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 - Emancipation Proclamation
6 / 36
Public domain

1863: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, which declares that all slaves in the rebel states are free.

Advertisement

Most Popular

Advertisement