January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as the day of New Year. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter) and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer).
January symbols: The birthstone of January is the garnet which represents constancy. Its birth flower is the cottage pink Dianthus caryophyllus or galanthus. In Finnish, the month of tammikuu means the heart of the winter and because the name literally means Oak moon. The zodiac signs for the month of January are Capricorn (until January 19) and Aquarius (January 20 onwards). The traditional English birth month flower is the Carnation.
Historical Events for January, 1986
Day of Week 1st » Aruba becomes independent of Curaçao, though it remains in free association with the Netherlands.
1st » Spain and Portugal are admitted into the European Community.
Day of Week 11th » The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges named Gateway Bridge, Brisbane in Queensland called Queensland, Australia is officially opened.
Day of Week 12th » Space Shuttle program: Congressman Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Space Shuttle Columbia named 'Columbia' on mission STS-61-C as a Mission Specialist.
Day of Week 13th » A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden called Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
Day of Week 16th » First meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force.
Day of Week 19th » The first IBM PC computer virus is released into the wild. A boot sector virus dubbed Brain (computer virus) called (c)Brain, it was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter piracy of the software they had written.
Day of Week 20th » Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day called federal holiday for the first time.
Day of Week 23rd » The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
Day of Week 24th » Voyager 2 passes within convert 81500 km mi of Uranus.
Day of Week 25th » The National Resistance Movement topples the government of Tito Okello in Uganda.
Day of Week 26th » The Ugandan government of Tito Okello is overthrown by the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni.
Day of Week 28th » Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Challenger disaster e.g explodes after liftoff killing all seven astronauts on board.
Famous Birthdays on January in 1986
1st » Glen Davis (basketball) known as Glen Davis, American basketball player
1st » Lee Sungmin, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor (Super Junior)
1st » Colin Morgan, Northern Irish actor
2nd » Ediz Bahtiyaroğlu, Turkish-Bosnian footballer (d. 2012)
4th » Christopher Isherwood, English author (b. 1904)
4th » Phil Lynott, Irish singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Thin Lizzy, Skid Row (Irish band) known as Skid Row, and Grand Slam (band) e.g Grand Slam) (b. 1949)
7th » P. D. Eastman, American author and illustrator (b. 1909)