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, 1862
Day of Week 16th » Hartley Colliery Disaster: 204 men and boys killed in a mining disaster, prompted a change in UK law which henceforth required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape.
Day of Week 19th » American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs The Confederate States of America known as Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
Day of Week 24th » Bucharest is proclaimed the capital of Romania.
Day of Week 30th » The first American ironclad warship, the USS e.g Monitor is launched.
Day of Week 31st » Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an convert 18.5 in cm adj=on telescope now located at Northwestern University.
Famous Birthdays on January in 1862
3rd » Matthew Nathan, English soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Queensland (d. 1939)
8th » Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher, founded the Doubleday (publisher) or Doubleday Publishing Company (d. 1934)
23rd » David Hilbert, German mathematician (d. 1943)