2026 Crans-Montana bar fire
A fire at a bar during New Year's Eve celebrations in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, kills 41 people and injures 116 others.
What happened on January 1
36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1892 to 2026.
Standout on January 1
2026
2026 Crans-Montana bar fire
A fire at a bar during New Year's Eve celebrations in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, kills 41 people and injures 116 others.
About January 1
January 1 is the 1st day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 1 of 365 (1 in leap years)364 days left in the year (365 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Thursday in 2026, Friday in 2027, Saturday in 2028, Monday in 2029, Tuesday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 1 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♑ Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- January birthstone
- Garnetprotection, friendship and trust
- January birth flower
- Carnation / Snowdroplove, devotion and hope
- Next occurrence
- In 66 days
- Roman numerals
- I.Iday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 100th2RN1926
- 30thAndreas Pereira1996
- 30thMahmoud Dahoud1996
- 30thMathias Jensen1996
- 25thAngourie Rice2001
- 25thGreece2001
- 25thWinter (singer)2001
- 5thCarlos do Carmo2021
January 1 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Nothing recorded
- 25 years ago2001
- Greece · Winter (singer) · Angourie Rice
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- 2RN
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on January 1 — ages this year
- 2007Ian Subiabreturns 19
- 2004Lamine Camaraturns 22
- 2003Daria Trubnikovaturns 23
- 2002Simon Adingraturns 24
- 2001Winter (singer)turns 25
- 2001Angourie Riceturns 25
Historical events 36
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria officially adopts the Euro, becoming the 21st Eurozone country.
2025 New Orleans truck attack
Fourteen people are killed and 57 others injured during a vehicle-ramming and shooting attack in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Republic of Artsakh
Artsakh ceases to exist.
Steamboat Willie
Disney's copyright protection on Steamboat Willie and the original Mickey Mouse expires as they enter the public domain.
2024 Noto earthquake
A 7.5 Mww earthquake strikes the western coast of Japan, killing more than 500 people and injuring over 1,000 others. A majority of direct deaths were due to collapsed homes.
Croatia
Croatia officially adopts the Euro, becoming the 20th Eurozone country, and becomes the 27th member of the Schengen Area.
NASA
The NASA space probe New Horizons flew by the trans-Neptunian object Arrokoth, making it the farthest object visited by a spacecraft.
Istanbul nightclub shooting
An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year's celebrations, kills 39 people and injures 79 others.
Eurasian Economic Union
The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
2013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede
At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Estonia
Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.
2011 Alexandria bombing
A suicide bombing took place outside a Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt, following a New Year service, killing 23 people.
2010 Lakki Marwat suicide bombing
A suicide bomber killed 105 spectators at a volleyball game in the Lakki Marwat District of Pakistan.
2009 Bangkok nightclub fire
Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.
Adam Air Flight 574
Adam Air Flight 574 crashed into the sea off Polewali, Indonesia, killing all 102 people on board, when the pilots inadvertently disconnected the autopilot.
Jeanna Giese
Jeanna Giese, the first known rabies survivor who did not receive the vaccine, was discharged from Children's Wisconsin.
Motion of no confidence
In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007.
Greece
Greece adopts the Euro, becoming the 12th Eurozone country.
Euro
The Euro currency is introduced in 11 member nations of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).
Juan Maldacena
Argentinian physicist Juan Maldacena published a landmark paper initiating the study of AdS/CFT correspondence, which links string theory and quantum gravity.
1998 Russian monetary reform
Following a currency reform, Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization, the international organization designed to supervise and liberalize international trade, came into being, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Far-left politics
The revolutionary leftist Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiated twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
Air India Flight 855
Air India Flight 855 (aircraft pictured) crashed into the Arabian Sea seconds after take-off, killing all 213 people.
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, which later helped the country become a republic, was founded.
East House mass shooting
Three men were killed and two wounded in a mass shooting at a public house in Sheffield, England.
Lèse-majesté in Thailand
The revised Thai criminal code came into force, strengthening the law on lèse-majesté in Thailand to include insult and treating it as a crime against national security.
British Rail
British Railways came into existence when the "Big Four" railway companies were nationalised.
World War II
World War II: In retaliation for the massacre of captured Americans by Waffen SS soldiers, U.S. Army personnel killed an estimated 80 Wehrmacht prisoners near Chenogne, Belgium.
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin's personal secretary, Boris Bazhanov, crossed the Iranian border and defected from the Soviet Union.
2RN
Ireland's first broadcaster, 2RN, began broadcasting.
Sayfo
Russia withdraws from its occupation of northwestern Iran, enabling a subsequent Ottoman invasion and massacres of Assyrians and Armenians.
St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line
The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line in the U.S. state of Florida became the first scheduled airline using a winged aircraft.
Ellis Island
The immigration station on Ellis Island (pictured) in New York Harbor opened, and would process almost 12 million immigrants to the United States over the course of its existence.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Elmira Minita Gordon
Elmira Minita Gordon, Belizean educator and psychologist (born 1930)
Pegi Young
Pegi Young, American singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist (born 1952)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus
Christian feast day: Feast of the Circumcision of Christ Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
Basil of Caesarea
Christian feast day: Basil the Great (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Kwanzaa
The last day of Kwanzaa (African Americans)
World Day of Peace
Christian feast day: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God; and its related observances: World Day of Peace
Twelve Days of Christmas
The eighth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
Fulgentius of Ruspe
Christian feast day: Fulgentius of Ruspe
Global Family Day
Global Family Day
January 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christian feast day: January 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Spread across the centuries
- 19th century1
- 20th century29
- 21st century46
Earliest: Ellis Island (1892). Most recent: 2026 Crans-Montana bar fire (2026).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about January 1
What day of the year is January 1?
January 1 is the 1st day of the year, with 364 days left after it.
What star sign is January 1?
January 1 falls under Capricorn (December 22 – January 19), a earth sign ruled by Saturn. The birthstone for the month is Garnet.
How many things happened on January 1?
We record 84 entries for January 1: 36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1892 to 2026.
Who was born on January 1?
Ian Subiabre (2007) is among the notable births on January 1. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the January 1 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like January 1
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.