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, 1979
Day of Week 1st » Formal diplomacy or diplomatic relations are established between China and the United States.
Day of Week 7th » Sino-Vietnamese War or Third Indochina War Cambodian–Vietnamese War: Phnom Penh falls to the advancing Vietnamese troops, driving out Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
Day of Week 8th » The Whiddy Island Disaster known as tanker 'Betelgeuse' explodes in Bantry Bay, Ireland.
Day of Week 16th » The Mohammad Reza Pahlavi e.g last Iranian Shah flees Iran with his family for good and relocates to Egypt.
Day of Week 25th » Pope John Paul II starts his first official papal visits outside Italy to the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Mexico.
Day of Week 28th » CBS News Sunday Morning debuts with original host and cocreator Charles Kuralt.
28th » Pope John Paul II starts his first pastoral visit to Mexico.
Day of Week 30th » A Varig Boeing 707 707-323C freighter, flown by the same commander as Varig Flight 820 Flight 820, 1979 Boeing 707-323C disappearance disappears over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.
Famous Birthdays on January in 1979
1st » Brody Dalle, Australian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Distillers Spinnerette)
1st » Koichi Domoto, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor (KinKi Kids)
1st » Fadi El Khatib, Lebanese basketball player
1st » Kathryn Thomas, Irish television presenter
2nd » Tim Cruz, American singer (B3 (band) known as B3 and React (band) called React)