What happened on January 2? There are more than 305 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

Interesting Facts & Myths About January 2

January 2 In HistoryJanuary 2 is the 2nd day of the year 2024. There are 364 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday. This day falls under the 1st week of the year 2024.

On this day in Jacksonville, Florida 32212 sunrise occured at 07:22 AM and sunset occured at 05:39 PM (local time).

The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Capricorn. The modern birthstone for this month is Garnet while the mystical birthstone is Emerald.

According to the Chinese calendar, there are 39 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).

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Historical Events For January 2

  • 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 Falkland Islands.
  • 1860
    The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France
  • 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
  • 1911
    A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill
  • 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.
  • 1927
    Angered by the anti-clerical provisions of the Mexican Constitution of 1917, Catholic rebels in Mexico rebelled against the government.
  • 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, United Kingdom
  • 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, Philippines is captured by Japanese forces
  • 1945
    World War II: Nuremberg, Germany (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 José Antonio Remón Cantera is assassinated
  • 1959
    Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union
  • 1971
    The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football (soccer) 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
  • 1992
    Leaders of armed opposition declare the President Zviad Gamsakhurdia deposed during a military coup in Georgia.
  • 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, Illinois, where temperatures plunge to -13 °F (-25 °C); 68 deaths are reported
  • 2001
    Sila María 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.

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Who Were Born On January 2?

  • 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
    Mendele Moykher Sforim, Jewish writer (d. 1917)
  • 1836
    Queen Emma of Hawaii, Consort of King Kamehameha IV (d. 1885)
  • 1837
    Mily Balakirev, Russian composer (d. 1910)
  • 1857
    Martha Carey Thomas, American educator, suffragist, and second President of Bryn Mawr College (d. 1935)
  • 1860
    Dugald Campbell Patterson, American pioneer (d. 1931)
  • 1860
    William Corless Mills, American museum curator (d. 1928)
  • 1866
    Prof. Gilbert Murray, Australian classical scholar (d. 1957)
  • 1870
    Ernst Barlach, German sculptor (d. 1938)
  • 1873
    Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer and Marxist theorist (d. 1960)
  • 1873
    Thérèse of Lisieux, French Roman Catholic nun (d. 1897)
  • 1877
    Slava Raškaj, 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)
  • 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)
  • 1901
    Bob Marshall, American conservationist (d. 1939)
  • 1902
    Dan Keating, Irish republican (d. 2007)
  • 1904
    Truus Klapwijk, Dutch diver and freestyle swimmer(d. 1991)
  • 1905
    Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician (d. 1938)
  • 1905
    Luigi Zampa, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
  • 1905
    Michael Tippett, English composer (d. 1998)
  • 1909
    Barry M. Goldwater, American politician (d. 1998)
  • 1909
    Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer (d. 2009)
  • 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)
  • 1924
    Evgenios Spatharis, Greek shadow theatre artist (d. 2009)
  • 1925
    Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (d. 2008)
  • 1925
    William J. Crowe, American admiral and ambassador (d. 2007)
  • 1927
    Grigoris Varfis, Greek politician
  • 1928
    Avie Bennett, Canadian philanthropist
  • 1928
    Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese writer
  • 1928
    Robert Goralski, American journalist (d. 1988)
  • 1930
    Julius La Rosa, American singer
  • 1931
    Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese politician
  • 1932
    Peter Redgrove, British poet (d. 2003)
  • 1933
    Ed Casey, Australian politician (d. 2006)
  • 1933
    Richard Riley, American politician
  • 1933
    Seiichi Morimura, Japanese novelist
  • 1936
    Roger Miller, American singer (d. 1992)
  • 1938
    Goh Kun, South Korean politician
  • 1938
    Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author
  • 1938
    Ian Brady, British serial killer
  • 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
  • 1942
    Ray Moore, Radio 2 DJ (d. 1989)
  • 1943
    Barış Manço, Turkish singer and television producer (d. 1999)
  • 1944
    Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor
  • 1944
    Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian politician
  • 1946
    Richard Cole, English tour manager
  • 1947
    Calvin Hill, American football player
  • 1947
    David Shapiro, American poet, literary critic, and art historian
  • 1947
    Jack Hanna, American zoologist
  • 1947
    Valery Shary, Byelorussian Olympic champion weightlifter
  • 1948
    Judith Miller, American journalist
  • 1949
    Christopher Durang, American playwright
  • 1949
    Leijn Loevesijn, Dutch cyclist
  • 1950
    Débora Duarte, Brazilian actress
  • 1950
    David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist
  • 1950
    Leo van der Goot, Dutch Radio DJ and singer
  • 1951
    Alexander Pogrebinsky, Russian painter
  • 1951
    Jim Essian, American baseball player
  • 1952
    Christine Lavin, American singer-songwriter
  • 1952
    Graeme Strachan, Australian rock singer (Skyhooks) (d. 2001)
  • 1952
    Jimmy Santiago Baca, American poet and writer
  • 1952
    Robbie Ftorek, American ice hockey player
  • 1953
    Jacques Tichelaar, a Dutch politician and trade union leader
  • 1953
    Manfred Wittke, German footballer
  • 1953
    Vincent Racaniello American virologist
  • 1954
    Dawn Silva, American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk)
  • 1954
    Henry Bonilla, American politician
  • 1955
    Tex Brashear, American voice actor
  • 1955
    Vivien Savage, French singer
  • 1956
    Lynda Barry, American cartoonist
  • 1958
    Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian pianist
  • 1959
    Kim Coates, Canadian actor
  • 1960
    Naoki Urasawa, Japanese manga author
  • 1961
    Craig James, American football player
  • 1961
    Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
  • 1961
    IJsbrand Chardon, Dutch equestrian
  • 1961
    Robert Wexler, American politician
  • 1961
    Todd Haynes, American film director
  • 1963
    David Cone, American baseball player
  • 1963
    Edgar Martínez, American baseball player
  • 1964
    Luis d'Antin, Spanish motorcycle racer
  • 1964
    Pernell Whitaker, American boxer
  • 1965
    Greg Swindell, American baseball player
  • 1966
    Kate Hodge, American actress
  • 1967
    Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
  • 1967
    Jón Gnarr, Icelandic actor and mayor of Reykjavik
  • 1967
    Tia Carrere, American actress
  • 1968
    Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion
  • 1968
    Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor
  • 1968
    Evan Parke, Jamaican actor
  • 1968
    Goichi Suda, Japanese video game developer
  • 1969
    Christy Turlington, American model
  • 1969
    Glen Johnson, Jamaican boxer
  • 1969
    Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austrian politician
  • 1969
    Patrick Huard, Quebec actor and comedian
  • 1969
    Róbert Švehla, Slovak ice hockey player
  • 1969
    Robby Gordon, American racing driver
  • 1969
    Tommy Morrison, American boxer
  • 1970
    Eric Whitacre, American composer
  • 1970
    Royce Clayton, American baseball player
  • 1970
    Sanda Ladoşi, Romanian singer
  • 1971
    Lisa Harrison, American basketball player
  • 1971
    Markus Hoffmann, German actor (d. 1997)
  • 1971
    Renee Elise Goldsberry, American actress and singer
  • 1971
    Taye Diggs, American actor
  • 1971
    Yutaka Takenouchi, Japanese actor
  • 1972
    Adam Elliot, Australian animator
  • 1972
    Christopher Lennertz, American composer
  • 1972
    Hristos Meletoglou, Greek triple jumper
  • 1972
    Mattias Norström, Swedish professional ice hockey player
  • 1972
    Rodney MacDonald, Canadian politician and musician
  • 1973
    Lucy Davis, British actress
  • 1973
    Will Kirby, American actor
  • 1974
    Jason de Vos, Canadian footballer
  • 1974
    Luis Moro, Cuban-American actor and filmmaker
  • 1975
    Chris Cheney, Australian musician (The Living End)
  • 1975
    Dax Shepard, American actor
  • 1975
    Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)
  • 1975
    Jeff Suppan, American baseball player
  • 1975
    Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby union player
  • 1976
    Cletidus Hunt, American football player
  • 1976
    Danilo Di Luca, Italian cyclist
  • 1976
    Hrysopiyi Devetzi, Greek triple jumper
  • 1976
    Mahée Paiement, Canadian actress
  • 1976
    Paz Vega, Spanish actress
  • 1977
    Ales Pisa, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1977
    Brian Boucher, American professional ice hockey player
  • 1977
    Nikos Soultanidis, Greek footballer
  • 1977
    Scott Proctor, American baseball player
  • 1977
    Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player
  • 1978
    Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American professional ballroom dancer
  • 1978
    Megumi Toyoguchi, Japanese voice actress
  • 1979
    Jonathan Greening, British footballer
  • 1980
    Annie Bellemare, Canadian Figure Skater
  • 1980
    Jérôme Pineau, French cyclist
  • 1980
    Mac Danzig, American Mixed martial arts combatant
  • 1980
    Melvin Holwijn, Dutch footballer
  • 1981
    Hanno Balitsch, German footballer
  • 1981
    Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player
  • 1981
    Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
  • 1981
    Ryan Garko, American baseball player
  • 1982
    Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
  • 1983
    Andrew Ebbett, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1983
    Kate Bosworth, American actress
  • 1984
    Otacilio, Brazilian footballer, Aviation Professional
  • 1985
    Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player
  • 1985
    Luis Beza, American musician
  • 1986
    Troy Andrews, American musician
  • 1987
    Shelley Hennig, American actress
  • 1987
    Syesha Mercado, American singer and actress
  • 1988
    Damien Tussac, French-born German rugby player
  • 1988
    Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer
  • 1989
    Maksims Bogdanovs, Latvian motorcycle racer
  • 1990
    Karel Abraham, Czech motorcycle racer
  • 1991
    Davide Santon, Italian footballer
  • 1991
    Steele Sidebottom, Australian Rules Footballer
  • 2001
    Christopher Barrios Jr., American murder victim (d. 2007)

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Who Died On January 2?

  • 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)
  • 1950
    Theophrastos Sakellaridis, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1883)
  • 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
    Dick Powell, American actor (b. 1904)
  • 1963
    Jack Carson, American actor (b. 1910)
  • 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
    Erroll Garner, American musician (b. 1921)
  • 1983
    Dick Emery, English comedian (b. 1915)
  • 1986
    Bill Veeck, American baseball executive (b. 1914)
  • 1986
    Dick James, English music publisher (Northern Songs) (b. 1920)
  • 1986
    Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)
  • 1990
    Alan Hale Jr., American actor (b. 1921)
  • 1990
    Evangelos Averoff, Greek politician and author (b. 1910)
  • 1994
    Dixy Lee Ray, American politician, 17th Governor of Washington (b. 1914)
  • 1994
    Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (b. 1915)
  • 1995
    Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921)
  • 1995
    Siad Barre, President of Somalia (b. 1919)
  • 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
    Rolf Liebermann, Swiss composer (b. 1910)
  • 1999
    Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)
  • 2000
    Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., American admiral (b. 1920)
  • 2000
    Nat Adderley, American musician and composer (b. 1931)
  • 2000
    Patrick O'Brian, British novelist (b. 1914)
  • 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
    Jess Collins, American artist (b. 1923)
  • 2004
    Lynn Cartwright, American actress (b. 1927)
  • 2005
    Cyril Fletcher, British comedian (b. 1913)
  • 2005
    Edo Murtić, Croatian painter (b. 1921)
  • 2005
    Frank Kelly Freas, American artist (b. 1922)
  • 2005
    Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist (b. 1911)
  • 2005
    Ronald ‘Bo’Ginn, American politician (b. 1934)
  • 2006
    Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, first female Philippine Supreme Court Justice (b. 1913)
  • 2007
    Dan Shaver, American racecar driver (b. 1950)
  • 2007
    David Perkins, American geneticist (b. 1919)
  • 2007
    Don Massengale, American PGA Tour golf player (b. 1937)
  • 2007
    Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian (b. 1941)
  • 2007
    Garry Betty, American CEO of Earthlink (b. 1957)
  • 2007
    Mauno Jokipii, Finnish professor and researcher (b. 1924)
  • 2007
    Paek Nam-sun, North Korean Foreign Affairs minister (b. 1929)
  • 2007
    Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor (b. 1951)
  • 2007
    Robert C. Solomon, American scholar of continental philosophy (b. 1942)
  • 2007
    Teddy Kollek, Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
  • 2008
    Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Thailand (b. 1923)
  • 2008
    George MacDonald Fraser, British author (b. 1925)
  • 2008
    Gerry Staley, American baseball player (b. 1920)
  • 2008
    Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician (b. 1926)
  • 2008
    Martinus Tels, Dutch physicist and chemical engineer (b. 1926)
  • 2009
    Inger Christensen, Danish poet (b. 1935)
  • 2009
    Maria de Jesus, Portuguese supercentenarian (b. 1893)
  • 2010
    David R. Ross, Scottish author and historian (b. 1958)
  • 2011
    Anne Francis, American actress (b. 1930)
  • 2011
    Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (b. 1946)
  • 2011
    Richard D. Winters, American Army officer (b.1918)
  • 2011
    Szeto Wah, Hong Kong politician and educationalist (b. 1931)
  • 2012
    Anatoly Kolesov, 73, Russian wrestler (b.1938)
  • 2012
    Helmut Müller-Brühl, 78, German conductor(b.19)
  • 2012
    Ian Bargh, British-born Canadian jazz pianist (b.1935)
  • 2012
    Ioan Drăgan, 46, Romanian footballer (b.1965)
  • 2012
    Paulo Rodrigues da Silva, 25, Brazilian footballer(b.1986)

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