Jan. 1 history: Frankenstein

In 45 BC, The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time on New Year's Day

In 1818, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" is published

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation. Attempting to stitch together a nation mired in a bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln made a last-ditch, but carefully calculated, decision regarding the institution of slavery in America. 

In 1892, The first immigrants arrive at Ellis Island   

In 1915, 

A preview of "The Birth of a Nation" is shown to audiences   In 1923, Rosewood Massacre decimates Black Florida community

In 1942, 

United Nations created

In 1958, 

Johnny Cash plays San Quentin State Prison   In 1959,  Batista forced out by Castro-led revolution

In 1960, nearly 1,000 Black protesters marched 10 miles through the rain and sleet to the Greenville, S.C., airport to protest its segregation policies and its mistreatment of Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in Major League Baseball. Months earlier, Robinson had come to speak at an NAACP banquet, where he encouraged Black Americans. As he left the airport that night, he sat with NAACP leader Gloster Current in the “Whites-only” waiting room at the airport, where Robinson signed autographs. The airport manager ordered them to move to the “Colored” waiting room. They said no. In 1994, 

The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect