January 1, 1863: Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln to free slaves in US confederate states.
January 2, 1938: Book publisher Simon and Schuster founded.
January 3, 1777: General George Washington's revolutionary army defeats British forces at Battle of Princeton, New Jersey.
January 4, 1847: Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government.
January 5, 1959: Buddy Holly releases his last record "It Doesn't Matter"; he was killed in a plane crash 29 days later.
January 6, 1975: "Wheel Of Fortune" debuts on NBC-TV.
January 7, 1714: Typewriter patented by Englishman Henry Mill (built years later).
January 8, 1902: New York state assemblyman Francis G. Landon gets a bill passed to criminalize men turning around on a street and "looking at a woman in that way".