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, 1878
Day of Week 4th » Sofia is emancipated from Ottoman Empire or Ottoman rule.
Day of Week 9th » Umberto I of Italy known as Umberto I becomes House of Savoy or King of Italy.
Day of Week 16th » Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Battle of Philippopolis (1878) Battle of Philippopolis: Captain Aleksandr Burago with a Squadron (army) squadron of Russian Empire Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman Empire Ottoman rule.
Day of Week 24th » The revolutionary Vera Zasulich shoots at Fyodor Trepov, the Governor of Saint Petersburg.
Day of Week 28th » 'Yale Daily News' becomes the first daily Student newspaper named college newspaper in the United States.
Famous Birthdays on January in 1878
1st » Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician, statistician, and engineer (d. 1929)
2nd » Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, Indian activist (d. 1970)
4th » A. E. Coppard, English poet and author (d. 1957)
4th » Augustus John, Welsh painter (d. 1961)
6th » Adeline Genée, Danish-English ballerina (d. 1970)
6th » Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)
11th » Theodoros Pangalos (general) known as Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general (d. 1952)
12th » Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian-American author and playwright (d. 1952)
13th » Lionel Groulx, Canadian priest and historian (d. 1967)
13th » Geert Lotsij, Dutch rower (d. 1959)
15th » Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
16th » Harry Carey (actor born 1878) or Harry Carey, American actor (d. 1947)
19th » Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1934)