Famous People, Events, Places & Dates in History

Saturday, January 18 is the 18^th day of 2025.

There are 347 days until the end of the year, and the day's zodiac sign is Capricorn.

January: Famous People, Events and Dates in History

January is the first month of the year. It is also one of the 7 months that have 31 days. These are January, March, May, July, August, October and December.

The name January came from Janus, the Roman god of all beginnings. He was also associated with time, transition, doorways (januae), archways (jani), passages and endings. This Roman god was revered especially during the beginning of the day, month and year.

Countries in the Northern hemisphere experience winter during this month, while those in the Southern hemisphere enjoy hot summer weather in January. As a result, the month of January is, for most people, either the coldest or hottest month of the year. There are two zodiac signs in January: Capricorn (usually from December 22 to January 19) and Aquarius (typically from January 20 to February 18).

This Month's Historical Events

15th January 1929:

Famous U.S civil rights movement activist, Martin Luther King Jr, was born. Martin Luther King Jr was the outspoken spokesperson of the civil rights movement that was formed to protest racial discrimination on the basis of skin color, ethnicity and race.

Although Dr. King was born on 15th, the third Monday of each January is celebrated in the U.S as the Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

12th January 1964:

The Zanzibar Revolution was started by the black majority inhabitants of the Indian Ocean island. Located in East Africa and 15 miles off the coast of Tanzania, the island was ruled by an Arab government led by the Sultans of Zanzibar who were in power from 1856 to 1964.

The revolution led to the overthrow of the Sultan, and Abeid Karume became the president. The country was also renamed to the People's Republic of Zanzibar.

1st January 1912:

The Republic of China was formed, marking the end of the Xinhai Revolution that brought an end to the 2,000 years of imperial rule during which China was ruled by successive dynasties of emperors. The first emperor was Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Qin dynasty in 221 BC. The last emperor was Aisin-Gioro Puyi of the Qing Dynasty, whose fall led to the founding of the Peoples Republic of China.

8th January 1912:

The African National Congress (ANC) was formed in South Africa. The social-democratic party began as a liberation movement that was formed to oppose the apartheid (institutionalized racial segregation) that black South Africans were subject to from around 1948. In 1994, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, became the first president of South Africa after the end of white minority rule.

26th January 1950: The Constitution of India came into effect, replacing the Government of India Act 1935 that was the governing document of India and which was adapted from the UK Parliament. India had, 3 years earlier, attained independence from the UK on 15 August 1947, the date on which the British Raj (the period of British rule of India) ended.