This day in history: 1 Jan

1515: Francois I became King of France on the death of his cousin (and father-in-law), Louis XII.

1651: Charles II, theoretically King of the United Kingdom since his father's death on 30 January 1649, was crowned King of Scots at Scone. He would not be crowned King of England and Ireland until 23 April 1661.

1801: The Act of Union, which had been passed on 2 July 1800, became effective, joining the Kingdom of Ireland to the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

That same day, the asteroid 1 Ceres was discovered by the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi.

1818: Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was published for the first time.

1863: The Emancipation Proclamation became effective, declaring the freedom of all slaves in those areas of the Confederate States of America that had not already returned to Union control.

1892: The Federal immigration station on Ellis Island opened. 15-year-old Annie Moore, from Ireland, was the first customer.

1898: The City of Greater New York was created when New York City (then consisting of Manhattan and the Bronx) annexed land from surrounding counties.

1901: The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia combined as the federal Commonwealth of Australia.

1925: American astronomer Edwin Hubble announced the discovery of galazies outside the Milky Way.

1942: The Declaration by the United Nations was signed by twenty-six nations.

1948: British Rail came into existence when the Big Four - the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR) - were nationalised under the Transport Act of 1947.

1958: The European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) were established, in accordance with the Treaties of Rome of 1957.

1999: The euro was introduced for non-cash transactions within the European Union.

2000: Y2K arrived, but nothing especially horrible happened.

2001: The 21st century - and the 3rd millenium - began.

2002: Euro coins and banknotes became legal tender in twelve member states (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) of the European Union.

2007: The euro replaced the tolar as the official currency of Slovenia.

In addition to Louis XII (1462-1515), Prince James Stuart, the Old Pretender (1688–1766), Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782), Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857-1894), Hank Williams (1923–1953), Maurice Chevalier (1888–1972), Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992), Cesar Romero (1907–1994), Arleigh Burke (1901–1996), Townes Van Zandt (1944–1997), Ray Walston (1914–2001) and Joe Foss (1915–2003) died on this date.

And happy birthday to Lorenzo "the Magnificent" de' Medici (1449–1492), Anthony Wayne (1745-1796), Betsy Griscom Ross (1752-1836), Wilhelm Canaris (1887–1945), John Cantius Garand (1888–1974), Noor Inayat Khan GC MBE (1914-1944), Matthew Beard Jr (1925–1981), "Country" Joe McDonald (1942-TBD) and Jennifer Edwards (1959-TBD).