January 1 - What happened today?

Home What happened today in history? Blamepro's Almanac for January 1 Happy New Year!
In the headlines today:

2001	Ray Walston, TV's My Favorite Martian, dies in Beverly Hills, California, at age 86.
2000	Computer systems fail to crash, nor is there a global holocaust, as the world ushers in the 21st century without serious mishap, much to the chagrin of doomsayers.
1994	Bill Gates, Microsoft CEO, marries Marilyn French.
1994	The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect.
1994	Actor Cesar Romero dies in Santa Monica, California, at age 86.
1993	Czechoslovakia divides into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
1984	AT&T is divested of its monopoly, as its 22 Bell System companies are broken into individual firms.
1979	Microsoft moves its world headquarters from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Bellevue, Washington.
1959	Fidel Castro leads Cuban revolutionaries to victory over Fulgencio Batista.
1953	Country singer Hank Williams dies at age 29 en route to a concert date in Canton, OH.
1945	France is admitted to the United Nations.
1901	Australia becomes a Commonwealth under British rule.
1898	Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island are consolidated into New York City.
1892	The Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opens.
1797	Albany becomes the capital of New York state, replacing New York City.