IT ALL HAPPENED DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY

IT ALL HAPPENED DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY

1776 During the American Revolution, George Washington unveiled the Grand Union Flag, the first national flag in America.

1848 The California gold rush began with the accidental discovery of the precious metal near Coloma.

1863 The Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in the states rebelling against the Union.

1892 Ellis Island in New York Harbor opened.  Over 20 million new arrivals to America were processed until its closing in 1954.

1915 The U.S. Coast Guard was created by an Act of Congress, combining the Life Saving Services and the Revenue Cutter Service.

1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated to an unprecedented fourth term as President of the United States.

1959 Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba after leading a revolution that drove out Dictator Fulgencio Batista.  Castro then established a communist dictatorship.

1964 The U.S. Surgeon General declared cigarettes may be hazardous to health, the first such official government report.

1973 U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ended as North Vietnamese and American representatives signed an agreement in Paris.