| Before the Julian calendar was introduced, priests in the Roman Empire exploited the calendar for political ends, inserting days and even months into the calendar to keep the politicians they favored in office. Tired of the chaos that this undependable system eventually gave rise to, Julius Caesar finally set out to put the long-abused calendar back on track. |
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| Gladiatoral contests were first known to be outlawed by Constantine I in 325 AD, but they did continue through the mid 5th century. The Emperor Honorius is credited with putting a stop to it as the western empire nearing its fall. The last known gladiator competition in the city of Rome occurred on January 1, 404. |
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| The first Portuguese expedition to explore the Brazilian coast, between 1501 and 1502, visited places in Rio, like the Guanabara Bay and Angra dos Reis. The only product which attracted some interest was pau-brasil, which was very abundant in this region; because of the pau-brasil, there were many reports of French ships visiting the area and trying to establish relationships with the indians. The Pau-brasil tree is famous for the dye extract taken from the heartwood. |
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| On January 1, 1660, Pepys began to keep a diary. He lived, worked, and wrote his diary through a number of significant historical events, among them the Second Dutch War (16651667), the Great Plague of London of 1665, and the Great Fire of London (1666). On several occasions in 1667 and 1668, he appeared before a select committee of Parliament to defend the record of the Navy Board and to argue for sufficient funds to maintain the fleet. |
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| Lone postal riders carried mail along such desolate roads between Boston and New York beginning in 1673. The mail they carried was by and large for official business, not personal correspondence. The British government needed a reliable mail service throughout its American colonies for official communications. |
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| The first traveller's checks (or cheques) were issued by the London Exchange Banking Co on January 1, 1772. The idea for the checks came from Sir Robert Herries, a partner in the bank. London Exchange Banking Co went through several name changes before becomming part of Lloyds Bank in 1839. |
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| Members of the Second Continental Congress considered this new symbol of the 13 American Colonies to be the Congress Colors. On January 1, 1776 General George Washington's troops raised the their new flag on the liberty pole at Prospect Hill near the American General's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For this reason it became known by many as the Cambridge Flag. General Washington preferred to call it the Grand Union Flag, a title that quickly caught on among his soldiers and then others throughout the colonies. |
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| The Times was founded by John Walter in 1785 as "The Daily Universal Register," the title of which after 940 editions was changed on 1 January, 1788 to The Times. John Walter was also the first editor of the paper. Walter had already spent sixteen months in Newgate prison for libel printed in The Times, but his pioneering efforts to obtain European news, especially from France, helped build the paper's reputation among policy makers and financiers. |
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| Albany was long important as a fur-trading center and was involved in the French and Indian Wars. In 1754 the Albany Congress met there, and in 1797 the state capital was moved to Albany from New York City. |  |
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| In 1800 the Act of Union was passed by both the Irish and British parliaments despite much opposition. It was signed by George III in August 1800 to become effective on 1 January 1801. Prime Minister Pitt the Younger intended to follow the Act of Union with other, more far reaching reforms, including Catholic Emancipation, but was thwarted by George III, who refused to break his Coronation Oath to uphold the Anglican Church. |
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| In 1801, Italian astronomer, Guiseppe Piazzi of Palermo, discovered the first and largest asteroid, 1 Ceres, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Piazzi proposed the name Ceres Ferdinandea, in honour of Sicily's patron Roman goddess, and his patron, the king. It revolves around the Sun in 4.6 yrs, with diameter about 960 km (600 miles). This sighting followed that of the planet Uranus (1781) by the British astronomer William Herschel. Piazzi's discovery provided a body between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter fitting the so-called "Titius-Bode's law." German astronomer Johann Olbers later found more of these bodies now called "asteroids" or "minor bodies of Solar System". |
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| The U.S. Congress passed this piece of landmark legislation to end the profitable international slave trade on March 2, 1807, and President Thomas Jefferson promptly signed the act, making it law. The act went into effect on January 1, 1808, prohibiting from that time on the importation of African slaves to the United States. Between 1808 and 1860, approximately 250,000 slaves are illegally imported. |
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| Garrison worked as co-editor of an antislavery paper started by Benjamin Lundy in Maryland, "The Genius of Universal Emancipation." On January 1, 1831, he published the first issue of his own anti-slavery newspaper, the ”Liberator.” In speaking engagements and through the Liberator and other publications, Garrison advocated the immediate emancipation of all slaves. This was an unpopular view during the 1830s, even with northerners who were against slavery. |
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| Since Dutch settlers brought bowling to Manhattan and the English played at Bowling Green, the sport has been part of the island's life. By 1840, nearly every block of Broadway from Fulton Street to 14th Street boasted an alley, according to historical accounts. |
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| As a result of Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor’s efforts, the People's Bathing and Washing Establishment was opened at 141 Mott Street on the Lower East Side in 1852. This bathhouse cost $42,000 and included laundry facilities, a swimming pool, and tub baths for males and females. The charge for the laundry was three cents per hour and baths cost from five to ten cents. The bath was open only in the summer months. |
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| In 1853, the first successful U.S. steam fire engine began service in Cincinnati, Ohio, named the Uncle Joe Ross after the city councilman who championed it. Four horses pulled the three-wheeled, five-ton carriage. It propelled up to six water streams, 1-3/4" diameter, up to 240 feet range. Inventors Abel Shawk and Alexander Latta, took nine months to build it in their workshop at a cost of $10,000. Its boiler was similar to a locomotive boiler, and had the capacity of the six biggest double-engine hand pumpers. |
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| In 1862, in order to support the Civil War effort, Congress enacted the nation's first income tax law. It was a forerunner of our modern income tax in that it was based on the principles of graduated, or progressive, taxation and of withholding income at the source. During the Civil War, a person earning from $600 to $10,000 per year paid tax at the rate of 3%. Those with incomes of more than $10,000 paid taxes at a higher rate. Additional sales and excise taxes were added, and an “inheritance” tax also made its debut. |
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| Almost from the beginning of his administration, Lincoln was pressured by abolitionists and radical Republicans to issue an Emancipation Proclamation. In principle, Lincoln approved, but he postponed action against slavery until he believed he had wider support from the American Public. The passage of the Second Confiscation Act by Congress on July 17, 1862, which freed the slaves of everyone in rebellion against the government, provided the desired signal. Not only had Congress relieved the Administration of considerable strain with its limited initiative on emancipation, it demonstrated an increasing public abhorrence toward slavery. |
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| The territory now contained within Bronx County was originally part of Westchester County, an original county of New York State. In 1874, the western portion of the present Bronx County, consisting of the towns of Kingsbridge, West Farms, and Morrisania, was transferred to New York County. |
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| In 1879 the French held a congress in Paris on the building of the canal, consider 14 proposals, including Wyse's. Final decision came down to three routes: De Lesseps/Wyse's sea-level canal and another French proposal for a lock canal across Colombia's Panama province, and the U.S. Nicaragua plan. De Lesseps' plan wins. The French broke ground on the canal on January 1. |
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| The first Sherlock Holmes mystery, "A Study in Scarlet," appeared in 1887, and also introduced Holmes' sidekick, Dr. Watson. Holmes needed a roommate to share the financial burden. Both Holmes and Watson both knew “young Stamford,” who introduced the two in 1881. They would take a suite of rooms at 221B Baker Street, kept by Mr. Hudson. |  |
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| The first Tournament of Roses was staged in 1890 by members of Pasadena’s Valley Hunt Club. These club members were former residents of the East and Midwest eager to showcase Pasadena as the place where the “flowers were blooming” on New Year’s Day. They wanted to tell the world about “their new paradise.” More than 2000 people came out on that day to view a parade of flower-covered carriages, foot races, polo matches and tugs-of-war. The abundance of flowers prompted the name “Tournament of Roses.” |
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| The Ellis Island immigration depot cost $500,000 to erect and opened January 1, 1892 under the authority of the U.S. Immigration Bureau. Fifteen-year-old Annie Moore was the first immigrant to be processed through Ellis, receiving a ten dollar gold piece from the immigration commissioner for the port of New York, John Weber, to commemorate the occasion. However, five years later, the new depot lay a smoldering heap of ashes. The pine buildings had burned to the ground. |
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| In 1896, German scientist, Wilhelm Röntgen announced his discovery of x-rays. He sent copies of his manuscript and some of his x-ray photographs to several renowned physicists and friends, including Lord Kelvin in Glasgow and Henre Poincare in Paris. Four days later, on January 5, 1896, Die Presse published the news in a front-page article which described the discovery and suggested new methods of medical diagnoses might be made with this new kind of radiation. One day later, the London Standard cabled the news to other countries around the world about the "a light which for the purpose of photography will penetrate wood, flesh, cloth, and most other organic substances." It printed the first English-language account the next day. |
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| Signed into law May 4th, 1897, the document mandated more than 40 local governmental units merged into a single multi-borough municipality on January 1, 1898. Abram S. Hewitt, Mayor of New York from 1887 to 1888, spoke of New York's "imperial destiny as the greatest city in the world." |
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| On the 1st day of January, 1899, at the palace of the Spanish governor general in Havana, the sovereignty of Spain was formally relinquished and General Brooke immediately entered upon the full exercise of his duties as military governor of Cuba. |
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| After several national conventions and all the colonies had passed referendums to approve the national constitution, the British Parliament passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act on July 5, 1900. Australia's first Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun, performed an official ceremony at Sydneys Centennial Park and the modern nation of Australia officially came into being. Following federal elections in March of that year, Sir Edmund Barton became Australia's first prime minister. |
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| A polo match as the sporting highlight of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena had been satisfactory, but something more dramatic was needed in 1902. "Why not a football game?'' offered one member of the committee, and immediately Tournament President James Wagner started a series of correspondence with the "best team in the West." Michigan was invited to play against Stanford, champion of the "Pacific Coast Universities.” With eight minutes remaining in the game, Stanford captain Ralph Fisher approached the Wolverine bench and offered to concede; Michigan consented. The 49-0 victory capped one of the most unbelievable seasons in college football history, Michigan had outscored its opponents, 550-0, winning 11 straight games. |
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| Transmission of public messages through the cable began a few days later, on January 5, 1903. The first message was telegraphed to President Theodore Roosevelt in Washington. Cable Ship Silvertown had laid 2,620 miles of cable since leaving San Francisco, California, on December 14, 1902. Later in 1903, cables were laid from Honolulu to Midway, Midway to Guam, and Guam to Manila. |
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| President Theodore Roosevelt shook hands with a record 8,150 people at the New Year's Day open house at the White House in 1907, according to Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris. Afterward, he wrote, Roosevelt retired upstairs to "privately, disgustedly, scrub himself clean." |
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| New Years was celebrated in Times Square for the first time in 1906 with the dropping of an apple from the top of the building. The night was such a rousing success that Times Square instantly replaced Lower Manhattan's Trinity Church as New York City's favorite place to ring in the new year. Before long, this party of parties would capture the imagination of the nation, and the world. Two years later, the city banned the fireworks display - but Alfred Ochs was undaunted. He arranged to have a large, illuminated seven-hundred-pound iron and wood ball lowered from the tower flagpole precisely at midnight to signal the end of 1907 and the beginning of 1908. |
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| The Bay to Breakers race was established in 1912 as a way to boost the spirit of San Francisco after the devastation of the 1906 earthquake. Throughout its long history the race has grown in size to become one of the largest footraces in the entire world. |
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| Parcel Post Service became available to Americans on January 1, 1913. Farm families, having made Rural Free Delivery a nation-wide success, were especially anxious to welcome the new service. Prior to 1913, farmers had to convey their produce to the nearest town large enough to support an express office, which added to the price of transporting their goods to the city. But with the combination of RFD and Parcel Post, package service was provided right from their mailbox. |
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| The New Year's Day flight by Tony Jannus on January, 1, 1914, was the first scheduled airline flight with a passenger and started him on a career carrying passengers across the Tampa Bay. Jannus used a Benoist biplane seaplane in the flight from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida. It was reported that he flew at a height of 15 feet on his maiden flight. |
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| In 1916, football returned to stay and the crowds soon outgrew the stands in Tournament Park. Washington State (6-0) defeats Brown (5-3-1) before 7,000 rain-soaked spectators, 14-0, in the resumption of football after chariot racing fails as Pasadena's New Year's Day attraction. |  |
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| In 1924, the first U.S.patent for ink paste was issued to Frank Buckley Cooney of Minneapolis, Minn. Paste ink was designed to be rendered fluid for use by the addition of water, so that "a very satisfactory writing fluid is provided free of suspended matter and other imperfections." Thus ink could be packaged in collapsible lead vending tube in highly concentrated form. This also had the benefit of reducing shipping costs. |
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| From 18781924, Kristiania was the name used for Norway's capital city (having been called Christiania since 1624). According to law of 11 July 1924, the name was changed to Oslo, effective January 1 1925. |
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| In 1928, the first high-rise office building in the world with air-conditioning installed during construction - the Milam Building - opened in San Antonio, Texas. The 21-story building has almost 250,000 square feet of floor area. The air-conditioning was designed by the Carrier Engineering Corporation to provide 300 tons of refrigeration capacity with chilled water, piped to air-handling fans serving all floors. At the time it opened, it was also the tallest brick and concrete-reinforced structure in the United States. |
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| On New Year’s Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played University of California in the Rose Bowl. In that game a man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for California. Somehow, he became confused and started running 65 yards in the wrong direction. One of his teammates, Benny Lom, outdistanced him and downed him just before he scored for the opposing team. When California attempted to punt, Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety which was the ultimate margin of victory. |
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| "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Cuckoo Hour is upon us again, and we are about to hear Raymond Knight in his radio character of Ambrose J. Weems as he tells the world from Station KUKU--America's newest and worst radio station. This is your last chance to get away--all right, it's your own fault. We now turn you over to Station KUKU." |
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| In 1914 the fortress became just a military disciplinary shed. On November 28, 1918, four prisoners ran away with a boat and disappeared in the " bay of San Francisco." Just one of these servicemen was arrested after the evasion. In 1934, the government decided to convert Alcatraz in a federal penitentiary. The prison, surrounded with the ocean, became the penitentiary the surest and the most fearsome of all the United States. |
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| In 1933, Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to provide federal government guarantee of deposits and maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's banking systems. |
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| Tulane Stadium, also known as the "Sugar Bowl," hosted the game from 1935 through 1974. Tulane
defeated Temple 20-14.
On January 1, 1935 Bucknell defeated Miami (Fla.) 26-0 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. | |
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| In 1935, Wirephoto(tm) by AP News(R) was invented. It enabled the transmission of photographs by wire to member newspapers. The photo was wrapped around a drum. The drum was then rotated as a light-sensitive photocell moved over the image picking up brightness differences. The photocell created voltages that were amplified and sent by telephone lines to the subscribing newspapers. At the receiving end, a piece of photographic paper spun around on a cylinder within a light-tight enclosure. The intensity of a pinpoint of light focused on the paper varied with the signal being picked up by the originating machine. The paper was then processed in a darkroom in the same way as a normal photographic print. |
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| In June, 1929, Eddie found a position as vice-president of sales with General Motor's newly-acquired Fokker Aircraft Company. From there he moved to American Airways for one year, 1932-33, then moved back to GM to run its aviation properties. By 1938, Eddie had revived Eastern Airlines for GM, which then entertained John Hertz's $3 million offer to buy it. Eddie raised $3.5 million in one month to purchase Eastern before Hertz could exercise his option. |
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| In 1936, the Herald Tribune of New York began microfilming its current issues from this date, becoming the first U.S. newspaper to make a current record of its publication. The previous year the New York Times had microfilmed its back-issues for the years 1914-27, but had not yet started processing its current issues in this form. |
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| The parties pledged to uphold the Atlantic Charter, to employ all their resources in the war against the Axis powers, and that none of the signatory nations would seek to negotiate a separate peace with Nazi Germany, Italy or Japan in the same manner that the nations of the Triple Entente had agreed not to negotiate a separate peace with any or all of the Central Powers in World War I under the Unity Pact. |
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| The transplanted Rose Bowl game was played in Durham on January 1. Borrowed bleachers from the University of North Carolina and NC State boosted stadium capacity from 35,000 to 55,000 spectators. A flood of East Coast sportswriters descended upon Durham for their first Rose Bowl while only a single writer came from southern California. The final score - Oregon 20, Duke 16. |  |
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| In 1946, ENIAC, the first U.S. computer was finished by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. It was built at the Moore School of Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, based on ideas developed by John Atanasoff of Iowa State College. Though not the first ever computer, ENIAC is regarded as the first successful, general digital computer. It weighed over 27,000 kg (60,000 lb), and contained more than 18,000 vacuum tubes. Many of ENIAC's first tasks were for military purposes, such as calculating ballistic firing tables and designing atomic weapons. Since ENIAC was initially not a stored program machine, it had to be reprogrammed for each task. |
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| In 1948, the first U.S. motion picture newsreel in colour was taken at the Tournament of Roses and the Rose Bowl Game, Pasadena, California. Warner Brothers-Pathe started showing this first colour newsreel to theatre audiences on January 5, 1948. It was made using the Cinecolor process. |
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| Autry didn't want anything to do with this song. It was his wife who talked him into recording it, and it went on to become the 2nd biggest-selling Christmas song of all time, next to Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." The story of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer was written in 1939 by Robert L. May, a copywriter for the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward department stores, as a promotional gift for the store's customers. The stores had bought and distributed coloring books every Christmas and saw writing their own story as a way to save money. Montgomery Ward distributed 2.4 million copies of the Rudolph booklet in 1939. A total of 6 million copies had been given out by the end of 1946, even though wartime paper shortages restricted printing. |
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| In 1954, the first color telecast originating from the west coast of the U.S. showed the Tournament of Roses parade hosted by Don Ameche in Pasadena, California. It was viewed by the audiences of the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) network in 21 cities with remaining cities showing the program in black and white. NBC had made the first live colour coast-to-coast live telecast from the east coast two months earlier, on November 3, 1953, from New York City. It was sent across country to Burbank, California, using radio relay circuits provided by the Bell Telephone Company. |
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| Joan Weber had a number 1 hit in the USA in January 1955, but was unable to follow up that success. The record was "Let Me Go Lover", released on Columbia Records. Performed on the television program Studio One, the song became an immediate success, selling half a million copies and reaching the top of the chart in the USA and peaking at number 16 in the UK. |  |
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| The first full customs union was originally known as the European Economic Community (informally called the Common Market in the UK), established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and implemented on January 1, 1958. Agreeing to remove trade barriers were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. |
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| Revolutionary leader Fidel Castro's forces enter Havana. Before dawn, President Batista, his family, and 180 of his associates flee the country. In the following two months former Batista officials are tried as criminals; as many as 500 are executed. |  |
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| Decca Records A&R head Dick Rowe rejected The Beatles on the basis of his statement that guitar groups were on their way out. In May 1963, Rowe would be granted a repreive to rehabilitate himself from a hot lead given to him by George Harrison, recommending he sign another up-and-coming British beat group, The Rollin' Stones. |  |
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| The first recording was an acoustic version on their first album, "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM", which sold about 2000 copies. When the album tanked, Simon and Garfunkel split up. What they didn't know was that their record company had a plan. Trying to take advantage of the folk-rock movement, Columbia Records had a producer named Bob Johnson add electric instruments to the acoustic track. Simon and Garfunkel had no idea their acoustic song had been overdubbed with electric instruments, but it became a huge hit and got them back together. If Wilson had not reworked the song without their knowledge, Simon and Garfunkel probably would have gone their separate ways. |
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| In 1966, effective on this day, all US cigarette packages began carrying the health warning: Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health. This resulted from landmark federal legislation enacted in 1965 that required health warnings on cigarette packages. In 1984, the law was amended to require one of four warning labels in most cigarette-related advertising. |
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| Evel Knievel's most famous fall. Attempting to clear the fountains at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, he lands awkwardly. His rag-doll somersaults leave him in a coma for 29-days with a shattered pelvis, fractured hip, and smashed right femur. Surgeons rebuild his leg with a two foot long, three inches wide strip of steel. |  |
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| "Brand New Key" was about a young girl who gets a brand new pair of roller skates was written by Melanie in 15 minutes. She intended it to be a lighthearted novelty to perform in between her more intense material. However it proved to be her most successful song. |  |
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| The United Kingdom entered the Common Market into 1973, by entering into an accession treaty on January 22, 1972 (with Denmark, Ireland, Norway) and passing the European Communities Act 1972 in on October 16, 1972. Britain joined what would become the EU with Denmark and Ireland on January 1, 1973. |
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| On New Years Day, 1976 the animated letters "NBC" formed out of a cylinder which resembled a hose or a pipe (or even a snake)...A similar logo had been used at the ENDINGS of shows as early as 1959, in which the letters "NBC" were formed out of a black line. The peacock logo returned in 1979. |  |
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| On January 1st 1976, Danny Finegood (& friends) climbed to the top of Mt. Lee with four 6 x 12 foot sheets. Using only stones and rope Danny and friends were able to change the sign without even having to climb on it. On January 1,1976, a new marijuana law had been implemented by the state of California. It changed the charge of possession of marijuana from a felony to a misdemeanor. On the eve of the prank Danny and friends notified certain members of the press to ensure coverage of the event. The changing of the sign made front pages around the world. |
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| “Tonight's The Night (Gonna Be Alright)" was never released as a single in England because it was banned on British radio stations due to suggestive lyrics. The offending lyric is: "Spread your wings and let me come inside." Stewart's girlfriend, Swedish actress Britt Ekland, sings in French at the end. |  |
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| The Copyright Act of 1976 is a landmark statute in United States copyright legislation and remains the primary basis of copyright law in the United States. The Act spells out the basic rights of copyright holders, codified the doctrine of "fair use", and converted the term of copyrights from a fixed period requiring renewal to an extended period based on the date of the creator's death. It became Public Law on October 19, 1976 and went into effect on January 1, 1978. |
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| The United States of America recognized the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan. |
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| 1979 was designated the International Year of the Child by the United Nations in order to focus the attention of all countries on the special needs of children, and to stimulate the sharing of international experience and resources to promote the well being of children everywhere. |
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| Their 1976 album, "Bigger Than the Both of Us," gave them their first number one single, "Rich Girl." Hall and Oates would prove no strangers to the top of the charts. In the 1980s they ran together an impressive string of hits from their albums "Private Eyes," "H2O" and "Big Bam Boom." They hit the top spot in the US pop charts with the singles "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)," "Private Eyes" and "Maneater," and visited the top ten with a list of other singles. |
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| ESPN Radio is a national sports radio networ launched on January 1, 1992. The network airs a regular schedule of daily and weekly programming as well as live coverage of Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Bowl Championship Series, and National Invitation Tournament games. |
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| In 1992, the Czech public elected Václav Klaus and others who demanded either an even tighter federation or two independent states. Other leading Slovak politicians of the day wanted a kind of confederation. On July 17, the Slovak parliament adopted Declaration of independence of the Slovak nation. Six days later, politicians decided to dissolve Czechoslovakia at a meeting in Bratislava. The goal of negotiations switched to achieving a peaceful division. On November 25, the federal parliament adopted the Constitutional law on the end of existence of Czechoslovakia, which stated that with the expiry of December 31, 1992, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic shall cease to exist. |
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| In January 1994, Canada, the United States and Mexico launched the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and formed the world's largest free trade area. The Agreement has brought economic growth and rising standards of living for people in all three countries. |
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| Gary Larson created a world entirely populated by the lumpy, the big-nosed, the bespectacled, the bug-eyed and the foofy-haired - “The Far Side.” On January 1, 1995, Gary decided to retire from his life of drawing cartoons. The Far Side legacy had stretched over 14 years and generated a loyal legion of fans, as well as several books filled with the drawings. |  |
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| The currency was introduced in non-physical form (travellers' cheques, electronic transfers, banking, etc.) at midnight on 1 January 1999, when the national currencies of participating countries (the Eurozone) ceased to exist independently in that their exchange rates were locked at fixed rates against each other, effectively making them mere non-decimal subdivisions of the euro. The euro thus became the successor to the European Currency Unit (ECU). The notes and coins for the old currencies, however, continued to be used as legal tender until new notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002. Participating countries include; Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. |
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