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, 1960
Day of Week 1st » Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom.
Day of Week 6th » National Airlines Flight 2511 is destroyed in mid-air by a bomb, while en route from New York City to Miami called Miami, Florida.
6th » The Associations Law comes into force in Iraq, allowing registration of political parties.
Day of Week 7th » The UGM-27 Polaris called Polaris missile is test launched.
Day of Week 9th » President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser opens construction on the Aswan Dam by detonating ten tons of dynamite to demolish twenty tons of granite on the east bank of the Nile.
Day of Week 19th » Japan and the United States sign the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan named US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty
Day of Week 20th » Hendrik Verwoerd announces a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
Day of Week 21st » Little Joe 1B, a Project Mercury Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Monkeys in space Miss Sam, a female Rhesus Macaque rhesus monkey on board.
Day of Week 23rd » The bathyscaphe Bathyscaphe Trieste USS 'Trieste' breaks a depth record by descending to Convert 10911 m ft in the Pacific Ocean.
Day of Week 24th » Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
Day of Week 25th » The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the "payola" scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accept money for playing particular records.
Day of Week 26th » Danny Heater sets a worldwide high school basketball scoring record when he records 135 points for Burnsville High School (West Virginia)
Day of Week 28th » The National Football League announced expansion teams for Dallas Cowboys known as Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minnesota Vikings called Minneapolis-St. Paul for 1961 NFL season.
Day of Week 30th » The African National Party is founded in Chad, through the merger of traditionalist parties.
29th » J. G. Thirlwell, Australian-English singer-songwriter and producer (Wiseblood (band) Wiseblood, The Immaculate Consumptive, Coil (band) Coil, and Foetus (band) Foetus)