1879

Thomas Edison first demonstrated his electric incandescent lights for the public by illuminating some 100 bulbs in and around his laboratory in New Jersey.

1904

New York’s Times Square saw its first New Year’s Eve celebration, with an estimated 200,000 people in attendance.

1999

Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned, making Prime Minister Vladimir Putin acting president.

2019

The health commission in the central Chinese city of Wuhan announced that experts were investigating an outbreak of respiratory illness, which would eventually be known as COVID-19.