Volume 14 , Issue 1

On This Day In History (1 & 2 January)

On This Date, 1 January 1895, J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1924-1972, was born. Following his death on May 2, 1972, his obituary appeared in The Times. Go to obituary

• 1808 - A law prohibiting the importation of slaves into the United States went into effect.
• 1892 - The Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York opened.
• 1898 - New York City was consolidated into five buroughs.
• 1901 - The Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed.
• 1958 - Treaties establishing the European Economic Community went into effect.
• 1979 - The United States and China established diplomatic relations.
• 1993 - Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

On This Date, 2 January 1905, Japanese Gen. Nogi received from Russian Gen. Stoessel at 9 o'clock P.M. a letter formally offering to surrender, ending the Russo-Japanese War. Go to article

On 2 January 1920, Isaac Asimov, the immensely popular science fiction writer, was born. Following his death on April 6, 1992, his obituary appeared in The Times. Go to obituary.

On This Date: 2 January:

• 1492 - The leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain surrendered to Spanish forces loyal to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I.
• 1788 - Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
• 1900 - Secretary of State John Hay announced the Open Door Policy to prompt trade with China.
• 1935 - Bruno Hauptmann went on trial in Flemington, N.J., on charges of kidnapping and murdering the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (He was found guilty and executed.

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