A suicide car bomber detonated at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.

66 die in nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.

Malta and Cyprus officially adopt the Euro currency and become the fourteenth and fifteenth Eurozone countries.

Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Also, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, joining 20 other official languages.

Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board.

Sydney, Australia swelters through its hottest New Years Day on record. The thermometer peaked at 45 degrees celsius, sparking bushfires and power outages. (Same as 1939)

In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007.

Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states.

Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.

The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially comes into force.

The Euro currency is introduced in 11 countries - members of NATO (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).

Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.

The European Central Bank is established.

The Republic of Zaïre officially joins the World Trade Organization, as ''Zaïre''.

Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan is appointed Secretary General of the United Nations.

Curaçao gains limited self-government, though it remains within free association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The World Trade Organization goes into effect.

The Kingdom of Sweden and the republics of Austria and Finland are admitted into the European Union.

The ''Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe'' becomes the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.

The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican State of Chiapas.

The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.

Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic.

A single market within the European Community is introduced.

David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer comes into force.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.

Aruba becomes independent of Curaçao, though it remains in free association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic are admitted into the European Community.

The Internet's Domain Name System is created.

The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone.

The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.

The Sultanate of Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.

Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary General of the United Nations.

The Republic of Greece is admitted into the European Community.

The Republic of Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States.

Victoria is crowned princess of Sweden.

Formal diplomatic relations are established between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America.

Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 crashes into the sea, due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation, off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.

The Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands becomes effective.

Denmark, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland are admitted into the European Community.

Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.

Unix epoch time begins at 00:00:00 UTC/GMT.

A twelve-day New York City transit strike begins.

After a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa assumes power as president of the Central African Republic.

The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul.

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.

Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.

United States Navy SEALs established.

The Republic of Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Fulgencio Batista, president of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces during the Cuban Revolution.

The European Community is established.

George Town, Penang becomes a city by a royal charter granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

An Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacks Brookeborough RUC barracks in one of the most famous incidents of the IRA's Operation Harvest.

The Republic of the Sudan achieves independence from the Egyptian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

A new year event causes panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, central Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people.

NBC makes the first coast-to-coast NTSC color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade , with public demonstrations given across the United States on prototype color receivers.

The state of Ajaigarh joins the Union of India.

United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.

The British railway network is nationalised to form British Railways.

The Constitution of Italy comes into force.

The American and British occupation zones in Germany, after the World War II, merge to form the Bizone, that later became the Federal Republic of Germany.

World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops massacre 30 SS prisoners at Chenogne.

World War II: The German ''Luftwaffe'' launches ''Unternehmen Bodenplatte'', a massive, but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow.

The Declaration by the United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.

William Hewlett and David Packard found Hewlett-Packard.

Sydney, Australia, swelters in 45 ˚C (113 ˚F) heat, a record for the city.

Safety glass in vehicle windscreens becomes mandatory in Great Britain.

Alcatraz Island becomes a United States federal prison.

Nazi Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring".

The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth.

The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver.

Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran. He is the only assistant of Joseph Stalin's secretariat to have defected from the Eastern Bloc.

Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), is immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian).

The American astronomer Edwin Hubble announces the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way.

Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.

The Belorussian Communist Organisation is founded as a separate party.

Edsel Ford succeeds his father, Henry Ford, as president of the Ford Motor Company.

German troops abandon Yaoundé and their Kamerun colony to British forces and begin the long march to Spanish Guinea.

The Republic of China is established.

Northern Territory is separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.

Captain David Beatty is promoted to Rear Admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal family members), since Horatio Nelson.

Drilling begins on the Lakeview Gusher.

For the first time, a ball is dropped in New York City's Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight.

British India officially adopts the Indian Standard Time.

The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena.

Nigeria becomes a British protectorate.

The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister.

Spanish rule ends in Cuba.

New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.

The Manchester Ship Canal, England, is officially opened to traffic.

Ellis Island opens to begin processing immigrants into the United States.

Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government.

The Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, is first held.

Twenty-five nations adopt Sanford Fleming's proposal for Standard Time (and also, time zones)

Ferdinand de Lesseps begins French construction of the Panama Canal.

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.

The Reichsbank opens in Berlin.

Japan begins using the Gregorian calendar.

American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory.

The first claim under the Homestead Act is made by Daniel Freeman for a farm in Nebraska.

Porfirio Díaz conquers Mexico City.

First Polish stamp is issued.

The Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed.

The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly of Epidaurus.

Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB officially becomes Governor of New South Wales

The importation of slaves into the United States is banned.

The French Republican Calendar is abolished.

French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black republic and second independent country on the American Continent after the U.S.

Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.

The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.

The Dutch East India Company is dissolved.

First edition of ''The Times'' of London, previously ''The Daily Universal Register'', is published.

1,500 soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey as part of the Pennsylvania (Continentals; Regiment) Mutiny of 1781.

The first traveler's cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale in London.

Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.

John V is crowned King of Portugal.

Russia begins using the Anno Domini era and no longer uses old slovian era. According to old slovian era it happened in year 7209.

Charles II is crowned King of Scotland.

Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25.

Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as king of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin.

King Francis I of France succeeds to the French throne.

Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.

Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.

Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Silvester II.

The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman Emperor.

The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuses to swear loyalty to Galba. The rebelled and proclaimed Aulus Vitellius Germanicus as emperor.