2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Johannes Kepler. It was also declared as the International Year of Natural Fibres by the United Nations General Assembly, as well as the International Year of Reconciliation and the Year of the Gorilla (UNEP and UNESCO). The year also marked the deaths of many prominent entertainers including Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Brittany Murphy, Patrick Swayze, David Carradine and Ricardo Montalbán. Events January January 1 Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda assume their seats on the United Nations Security Council. Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, becomes the American Capital of Culture and Vilnius and Linz become the European Capitals of Culture. Slovakia adopts the euro as its national currency, replacing the Slovak koruna. A Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer shoots and kills Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man, at Fruitvale station. The event becomes one of the inciting incidents for the global Black Lives Matter movement. January 3 – The first ("Genesis") block of the blockchain of the cryptocurrency and decentralized payment system Bitcoin is established by the creator of the system, known as Satoshi Nakamoto. January 15 – US Airways Flight 1549 ditches in the Hudson River in an accident that becomes known as the "Miracle on the Hudson", as all 155 people on board are rescued. January 18 – Gaza War: Hamas announces they will accept the Israel Defense Forces offer of a ceasefire, ending the conflict. January 20 – Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, becoming the first African-American to hold the office. January 21 – Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, officially ending its three-week war with Hamas. However, intermittent air strikes by both sides continue in the following weeks. January 21 – Zhu Haiyang decapitates Yang Xin at Virginia Tech in the first campus murder since the Virginia Tech shooting. January 26 The first trial at the International Criminal Court opens. Former Union of Congolese Patriots leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is accused of training child soldiers to kill, pillage and rape. The Icelandic government and banking system collapse. Prime Minister Geir Haarde immediately resigns. An annular solar eclipse takes place over the Indian Ocean, the 50th solar eclipse of Saros cycle 131. January