January 2

Events

366 - Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading Roman Empire.

533 - Mercurius became Pope Pope John II|John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.

1492 - Reconquista: Granada, the last Moors|Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.

1757 - The United Kingdom captures Kolkata|Calcutta, India.

1788 - Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia becomes the 4th state to ratify the United States United States Constitution|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 (planet)|Vulcan was announced at a meeting of the Académie des Sciences in Paris.

1870 - Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.

1871 - Amadeus I of Spain|Amadeus I becomes King of Spain.

1872 - Brigham Young is arrested for polygamy|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 - Chicago Canal opens.

1905 - Russo-Japanese War: The Russian fleet surrenders at Lüshunkou|Port Arthur, China.

1917 - The Royal Bank of Canada takes over Quebec Bank.

1921 - The first religious radio broadcast (KDKA AM in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) .

1921 - DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park San Francisco opens.

1923 - United States|U.S. United States Secretary of the Interior|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|WWII: Strategic Bombing During World War II|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.

1946 - Unable to resume his rule over Albania after World War II, Zog of Albania|King Zog Abdication|abdicated but retained his claim to the King of Albania|throne.

1949 - Luis Muñoz Marín became the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.

1955 - Panamanian president Jose Antonio Remon is assassinated.

1957 - Pacific Exchange|San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange and Pacific Exchange|Los Angeles Oil Exchange merge.

1959 - The first artificial satellite to orbit the sun, Luna 1, was launched by the U.S.S.R.

1959 - CBS Radio cuts four soap operas: ''Backstage Wife'', ''Our Gal Sunday'', ''Road of Life'', and ''This is Nora Drake''.

1967 - Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the second successful heart transplant.

1971 - The second Ibrox disaster occurred.

1974 - Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum United States|US speed limit to 55 mile per hour|MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.

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 for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works|Berne Convention copyright treaty.

1993 - Leaders of the three warring factions in Bosnia meet to discuss peace plans.

1998 - Russia begins to circulate new Russian ruble|rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.

1999 - A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern USA, causing 14 inches (359mm) of snow at Milwaukee, Wisconsin and 19 inches (487mm) at Chicago, Illinois. In Chicago, temperatures plunge to -13°F (-25°C), and 68 deaths are reported.

2002 - Levy Mwanawasa takes office as the third President of Zambia.

2004 - Stardust (spacecraft)|Stardust successfully flies past Comet 81P/Wild|Wild 2, collecting samples that it will return to Earth two years later.

Births

1642 - Mehmed IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1693)

1713 - Marie Dumesnil, French actress (d. 1803)

1719 - Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat, French shipbuilder and merchant (d. 1797)

1727 - James Wolfe, British general (d. 1759)

1777 - Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor (d. 1857)

1822 - Rudolf Clausius, German physicist (d. 1888)

1836 - Mendele Moykher Sforim, Russian writer (d. 1917)

1837 - Mily Balakirev, Russian composer (d. 1910)

1870 - Ernst Barlach, German sculptor, graphic artist, and poet (d. 1938)

1877 - Slava Raskaj, Croatian painter (d.1906)

1886 - Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (d. 1938)

1896 - Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (d. 1954)

1904 - Sally Rand, American fan dancer (d. 1979)

1905 - Michael Tippett, English composer (d. 1998)

1913 - Anna Lee, English actress (d. 2004)

1917 - Vera Zorina, German dancer and actress (d. 2003)

1920 - Isaac Asimov, Russian-born author (d. 1992)

1930 - Julius LaRosa, American singer

1936 - Roger Miller, American singer (d. 1992)

1938 - Ian Brady, British serial killer

1938 - Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author

1939 - Jim Bakker, American televangelist

1942 - Hugh Shelton, American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

1944 - Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian politician

1947 - Jack Hanna, American zoologist

1949 - Christopher Durang, American playwright

1954 - Henry Bonilla, American politician

1954 - Dawn Silva, American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein and P-Funk)

1955 - Tex Brashear, American voice actor

1961 - Gabrielle Carteris, American actress

1961 - Todd Haynes, American film director

1963 - David Cone, baseball player

1964 - Pernell Whitaker, American boxer

1967 - Tia Carrere, American actress

1968 - Cuba Gooding Jr., American actor

1968 - Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion

1969 - Tommy Morrison, American boxer

1969 - Christy Turlington, American model

1971 - Lisa Harrison, American basketball player

1972 - Taye Diggs, American actor

1974 - Tricia Helfer, Canadian actress and model

1975 - Douglas Robb (musician)|Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)

1976 - Paz Vega, Spanish actress

1983 - Kate Bosworth, American actress

Deaths

1512 - Svante, Regent of Sweden (b. 1460)

1514 - William Smyth, English bishop and statesman

1557 - Pontormo, Italian painter (b. 1494)

1685 - Harbottle Grimston, English politician (b. 1603)

1694 - Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English polician (b. 1651)

1726 - Domenico Zipoli, Italian composer (b. 1688)

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)

1924 - Sabine Baring-Gould, English composer and novelist (b. 1834)

1939 - Roman Dmowski, Polish politician (b. 1864)

1960 - Fausto Coppi, Italian cyclist(b. 1919)

1963 - Dick Powell, American actor (b. 1904)

1974 - Tex Ritter, American actor and singer (b. 1905)

1977 - Errol Garner, American musician (b. 1921)

1986 - Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)

1986 - Bill Veeck, baseball executive (b. 1914)

1990 - Alan Hale Jr., American actor (b. 1918)

1992 - Jason Oledan, Awesome kid from F.C.

1995 - Siad Barre, President of Somalia

1996 - Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor (b. 1915)

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)

2004 - Lynn Cartwright, American actress (b. 1927)

2005 - Cyril Fletcher, British comedian (b. 1913)

2005 - Frank Kelly Freas, American artist (b. 1922)

2005 - Ronald 'Bo' Ginn, U.S. Congressman from Georgia (b. 1934)

2005 - Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist (b. 1911)

2005 - Edo Murtic|Edo Murtić, Croatian painter (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances

The eighth day and ninth night of Christmas in Western Christianity.

Catholicism and Anglicanism — Feast day of St. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen.

Scotland — Second day of the Hogmanay Bank Holiday.

New Zealand — Statutory holiday, Second day of New Year.

Slovenia — Second day of New Year.

External links

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/2

http://www.tnl.net/when/1/2 ---- January 1 - January 3 - December 2 - February 2 — Historical anniversaries|listing of all days