January 2 in recent years
2009 (Friday)
2008 (Wednesday)
2007 (Tuesday)
2006 (Monday)
2005 (Sunday)
2004 (Friday)
2003 (Thursday)
2002 (Wednesday)
2001 (Tuesday)
2000 (Sunday)
January 2 is the 2nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar . There are 363 days remaining until the end of the year (364 in leap years ).
Events [ ]
366 - 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 : 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 .
1818 - The British Institution of Civil Engineers is formed.
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 for bigamy due to having 25 wives.
1879 - Fred Spofforth claims the first hat-trick in test cricket on the Sydney Cricket Ground against England .
1882 - John D. Rockefeller unites his oil holdings into the Standard Oil trust .
1890 - Alice Sanger becomes the first female staffer for the White House .
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 fleet 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 Quebec Bank .
1920 - The Palmer Raids begin in the United States.
1921 - The first religious radio broadcast (KDKA AM in Pittsburgh ) .
1923 - U.S. Interior Secretary Albert Fall resigns due to 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 - World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces.
1942 - The United States Navy opens a blimp base at Lakehurst .
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 became 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 - The first artificial satellite to orbit the moon, Luna 1 , is launched by the U.S.S.R.
1969 - Luis Ferré becomes the first statehooder Governor of Puerto Rico .
1969 - Operation Barrier Reef began in Mekong Delta , Vietnam
1971 - The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers -Celtic football game.
1974 - Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum US speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
1991 - Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington , becoming the first African American woman to lead a city of that size and importance.
1993 - Leaders of the three warring factions in Bosnia meet to discuss peace plans.
1998 - Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
1999 - A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States , causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow at Milwaukee , and 19 inches (487 mm) at 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 )
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 - Mendele Moykher Sforim , Jewish writer (d. 1917 )
1837 - Mily Balakirev , Russian composer (d. 1910 )
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 )
1892 - Seiichiro Kashio , Japanese tennis player (d. 1962 )
1896 - Dziga Vertov , Russian filmmaker (d. 1954 )
1897 - Jim Londos , wrestler (d. 1975 )
1902 - Dan Keating , Irish republican (d. 2007 )
1904 - Sally Rand , American fan dancer (d. 1979 )
1905 - Michael Tippett , English composer (d. 1998 )
1905 - Lev Schnirelmann , Russian mathematician (d. 1938 )
1910 - Srirangam Srinivasarao , also known as Sri Sri, Famous Modern Telugu Poet (d. 1983 )
1913 - Anna Lee , English actress (d. 2004 )
1917 - Vera Zorina , German dancer (d. 2003 )
1918 - Willi Graf , member of the White Rose (Weiße Rose) resistance group in Nazi Germany (d. 1943 )
1920 - Isaac Asimov , Russian-born author (d. 1992 )
1921 - Glen Harmon , Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007 )
1925 - William J. Crowe , American admiral and ambassador (d. 2007 )
1928 - Avie Bennett , Canadian philanthropist
1928 - Robert Goralski , American journalist (d. 1988 )
1928 - Daisaku Ikeda , Japanese writer, president of SGI
1930 - Julius LaRosa , American singer
1933 - Morimura Seiichi , Japanese novelist
1935 - Neil Downing , Irish writer and musician
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
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-born painter
1954 - Henry Bonilla , American politician
1954 - Dawn Silva , American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein , P-Funk )
1955 - Tex Brashear , American voice actor
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 Martinez , American baseball player
1964 - Pernell Whitaker , American boxer
1965 - Greg Swindell , American baseball player
1967 - Tia Carrere , American actress
1967 - Jón Gnarr , Icelandic comedian
1968 - Cuba Gooding Jr. , American actor
1968 - Anky van Grunsven , Dutch dressage champion
1968 - Evan Parke , Jamaican actor
1968 - Goichi Suda , CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture
1969 - Tommy Morrison , American boxer
1969 - Christy Turlington , American model
1969 - Karl-Heinz Grasser , Austrian politician
1969 - Róbert Švehla , Slovak ice hockey player
1969 - Patrick Huard , Quebec actor and comedian
1970 - Royce Clayton , American baseball player
1970 - Robert Fertitta , American opera singer
1970 - Sanda Ladoşi , Romanian singer
1971 - Taye Diggs , American actor
1971 - Lisa Harrison , American basketball player
1971 - Renee Elise Goldsberry , American actress and singer
1972 - Hristos Meletoglou , Greek triple jumper
1973 - Lucy Davis , British actress
1973 - Will Kirby , American actor
1975 - Reuben Thorne , New Zealand rugby union player
1975 - Doug Robb , American singer (Hoobastank )
1975 - Chris Cheney , Australian musician (The Living End )
1976 - Cletidus Hunt , American football player
1976 - Danilo Di Luca , Italian cyclist
1976 - Paz Vega , Spanish actress
1976 - Hrysopiyi Devetzi , triple jump & long jump athlete
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
1980 - Mac Danzig , American Mixed martial arts combatant
1980 - Bill Alldredge , American politician
1981 - Hanno Balitsch , German footballer
1981 - Kirk Hinrich , basketball player
1981 - Maxi Rodríguez , Argentine footballer
1981 - Ryan Garko , American baseball player
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
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 )
1833 - Seraphim of Sarov , Russian Orthodox saint (b. 1759 )
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 )
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 )
1939 - Roman Dmowski , Polish politician (b. 1864 )
1946 - Joe Darling , Australian cricketer (b. 1870 )
1950 - Emil Jannings , Swiss actor and the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor (b. 1884 )
1959 - Chris van Abkoude , Dutch-American writer and novelist (b. 1880 )
1960 - Fausto Coppi , Italian cyclist (b. 1919 )
1960 - Paul Sauvé , Canadian politician (b. 1907 )
1963 - Dick Powell , American actor (b. 1904 )
1963 - Jack Carson , American actor (b. 1910 )
1974 - Tex Ritter , American actor (b. 1905 )
1977 - Errol Garner , American musician (b. 1921 )
1986 - Una Merkel , American actress (b. 1903 )
1986 - Bill Veeck , 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 )
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 )
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. , U.S. admiral (b. 1920 )
2001 - Teri Diver , American actress (b. 1971 )
2002 - Armi Aavikko , Finnish singer (b. 1958 )
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 )
2007 - Teddy Kollek , Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911 )
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 - David Perkins , Stanford University geneticist (b. 1919 )
2007 - Paek Nam-sun , North Korean Foreign Affairs minister (b. 1929 )
2007 - Richard Newton , Australian-born technology pioneer and professor (b. 1951 )
2007 - Don Massengale , American PGA Tour golf player (b. 1937 )
2007 - Mauno Jokipii , Finnish professor and World War II researcher (b. 1924 )
2007 - Sergio Jiménez , Mexican actor (b. 1937 )
2007 - Elizabeth Fox-Genovese , American historian (b. 1941 )
2007 - Garry Betty , American CEO of Earthlink (b. 1957 )
Holidays and observances [ ]
Religious observances [ ]
References [ ]
^ a b c d e Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints . 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4 .
External links [ ]
135 Familypedia people were born on January 2
161 Familypedia people died on January 2
112 Familypedia people were first married on January 2