Day of the year
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).
- 1920 – The second Palmer Raid, ordered by the US Department of Justice, results in 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists being arrested and held without trial.[14]
- 1921 – World premiere of the science fiction play R.U.R. by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in a theater in Hradec Králové.[15]
- 1941 – World War II: The Cardiff Blitz severely damages the cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.[16]
- 1942 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) obtains the conviction of 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history; Also known as the Duquesne Spy Ring.[17]
- 1942 – World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces, enabling them to control the Philippines.[18]
- 1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín is inaugurated as the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.[19]
- 1954 – India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.[20]
- 1955 – Following the assassination of the Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera, his deputy, José Ramón Guizado, takes power, but is quickly deposed after his involvement in Cantera's death is discovered.[21]
- 1959 – Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.[22]
- 1963 – Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.[23]
- 1967 – Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.[24]
- 1971 – The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football (soccer) match.[25]
- 1974 – United States 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.[26]
- 1975 – At the opening of a new railway line, a bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.[27]
- 1975 – The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress.[28]
- 1976 – The Gale of January 1976 begins, resulting in coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts, affecting countries from Ireland to Yugoslavia and causing at least 82 deaths and US$1.3 billion in damage.[29]
- 1978 – On the orders of the President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, paramilitary forces opened fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan, Pakistan; it is known as 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills.[30]
- 1981 – One of the largest investigations by a British police force ends when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.[31]
- 1988 – Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782 crashes near Seferihisar, Turkey, killing 16 people.[32]
- 1991 – Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.[33]
- 1993 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35–100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.[34]
- 2004 – Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.[35]
- 2019 – Adventist Health System and its subsidiaries rebranded to AdventHealth.[36][37]
- 2022 – Massive nationwide protests and unrest break out in Kazakhstan over the sudden increase of liquefied petroleum gas prices, leaving over 200 people dead and thousands injured.[38]
- 2024 – Two aircraft collide on a runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, killing 5 and injuring 15.[39]
- 1642 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (d. 1693)[43]
- 1647 – Nathaniel Bacon, English-American rebel leader (d. 1676)[44]
- 1699 – Osman III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1757)[45]
- 1713 – Marie Dumesnil, French actress (d. 1803)[46]
- 1727 – James Wolfe, English general (d. 1759)[47]
- 1732 – František Brixi, Czech organist and composer (d. 1771)[48]
- 1777 – Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor and educator (d. 1857)[49]
- 1803 – Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1869)[50]
- 1822 – Rudolf Clausius, Polish-German physicist and mathematician (d. 1888)[51]
- 1827 – Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Russian geographer and statistician (d. 1914)[52]
- 1833 – Frederick A. Johnson, American banker and politician (d. 1893)[53]
- 1836 – Mendele Mocher Sforim, Russian author (d. 1917)[54]
- 1836 – Queen Emma of Hawaii (d. 1885)[55]
- 1837 – Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1910)[56]
- 1857 – M. Carey Thomas, American educator and activist (d. 1935)[57]
- 1860 – Dugald Campbell Patterson, Canadian engineer (d. 1931)[58]
- 1860 – William Corless Mills, American historian and curator (d. 1928)[59]
- 1866 – Gilbert Murray, Australian-English playwright and scholar (d. 1957)[60]
- 1870 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and playwright (d. 1938)[61]
- 1870 – Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and businessman (d. 1929)[62]
- 1873 – Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer and theorist (d. 1960)[63]
- 1873 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (d. 1897)[64]
- 1878 – Jaakko Mäki, Finnish politician (d. 1938)[65]
- 1878 – Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, Indian activist, founded the Nair Service Society (d. 1970)[66]
- 1884 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli historian and politician, 4th Israeli Minister of Education (d. 1973)[67]
- 1885 – Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)[68]
- 1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English explorer and author (d. 1959)[69]
- 1889 – Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1973)[70]
- 1891 – Giovanni Michelucci, Italian architect and urban planner, designed the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station (d. 1990)[71]
- 1892 – Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (d. 1962)[72]
- 1895 – Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (d. 1948)[73]
- 1896 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (d. 1954)[74]
- 1896 – Lawrence Wackett, Australian commander and engineer (d. 1982)[75]
- 1897 – Theodore Plucknett, English legal historian (d. 1965)[76]
- 1900 – Una Ledingham, British physician, known for research on diabetes in pregnancy (d. 1965)[77]
- 1901 – Bob Marshall, American activist, co-founded The Wilderness Society (d. 1939)[78]
- 1902 – Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 2007)[79]
- 1903 – Kane Tanaka, Japanese Supercentenarian, Oldest Japanese person ever, Second oldest verified person in world history (d. 2022)[80][81]
- 1904 – Walter Heitler, German physicist and chemist (d. 1981)[82]
- 1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (d. 1998)[83]
- 1905 – Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1991)[84]
- 1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (d. 2009)[85]
- 1909 – Barry Goldwater, American politician, businessman, and author (d. 1998)[86]
- 1913 – Juanita Jackson Mitchell, American lawyer and activist (d. 1992)[87]
- 1913 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (d. 2004)[88]
- 1917 – Vera Zorina, German-Norwegian actress and dancer (d. 2003)[89]
- 1918 – Willi Graf, German physician and activist (d. 1943)[90]
- 1919 – Ernest Bender, American Indologist (d. 1996)[91]
- 1919 – Beatrice Hicks, American engineer (d. 1979)[92]
- 1920 (probable) – Isaac Asimov, American writer and professor of biochemistry (d. 1992)[93]
- 1920 – Bob Feerick, American basketball player and coach (d. 1976)[94]
- 1921 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)[95]
- 1926 – Gino Marchetti, American football player (d. 2019)[96]
- 1928 – Dan Rostenkowski, American politician (d. 2010)[97]
- 1929 – Charles Beaumont, screenwriter and American author of speculative fiction (d. 1967)[98]
- 1929 – Tellervo Koivisto, Finnish politician, former First Lady of Finland[99]
- 1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese lawyer and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2022)[100]
- 1934 – John Hollowbread, English footballer, goalkeeper (d. 2007)
- 1936 – Roger Miller, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (d. 1992)[102]
- 1938 – David Bailey, English photographer and painter[103]
- 1938 – Lynn Conway, American computer scientist and electrical engineer (d. 2024)[104]
- 1938 – Robert Smithson, American sculptor and photographer (d. 1973)[105]
- 1940 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist[106]
- 1940 – Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)[107]
- 1942 – Thomas Hammarberg, Swedish lawyer and diplomat[108]
- 1942 – Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives[109]
- 1943 – Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer (d. 2004)[110]
- 1944 – Charlie Davis, Trinidadian cricketer[111]
- 1944 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor (d. 2024)[112]
- 1944 – Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian field marshal and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 2021)[113]
- 1944 – Mohamed Ali Yusuf, Somali politician (d. 2024)[114]
- 1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist and author[115]
- 1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player[116]
- 1947 – David Shapiro, American poet, historian, and critic[117] (d. 2024)
- 1948 – Judith Miller, American journalist[118]
- 1948 – Deborah Watling, English actress (d. 2017)[119]
- 1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright and screenwriter[120] (d. 2024)
- 1949 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and academic (d. 2006)[121]
- 1952 – Indulis Emsis, Latvian biologist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Latvia[122]
- 1952 – Wendy Phillips, American actress[123]
- 1954 – Henry Bonilla, American broadcaster and politician[124]
- 1954 – Évelyne Trouillot, Haitian playwright and author[125]
- 1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress[126]
- 1961 – Paula Hamilton, English model[127]
- 1961 – Todd Haynes, American film director, screenwriter, and producer[118]
- 1961 – Craig James, American football player and sportscaster[128]
- 1961 – Robert Wexler, American lawyer and politician[129]
- 1963 – David Cone, American baseball player and sportscaster[130]
- 1963 – Edgar Martínez, American baseball player[131]
- 1964 – Chris Welp, German-American basketball player (d. 2015)[132]
- 1964 – Pernell Whitaker, American boxer (d. 2019)[133]
- 1965 – Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player[134]
- 1967 – Tia Carrere, American actress[135]
- 1967 – Jón Gnarr, Icelandic actor and politician; 20th Mayor of Reykjavík[136]
- 1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer[137]
- 1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion[138]
- 1969 – István Bagyula, Hungarian pole vaulter[139]
- 1969 – William Fox-Pitt, English horse rider and journalist[140]
- 1969 – Róbert Švehla, Slovak ice hockey player[141]
- 1969 – Christy Turlington, American model[142]
- 1970 – Eric Whitacre, American composer and conductor[143]
- 1971 – Taye Diggs, American actor and singer[144]
- 1971 – Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress[145]
- 1972 – Rodney MacDonald, Canadian educator and politician, 26th Premier of Nova Scotia[146]
- 1972 – Shiraz Minwalla, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist[147]
- 1972 – Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey player and manager[148]
- 1974 – Ludmila Formanová, Czech runner[149]
- 1974 – Juha Lind, Finnish ice hockey player[150]
- 1974 – Tomáš Řepka, Czech footballer[151]
- 1975 – Dax Shepard, American actor[152]
- 1975 – Jeff Suppan, American baseball player[153]
- 1975 – Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby player[154]
- 1976 – Paz Vega, Spanish actress[123]
- 1977 – Brian Boucher, American ice hockey player and sportscaster[155]
- 1977 – Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player[156]
- 1979 – Jonathan Greening, English footballer[157]
- 1980 – David Gyasi, British actor[158]
- 1981 – Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player[159]
- 1981 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer[160]
- 1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress[161]
- 1983 – Anthony Carrigan, American actor[123]
- 1987 – Shelley Hennig, American actress and model[118]
- 1987 – Robert Milsom, English footballer[157]
- 1988 – Luke Harangody, American basketball player[162]
- 1988 – Damien Tussac, French-German rugby player[163]
- 1991 – Ben Hardy, English actor[164]
- 1992 – Paulo Gazzaniga, Argentine footballer
- 1992 – Alexey Marchenko, Russian ice hockey player[165]
- 1992 – Teemu Pulkkinen, Finnish ice hockey player[166]
- 1992 – Korbin Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player[167]
- 1993 – Bryson Tiller, American singer and rapper[168]
- 1994 – Ronald Darby, American football player[169]
- 1996 – Jonah Bolden, Australian-American basketball player[170]
- 1998 – Tfue, American online streamer[171]
- 1998 – Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Dutch footballer[157]
- 1999 – Georgios Kalaitzakis, Greek basketball player[172]
- 1999 – Fernando Tatís Jr., Dominican baseball player[173]
- 2000 – Spencer Arrighetti, American baseball player[174]
- 2001 – Cole Caufield, American ice hockey player[175]
- 951 – Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of the Later Han (b. 931)[176]
- 951 – Su Fengji, Chinese official and chancellor[176]
- 1096 – William de St-Calais, Bishop of Durham and chief counsellor of William II of England[177]
- 1169 – Bertrand de Blanchefort, sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1109)[178]
- 1184 – Theodora Komnene, Duchess of Austria, daughter of Andronikos Komnenos[179]
- 1298 – Lodomer, Hungarian prelate, Archbishop of Esztergom[180]
- 1470 – Heinrich Reuß von Plauen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order[181]
- 1512 – Svante Nilsson, Sweden politician (b. 1460)[182]
- 1514 – William Smyth, English bishop and academic (b. 1460)[183]
- 1543 – Francesco Canova da Milano, Italian composer (b. 1497)[184]
- 1557 – Pontormo, Italian painter and educator (b. 1494)[185]
- 1904 – James Longstreet, American general and diplomat (b. 1821)[193]
- 1913 – Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (b. 1855)[194]
- 1915 – Karl Goldmark, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1830)[67]
- 1917 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (b. 1877)[195]
- 1920 – Paul Adam, French author (b. 1862)[196]
- 1924 – Sabine Baring-Gould, English author and scholar (b. 1834)[197]
- 1939 – Roman Dmowski, Polish politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1864)[198]
- 1941 – Mischa Levitzki, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1898)[199]
- 1946 – Joe Darling, Australian cricketer and politician (b. 1870)[200]
- 1950 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)[201]
- 1951 – William Campion, English colonel and politician, 21st Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)[202]
- 1951 – Edith New, English militant suffragette (b. 1877)[203]
- 1953 – Guccio Gucci, Italian businessman and fashion designer, founder of Gucci (b. 1881)[204]
- 1960 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (b. 1907)[205]
- 1963 – Dick Powell, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1904)[206]
- 1963 – Jack Carson, Canadian-American actor (b. 1910)[206]
- 1974 – Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)[207]
- 1975 – Siraj Sikder, Bangladesh revolutionary leader (b. 1944)[208]
- 1977 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (b. 1921)[209]
- 1986 – Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)[210]
- 1987 – Harekrushna Mahatab, Indian journalist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Odisha (b. 1899)[211]
- 1989 – Safdar Hashmi, Indian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1954)[212]
- 1990 – Alan Hale Jr., American film and television actor (b. 1921)[213]
- 1990 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence (b. 1910)[213]
- 1994 – Dixy Lee Ray, American biologist and politician; 17th Governor of Washington (b. 1914)[214]
- 1994 – Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, French lawyer and businessman (b. 1915)[215]
- 1995 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921)[216]
- 1995 – Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (b. 1919)[217]
- 1999 – Rolf Liebermann, Swiss-French composer and manager (b. 1910)[218]
- 1999 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)[219]
- 2000 – Elmo Zumwalt, American admiral (b. 1920)[220]
- 2000 – Patrick O'Brian, English author and translator (b. 1914)[221]
- 2001 – William P. Rogers, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (b. 1913)[222]
- 2005 – Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist and physician (b. 1911)[223]
- 2006 – Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1913)[224]
- 2006 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (b. 1914)[225]
- 2007 – A. Richard Newton, Australian-American engineer and academic (b. 1951)[226]
- 2007 – Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian and author (b. 1941)[227]
- 2007 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)[228]
- 2008 – George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish journalist and author (b. 1925)[229]
- 2008 – Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician, Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1926)[230][231]
- 2009 – Inger Christensen, Danish poet and author (b. 1935)[232]
- 2010 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (b. 1958)[233]
- 2011 – Anne Francis, American actress (b. 1930)[234]
- 2011 – Bali Ram Bhagat, Indian politician; 16th Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1922)[235]
- 2011 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (b. 1946)[236]
- 2012 – Gordon Hirabayashi, American-Canadian sociologist and academic (b. 1918)[237]
- 2012 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (b. 1953)[238]
- 2012 – William P. Carey, American businessman and philanthropist, founded W. P. Carey (b. 1930)[239]
- 2013 – Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American historian, author, and academic (b. 1920)[240]
- 2013 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (b. 1944)[241]
- 2014 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (b. 1924)[242]
- 2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English author and screenwriter (b. 1923)[243]
- 2015 – Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (b. 1929)[244]
- 2016 – Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)[245]
- 2016 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1935)[246]
- 2016 – Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (b. 1959)[247]
- 2016 – Gisela Mota Ocampo, mayor of Temixco, Morelos, Mexico, assassinated (b. 1982)[248]
- 2017 – Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (b. 1933)[249]
- 2017 – John Berger, English art critic, novelist and painter (b. 1926)[250]
- 2018 – Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (b. 1950)[251]
- 2018 – Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1927)[252]
- 2019 – Daryl Dragon, American musician (b. 1942)[253]
- 2019 – Bob Einstein, American actor and comedian (b. 1942)[254]
- 2019 – Gene Okerlund, American wrestling announcer (b. 1942)[255]
- 2022 – Richard Leakey, Kenyan paleontologist and politician (b. 1944)[256]
- 2023 – Ken Block, American rally driver (b. 1967)[257]
- 2024 – Rizal Ramli, Indonesian politician (b. 1954)[258]
Holidays and observances
[edit]
