From Historynet: Today in History January 1

1500          The Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral reaches the coast of Brazil and claims the region for Portugal.

1586          Sir Francis Drake launches a surprise attack on the heavily fortified city of Santo Domingo in Hispanola.

1698          The Abenaki Indians and Massachusetts colonists sign a treaty halting hostilities between the two.

1766          The Old Pretender , son of James III, dies.

1788          The Times, London's oldest running newspaper, publishes its first edition.

1808          A U.S. law banning the import of slaves comes into effect, but is widely ignored.

1824          The Camp Street Theatre opens as the first English-language playhouse in New Orleans.

1830          William Lloyd Garrison  publishes the first edition of a journal entitled The Liberator, calling for the complete and immediate emancipation of all slaves in the United States.

1863          Confederate General Braxton Bragg and Union General William Rosecrans readjust their troops as the Battle of Murfreesboro continues.

1863          President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the Confederacy.

1891          Facilities opened on Ellis Island, New York, to cope with the vast flood of immigrants coming into the United States.

1907          The Pure Food and Drug Act becomes law in the United States.

1915          The German submarine U-24 sinks the British battleship Formidable in the English Channel.

1918          The first gasoline pipeline begins operation. Along the 40 miles and three inches of pipe from Salt Creek to Casper, Wyoming.

1923          Sadi Lecointe sets a new aviation speed record flying an average of 208 mph at Istres.

1937          At a party at the Hormel Mansion in Minnesota, a guest wins $100 for naming a new canned meat--Spam.

1945          In Operation Bodenplatte, German planes attack American forward air bases in Europe. This is the last major offensive of the Luftwaffe.

1959          Fidel Castro seizes power in Cuba as General Fulgencio Batista flees.

1986          As the United States builds its strength in the Mediterranean, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi threatens to retaliate if attacked.