1. In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation became effective in Washington D.C. on January 3. This was a significant moment in the history of African-American freedom in the nation's capital.

2. On January 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state to join the Union, and Washington D.C. commemorated the occasion with a special ceremony.

3. In 1994, January 3 marked the beginning of a new era in Washington politics as the Republicans won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.

4. On this day in 2011, a shooting occurred at a Safeway supermarket in Tucson, Arizona. The attack resulted in the death of six people and the wounding of several others, including then-U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

5. January 3, 2019, marked the swearing-in of the new 116th Congress of the United States, with Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives and Republicans retaining their majority in the Senate. The occasion was marked by a number of historic firsts, including the swearing-in of the first two Muslim women to Congress.