Portal:Virginia/Selected anniversaries/January

Miss Sam in her spacesuit

• January 1, 1776: The Burning of Norfolk
• January 16, 1786: The Virginia General Assembly adopts the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, an event celebrated annually as National Religious Freedom Day.
• January 19, 1807: Future general Robert E. Lee is born at Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County; annually commemorated on the state holiday Lee–Jackson Day (observance date shifts annually).
• January 20, 1775: The Fincastle Resolutions are adopted in the lead up to the American Revolution.
• January 21, 1960: As part of Project Mercury, Little Joe 1B is launched from Wallops Flight Facility, crewed by Miss Sam (pictured), a Rhesus monkey.