On December 29, 1845, six months after the congress of the Republic of Texas accepts U.S. annexation, Texas is admitted into the United States as the 28th state.

On December 30, 1936, in one of the first sit-down strikes in the United States, autoworkers occupy the General Motors Fisher Body Plant Number One in Flint, Michigan.

On December 31, 1879, in the first public demonstration of his incandescent lightbulb, American inventor Thomas Alva Edison lights up a street in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

On January 1, 45 B.C., New Year's Day is celebrated on January 1 for the first time in history as...