January 2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 363 days remaining until the end of the year (364 in leap years).
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Events [change]
- 366 – Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading Roman Empire.
- 533 – Mercurius became 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.
- 1777 - American Revolutionary War: American forces under command of George Washington hold back a British attack at the Battle of Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.
- 1788 – Georgia becomes the 4th state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1793 – Russia and Prussia partition Poland.
- 1815 – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke, Seaham, County Durham.
- 1818 – British Institution of Civil Engineers formed
- 1859 – Erastus Beadle publishes The Dime Book of Practical Etiquette.
- 1860 – The discovery of the planet Vulcan was announced at a meeting of the Académie des Sciences in Paris. It was later revealed, however, that this planet does not exist.
- 1870 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.
- 1871 – Amadeus I becomes King of Spain.
- 1872 – Brigham Young is arrested for bigamy (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 – Introduction by Webb C. Ball of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America: Railroad chronometers.
- 1900 – John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
- 1900 – The Chicago Canal opens.
- 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian fleet surrenders at Port Arthur, China.
- 1907 - France officially separates church and state.
- 1911 - Two people are killed in a gun battle in East London.
- 1917 – The Royal Bank of Canada takes over Quebec Bank.
- 1921 - The Spanish steamship Santa Isabel sinks off the coast of Galicia, killing 213 people. 56 people are rescued.
- 1921 – The first religious radio broadcast (KDKA AM in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) .
- 1921 – DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park San Francisco opens.
- 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 – WWII: German bombing severely damaged the Llandaff Cathedral, built in 1290 on the bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, Wales.
- 1941 – The U.S. government announces its Liberty ship program with a stated goal of building 200 freighters. Over 2,700 ships will eventually be constructed by the end of the war.
- 1942 – World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces.
- 1942 – The United States Navy opens a blimp base at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
- 1945 - World War II: Nuremberg is severely bombed by the Allies.
- 1946 – Unable to resume his rule over Albania after World War II, King Zog abdicated but retained 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.
- 1955 - The lost Inca city of Paititi is re-discovered by Hans Ertl.
- 1957 – San Francisco and Los Angeles stock exchanges merge.
- 1959 - The Soviet Union launches the Luna 1 spacecraft.
- 1959 – CBS Radio cuts four soap operas: Backstage Wife Our Gal Sunday, Road of Life, and This is Nora Drake.
- 1963 - Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory in the Battle of Ap Bac.
- 1968 – Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the second successful heart transplant.
- 1971 – 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster.
- 1974 – Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum US speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
- 1976 - The Gale of January 1976 begins, causing flooding on southern North Sea coasts that ends up killing at least 82 people.
- 1979 – Sid Vicious goes on trial for the murder of Nancy Spungen.
- 1981 – Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, is arrested.
- 1983 – The musical Annie is performed for the last time after 2,377 shows at the Uris Theatre on Broadway.
- 1991 – Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first African American woman to lead a city of that size and importance.
- 1992 – Paraguay becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 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 (359mm) of snow at Milwaukee, Wisconsin and 19 inches (487mm) at Chicago. In Chicago, temperatures plunge to -13 °F (-25 °C), and 68 deaths are reported.
- 2002 – Levy Mwanawasa took office as the third President of Zambia.
- 2002 - Eduardo Duhalde is installed as interim President of Argentina.
- 2003 - The spill from the oil tanker Prestige reaches France.
- 2004 – Stardust successfully flew past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that it will return to Earth two years later.
- 2006 - The roof of an ice rink in Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, collapses, killing 15 people.
- 2006 - 12 miners are killed in an explosion at a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia.
Births [change]
- 1462 - Piero di Cosimo, Italian painter (d. 1521)
- 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)
- 1727 – James Wolfe, British general in French and Indian War (d. 1759)
- 1777 – Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor (d. 1857)
- 1822 – Rudolf Clausius, German physicist, contributions to thermodynamics (d. 1888)
- 1833 - Frederick A. Johnson, American politician (d. 1893)
- 1834 - Karl Louis Friedrich Dobermann, German dog breeder (d. 1894)
- 1836 – Mendele Moykher Sforim, Russian writer (d. 1917)
- 1836 - Queen Emma of Hawaii (d. 1885)
- 1837 – Mily Balakirev, Russian composer (d. 1910)
- 1857 - Martha Carey Thomas, American educator and women's rights activist (d. 1935)
- 1859 – Anna Sacher, Austrian hotelier, Sacher cake (d. 1930)
- 1866 - Gilbert Murray, British philologist (d. 1957)
- 1870 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor, graphic artist, and poet (d. 1938)
- 1871 - Nik Welter, Luxembourg professor, writer and statesman (d. 1951)
- 1873 - Therese of Liseaux, French nun and saint (d. 1897)
- 1877 – Slava Raskaj, Croatian painter (d. 1906)
- 1884 - Oscar Michaux, American writer and movie director (d. 1951)
- 1886 - Apsley Cherry-Garrard, British polar explorer (d. 1959)
- 1886 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (d. 1938)
- 1889 - Bertram Stevens, Premier of New South Wales (d. 1973)
- 1889 - Tito Schipa, Italian tenor and composer (d. 1965)
- 1891 - Giovanni Michelucci, Italian architect (d. 1990)
- 1892 - Edoardo Agnelli, Italian industrialist (d. 1935)
- 1895 - Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (d. 1948)
- 1896 – Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (d. 1954)
- 1904 - Werner Heitler, German physicist (d. 1981)
- 1904 – Sally Rand, American fan dancer (d. 1979)
- 1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer (d. 1998)
- 1905 - Luigi Zampa, Italian movie director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
- 1909 - Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer (d. 2009)
- 1912 – Renato Guttuso, Italian painter (d. 1987)
- 1913 – Anna Lee, English actress (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Vera Zorina, dancer, actress (d. 2003)
- 1918 - Willi Graf, German activist (d. 1943)
- 1920 – Isaac Asimov, Russian-born American science fiction author (d. 1992)
- 1925 - Larry Harmon, American entertainer and television producer (d. 2008)
- 1928 - Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese writer
- 1930 – Julius LaRosa, singer
- 1931 - Toshiki Kaifu, former Prime Minister of Japan
- 1936 – Roger Miller, American country music singer (d. 1992)
- 1938 – Ian Brady, British serial killer
- 1938 – Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author
- 1939 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist
- 1939 – Konstanze Vernon, dancer
- 1942 - Dennis Hastert, American politician, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1942 – Hugh Shelton, American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- 1943 - Baris Manco, Turkish musician (d. 1999)
- 1944 – Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian politician
- 1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist
- 1947 - David Shapiro, American poet
- 1947 - Calvin Hill, American football player
- 1948 - Tony Judt, British historian (d. 2010)
- 1948 - Judith Miller, American journalist
- 1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright
- 1952 - Indulis Emsis, biologist and politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia
- 1952 - Christine Lavin, American singer-songwriter
- 1954 - Milovan Rajevac, Serbian footballer and coach
- 1954 – Henry Bonilla, American politician
- 1954 – Dawn Silva, singer (The Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk)
- 1955 – Tex Brashear, American voice actor
- 1959 – Kirti Azad, Indian cricketer
- 1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
- 1961 – Todd Haynes, American movie director
- 1963 – David Cone, American baseball pitcher
- 1964 – Pernell Whitaker, American boxer
- 1967 – Tia Carrere, American actress
- 1967 - Jon Gnarr, Icelandic actor, comedian and politician, Mayor of Reykjavik
- 1967 - Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
- 1968 – Cuba Gooding Jr., American actor
- 1969 – Christy Turlington, American fashion model
- 1969 – Tommy Morrison, American boxer
- 1971 - Renee Elise Goldsberry, American actress and singer
- 1972 – Taye Diggs, American actor
- 1974 – Tricia Helfer, Canadian actress and model
- 1975 – Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)
- 1976 – Paz Vega, Spanish actress
- 1979 - Jonathan Greening, English footballer
- 1980 - Paulo da Silva, Paraguayan footballer
- 1981 - Hanno Balitsch, German footballer
- 1981 - Maxi Rodriguez, Argentine footballer
- 1982 - Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
- 1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress
- 1988 - Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer
- 1991 - Davide Santon, Italian footballer
- 1991 - Steele Sidebottom, Australian rules footballer
Deaths [change]
- 1512 - Svante, Regent of Sweden (b. 1460)
- 1514 - William Smyth, English bishop and statesman (b. 1460)
- 1557 - Pontormo, Italian painter (b. 1494)
- 1665 - Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician (b. 1601)
- 1726 - Domenico Zipoli, Italian composer (b. 1688)
- 1861 - Frederick William IV of Prussia (b. 1795)
- 1904 - James Longstreet, American Confederate general (b. 1821)
- 1913 - Leon-Philippe Teisserenc, French meteorologist (b. 1855)
- 1915 - Carl Goldmark, Hungarian composer (b. 1830)
- 1922 - Pope Benedict XV (b. 1854)
- 1936 - Francis Newdegate, Governor of Tasmania (b. 1862)
- 1939 - Roman Tmowski, Polish politician (b. 1864)
- 1941 - Mischa Levitzki, Russian-born pianist (b. 1898)
- 1945 - Bertram Ramsay, British naval commander (b. 1883)
- 1948 - Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet (b. 1893)
- 1950 - James Dooley, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)
- 1950 - Theophrastos Sakellaridis, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1883)
- 1951 - William Campion, Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)
- 1955 - Jose Antonio Remon, President of Panama (b. 1908)
- 1960 - Fausto Coppi, Italian composer (b. 1919)
- 1963 - Jack Carson, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1968 - Cuno Hoffmeister, German astronomer and geophysicist (b. 1892)
- 1974 - Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1986 - Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)
- 1989 - Safdar Hashmi, Indian playwright, author and director (b. 1954)
- 1990 – Alan Hale Jr., American actor (b. 1921)
- 1994 - Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (b. 1915)
- 1994 - Dixy Lee Ray, American politician and Governor of Washington (b. 1917)
- 1995 – Siad Barre, President of Somalia (b. 1919)
- 1999 - Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 2000 - Nat Adderley, American jazz musician and composer (b. 1931)
- 2001 - William P. Rogers, United States Secretary of State (b. 1913)
- 2002 - Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (b. 1958)
- 2006 - Lidia Wysocka, Polish actress (b. 1916)
- 2007 - Teddy Kollek, Austrian-born Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
- 2008 - Galyani Vadhana, Thai princess, sister of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (b. 1923)
- 2008 - George MacDonald Fraser, British writer (b. 1925)
- 2009 - Ryuzo Hiraki, Japanese footballer (b. 1931)
- 2009 - Maria de Jesus, Portuguese supercentenarian (b. 1893)
- 2011 - Anne Francis, American actress (b. 1930)
- 2011 - Pete Postlethwaite, British actor (b. 1946)
- 2011 - Richard Winters, American paratrooper (b. 1918)
- 2012 - William P. Carey, American investment banker and philanthropist (b. 1930)
- 2013 - Teresa Toranska, Polish journalist and writer (b. 1944)
- 2013 - Ladislao Mazurkiewicz, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1945)
Observances [change]
- New Year's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland)
- Ancestry Day (Haiti)
- Berchtold's Day (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Alsace)
