January 2

January 2 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Monday)

2022 (Sunday)

2021 (Saturday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Wednesday)

2018 (Tuesday)

2017 (Monday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Friday)

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
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 1920 – The second Palmer Raid takes place with another 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists arrested and held without trial. These raids take place in several U.S. cities.
• 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
• 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
• 1945 – World War II: Nuremberg (in German, Nürnberg) is severely bombed by Allied forces
• 1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico
• 1955 – Panamanian president Jose Antonio Remon is assassinated
• 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.
• 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
• 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 are returned to Earth.
• 2006 – An explosion in a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia traps and kills 12 miners, while leaving one miner in critical condition.

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)
• 1884 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-born Israeli educator, historian and politician (d. 1973)
• 1885 – Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
• 1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English Antarctic explorer (d. 1959)
• 1886 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (d. 1938)
• 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)
• 1905 – Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician (d. 1938)
• 1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer (d. 1998)
• 1905 – Luigi Zampa, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
• 1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer (d. 2009)
• 1910 – Srirangam Srinivasarao, Telugu Poet (d. 1983)
• 1913 – Anna Lee, English actress (d. 2004)
• 1914 – Violet Vivian Finlay Stuart Mann, British writer (d. 1986)
• 1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish-born American Yiddish theatre actress and producer (d. 2002)
• 1917 – Vera Zorina, German dancer (d. 2003)
• 1918 – Willi Graf, German anti-Nazi activist (d. 1943)
• 1920 – Isaac Asimov, American author and biochemistry professor (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)
• 1927 – Grigoris Varfis, Greek politician
• 1928 – Avie Bennett, Canadian philanthropist
• 1928 – Robert Goralski, American journalist (d. 1988)
• 1928 – Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese writer
• 1930 – Julius LaRosa, American singer
• 1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese politician
• 1932 – Peter Redgrove, British poet (d. 2003)
• 1933 – Ed Casey, Australian politician (d. 2006)
• 1933 – Seiichi Morimura, Japanese novelist
• 1936 – Roger Miller, American singer (d. 1992)
• 1938 – Ian Brady, British serial killer
• 1938 – Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author
• 1940 – 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
• 1947 – David Shapiro, American poet, literary critic, and art historian
• 1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright
• 1950 – Débora Duarte, Brazilian actress
• 1950 – David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist
• 1951 – Alexander Pogrebinsky, Russian painter
• 1952 – Jimmy Santiago Baca, American poet and writer
• 1952 – Graeme Strachan, Australian rock singer (Skyhooks) (d. 2001)
• 1953 – Vincent Racaniello American Virologist
• 1954 – Henry Bonilla, American politician
• 1954 – Dawn Silva, American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk)
• 1955 – Tex Brashear, American voice actor
• 1955 – Vivien Savage, French singer
• 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 – Robby Gordon, American racing driver
• 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
• 1970 – Royce Clayton, American baseball player
• 1970 – Robert Fertitta, American opera singer
• 1970 – Sanda Ladoşi, Romanian singer
• 1970 – Eric Whitacre, American composer
• 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 – Megumi Toyoguchi, Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)
• 1979 – Jonathan Greening, British footballer
• 1980 – Annie Bellemare, Canadian Figure Skater
• 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
• 1983 – Andrew Ebbett, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Luis Beza, American musician
• 1985 – Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player
• 1987 – Shelley Hennig, American actress
• 1988 – Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer
• 1991 – Davide Santon, Italian footballer
• 2001 – Christopher Barrios Jr., American murder victim (d. 2007)

Deaths

• 1512 – Svante, Regent of Sweden (b. 1460)
• 1514 – William Smyth, English bishop and statesman (b. c1460)
• 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 (b. 1862)
• 1939 – Roman Dmowski, Polish politician (b. 1864)
• 1941 – Mischa Levitzki, Russian-born pianist (b. 1898)
• 1945 – Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, British naval commander (b. 1883)
• 1946 – Joe Darling, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
• 1948 – Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet (b. 1893)
• 1950 – James Dooley, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)
• 1951 – Sir William Campion, Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)
• 1959 – Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-born writer and novelist (b. 1880)
• 1960 – Fausto Coppi, Italian cyclist (b. 1919)
• 1960 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian politician (b. 1907)
• 1963 – Jack Carson, American actor (b. 1910)
• 1963 – Dick Powell, American actor (b. 1904)
• 1971 – E. V. Knox, English poet and satirist (b. 1881)
• 1971 – Willard Maas, American poet and 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 – Dick James, English music publisher (Northern Songs) (b. 1920)
• 1986 – Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)
• 1986 – Bill Veeck, American baseball executive (b. 1914)
• 1990 – Alan Hale Jr., American actor (b. 1921)
• 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 – 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 – Nat Adderley, American musician and composer (b. 1931)
• 2000 – Patrick O'Brian, British novelist (b. 1914)
• 2000 – Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., American admiral (b. 1920)
• 2001 – Teri Diver, American actress (b. 1971)
• 2001 – William P. Rogers, American politician (b. 1913)
• 2002 – Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (b. 1958)
• 2003 – Eric Jupp, British-born pianist, composer, arranger (b. 1922)
• 2004 – Lynn Cartwright, American actress (b. 1927)
• 2004 – Jess Collins, American artist (b. 1923)
• 2005 – Cyril Fletcher, British comedian (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Frank Kelly Freas, American artist (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Ronald 'Bo' Ginn, American politician (b. 1934)
• 2005 – Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Edo Murtić, Croatian painter (b. 1921)
• 2006 – Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, first female Philippine Supreme Court Justice (b. 1913)
• 2007 – Garry Betty, American CEO of Earthlink (b. 1957)
• 2007 – Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian (b. 1941)
• 2007 – Mauno Jokipii, Finnish professor and researcher (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Teddy Kollek, Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
• 2007 – Don Massengale, American PGA Tour golf player (b. 1937)
• 2007 – Paek Nam-sun, North Korean Foreign Affairs minister (b. 1929)
• 2007 – Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor (b. 1951)
• 2007 – David Perkins, American geneticist (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Dan Shaver, American racecar driver (b. 1950)
• 2007 – Robert C. Solomon, American scholar of continental philosophy (b. 1942)
• 2008 – Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician (b. 1926)
• 2008 – George MacDonald Fraser, British author (b. 1925)
• 2008 – Gerry Staley, American baseball player (b. 1920)
• 2008 – Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Thailand (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Inger Christensen, Danish poet (b. 1935)
• 2009 – Maria de Jesus, Portuguese supercentenarian (b. 1893)

Holidays and observances

• Berchtold’s Day (Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Alsace)
• Christian Feast Day
  • Basil the Great (Roman Catholic and Anglican Church)
  • Defendens of Thebes
  • Gregory of Nazianzus (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Macarius of Alexandria
  • Seraphim of Sarov (repose)
  • January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• The first day of Blacks and Whites' Carnival, celebrated until January 7. (southern Colombia)
• The first day of Riosucio´s Carnival, celebrated until January 8 every 2 years. (Riosucio)
• The ninth day of Christmas (and ninth night of same). (Western Christianity)
• The second day of New Year (A holiday in Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Montenegro, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine):
  • Bank Holiday, if it is a Sunday, the day moves to January 3 (Scotland)
  • Tweede Nuwe Jaar (Capetown)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

---