January first

Today's Highlight in History:
On January first, 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states were free.

On this date:
In 1892, the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opened.

In 1898, Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island were consolidated into New York City.

In 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed.

In 1953, country singer Hank Williams Senior, 29, died of a drug and alcohol overdose while en route to a concert date in Canton, Ohio.

In 1958, treaties establishing the European Economic Community went into effect.

In 1959, Fidel Castro led Cuban revolutionaries to victory over Fulgencio Batista.

In 1979, the United States and China held celebrations in Washington and Beijing to mark the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In 1984, the break-up of AT&T took place as the telecommunications giant was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement.