January 2
January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 363 days remain until the end of the year (364 in leap years).
Events
- 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire.
- 533 - Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.
- 1492 - Reconquista: the emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.
- 1757 - The United Kingdom captures Calcutta, India.
- 1788 - Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1791 - Big Bottom massacre in the Ohio Country, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War.
- 1793 - Russia and Prussia partition Poland.
- 1808 - The U.S. Congress bans the importation of slaves.
- 1818 - The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded.
- 1833 - Re-establishment of British rule on the Falklands.
- 1860 - The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the Académie des Sciences in Paris.
- 1871 - Amadeus I becomes King of Spain.
- 1872 - Brigham Young is arrested on charges of bigamy for having 25 wives.
- 1882 - John D. Rockefeller unites his oil holdings into the Standard Oil trust.
- 1893 - Webb C. Ball of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America introduces railroad chronometers.
- 1900 - John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
- 1905 - Russo-Japanese War: The Russian garrison surrenders at Port Arthur, China.
- 1905 - The American anarcho-syndicalist union known as the Industrial Workers of the World forms.
- 1917 - The Royal Bank of Canada takes over the Quebec Bank.
- 1920 - The Palmer Raids begin in the United States.
- 1923 - United States Interior Secretary Albert Fall resigns over the Teapot Dome scandal.
- 1929 - Canada and the United States agree on a plan to preserve Niagara Falls.
- 1935 - Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh.
- 1941 - World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.
- 1941 - World War II: The U.S. government announces its Liberty ship program to build freighters in support of the war effort.
- 1942 - The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) convicts 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history -- the Duquesne Spy Ring.
- 1942 - World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces.
- 1942 - The United States Navy opens a blimp base at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
- 1946 - Unable to resume rule after World War II, King Zog of Albania abdicates but retains his claim to the throne.
- 1949 - Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
- 1955 - Panamanian president Jose Antonio Remon is assassinated.
- 1957 - The San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange and Los Angeles Oil Exchange merge.
- 1959 - Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the U.S.S.R.
- 1969 - Luis Ferré becomes the first statehooder Governor of Puerto Rico.
- 1969 - Operation Barrier Reef begins in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.
- 1971 - The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic football match.
- 1974 - President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
- 1993 - Leaders of the three warring factions in Bosnia meet to discuss peace plans.
- 1999 - A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) in Chicago, where temperatures plunge to -13°F (-25°C); 68 deaths are reported.
- 2001 - Sila Calderón becomes the first female Governor of Puerto Rico.
- 2002 - Eduardo Duhalde is appointed interim President of Argentina by the Legislative Assembly.
- 2004 - Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that it will return to Earth two years later.
Births
- 1642 - Mehmed IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1693)
- 1647 - Nathaniel Bacon, English-born American colonist (d. 1676)
- 1699 - Osman III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1757)
- 1713 - Marie Dumesnil, French actress (d. 1803)
- 1719 - Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat, French shipbuilder (d. 1797)
- 1727 - James Wolfe, British general (d. 1759)
- 1777 - Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor (d. 1857)
- 1822 - Rudolf Clausius, German physicist (d. 1888)
- 1827 - Peter Semenov of Tian Shan, Russian explorer (d. 1914)
- 1833 - Frederick A. Johnson, American politician (d. 1893)
- 1836 - Queen Emma of Hawaii, Consort of King Kamehameha IV (d. 1885)
- 1836 - Mendele Moykher Sforim, Jewish writer (d. 1917)
- 1837 - Mily Balakirev, Russian composer (d. 1910)
- 1866 - Prof Gilbert Murray, Australian classical scholar (d. 1957)
- 1870 - Ernst Barlach, German sculptor (d. 1938)
- 1873 - Thérèse de Lisieux, French Roman-Catholic nun (d. 1897)
- 1877 - Slava Raskaj, Croatian painter (d.1906)
- 1886 - Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (d. 1938)
- 1886 - Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English Antarctic explorer (d. 1959)
- 1888 - Tito Schipa, Italian tenor (d. 1965)
- 1889 - Sir Bertram Stevens, Premier of New South Wales 1932-39 (d. 1973)
- 1892 - Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (d. 1962)
- 1893 - Lillian Leitzel, German acrobat and strongwoman (d. 1931)
- 1895 - Count Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (d. 1948)
- 1896 - Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (d. 1954)
- 1896 - Sir Lawrence Wackett, Australian aircraft engineer (d. 1982)
- 1897 - Jim Londos, Greek wrestler (d. 1975)
- 1902 - Dan Keating, Irish republican (d. 2007)
- 1902 - Barry Goldwater, American politician (d. 1998)
- 1904 - Sally Rand, American fan dancer (d. 1979)
- 1905 - Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician (d. 1938)
- 1905 - Luigi Zampa, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
- 1905 - Michael Tippett, English composer (d. 1998)
- 1910 - Srirangam Srinivasarao, Telugu Poet (d. 1983)
- 1913 - Anna Lee, English actress (d. 2004)
- 1917 - Vera Zorina, German dancer (d. 2003)
- 1918 - Willi Graf, German anti-Nazi activist (d. 1943)
- 1920 - Isaac Asimov, Russian author (d. 1992)
- 1921 - Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1925 - William J. Crowe, American admiral and ambassador (d. 2007)
- 1925 - Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (d. 2008)
- 1928 - Robert Goralski, American journalist (d. 1988)
- 1928 - Avie Bennett, Canadian philanthropist
- 1928 - Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese writer
- 1930 - Julius LaRosa, American singer
- 1931 - Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese politician
- 1933 - Ed Casey, Australian politician (d. 2006)
- 1933 - Morimura Seiichi, Japanese novelist
- 1936 - Roger Miller, American singer (d. 1992)
- 1938 - Ian Brady, British serial killer
- 1938 - Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author
- 1939 - Jim Bakker, American televangelist
- 1940 - S. R. S. Varadhan, Indian-American mathematician
- 1942 - Dennis Hastert, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1942 - Hugh Shelton, 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- 1943 - Barış Manço, Turkish singer and television producer (d. 1999)
- 1944 - Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian politician
- 1946 - Richard Cole, American tour manager
- 1947 - Jack Hanna, American zoologist
- 1947 - Calvin Hill, American football player
- 1949 - Christopher Durang, American playwright
- 1950 - David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist
- 1951 - Alexander Pogrebinsky, Russian painter
- 1952 - Graeme Strachan, Australian rock singer (Skyhooks) (d. 2001)
- 1954 - Henry Bonilla, American politician
- 1954 - Dawn Silva, American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk)
- 1955 - Tex Brashear, American voice actor
- 1956 - Lynda Barry, American cartoonist
- 1957 - Joanna Pacula, Polish actress
- 1958 - Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian pianist
- 1960 - Naoki Urasawa, Japanese manga author
- 1961 - Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
- 1961 - Todd Haynes, American film director
- 1963 - David Cone, American baseball player
- 1963 - Edgar Martínez, American baseball player
- 1964 - Pernell Whitaker, American boxer
- 1965 - Greg Swindell, American baseball player
- 1967 - Tia Carrere, American actress
- 1967 - Jón Gnarr, Icelandic comedian
- 1967 - Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
- 1968 - Cuba Gooding Jr., American actor
- 1968 - Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion
- 1968 - Evan Parke, Jamaican actor
- 1968 - Goichi Suda, Japanese video game developer
- 1969 - Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austrian politician
- 1969 - Patrick Huard, Quebec actor and comedian
- 1969 - Glen Johnson, Jamaican boxer
- 1969 - Tommy Morrison, American boxer
- 1969 - Róbert Švehla, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1969 - Christy Turlington, American model
- 1969 - Robby Gordon, American racing driver
- 1970 - Royce Clayton, American baseball player
- 1970 - Robert Fertitta, American opera singer
- 1970 - Sanda Ladoşi, Romanian singer
- 1971 - Taye Diggs, American actor
- 1971 - Renee Elise Goldsberry, American actress and singer
- 1971 - Lisa Harrison, American basketball player
- 1972 - Adam Elliot, Australian animator
- 1972 - Christopher Lennertz, American composer
- 1972 - Hristos Meletoglou, Greek triple jumper
- 1973 - Lucy Davis, British actress
- 1973 - Will Kirby, American actor
- 1975 - Chris Cheney, Australian musician (The Living End)
- 1975 - Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)
- 1975 - Dax Shepard, American actor
- 1975 - Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1976 - Hrysopiyi Devetzi, Greek triple jumper
- 1976 - Danilo Di Luca, Italian cyclist
- 1976 - Cletidus Hunt, American football player
- 1976 - Mahée Paiement, Canadian actress
- 1976 - Paz Vega, Spanish actress
- 1977 - Ales Pisa, Czech ice hockey player
- 1977 - Scott Proctor, American baseball player
- 1978 - Toyoguchi Megumi, Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)
- 1979 - Suranne Jones, British actress
- 1979 - Jonathan Greening, British footballer
- 1980 - Mac Danzig, American Mixed martial arts combatant
- 1981 - Hanno Balitsch, German footballer
- 1981 - Ryan Garko, American baseball player
- 1981 - Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player
- 1981 - Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
- 1982 - Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
- 1983 - Kate Bosworth, American actress
- 1984 - Colleen Taylor, American journalist
- 1985 - Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player
- 1987 - Loui Batley, British actress
- 1987 - Syesha Mercado, American singer
- 1988 - Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer
Deaths
- 1512 - Svante, Regent of Sweden (b. 1460)
- 1514 - William Smyth, English bishop and statesman (bc. 1460)
- 1557 - Pontormo, Italian painter (b. 1494)
- 1685 - Harbottle Grimston, English politician (b. 1603)
- 1694 - Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician (b. 1651)
- 1726 - Domenico Zipoli, Italian composer (b. 1688)
- 1861 - King Frederick William IV of Prussia (b. 1795)
- 1892 - George Airy, British Astronomer Royal (b. 1801)
- 1893 - John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist (b. 1805)
- 1904 - James Longstreet, American Confederate general (b. 1821)
- 1913 - Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (b. 1855)
- 1915 - Carl Goldmark, Hungarian composer (b. 1830)
- 1917 - Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (b. 1832)
- 1920 - Paul Adam, French novelist (b. 1862)
- 1924 - Sabine Baring-Gould, English composer and novelist (b. 1834)
- 1936 - Sir Francis Newdegate, Governor of Tasmania, Western Australia (b. 1862)
- 1939 - Roman Dmowski, Polish politician (b. 1864)
- 1941 - Mischa Levitzki, Russian-American pianist (b. 1898)
- 1945 - Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, British naval commander (b. 1883)
- 1946 - Joe Darling, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
- 1950 - James Dooley, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)
- 1950 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor and the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor (b. 1884)
- 1951 - Sir William Campion, Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)
- 1959 - Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-American writer and novelist (b. 1880)
- 1960 - Paul Sauvé, Canadian politician (b. 1907)
- 1960 - Fausto Coppi, Italian cyclist (b. 1919)
- 1963 - Dick Powell, American actor (b. 1904)
- 1963 - Jack Carson, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1971 - Willard Maas, American educator and experimental filmmaker (b. 1906)
- 1974 - Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1977 - Errol Garner, American musician (b. 1921)
- 1983 - Dick Emery, English comedian (b. 1915)
- 1986 - Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)
- 1986 - Bill Veeck, American baseball executive (b. 1914)
- 1986 - Dick James, English music publisher (Northern Songs) (b. 1920)
- 1990 - Alan Hale Jr., American actor (b. 1918)
- 1994 - Dixy Lee Ray, American politician (b. 1914)
- 1994 - Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (b. 1915)
- 1995 - Siad Barre, President of Somalia (b. 1919)
- 1995 - Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1996 - Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist (b. 1915)
- 1997 - Andrea Bahena, the best person alive
- 1997 - Randy California, American guitarist & songwriter (Spirit) (b. 1951)
- 1998 - Frank Muir, English writer, raconteur (b. 1920)
- 1999 - Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 2000 - Patrick O'Brian, British novelist (b. 1914)
- 2000 - Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., U.S. admiral (b. 1920)
- 2000 - Nat Adderley, American musician and composer (b. 1931)
- 2001 - William P. Rogers, American politician (b. 1913)
- 2001 - Teri Diver, American actress (b. 1971)
- 2002 - Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (b. 1958)
- 2003 - Eric Jupp, British-Australian pianist, composer, arranger (b. 1922)
- 2004 - Jess Collins, American artist (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Lynn Cartwright, American actress (b. 1927)
- 2005 - Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist (b. 1911)
- 2005 - Cyril Fletcher, British comedian (b. 1913)
- 2005 - Edo Murtić, Croatian painter (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Frank Kelly Freas, American artist (b. 1922)
- 2005 - Ronald 'Bo' Ginn, American politician (b. 1934)
- 2006 - Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, first female Philippine Supreme Court Justice (b. 1913)
- 2007 - Teddy Kollek, Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
- 2007 - David Perkins, Stanford University geneticist (b. 1919)
- 2007 - Mauno Jokipii, Finnish professor and World War II researcher (b. 1924)
- 2007 - Paek Nam-sun, North Korean Foreign Affairs minister (b. 1929)
- 2007 - Sergio Jiménez, Mexican actor (b. 1937)
- 2007 - Don Massengale, American PGA Tour golf player (b. 1937)
- 2007 - Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian (b. 1941)
- 2007 - Robert C. Solomon, American scholar of continental philosophy (b. 1942)
- 2007 - Dan Shaver, NASCAR driver and ARCA race car driver/owner (b. 1950)
- 2007 - Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor (b. 1951)
- 2007 - Garry Betty, American CEO of Earthlink (b. 1957)
- 2008 - Gerry Staley, American baseball player (b. 1920)
- 2008 - Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krommaluang Narathiwat Rajanagarindra, elder sister of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand (b. 1923)
- 2008 - George MacDonald Fraser, British author (b. 1925)
- 2008 - Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician (b. 1926)
Holidays and observances
- Second day of the Hogmanay Bank Holiday, Scotland
- Second day of New Year, Slovenia - Public holidays in Slovenia
- Second day of New Year, Serbia - Public holidays in Serbia
- Day after New Year's Day, New Zealand - Public holidays in New Zealand
- The eighth day of Christmas (and ninth night of same) in Western Christianity.
- Basil the Great
- Caspar del Bufalo
- Gregory of Nazianzus
- Macarius the Younger
- Seraphim of Sarov
- Saint Defendens of Thebes
- January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)