytimes.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
25. ^ ^{a b c d} Cite error: The named reference vfw.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
26. ^ "Russian soldier missing in Afghanistan for 33 years is FOUND living as nomadic sheikh in remote Afghan province". Dailymail. March 5, 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
27. ^ https://archive.org/stream/The_Soviet-Afghan_War_How_a_Superpower_Fought_and_Lost/The_Soviet-Afghan_War_How_a_Superpower_Fought_and_Lost_djvu.txt
28. ^ David C. Isby (1986). Russia's War in Afghanistan. Osprey. ISBN 978-0-85045-691-2.
29. ^ Antonio Giustozzi (2000). War, politics and society in Afghanistan, 1978–1992. Hurst. p. 115. ISBN 1-85065-396-8. A tentative estimate for total mujahideen losses in 1980-02 may be in the 150–180,000 range, with maybe half of them killed.
30. ^ Markovskiy, Victor (1997). "Жаркое небо Афганистана: Часть IX" [Hot Sky of Afghanistan: Part IX]. Авиация и время [Aviation and Time] (in Russian) p.28
31. ^ "Soviet Air-to-Air Victories of the Cold War". Retrieved October 2, 2014.
32. ^ ^{a b} Lacina, Bethany; Gleditsch, Nils Petter (2005). "Monitoring Trends in Global Combat: A New Dataset of Battle Deaths" (PDF). European Journal of Population. 21: 154. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
33. ^ ^{a b} Noor Ahmad Khalidi, "Afghanistan: Demographic Consequences of War: 1978–87," Central Asian Survey, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 101–126, 1991.
34. ^ ^{a b} Marek Sliwinski, "Afghanistan: The Decimation of a People," Orbis (Winter, 1989), p.39.
35. ^ Hilali, A. (2005). US–Pakistan relationship: Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co. (p.198)
36. ^ Klass, Rosanne (1994). The Widening Circle of Genocide. Transaction Publishers. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4128-3965-5. During the intervening fourteen years of Communist rule, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Afghan civilians were killed by Soviet forces and their proxies- the four Communist regimes in Kabul, and the East Germans, Bulgarians, Czechs, Cubans, Palestinians, Indians and others who assisted them. These were not battle casualties or the unavoidable civilian victims of warfare. Soviet and local Communist forces seldom attacked the scattered guerrilla bands of the Afghan Resistance except, in a few strategic locales like the Panjsher valley. Instead they deliberately targeted the civilian population, primarily in the rural areas.
37. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
38. ^ Bennett Andrew (1999); A bitter harvest: Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and its effects on Afghan political movements(Retrieved February 4, 2007)
39. ^ Raymond Whitaker. "Obituary: Babrak Karmal". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
40. ^ ^{a b} Kepel, Gilles (2002). Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. I.B.Tauris. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-84511-257-8.
41. ^ "Timeline: Soviet war in Afghanistan". BBC News. Published February 17, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
42. ^ "How Soviet troops stormed Kabul palace". BBC. 27 December 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
43. ^ https://www.rbth.com/international/2017/01/12/7-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-soviet-war-in-afghanistan_678758
44. ^ https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-cold-war/russian-invasion-of-afghanistan/
45. ^ ^{a b} "Moslems Condemn Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 29, 1980.
46. ^ "U.N. General Assembly Votes to Protest Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan". Toledo Blade. January 15, 1980.
47. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/01/12/india-supports-soviets-afghan-position-in-un-debate/17dd1eb5-93f9-44bf-9f95-ecda7285843c/?noredirect=on
48. ^ Kepel, Gilles (2002). Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 143. By 1982 the jihad was receiving $600 million in U.S. aid per year, with a matching amount coming from the Gulf states.
49. ^ Total aid from the CIA is estimated at $3 billion. The precise figures as well as a description of the mechanics of the aid process are given in Barnett R. Rubin, The Fragmentation of Afghanistan. Yale University Press, 2002
50. ^ According to Milton Bearden, former CIA chief in charge of the Afghan department, "The Saudi dollar-for-dollar match with the US taxpayer was fundamental to the success [of the ten-year engagement in Afghanistan]" (from Milton Bearden Interview. PBS Frontline.)
51. ^ Cite error: The named reference unholy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
52. ^ U.S. ANALYSIS OF THE SOVIET WAR IN AFGHANISTAN: DECLASSIFIED, from the National Security Archive, edited by John Prados (October 9, 2001)
53. ^ Amstutz, J. Bruce (1986). Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation. Washington D.C.: NDU Press, p. 127.
54. ^ Westermann, Edward B. (Fall 1999). "The Limits of Soviet Airpower: The Failure of Military Coercion in Afghanistan, 1979–89". XIX (2). Retrieved 3 October 2015.
55. ^ Kaplan 2008, p. 128: "... the farmer told Wakhil [Kaplan's translator] about all the irrigation ditches that had been blown up by fighter jets, and the flooding in the valley and malaria outbreak that followed. Malaria, which on the eve of Taraki's Communist coup in April 1978 was at the point of being eradicated in Afghanistan, had returned with a vengeance, thanks to the stagnant, mosquito-breeding pools caused by the widespread destruction of irrigation systems. Nangarhar [province] was rife with the disease. This was another relatively minor, tedious side effect of the Soviet invasion."
56. ^ TAYLOR, ALAN (Aug 4, 2014). "The Soviet War in Afghanistan, 1979 – 1989". The Atlantic. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
57. ^ PEAR, ROBERT (August 14, 1988). "MINES PUT AFGHANS IN PERIL ON RETURN". The New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
58. ^ "Cold War sanctions". Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
59. ^ https://www.csmonitor.com/1983/0707/070754.html
60. ^ "This Time It Will Be Different | Christs College Cambridge". Christs.cam.ac.uk. 2011-03-09. Archived from the original on 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
61. ^ Yousaf, Mohammad & Adkin, Mark (1992). Afghanistan, the bear trap: the defeat of a superpower. Casemate. p. 159. ISBN 0-9711709-2-4.
62. ^ Richard Cohen (April 22, 1988). "The Soviets' Vietnam". Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
63. ^ "Afghanistan was Soviets' Vietnam". Boca Raton News. April 24, 1988. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
64. ^ "The Soviet Failure in Afghanistan | Marine Corps Association". Mca-marines.org. 2014-07-25. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
65. ^ REUVENY, RAFAEL; PRAKASH, ASEEM (1999). "The Afghanistan war and the breakdown of the Soviet Union" (PDF). Review of International Studies. 25: 693–708. doi:10.1017/s0260210599006932. Retrieved 15 July 2015.

Read More

 

28 December 1973 – The Endangered Species Act is passed in the United States.

Endangered Species Act of 1973

United States Law

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is one of the few dozens of US environmental laws passed in the 1970s, and serves as the enacting legislation to carry out the provisions outlined in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).^[1] Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation", the ESA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973. The U.S. Supreme Court found that "the plain intent of Congress in enacting" the ESA "was to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost."^[2] The Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

1. ^ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "International Affairs: CITES" Retrieved on 25 June 2015. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
2. ^ "Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill", 437 U.S. 153 (1978) Retrieved 24 November 2015.  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government.

Read More

 

29 December 1851 – The first American YMCA opens in Boston, Massachusetts.

YMCA

This article is about the organization. For the Village People song, see Y.M.C.A. (song). For other uses, see YMCA (disambiguation).

"The Y" redirects here. For other uses, see The Y (disambiguation).

First YMCA in Canada in Montreal, Quebec

Self-defence classes at YMCA in Boise, Idaho, 1936

The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries from 120 national associations.^[1] It was founded on 6 June 1844 by Sir George Williams in London and aims to put Christian principles into practice by developing a healthy "body, mind, and spirit".

From its inception, it grew rapidly and ultimately became a worldwide movement founded on the principles of muscular Christianity. Local YMCAs deliver projects and services focused on youth development through a wide variety of youth activities, including providing athletic facilities, holding classes for a wide variety of skills, promoting Christianity, and humanitarian work.

YMCA globally operates on a federation model, with each independent local YMCA voluntarily affiliated to their national organizations. The national organizations, in turn, are part of both an Area Alliance (Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Latin America & Caribbean, USA and Canada) and the World Alliance of YMCAs (World YMCA).

1. ^ "Blue Book". World Alliance of YMCAs. 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-11-10.

Read More

 

30 December 1936 – The United Auto Workers union stages its first sitdown strike.

Sitdown strike

A sit-down strike is a labour strike and a form of civil disobedience in which an organized group of workers, usually employed at factories or other centralized locations, take unauthorized or illegal possession of the workplace by "sitting down" at their stations. The attraction for workers of a sit-down strike is that the practice prevents employers from replacing them with strikebreakers or removing equipment to transfer production to other locations. Neal Ascherson has commented that an additional attraction of the practice is that it emphasizes the role of workers in providing for the people, and allows workers to in effect hold valuable machinery hostage as a bargaining chip.^{[1][verification needed]}

Workers have used this technique since the beginning of the 20th century in countries such as United States, Italy, Poland, Croatia, and France. However, sit-down strikes are now uncommon.

1. ^ Ascherson 1983.

Read More

 

31 December 1501 – The First Battle of Cannanore commences.

First Battle of Cannanore

The First Battle of Cannanore was a naval engagement between the Third Portuguese Armada under João da Nova and the naval forces of Calicut, which had been assembled by the Zamorin against the Portuguese in order to prevent their return to Portugal.

The battle was fought over two days, between 31 December 1501 and 2 January 1502, and was the first major Portuguese naval engagement in the Indian Ocean. Although badly outnumbered, da Nova's bold tactics, better trained and prepared men and superior weaponry proved decisive for the Portuguese to defeat the blocking force of Calicut, break out of Cannanore, and emerge victorious from the battle.

The battle is also historically notable for being one of the earliest recorded deliberate uses of a naval line of battle, and for resolving the battle by cannon alone. These tactics would become increasingly prevalent as navies evolved and began to see ships less as carriers of armed men, and more as floating artillery. In that respect, this has been called the first 'modern' naval battle (at least for one side).^[2] After it, João da Nova returned to Portugal.

1. ^ Matthew 1997, p. 11.
2. ^ "Cananor – 31 de Dezembro de 1501 a 2 de Janeiro de 1502". Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2012.

Read More

 

1 January 1995 – The World Trade Organization comes into being

World Trade Organization

"WTO" redirects here. For other uses, see WTO (disambiguation).

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that is concerned with the regulation of international trade between nations. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 124 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. It is the largest international economic organization in the world.^[5][6]

The WTO deals with regulation of trade in goods, services and intellectual property between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments^{[7]:fol.9–10} and ratified by their parliaments.^[8] The WTO prohibits discrimination between trading partners, but provides exceptions for environmental protection, national security, and other important goals.^[9] Trade-related disputes are resolved by independent judges at the WTO through a dispute resolution process.^[9]

The WTO's current Director-General is Roberto Azevêdo,^[10][11] who leads a staff of over 600 people in Geneva, Switzerland.^[12] A trade facilitation agreement, part of the Bali Package of decisions, was agreed by all members on 7 December 2013, the first comprehensive agreement in the organization's history.^[13][14] On 23 January 2017, the amendment to the WTO Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement marks the first time since the organization opened in 1995 that WTO accords have been amended, and this change should secure for developing countries a legal pathway to access affordable remedies under WTO rules.^[15]

Studies show that the WTO boosted trade,^[16][17][9] and that barriers to trade would be higher in the absence of the WTO.^[18] The WTO has highly influenced the text of trade agreements, as "nearly all recent [preferential trade agreements (PTAs)] reference the WTO explicitly, often dozens of times across multiple chapters... in many of these same PTAs we find that substantial portions of treaty language—sometime the majority of a chapter—is copied verbatim from a WTO agreement."^[19]

1. ^ Members and Observers at WTO official website
2. ^ Languages, Documentation and Information Management Division at WTO official site
3. ^ "WTO Secretariat budget for 2018". WTO official site. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
4. ^ Understanding the WTO: What We Stand For_ Fact File
5. ^ http://www.nber.org/reporter/winter00/krueger.html
6. ^ World Trade Organization – Unnderstanding the WTO: Basics
7. ^ Understanding the WTO Handbook at WTO official website. (Note that the document's printed folio numbers do not match the pdf page numbers.)
8. ^ Malanczuk, P. (1999). "International Organisations and Space Law: World Trade Organization". Encyclopædia Britannica. 442. p. 305. Bibcode:1999ESASP.442..305M.
9. ^ ^{a b c} "U.S. Trade Policy: Going it Alone vs. Abiding by the WTO | Econofact". Econofact. 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
10. ^ Bourcier, Nicolas (21 May 2013). "Roberto Azevedo's WTO appointment gives Brazil a seat at the top table". Guardian Weekly. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
11. ^ "Roberto Azevêdo takes over". WTO official website. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
12. ^ "Overview of the WTO Secretariat". WTO official website. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
13. ^ Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference | WTO – MC9 Archived 1 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
14. ^ BBC News – WTO agrees global trade deal worth $1tn
15. ^ "WTO | 2017 News items – WTO IP rules amended to ease poor countries' access to affordable medicines".
16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
17. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
18. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
19. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Read More

 

2 January 1833 – Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (1833)

Military operation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

This article is about the re-establishment of British rule on the Falkland Islands in 1833. For other uses, see Falklands Crisis.

In December 1832, two naval vessels were sent by the United Kingdom to re-assert British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), after the United Provinces of the River Plate (part of which later became Argentina) ignored British diplomatic protests over the appointment of Luis Vernet as governor of the Falkland Islands and a dispute over fishing rights.

Read More

 

3 January 1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel Tower

This article is about the landmark in Paris, France. For other uses, see Eiffel Tower (disambiguation).

The Eiffel Tower (/ˈaɪfəl/ EYE-fəl; French: Tour Eiffel [tuʁ‿ɛfɛl] (listen)) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.

Constructed from 1887–1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world.^[3] The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015.

The tower is 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres (410 ft) on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft). Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second tallest free-standing structure in France after the Millau Viaduct.

The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift.

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Eiffel Tower". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
2. ^ ^{a b} Eiffel Tower at Emporis
3. ^ SETE. "The Eiffel Tower at a glance". Official Eiffel Tower website. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.

Read More

 

4 January 46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.

Julius Caesar

This article is about the Roman dictator. For other people named Julius Caesar, as well as other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation).

"Caesar" redirects here. For other uses with the name Caesar, see Caesar (disambiguation).

1st-century BC Roman politician and general

Gaius Julius Caesar^[a] (/ˈsiːzər/; Latin pronunciation: [ˈɡaː.i.ʊs ˈjuː.li.ʊs ˈkae̯.sar]; 12 or 13 July 100 BC^[1] – 15 March 44 BC),^[2] known by his nomen and cognomen Julius Caesar, was a Roman politician, military general, and historian who played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. He is also known as an author of Latin prose.

In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus and Pompey formed the First Triumvirate, a political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power as Populares were opposed by the Optimates within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar rose to become one of the most powerful politicians in the Roman Republic through a number of his accomplishments, notably his victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC. During this time, Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both the English Channel and the Rhine River, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the Channel to invade Britain. Caesar's wars extended Rome's territory to Britain and past Gaul. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who had realigned himself with the Senate after the death of Crassus in 53 BC. With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. Leaving his command in Gaul meant losing his immunity from being charged as a criminal for waging unsanctioned wars. As a result, Caesar found himself with no other options but to cross the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, leaving his province and illegally entering Roman Italy under arms.^[3] This began Caesar's civil war, and his victory in the war put him in an unrivaled position of power and influence.

After assuming control of government, Caesar began a program of social and governmental reforms, including the creation of the Julian calendar. He gave citizenship to many residents of far regions of the Roman Empire. He initiated land reform and support for veterans. He centralized the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator for life" (Latin: "dictator perpetuo"), giving him additional authority. His populist and authoritarian reforms angered the elites, who began to conspire against him. On the Ides of March (15 March), 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by a group of rebellious senators led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Marcus Junius Brutus and Decimus Junius Brutus, who stabbed him to death.^[4][5] A new series of civil wars broke out and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesar's adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to sole power after defeating his opponents in the civil war. Octavian set about solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began.

Much of Caesar's life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources. Caesar is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest military commanders in history.^[6] His cognomen was subsequently adopted as a synonym for "Emperor"; the title "Caesar" was used throughout the Roman Empire, giving rise to modern cognates such as Kaiser or Tsar. He has frequently appeared in literary and artistic works, and his political philosophy, known as Caesarism, inspired politicians into the modern era.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ Dates in this article are given in the Roman calendar before 1 January 45 BC, and in the Julian calendar as observed in Rome on and after that date. There is some dispute over the year of Caesar's birth. Some scholars have made a case for 101 or 102 BC as the year of his birth, based on the dates that he held certain magistracies, but scholarly consensus favors 100 BC. Similarly, some scholars prefer 12 July, but most give 13 July. Goldsworthy, p. 30, Ward, Heichelheim, & Yeo p. 194. For a source arguing for 12 July, see Badian in Griffin (ed.) p.16
2. ^ After Caesar's death, the leap years were not inserted according to his intent, and there is uncertainty about when leap years were observed between 45 BC and AD 4 inclusive; the dates in this article between 45 BC and AD 4 inclusive are those observed in Rome and there is an uncertainty of about a day as to where those dates would be on the proleptic Julian calendar. See Blackburn, B and Holford-Strevens, L. (1999 corrected 2003). The Oxford Companion to the Year. Oxford University Press. p. 671. ISBN 978-0-19-214231-3
3. ^ Keppie, Lawrence (1998). "The approach of civil war". The making of the Roman Army: from Republic to Empire. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-8061-3014-9.
4. ^ Suetonius (121). "De vita Caesarum" [The Twelve Caesars]. University of Chicago. p. 107. Archived from the original on 2012-05-30. More than sixty joined the conspiracy against [Caesar], led by Gaius Cassius and Marcus and Decimus Brutus.
5. ^ Plutarch. "Life of Caesar". University of Chicago. p. 595. ... at this juncture Decimus Brutus, surnamed Albinus, who was so trusted by Caesar that he was entered in his will as his second heir, but was partner in the conspiracy of the other Brutus and Cassius, fearing that if Caesar should elude that day, their undertaking would become known, ridiculed the seers and chided Caesar for laying himself open to malicious charges on the part of the senators ...^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Tucker, Spencer (2010). Battles That Changed History: An Encyclopedia of World Conflict. ABC-CLIO. p. 68.

Read More

 

5 January 1919 – The German Workers' Party, which would become the Nazi Party, is founded.

German Workers' Party

predecessor of the Nazi Party

For the German Workers' Party in Austria-Hungary, see German Workers' Party (Austria-Hungary).

The German Workers' Party (German: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, DAP) was a short-lived political party established in Weimar Germany after World War I. It was the precursor of the Nazi Party, which was officially known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP). The DAP only lasted from 5 January 1919 until 24 February 1920.

Read More

 

6 January 1912 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift.

Alfred Wegener

Alfred Lothar Wegener (/ˈveɪɡənər/;^[1] German: [ˈʔalfʁeːt ˈveːgənɐ];^[2][3] 1 November 1880 – November 1930) was a German polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist.

During his lifetime he was primarily known for his achievements in meteorology and as a pioneer of polar research, but today he is most remembered as the originator of the theory of continental drift by hypothesizing in 1912 that the continents are slowly drifting around the Earth (German: Kontinentalverschiebung). His hypothesis was controversial and not widely accepted until the 1950s, when numerous discoveries such as palaeomagnetism provided strong support for continental drift, and thereby a substantial basis for today's model of plate tectonics.^[4][5] Wegener was involved in several expeditions to Greenland to study polar air circulation before the existence of the jet stream was accepted. Expedition participants made many meteorological observations and were the first to overwinter on the inland Greenland ice sheet and the first to bore ice cores on a moving Arctic glacier.

1. ^ "Wegener". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
2. ^ Dudenredaktion; Kleiner, Stefan; Knöbl, Ralf (2015) [First published 1962]. Das Aussprachewörterbuch [The Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German) (7th ed.). Berlin: Dudenverlag. pp. 177, 897. ISBN 978-3-411-04067-4.
3. ^ Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009). Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch [German Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 302, 1047. ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6.
4. ^ Spaulding, Nancy E.; Namowitz, Samuel N. (2005). Earth Science. Boston: McDougal Littell. ISBN 0-618-11550-1.
5. ^ McIntyre, Michael; Eilers, H. Peter; Mairs, John (1991). Physical geography. New York: Wiley. p. 273. ISBN 0-471-62017-3.

Read More

 

7 January 2012 – A hot air balloon crashes near Carterton, New Zealand, killing all 11 people on board.

2012 Carterton hot air balloon crash

On 7 January 2012, a scenic hot air balloon flight from Carterton, New Zealand, collided with a high-voltage power line while attempting to land, causing it to catch fire, disintegrate and crash just north of the town, killing all eleven people (ten passengers and the pilot) on board.^[1][2]

An inquiry into the accident by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) concluded that the balloon pilot made an error of judgement when contact with the power lines became imminent, trying to out-climb the power lines rather than using the rapid descent system to drop the balloon quickly to the ground below. Toxicology analysis of the balloon pilot, Lance Hopping, after the accident tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), suggesting he may have been under the influence of cannabis at the time of the crash, which ultimately led to the error in judgement. The crash was the sixth accident in ten years the TAIC had investigated (the TAIC also investigates marine and rail accidents) which involved key people testing positive for drugs or alcohol, and the commission has called for the government to enact stricter measures in regards to drug and alcohol use in the aviation, marine and rail industries.^[3][4]

The crash was the deadliest air disaster to occur in mainland New Zealand since the July 1963 crash of New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 in the Kaimai Ranges, and the deadliest crash involving a New Zealand aircraft since the November 1979 crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 into Mount Erebus.^{[nb 1][1][5]} As of September 2016^[update], it is the deadliest ever ballooning disaster in New Zealand, and the fourth deadliest worldwide, surpassed only by the balloon crash in Australia in 1989 that killed 13, the balloon crash in Texas in 2016 that killed 16 people, and the 2013 crash in Egypt that killed 19 people.

1. ^ ^{a b} "11 dead in hot air balloon tragedy". The New Zealand Herald. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
2. ^ "Eleven dead in New Zealand hot air balloon crash". BBC News. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
3. ^ Backhouse, Matthew (31 October 2013). "Carterton balloon tragedy caused by errors of judgement". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
4. ^ "New Zealand hot air balloon crash pilot 'used cannabis'". BBC News. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
5. ^ Niles, Russ (6 January 2012). "New Zealand Balloon Crash Kills 11". AVweb. Retrieved 8 January 2012.

Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).

Read More

 

8 January 1973 – Soviet space mission Luna 21 is launched.

Luna 21

Luna 21 (Ye-8 series) was an unmanned space mission, and its spacecraft, of the Luna program, also called Lunik 21, in 1973. The spacecraft landed on the Moon and deployed the second Soviet lunar rover, Lunokhod 2. The primary objectives of the mission were to collect images of the lunar surface, examine ambient light levels to determine the feasibility of astronomical observations from the Moon, perform laser ranging experiments from Earth, observe solar X-rays, measure local magnetic fields, and study mechanical properties of the lunar surface material.

1. ^ "NASA NSSDC Master Catalog - Luna 21/Lunokhod 2". Retrieved 2011-01-01.

Read More

 

9 January 2007 – Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone at a Macworld keynote in San Francisco.

IPhone

This article is about the line of smartphones by Apple. For the original iPhone, see IPhone (1st generation). For other different types of iPhones and other uses, see iPhone (disambiguation).

iPhone (/ˈaɪfoʊn/ EYE-fone) is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. All generations of the iPhone use Apple's iOS mobile operating system software. The first-generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007, and multiple new hardware iterations with new iOS releases have been released since.

The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. The iPhone has Wi-Fi and can connect to cellular networks. An iPhone can shoot video (though this was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS), take photos, play music, send and receive email, browse the web, send and receive text messages, follow GPS navigation, record notes, perform mathematical calculations, and receive visual voicemail. Other functionality, such as video games, reference works, and social networking, can be enabled by downloading mobile apps. As of January 2017^[update], Apple's App Store contained more than 2.2 million applications available for the iPhone.

Apple has released eleven generations of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the eleven major releases of the iOS operating system. The original first-generation iPhone was a GSM phone and established design precedents, such as a button placement that has persisted throughout all releases and a screen size maintained for the next four iterations. The iPhone 3G added 3G network support, and was followed by the 3GS with improved hardware, the 4 with a metal chassis, higher display resolution and front-facing camera, and the 4S with improved hardware and the voice assistant Siri. The iPhone 5 featured a taller, 4-inch display and Apple's newly introduced Lightning connector. In 2013, Apple released the 5S with improved hardware and a fingerprint reader, and the lower-cost 5C, a version of the 5 with colored plastic casings instead of metal. They were followed by the larger iPhone 6, with models featuring 4.7-and-5.5-inch (120 and 140 mm) displays. The iPhone 6S was introduced the following year, which featured hardware upgrades and support for pressure-sensitive touch inputs, as well as the SE—which featured hardware from the 6S but the smaller form factor of the 5S. In 2016, Apple unveiled the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which add water resistance, improved system and graphics performance, a new rear dual-camera setup on the Plus model, and new color options, while removing the 3.5 mm headphone jack found on previous models. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were released in 2017, adding a glass back and an improved screen and camera. The iPhone X was released alongside the 8 and 8 Plus, with its highlights being a near bezel-less design, an improved camera and a new facial recognition system, named Face ID, but having no home button, and therefore, no Touch ID. In September 2018, Apple again released 3 new iPhones, which are the iPhone XS, an upgraded version of the since discontinued iPhone X, iPhone XS Max, a larger variant with the series' biggest display as of 2018^[update] and iPhone XR, a lower end version of the iPhone X.

The original iPhone was described as "revolutionary" and a "game-changer" for the mobile phone industry. Subsequent iterations of the iPhone have also garnered praise. The iPhone is one of the most widely used smartphones in the world, and its success has been credited with helping Apple become one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies.

1. ^ "Apple stock soars to a record high on great earnings and a strong forecast for the next iPhone". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
2. ^ "Under the Hood: The iPhone's Gaming Mettle". Touch Arcade. June 14, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
3. ^ "The iPhone 3GS Hardware Exposed & Analyzed". AnandTech. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
4. ^ "iPhone 4 Teardown – Page 2". iFixit. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
5. ^ Toor, Amar (October 11, 2011). "Benchmarks clock iPhone 4S' A5 CPU at 800MHz, show major GPU upgrade over iPhone 4". Engadget. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
6. ^ ^{a b} "iPhone 7 & 7 Plus". GSMArena. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
7. ^ "iPhone 5 – View all the technical specifications". Apple Inc. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
8. ^ "iPhone Delivers Up to Eight Hours of Talk Time" (Press release). Apple Inc. June 18, 2007. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011.
9. ^ Slivka, Eric (June 10, 2009). "More WWDC Tidbits: iPhone 3G S Oleophobic Screen, "Find My iPhone" Live lLP". Mac Rumors. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
10. ^ Po-Han Lin. "iPhone Secrets and iPad Secrets and iPod Touch Secrets". Technology Depot. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
11. ^ "Update: UK graphics specialist confirms that iPhone design win". EE Times.
12. ^ ^{a b} Shimpi, Anand (June 10, 2009). "The iPhone 3GS Hardware Exposed & Analyzed". AnandTech. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
    Sorrel, Charlie (June 10, 2009). "Gadget Lab Hardware News and Reviews T-Mobile Accidentally Posts Secret iPhone 3G S Specs". Wired. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
13. ^ ^{a b} "Apple A4 Teardown". ifixit.com. June 10, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
14. ^ "A9's GPU: Imagination PowerVR GT7600 – The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review". AnandTech. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.

Read More

 

10 January 1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil

Standard Oil

This article is about an oil company that was dissolved in 1911. For successor companies with similar names, see Standard Oil (disambiguation).

Standard Oil Co. Inc. was an American oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company and monopoly. Established in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller and Henry Flagler as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refinery in the world of its time.^[7] Its history as one of the world's first and largest multinational corporations ended in 1911, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a landmark case, that Standard Oil was an illegal monopoly.

Standard Oil dominated the oil products market initially through horizontal integration in the refining sector, then, in later years vertical integration; the company was an innovator in the development of the business trust. The Standard Oil trust streamlined production and logistics, lowered costs, and undercut competitors. "Trust-busting" critics accused Standard Oil of using aggressive pricing to destroy competitors and form a monopoly that threatened other businesses.

Rockefeller ran the company as its chairman, until his retirement in 1897. He remained the major shareholder, and in 1911, with the dissolution of the Standard Oil trust into 34 smaller companies, Rockefeller became the richest man in the world, as the initial income of these individual enterprises proved to be much bigger than that of a single larger company. Its successors such as ExxonMobil or Chevron are still among the companies with the largest income worldwide. By 1882, his top aide was John Dustin Archbold. After 1896, Rockefeller disengaged from business to concentrate on his philanthropy, leaving Archbold in control. Other notable Standard Oil principals include Henry Flagler, developer of the Florida East Coast Railway and resort cities, and Henry H. Rogers, who built the Virginian Railway.

1. ^ "John D. and Standard Oil". Bowling Green State University. Archived from the original on 2008-05-04. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
2. ^ "The Standard Oil Company; Ohio Charter No. 3675". Ohio Secretary of State. 1870-01-10.^{[permanent dead link]}
3. ^ "Rockefellers Timeline". PBS. Archived from the original on 2008-04-26. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
4. ^ "WARDEN WINTER HOME - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
5. ^ "Jacob Vandergrift…Transportation Pioneer - Oil150.com". oil150.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
6. ^ "Random Reminiscences of Men and Events by John D. Rockefeller". Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018 – via www.gutenberg.org.
7. ^ "Exxon Mobil - Our history". Exxon Mobil Corp. Archived from the original on 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2009-02-03.

Read More

 

11 January 1908 – Grand Canyon National Monument is created.

Grand Canyon National Park

This article is about the national park in the southwestern United States. For the canyon itself, see Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km²) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than six million recreational visitors in 2017, which is the second highest count of all American national parks after Great Smoky Mountains National Park.^[3] The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.

1. ^ "Grand Canyon National Park Visitor Center". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
2. ^ "Listing of acreage as of December 31, 2011". Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
3. ^ ^{a b} "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-02-26.

Read More

 

12 January 2005 – Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket.

Deep Impact (spacecraft)

Deep Impact was a NASA space probe launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on January 12, 2005.^[4] It was designed to study the interior composition of the comet Tempel 1 (9P/Tempel), by releasing an impactor into the comet. At 05:52 UTC on July 4, 2005, the Impactor successfully collided with the comet's nucleus. The impact excavated debris from the interior of the nucleus, forming an impact crater. Photographs taken by the spacecraft showed the comet to be more dusty and less icy than had been expected. The impact generated an unexpectedly large and bright dust cloud, obscuring the view of the impact crater.

Previous space missions to comets, such as Giotto, Deep Space 1, and Stardust, were fly-by missions. These missions were able to photograph and examine only the surfaces of cometary nuclei, and even then from considerable distances. The Deep Impact mission was the first to eject material from a comet's surface, and the mission garnered considerable publicity from the media, international scientists, and amateur astronomers alike.

Upon the completion of its primary mission, proposals were made to further utilize the spacecraft. Consequently, Deep Impact flew by Earth on December 31, 2007 on its way to an extended mission, designated EPOXI, with a dual purpose to study extrasolar planets and comet Hartley 2 (103P/Hartley).^[5] Communication was unexpectedly lost in September 2013 while the craft was heading for another asteroid flyby.

1. ^ Ray, Justin (January 9, 2005). "Delta Launch Report: Overview of NASA's Deep Impact comet mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
2. ^ "Deep Impact (EPOXI): Key Dates". NASA. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "Deep Impact Launch: Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. January 2005.
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference SFN Over was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ Tune, Lee; Steigerwald, Bill; Hautaluoma, Grey; Agle, D.C. (December 13, 2007). "Deep Impact Extended Mission Heads for Comet Hartley 2". University of Maryland, College Park. Retrieved August 7, 2009.

Read More

 

13 January 2018 – A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii caused widespread panic in the state.

2018 Hawaii false missile alert

On Saturday morning, January 13, 2018, a false ballistic missile alert was issued via the Emergency Alert System and Commercial Mobile Alert System over television, radio, and cellphones in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The alert stated that there was an incoming ballistic missile threat to Hawaii, advised residents to seek shelter, and concluded "This is not a drill". The message was sent at 8:07 a.m. local time. However, no civil defense outdoor warning sirens were authorized or sounded by the state.

A second message, sent 38 minutes later, described the first as a "false alarm". State officials blamed a miscommunication during a drill at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency for the first message. Governor David Ige publicly apologized for the erroneous alert, which caused panic and disruption throughout the state. The Federal Communications Commission and the Hawaii House of Representatives launched investigations into the incident, leading to the resignation of the state's emergency management administrator.

1. ^ "Human error, inadequate safeguards blamed in missile alert". Washington Post. Associated Press. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.

Read More

 

14 January 1950 – The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco)^[1] is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the USSR from 1952 and operated by numerous air forces in many variants. It is an advanced development of the very similar looking MiG-15 of the Korean War. The MiG-17 was license-built in China as the Shenyang J-5 and Poland as the PZL-Mielec Lim-6.

MiG-17s first saw combat in 1958 in the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and later proved to be an effective threat against more modern supersonic fighters of the United States in the Vietnam War. It was also briefly known as the Type 38 by U.S. Air Force designation prior to the development of NATO codes.^[2]

1. ^ Parsch, Andreas and Aleksey V. Martynov. "Designations of Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft and Missiles." Non-U.S. Military Aircraft and Missile Designations, revised 18 January 2008. Retrieved: 30 March 2009.
2. ^ Parsch, Andreas and Aleksey V. Martynov. "Designations of Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft and Missiles: 5.1 "Type" Numbers (1947-1955)." Non-U.S. Military Aircraft and Missile Designations, revised 18 January 2008. Retrieved: 30 March 2009.

Read More

 

15 January 1759 – The British Museum opens.

British Museum

National museum in the Bloomsbury area of London

For other uses, see British Museum (disambiguation).

The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2001 to become the Great Court, surrounding the original Reading Room.

The British Museum, located in the Bloomsbury area of London, in the United Kingdom, is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection numbers some 8 million works,^[3] and is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence^[3] having been widely sourced during the era of the British Empire, and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.^[a] It is the first national public museum in the world.^[4]

The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the Irish physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane.^[5] It first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries was largely a result of expanding British colonisation and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum (Natural History) – now the Natural History Museum – in 1881.

In 1973, the British Library Act 1972 detached the library department from the British Museum, but it continued to host the now separated British Library in the same Reading Room and building as the museum until 1997. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and as with all other national museums in the United Kingdom it charges no admission fee, except for loan exhibitions.^[6]

Its ownership of some of its most famous objects originating in other countries is disputed and remains the subject of international controversy, most notably in the case of the Parthenon Marbles.^[7]

1. ^ "Collection size". British Museum.
2. ^ "2017 Visitor Figures". Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
3. ^ ^{a b} "About us". British Museum. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
4. ^ "History of the British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
5. ^ "The Life and Curiosity of Hans Sloane". The British Library. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
6. ^ "Admission and opening times". British Museum. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
7. ^ Tharoor, Kanishk (29 June 2015). "Museums and looted art: the ethical dilemma of preserving world cultures". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2018.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Read More

 

16 January 1556 – Philip II becomes King of Spain.

Philip II of Spain

Philip II (Spanish: Felipe II; 21 May 1527 – 13 September 1598) was King of Spain^[a] (1556–98), King of Portugal (1581–98, as Philip I, Filipe I),^[1] King of Naples and Sicily (both from 1554), and jure uxoris King of England and Ireland (during his marriage to Queen Mary I from 1554–58).^[2] He was also Duke of Milan.^[3] From 1555 he was lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.

The son of Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V and Isabella of Portugal, Philip was called "Felipe el Prudente" ("Philip the Prudent") in Spain; his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake the Philippines. During his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power. This is sometimes called the Spanish Golden Age. The expression "the empire on which the sun never sets" was coined during Philip's time to reflect the extent of his dominion.

During Philip's reign there were separate state bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1569, 1575, and 1596. This was partly the cause of the declaration of independence that created the Dutch Republic in 1581. On 31 December 1584 Philip signed the Treaty of Joinville, with Henry I, Duke of Guise signing on behalf of the Catholic League; consequently Philip supplied a considerable annual grant to the League over the following decade to maintain the civil war in France, with the hope of destroying the French Calvinists. A devout Catholic, Philip saw himself as the defender of Catholic Europe against the Ottoman Empire and the Protestant Reformation. He sent a large armada to invade Protestant England in 1588, with the strategic aim of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England and the establishment of Protestantism in England. He hoped to stop both English interference in the Spanish Netherlands and the harm caused to Spanish interests by English and Dutch privateering.

Philip was described by the Venetian ambassador Paolo Fagolo in 1563 as "slight of stature and round-faced, with pale blue eyes, somewhat prominent lip, and pink skin, but his overall appearance is very attractive". The Ambassador went on to say "He dresses very tastefully, and everything that he does is courteous and gracious."^[4] Besides Mary I, Philip was married three other times and widowed four times.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ Also rendered as Felipe in Archaic Portuguese
2. ^ Geoffrey Parker. The Grand Strategy of Philip II, (2000)
3. ^ Garret Mattingly. The Armada p. 22, p. 66 ISBN 0-395-08366-4
4. ^ Davis, James C. (1970). Pursuit of Power: Venetian Ambassadors' Reports on Spain, Turkey, and France in the Age of Philip II 1560–1600. New York: Harper & Row. pp. 81–82.

Read More

 

16 January 1556 – Philip II becomes King of Spain.

Philip II of Spain

Philip II (Spanish: Felipe II; 21 May 1527 – 13 September 1598) was King of Spain^[a] (1556–98), King of Portugal (1581–98, as Philip I, Filipe I),^[1] King of Naples and Sicily (both from 1554), and jure uxoris King of England and Ireland (during his marriage to Queen Mary I from 1554–58).^[2] He was also Duke of Milan.^[3] From 1555 he was lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.

The son of Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V and Isabella of Portugal, Philip was called "Felipe el Prudente" ("Philip the Prudent") in Spain; his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake the Philippines. During his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power. This is sometimes called the Spanish Golden Age. The expression "the empire on which the sun never sets" was coined during Philip's time to reflect the extent of his dominion.

During Philip's reign there were separate state bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1569, 1575, and 1596. This was partly the cause of the declaration of independence that created the Dutch Republic in 1581. On 31 December 1584 Philip signed the Treaty of Joinville, with Henry I, Duke of Guise signing on behalf of the Catholic League; consequently Philip supplied a considerable annual grant to the League over the following decade to maintain the civil war in France, with the hope of destroying the French Calvinists. A devout Catholic, Philip saw himself as the defender of Catholic Europe against the Ottoman Empire and the Protestant Reformation. He sent a large armada to invade Protestant England in 1588, with the strategic aim of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England and the establishment of Protestantism in England. He hoped to stop both English interference in the Spanish Netherlands and the harm caused to Spanish interests by English and Dutch privateering.

Philip was described by the Venetian ambassador Paolo Fagolo in 1563 as "slight of stature and round-faced, with pale blue eyes, somewhat prominent lip, and pink skin, but his overall appearance is very attractive". The Ambassador went on to say "He dresses very tastefully, and everything that he does is courteous and gracious."^[4] Besides Mary I, Philip was married three other times and widowed four times.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ Also rendered as Felipe in Archaic Portuguese
2. ^ Geoffrey Parker. The Grand Strategy of Philip II, (2000)
3. ^ Garret Mattingly. The Armada p. 22, p. 66 ISBN 0-395-08366-4
4. ^ Davis, James C. (1970). Pursuit of Power: Venetian Ambassadors' Reports on Spain, Turkey, and France in the Age of Philip II 1560–1600. New York: Harper & Row. pp. 81–82.

Read More

 

17 January 1917 – The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.

United States Virgin Islands

The United States Virgin Islands (USVI; also called the American Virgin Islands), officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, is a group of islands in the Caribbean and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.

The U.S. Virgin Islands consists of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, and many other surrounding minor islands. The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles (346.36 km²).^[3] The territory's capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas.

Previously known as the Danish West Indies of the Kingdom of Denmark–Norway, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of 1916. They are classified by the United Nations as a Non-Self-Governing Territory, and are currently an organized, unincorporated United States territory. The U.S. Virgin Islands are organized under the 1954 Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands and have since held five constitutional conventions. The last and only proposed Constitution, adopted by the Fifth Constitutional Convention of the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2009, was rejected by the U.S. Congress in 2010, which urged the convention to reconvene to address the concerns Congress and the Obama Administration had with the proposed document. The Fifth Constitutional Convention of the U.S. Virgin Islands met in October 2012 to address these concerns, but was not able to produce a revised Constitution before its October 31 deadline.

In 2010 the population was 106,405,^[4] and mostly Afro-Caribbean. Tourism and related categories are the primary economic activity, employing a high percentage of the civilian non-farm labor force that totaled 42,752 persons in 2016 (the total non-farm labor force was 48,278 persons). Private sector jobs made up 71 percent of the total workforce. The average private sector salary was $34,088 and the average public sector salary was $52,572.^[5]

In a May 2016 report, some 11,000 people were categorized as being involved in some aspect of agriculture in the first half of 2016 but this category makes up a small part of the total economy. (The islands have a significant rum manufacturing sector.) At that time, there were approximately 607 manufacturing jobs and 1,487 natural resource and construction jobs. The single largest employer was the government.^[6] In mid-February 2017, the USVI was facing a financial crisis due to a very high debt level of $2 billion and a structural budget deficit of $110 million.^[7][8] Then early August 2017, the U.S. Virgin Islands government was rejected from the bond market.

1. ^ "U.S. Virgin Islands – 2010 Census Results" (PDF). census.gov. US Census Bureau. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
2. ^ "Gross Domestic Product Per Capita for U.S. Virgin Islands". 5 May 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
3. ^ "CIA – The World Factbook-US Virgin Islands". Retrieved March 25, 2012.
4. ^ 2010 Population Counts for the U.S. Virgin Islands Archived November 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, US Census Bureau.
5. ^ "U.S. Virgin Islands Economic Review – VI" (PDF). VI Bureau of Economic Research. VI Bureau of Economic Research. May 15, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
6. ^ "U.S. Virgin Islands Economic Review – VI" (PDF). VI Bureau of Economic Research. VI Bureau of Economic Research. May 15, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
7. ^ Baribeau, Simone (January 23, 2017). "United States Virgin Islands Risks Capsizing Under Weight Of Debt". Forbes. Forbes. Retrieved February 15, 2017. How far behind is the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) from facing the same sort of financial crisis as Puerto Rico? Not very.
8. ^ Gilbert, Ernice (February 16, 2017). "GOVERNMENT HAS TWO DAYS CASH ON HAND LEFT, FINANCE COMMISSIONER REVEALS". VI Consortium. VI Consortium. Retrieved February 16, 2017.

Read More

 

18 January 1866 – Wesley College, Melbourne, is established.

Wesley College, Melbourne

Redirect to:

• Wesley College (Victoria)

• From a page move: This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name.

Read More

 

19 January 1661 – Thomas Venner is hanged, drawn and quartered in London.

Hanged, drawn and quartered

The execution of Hugh Despenser the Younger, as depicted in the Froissart of Louis of Gruuthuse

To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1352 a statutory penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272). A convicted traitor was fastened to a hurdle, or wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where he was then hanged (almost to the point of death), emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded, and quartered (chopped into four pieces). The traitor's remains were often displayed in prominent places across the country, such as London Bridge. For reasons of public decency, women convicted of high treason were instead burned at the stake.

The severity of the sentence was measured against the seriousness of the crime. As an attack on the monarch's authority, high treason was considered a deplorable act demanding the most extreme form of punishment. Although some convicts had their sentences modified and suffered a less ignominious end, over a period of several hundred years many men found guilty of high treason were subjected to the law's ultimate sanction. They included many English Catholic priests executed during the Elizabethan era, and several of the regicides involved in the 1649 execution of Charles I.

Although the Act of Parliament defining high treason remains on the United Kingdom's statute books, during a long period of 19th-century legal reform the sentence of hanging, drawing, and quartering was changed to drawing, hanging until dead, and posthumous beheading and quartering, before being abolished in England in 1870. The death penalty for treason was abolished in 1998.

Read More

 

20 January 1969 – Richard Nixon is inaugurated the 37th President of the United States of America.

Richard Nixon

"Nixon" and "Richard M. Nixon" redirect here. For other uses, see Nixon (disambiguation) and Richard Nixon (disambiguation).

37th President of the United States

Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States from 1969 until 1974 and the only president to resign from the position. He had previously served as the 36th vice president of the United States from 1953 to 1961, and prior to that as both a U.S. representative and senator from California.

Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. After completing his undergraduate studies at Whittier College, he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law. He and his wife Pat moved to Washington in 1942 to work for the federal government. He subsequently served on active duty in the U.S. Navy Reserve during World War II. Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950. His pursuit of the Hiss Case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist and elevated him to national prominence. He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election. Nixon served for eight years as Vice President, becoming the second-youngest vice president in history at age 40. He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and lost a race for governor of California to Pat Brown in 1962. In 1968, he ran for the presidency again and was elected, defeating incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

Nixon ended American involvement in the war in Vietnam in 1973 and brought the American POWs home, and ended the military draft. Nixon's visit to China in 1972 eventually led to diplomatic relations between the two nations and he initiated détente and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union the same year. His administration generally transferred power from Washington D.C. to the states. He imposed wage and price controls for ninety days, enforced desegregation of Southern schools, established the Environmental Protection Agency and began the War on Cancer. Nixon also presided over the Apollo 11 moon landing, which signaled the end of the moon race. He was reelected in one of the largest electoral landslides in U.S. history in 1972 when he defeated George McGovern.

In his second term, Nixon ordered an airlift to resupply Israeli losses in the Yom Kippur War, resulting in the restart of the Middle East peace process and an oil crisis at home. The Nixon administration supported a coup in Chile that ousted the government of Salvador Allende and propelled Augusto Pinochet to power. By late 1973, the Watergate scandal escalated, costing Nixon much of his political support. On August 9, 1974, he resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office. After his resignation, he was issued a controversial pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford. In 20 years of retirement, Nixon wrote nine books and undertook many foreign trips, helping to rehabilitate his image into that of an elder statesman. He suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18, 1994 and died four days later at the age of 81.

1. ^ Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum http://nixon.archives.gov/thelife/nixonbio.pdf Archived September 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

Read More

 

21 January 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.

Monte Carlo Rally

A staging post from the 1959 Monte Carlo Rally

1911 – Henri Rougier and the victorious 25Hp Turcat-Méry before the inaugural Monte Carlo rally

1964 outright winning Morris-Mini Cooper S

Stéphane Sarrazin driving a Subaru Impreza WRC2005 on the 2005 rally.

Marcus Grönholm driving a Peugeot 307 WRC on the 2004 rally.

Carlos Sainz driving a Toyota Corolla WRC on the 1999 rally.

Sébastien Loeb driving a Citroën DS3 WRC on the 2012 rally

The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and southeast France. Previously, competitors would set off from all four corners of Europe and ‘rally’, in other words, meet, in Monaco to celebrate the end of a unique event. From its inception in 1911 by Prince Albert I it was an important means of demonstrating improvements and innovations to automobiles.

Read More

 

22 January 1999 – Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India.

Graham Staines

Graham Stuart Staines (1941 – 23 January 1999) was an Australian Christian missionary who, along with his two sons Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6), was burnt to death by a gang of Hindu Bajrang Dal fundamentalists while sleeping in his station wagon at Manoharpur village in Kendujhar district in Odisha, India on 23 January 1999. In 2003, a Bajrang Dal activist, Dara Singh, was convicted of leading the gang that murdered Graham Staines and his sons, and was sentenced to life in prison.^[1]

He had been working in Odisha among the tribal poor and lepers since 1965. Some Hindu groups alleged that Staines had forcibly converted or lured many Hindus into Christianity; Staines' widow Gladys denied these allegations.^[2][3] She continued to live in India caring for leprosy patients until she returned to Australia in 2004. In 2005, she was awarded the fourth highest civilian honor in India, Padma Shree, in recognition for her work with leprosy patients in Odisha.^[4][5] In 2016, she received the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice.^[6]

In 2019, the film The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story, which is based on his life, was released.

1. ^ "Two acquitted in Graham Staines murder case". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
2. ^ "Missionary widow continues leprosy work". BBC News. 27 January 1999.
3. ^ "Rediff On The NeT: Vir Sanghvi on the Orissa incident". Rediff.com. 1999-02-08. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
4. ^ Biswas, Soutik (22 September 2003). "Widow keeps missionary's memory alive". BBC News.
5. ^ "South Asia | Missionary widow's emotional return". BBC News. 2005-05-18. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
6. ^ Forgiver feted. Christianity Today Jan. 2016, p.17.

Read More

 

23 January 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Hall of fame located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, recognizes and archives the history of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers, and other notable figures who have had some major influence on the development of rock and roll. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was established on April 20, 1983, by Atlantic Records founder and chairman Ahmet Ertegun. In 1986, Cleveland was chosen as the Hall of Fame's permanent home.

1. ^ "2013–14 Annual Report to the Community" (PDF). RockHall.com. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. 2014. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2016.

Read More

 

24 January 1862 – Bucharest is proclaimed the capital of Romania.

Bucharest

Capital of Romania

Capital city in None, Romania

Bucharest (/ˈb(j)uːkərɛst/; Romanian: București [bukuˈreʃtʲ] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, at 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″E / 44.43250°N 26.10389°E / 44.43250; 26.10389Coordinates: 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″E / 44.43250°N 26.10389°E / 44.43250; 26.10389, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km (37.3 mi) north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border.

Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture, and art. Its architecture is a mix of historical (neo-classical), interbellum (Bauhaus and art deco), communist era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of "Little Paris" (Micul Paris).^[10] Although buildings and districts in the historic city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and above all Nicolae Ceaușescu's program of systematization, many survived and have been renovated. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom.^[11] In 2016, the historical city centre was listed as "endangered" by the World Monuments Watch.^[12]

According to the 2011 census, 1,883,425 inhabitants live within the city limits,^[6] a decrease from the 2002 census.^[3] Adding the satellite towns around the urban area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.27 million people.^[13] According to Eurostat, Bucharest has a functional urban area of 2,412,530 residents (as of 2015).^[5] Bucharest is the sixth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after London, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Paris.

Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania^[14] and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of Eastern and Central Europe. The city has big convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional "shopping arcades", and recreational areas.

The city proper is administratively known as the "Municipality of Bucharest" (Municipiul București), and has the same administrative level as that of a national county, being further subdivided into six sectors, each governed by a local mayor.

1. ^ "Paris of the east". The Irish Times. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
2. ^ Catiusa Ivanov (23 June 2016). "Gabriela Firea, primarul ales al capitalei, despune astăzi jurământul". Realitatea TV.
3. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference bucharest_pop_censuses was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ "Demographia World Urban Areas & Population Projections" (PDF). Retrieved 14 April 2011.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Population on 1 January by age groups and sex - functional urban areas". Eurostat. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
6. ^ ^{a b} "Official data for 2011 census" (PDF) (in Romanian). INSSE. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
7. ^ "Populaţia României pe localitati la 1 ianuarie 2016" (in Romanian). INSSE. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
8. ^ http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8700651/1-28022018-BP-EN/15f5fd90-ce8b-4927-9a3b-07dc255dc42a
9. ^ https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/
10. ^ Bucharest, the small Paris of the East Archived 21 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine, on the Museums from Romania web site.
11. ^ Bucica, 2000, p.6.
12. ^ "- World Monuments Fund". Wmf.org. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
13. ^ "Adevarul: The BMZ in numbers". Retrieved 29 September 2011.
14. ^ PriceWaterhouseCoopers Global Regional Attractiveness Report Romania Archived 13 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine

Read More

 

24 January 1862 – Bucharest is proclaimed the capital of Romania.

Bucharest

Capital of Romania

Capital city in None, Romania

Bucharest (/ˈb(j)uːkərɛst/; Romanian: București [bukuˈreʃtʲ] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, at 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″E / 44.43250°N 26.10389°E / 44.43250; 26.10389Coordinates: 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″E / 44.43250°N 26.10389°E / 44.43250; 26.10389, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km (37.3 mi) north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border.

Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture, and art. Its architecture is a mix of historical (neo-classical), interbellum (Bauhaus and art deco), communist era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of "Little Paris" (Micul Paris).^[10] Although buildings and districts in the historic city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and above all Nicolae Ceaușescu's program of systematization, many survived and have been renovated. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom.^[11] In 2016, the historical city centre was listed as "endangered" by the World Monuments Watch.^[12]

According to the 2011 census, 1,883,425 inhabitants live within the city limits,^[6] a decrease from the 2002 census.^[3] Adding the satellite towns around the urban area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.27 million people.^[13] According to Eurostat, Bucharest has a functional urban area of 2,412,530 residents (as of 2015).^[5] Bucharest is the sixth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after London, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Paris.

Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania^[14] and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of Eastern and Central Europe. The city has big convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional "shopping arcades", and recreational areas.

The city proper is administratively known as the "Municipality of Bucharest" (Municipiul București), and has the same administrative level as that of a national county, being further subdivided into six sectors, each governed by a local mayor.

1. ^ "Paris of the east". The Irish Times. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
2. ^ Catiusa Ivanov (23 June 2016). "Gabriela Firea, primarul ales al capitalei, despune astăzi jurământul". Realitatea TV.
3. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference bucharest_pop_censuses was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
4. ^ "Demographia World Urban Areas & Population Projections" (PDF). Retrieved 14 April 2011.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Population on 1 January by age groups and sex - functional urban areas". Eurostat. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
6. ^ ^{a b} "Official data for 2011 census" (PDF) (in Romanian). INSSE. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
7. ^ "Populaţia României pe localitati la 1 ianuarie 2016" (in Romanian). INSSE. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
8. ^ http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8700651/1-28022018-BP-EN/15f5fd90-ce8b-4927-9a3b-07dc255dc42a
9. ^ https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/
10. ^ Bucharest, the small Paris of the East Archived 21 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine, on the Museums from Romania web site.
11. ^ Bucica, 2000, p.6.
12. ^ "- World Monuments Fund". Wmf.org. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
13. ^ "Adevarul: The BMZ in numbers". Retrieved 29 September 2011.
14. ^ PriceWaterhouseCoopers Global Regional Attractiveness Report Romania Archived 13 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine

Read More

 

25 January 1961 – 101 Dalmatians premiered from Walt Disney Productions.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians

This article is about the 1961 animated film. For other uses, see 101 Dalmatians (disambiguation).

One Hundred and One Dalmatians, often abbreviated as 101 Dalmatians, is a 1961 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. The 17th Disney animated feature film, the film tells the story of a litter of Dalmatian puppies who are kidnapped by the villainous Cruella de Vil, who wants to use their fur to make into coats. Their parents, Pongo and Perdita, set out to save their children from Cruella, all the while rescuing 84 additional puppies that were bought in pet shops, bringing the total of Dalmatians to 101.

Originally released to theaters on January 25, 1961, by Buena Vista Distribution,^[3] One Hundred and One Dalmatians was a box office success, pulling the studio out of the financial slump caused by Sleeping Beauty, a costlier production released two years prior.^[4] Aside from its box office revenue, its commercial success was due to the employment of inexpensive animation techniques—such as using xerography during the process of inking and painting traditional animation cels—that kept production costs down. It was remade into a live-action film in 1996.

1. ^ Thomas, Bob (April 22, 1994). Walt Disney: An American Original (2nd ed.). Disney Editions. p. 295. ISBN 978-0786860272.
2. ^ "101 Dalmatians". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
3. ^ Gebert, Michael (1996). The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards. St. Martin's Paperbacks. ISBN 0-668-05308-9.^{[page needed]}
4. ^ King, Susan (January 31, 2015). "'101 Dalmatians' was just the hit a flagging Disney needed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 5, 2015.

Read More

 

26 January 1855 – Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.

Point No Point Treaty

The Point No Point Treaty was signed on January 26, 1855 at Point No Point, on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. Governor of Washington Territory, Isaac Stevens, convened the treaty council on January 25, with the S'Klallam, the Chimakum, and the Skokomish tribes. Under the terms of the treaty, the original inhabitants of northern Kitsap Peninsula and Olympic Peninsula were to cede ownership of their land in exchange for small reservations along Hood Canal and a payment of $60,000 from the federal government. The treaty required the natives to trade only with the United States, to free all their slaves, and it abjured them not to acquire any new slaves.

On the first day of the council, treaty provisions were translated from English to the Chinook Jargon for the 1,200 natives who assembled at the sand spit they called Hadskis, across Admiralty Inlet from Whidbey Island. Today this is the site of a lighthouse.

Skokomish leader Hool-hol-tan expressed concern about finding sufficient food in the new locations, and did not like the lands being offered as a reservation. L'Hau-at-scha-uk, a To-antioch, was afraid he would die if he left his ancestral lands. Others objected that the land was being bought too cheaply, now that they understood what it was worth. The whites played down the importance of the land, but the first day ended without an agreement.

But by the next morning the various chiefs and headmen returned under white flags to add their marks to the treaty. It had already been prepared by the United States representatives in its final form; they had no true intention of negotiating over its provisions.^{[original research?]}

Read More

 

27 January 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.

Nuclear weapons testing

Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that developed nuclear weapons tested them. Testing nuclear weapons can yield information about how the weapons work, as well as how the weapons behave under various conditions and how personnel, structures, and equipment behave when subjected to nuclear explosions. Nuclear testing has often been used as an indicator of scientific and military strength, and many tests have been overtly political in their intention; most nuclear weapons states publicly declared their nuclear status by means of a nuclear test.

The first nuclear device was detonated as a test by the United States at the Trinity site on July 16, 1945, with a yield approximately equivalent to 20 kilotons of TNT. The first thermonuclear weapon technology test of an engineered device, codenamed "Ivy Mike", was tested at the Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands on November 1, 1952 (local date), also by the United States. The largest nuclear weapon ever tested was the "Tsar Bomba" of the Soviet Union at Novaya Zemlya on October 30, 1961, with the largest yield ever seen, an estimated 50–58 megatons.

In 1963, three (UK, US, Soviet Union) of the four nuclear states and many non-nuclear states signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, pledging to refrain from testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, underwater, or in outer space. The treaty permitted underground nuclear testing. France continued atmospheric testing until 1974, and China continued until 1980. Neither has signed the treaty.^[1]

Underground tests in the United States continued until 1992 (its last nuclear test), the Soviet Union until 1990, the United Kingdom until 1991, and both China and France until 1996. In signing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996, these states have pledged to discontinue all nuclear testing; the treaty has not yet entered into force because of failure to be ratified by eight countries. Non-signatories India and Pakistan last tested nuclear weapons in 1998. North Korea conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2017. The most recent confirmed nuclear test occurred^[update] in September 2017 in North Korea.

1. ^ "The Treaty has not been signed by France or by the People's Republic of China." U.S. Department of State, Limited Test Ban Treaty.

Read More

 

28 January 1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.

January 28 incident

"Shanghai Incident" redirects here. For the 1937 conflict known as Second Shanghai incident, see Battle of Shanghai.

The January 28 incident or Shanghai incident (January 28 – March 3, 1932) was a conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, before official hostilities of the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced in 1937.

1. ^ Tang Xun and the Victory of Miaohang | casualties3 = 10,000–20,000 civilian deaths | notes = http://www.shtong.gov.cn/node2/node70393/node70403/node72480/node72482/userobject1ai80904.html

Read More

 

29 January 1916 – World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins.

World War I

1914–1918 global war originating in Europe

"World War One", "Great War", and "WW1" redirect here. For other uses, see World War One (disambiguation), Great War (disambiguation), and WW1 (album).

World War I: Mobilized forces per total population (in %)^{[citation needed]}

World War I (often abbreviated as WWI or WW1), also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars",^[7] it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history.^[8][9] It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history,^[10] with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.^[11]

On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb Yugoslav nationalist, assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, leading to the July Crisis.^[12][13] In response, on 23 July Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia's reply failed to satisfy the Austrians, and the two moved to a war footing.

A network of interlocking alliances enlarged the crisis from a bilateral issue in the Balkans to one involving most of Europe. By July 1914, the great powers of Europe were divided into two coalitions: the Triple Entente—consisting of France, Russia and Britain—and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (the Triple Alliance was primarily defensive in nature, allowing Italy to stay out of the war in 1914).^[14] Russia felt it necessary to back Serbia and, after Austria-Hungary shelled the Serbian capital of Belgrade on the 28th, partial mobilisation was approved.^[15] General Russian mobilisation was announced on the evening of 30 July; on the 31st, Austria-Hungary and Germany did the same, while Germany demanded Russia demobilise within 12 hours.^[16] When Russia failed to comply, Germany declared war on 1 August in support of Austria-Hungary, with Austria-Hungary following suit on 6th; France ordered full mobilisation in support of Russia on 2 August.^[17]

German strategy for a war on two fronts against France and Russia was to rapidly concentrate the bulk of its army in the West to defeat France within four weeks, then shift forces to the East before Russia could fully mobilise; this was later known as the Schlieffen Plan.^[18] On 2 August, Germany demanded free passage through Belgium, an essential element in achieving a quick victory over France.^[19] When this was refused, German forces invaded Belgium on 3 August and declared war on France the same day; the Belgian government invoked the 1839 Treaty of London and in compliance with its obligations under this, Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August.^[20][21] On 12 August, Britain and France also declared war on Austria-Hungary; on the 23rd, Japan sided with the Entente, seizing German possessions in China and the Pacific. In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire entered the war on the side of the Alliance, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai Peninsula. The war was fought in and drew upon each powers' colonial empires as well, spreading the conflict to Africa and across the globe. The Entente and its allies would eventually become known as the Allied Powers, while the grouping of Austria-Hungary, Germany and their allies would become known as the Central Powers.

The German advance into France was halted at the Battle of the Marne and by the end of 1914, the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, marked by a long series of trench lines that changed little until 1917 (the Eastern Front, by contrast, was marked by much greater exchanges of territory). In 1915, Italy joined the Allied Powers and opened a front in the Alps. The Kingdom of Bulgaria joined the Central Powers in 1915 and the Kingdom of Greece joined the Allies in 1917, expanding the war in the Balkans. The United States initially remained neutral, although by doing nothing to prevent the Allies from procuring American supplies whilst the Allied blockade effectively prevented the Germans from doing the same the U.S. became an important supplier of war material to the Allies. Eventually, after the sinking of American merchant ships by German submarines, and the revelation that the Germans were trying to incite Mexico to make war on the United States, the U.S. declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917. Trained American forces would not begin arriving at the front in large numbers until mid-1918, but ultimately the American Expeditionary Force would reach some two million troops.^[22]

Though Serbia was defeated in 1915, and Romania joined the Allied Powers in 1916 only to be defeated in 1917, none of the great powers were knocked out of the war until 1918. The 1917 February Revolution in Russia replaced the Tsarist autocracy with the Provisional Government, but continuing discontent at the cost of the war led to the October Revolution, the creation of the Soviet Socialist Republic, and the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk by the new government in March 1918, ending Russia's involvement in the war. This allowed the transfer of large numbers of German troops from the East to the Western Front, resulting in the German March 1918 Offensive. This offensive was initially successful, but the Allies rallied and drove the Germans back in their Hundred Days Offensive.^[23] Bulgaria was the first Central Power to sign an armistice—the Armistice of Salonica on 29 September 1918. On 30 October, the Ottoman Empire capitulated, signing the Armistice of Mudros.^[24] On 4 November, the Austro-Hungarian empire agreed to the Armistice of Villa Giusti. With its allies defeated, revolution at home, and the military no longer willing to fight, Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated on 9 November and Germany signed an armistice on 11 November 1918.

World War I was a significant turning point in the political, cultural, economic, and social climate of the world. The war and its immediate aftermath sparked numerous revolutions and uprisings. The Big Four (Britain, France, the United States, and Italy) imposed their terms on the defeated powers in a series of treaties agreed at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, the most well known being the German peace treaty—the Treaty of Versailles.^[25] Ultimately, as a result of the war the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian Empires ceased to exist, with numerous new states created from their remains. However, despite the conclusive Allied victory (and the creation of the League of Nations during the Peace Conference, intended to prevent future wars), a Second World War would follow just over twenty years later.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ ^{a b} Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 273
2. ^ "British Army statistics of the Great War". Retrieved 13 December 2011.
3. ^ Figures are for the British Empire
4. ^ Figures are for Metropolitan France and its colonies
5. ^ ^{a b} [1]
6. ^ Nash (1976). Darkest Hours. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1590775264.
7. ^ "The war to end all wars". BBC News. 10 November 1998.
8. ^ Keegan 1998, p. 8.
9. ^ Bade & Brown 2003, pp. 167–168.
10. ^ Willmott 2003, p. 307.
11. ^ Williams, Rachel (2014). Dual Threat: The Spanish Influenza and World War I. University of Tennessee Thesis: Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. pp. 4–10. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
12. ^ Taylor 1998, pp. 80–93
13. ^ Djokić 2003, p. 24.
14. ^ Charles Seymour (1916). The Diplomatic Background of the War. Yale University Press. pp. 35, 147.
15. ^ Lieven, Dominic (2016). Towards the Flame: Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia. Penguin. p. 326. ISBN 978-0141399744.
16. ^ Martel, Gordon (2014). The Month that Changed the World: July 1914 and WWI (Kindle ed.). 6286: OUP.
17. ^ "Le Président de la République, R. [Raymond] Poincaré et al., 'A La Nation Française'" (PDF). Journal Officiel de la République Française: 7053–7054. 2 August 1914. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
18. ^ Zuber, Terence (2011). Inventing the Schlieffen Plan: German War Planning 1871–1914 (2014 ed.). OUP. pp. 46–49. ISBN 978-0198718055.
19. ^ Note Given 2 August 1914, at 19 hours, by M. de Below Saleske [Klaus von Below-Saleske], Minister of Germany, to M. Davignon, Minister of Foreign Affairs] (1914). Documents Diplomatiques 1914: La Guerre Européenne Diplomatic Documents 1914: The European War (PDF). Ministère des Affaires Étrangères (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). p. 201. Retrieved 26 August 2018.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
20. ^ Evans 2004, p. 12.
21. ^ Martel 2003, pp. xii ff.
22. ^ Edward M. Coffman, The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I (1998)
23. ^ Sheffield, Gary (2002). Forgotten Victory. Review. p. 251. ISBN 978-0747271574.
24. ^ Cite error: The named reference indiana.edu-1918 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
25. ^ Gerwath, Robert (2016). The Vanquished: Why the First World War Failed to End, 1917–1923 (Kindle ed.). 3323–3342: Penguin. ISBN 978-0141976372.

Read More

 

30 January 1969 – The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.

The Beatles' rooftop concert

The Beatles' rooftop concert was the final public performance of the English rock band the Beatles. On 30 January 1969, the band, with keyboardist Billy Preston, surprised a central London office and fashion district with an impromptu concert from the roof of the headquarters of the band's multimedia corporation Apple Corps at 3 Savile Row. In a 42-minute set, the Beatles played nine takes of five songs before the Metropolitan Police asked them to reduce the volume. Footage from the performance was used in the 1970 documentary film Let It Be.

1. ^ "20 Things You Need To Know About The Beatles' Rooftop Concert". mojo4music.com. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2016.

Read More

 

31 January 1968 – Nauru gains independence from Australia.

Nauru

Republic in Oceania

This article is about the island country. For the Tanzanian village, see Nauru, Tanzania.

Coordinates: 0°32′S 166°56′E / 0.533°S 166.933°E / -0.533; 166.933 (Nauru)

Nauru (/nɑːˈuːruː/ nah-OO-roo^[5] or /ˈnaʊruː/ NOW-roo;^[6] Nauruan: Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru (Nauruan: Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 300 kilometres (190 mi) to the east. It further lies northwest of Tuvalu, north of the Solomon Islands, east-northeast of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the Marshall Islands. With only a 21-square-kilometre (8.1 sq mi) area, Nauru is the third-smallest state on the list of countries and dependencies by area behind Vatican City and Monaco, making it the smallest state in the South Pacific Ocean, the smallest island state, and the smallest republic. Its population is 11,347, making it the third smallest on the list of countries and dependencies by population, after the Vatican and Tuvalu.

Settled by people from Micronesia and Polynesia c.  1000 BC, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, who were bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. After the war ended, the country entered into United Nations trusteeship. Nauru gained its independence in 1968.

Nauru is a phosphate-rock island with rich deposits near the surface, which allowed easy strip mining operations. It has some remaining phosphate resources which, as of 2011^[update], are not economically viable for extraction.^[7] When the phosphate reserves were exhausted, and the island's environment had been seriously harmed by mining, the trust that had been established to manage the island's wealth diminished in value. To earn income, Nauru briefly became a tax haven and illegal money laundering centre.^[8] From 2001 to 2008, and again from 2012, it accepted aid from the Australian Government in exchange for hosting the Nauru Regional Processing Centre, an offshore Australian immigration detention facility. As a result of heavy dependence on Australia, many sources have identified Nauru as a client state of Australia.^[9][10][11]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CIA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference state was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ "National Report on Population ad Housing" (PDF). Nauru Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". www.imf.org.
5. ^ "Nauru Pronunciation in English". Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge University Press.
6. ^ "Nauru – Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes". Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Oxford University Press.
7. ^ Hogan, C Michael (2011). "Phosphate". Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
8. ^ Hitt, Jack. "The Billion-Dollar Shack".
9. ^ "Pacific correspondent Mike Field". Radio New Zealand. 18 June 2015.
10. ^ "Nauru's former chief justice predicts legal break down". SBS News. Special Broadcasting Service.
11. ^ Ben Doherty. "This is Abyan's story, and it is Australia's story". The Guardian.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Read More