- 1772 – The first traveler’s cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale in London.
- 1773 – The hymn that became known as “Amazing Grace”, then titled “1 Chronicles 17:16–17” is first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, England.
- 1788 – First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
- 1800 – The Dutch East India Company is dissolved.
- 1885 – Twenty-five nations adopt Sanford Fleming’s proposal for Standard Time (and also, time zones)
- 1898 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
- 1898 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
- 1954 – NBC makes the first coast-to-coast NTSC color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade, with public demonstrations given across the United States on prototype color receivers.
- 1970 – Unix epoch time begins at 00:00:00 UTC/GMT.
- 1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.
- 1985 – The Internet’s Domain Name System is created.
- 1993 – A single market within the European Community is introduced.
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