On this day: January 1

POSTED: 01:21 PM PST Dec 31, 2012    UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST Dec 31, 2012 

Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, Ellis Island opens, the Rose Bowl becomes the first college bowl game, Hank Williams dies, and the Y2K panic fizzles out, all on this day.

OTD January 1 - Betsy Ross
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Library of Congress

1752: Betsy Ross is born Elizabeth Griscom in Philadelphia, Pa. Ross is widely credited with making the first American flag, although there is no credible historical evidence that the story is true.

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