The euro debuts

January 4, 1999

ON this day, for the first time since Charlemagne’s reign in the ninth century, Europe is united with a common currency when the ‘euro’ debuts as a financial unit in corporate and investment markets. At that time, eleven European Union (EU) nations (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain), launched the currency in the hopes of increasing European integration and economic growth.

Euro cash, decorated with architectural images, symbols of European unity and member-state motifs, went into circulation on January 1, 2002, replacing the Austrian schilling, Belgian franc, Finnish markka, French franc, German mark, Italian lira, Irish punt, Luxembourg franc, Netherlands guilder, Portugal escudo and Spanish peseta. In the following years, several other countries started using the euro.

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January 8, 1642

ITALIAN astronomer Galileo Galilei dies in Italy at age 77. He was born on February 15, 1564. Galileo has been referred to as the ‘father of modern astronomy,’ the ‘father of modern physics’ and the ‘father of science’ due to his revolutionary discoveries. He was the first person to use a telescope to observe the skies. Among other things, Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, sunspots and the solar rotation.

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January 8, 1946

THIS day, Elvis celebrated his 11th birthday, and received a birthday gift from his highly protective mother, Gladys, that would change the course of history: a $6.95 guitar. Music surrounded the young Elvis Presley — music of all the types that would inform his later recordings and performances, from country, bluegrass, blues and gospel to mainstream pop and even opera.

With his first guitar in hand, Elvis Presley took a key step toward joining that list of music greats on this day in music history.