January 1st 1959:

“I don't ambition power and *， only to serve my country”

In Cuba, Fidel Castro and his guerillas topple Fulgencio Batista from power, clearing the way for decades of communist rule.

 

1863:

During the Civil War, president Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves and Confederate States to be free.

 

1892:

Ellis Island opens for business in New York, serving as the gateway for millions of immigrants entering the U.S. through the early 20th century. 

 

And 1953:

Country singer Hank Williams Senior dies of a drug and alcohol overdose on his way to a concert in Canton, Ohio. He was 29 years old.

 

Today in history, January 1st, Camille Bohannon, the Associated Press.