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January 2 Gregorian calendar . There are 363 days remaining until the end of the year (364 in leap years ).
Events
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 : 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 .1808 - The U.S. Congress bans the importation of slaves .1818 - The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded.1833 - Return of British Forces to the Falkland Islands .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 on charges of bigamy for having 25 wives.1882 - John D. Rockefeller unites his oil holdings into the Standard Oil trust .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 garrison 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 the Quebec Bank.1920 - The Palmer Raids begin in the United States .1923 - United States Interior Secretary Albert Fall resigns over 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 - 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 is captured by Japanese forces.
1942 - The United States Navy opens a blimp base at Lakehurst, New Jersey .
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 becomes 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 - Luna 1 , the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the U.S.S.R. 1969 - Luis Ferré becomes the first statehooder Governor of Puerto Rico .1969 - Operation Barrier Reef begins in the Mekong Delta , Vietnam .
1971 - The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers -Celtic football 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.1993 - Leaders of the three warring factions in Bosnia meet to discuss peace plans.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 , 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 )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 - Queen Emma of Hawaii , Consort of King Kamehameha IV (d. 1885 )1836 - Mendele Moykher Sforim , Jewish writer (d. 1917 )
1837 - Mily Balakirev , Russian composer (d. 1910 )1866 - Prof Gilbert Murray , Australian classical scholar (d. 1957 )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 )1886 - Apsley Cherry-Garrard , English Antarctic explorer (d. 1959 )
1888 - Tito Schipa , Italian tenor (d. 1965 )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 )1902 - Dan Keating , Irish republican (d. 2007 )1902 - Barry Goldwater , five-term United States Senator from Arizona (d. 1998 )
1904 - Sally Rand , American fan dancer (d. 1979 )1905 - Lev Schnirelmann , Russian mathematician (d. 1938 )1905 - Luigi Zampa , Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1991 )
1905 - Michael Tippett , English composer (d. 1998 )
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 author (d. 1992 )1921 - Glen Harmon , Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007 )1925 - William J. Crowe , American admiral and ambassador (d. 2007 )1928 - Robert Goralski , American journalist (d. 1988 )1928 - Avie Bennett , Canadian philanthropist
1928 - Daisaku Ikeda , Japanese writer, president of SGI
1930 - Julius LaRosa , American singer1931 - Toshiki Kaifu , Japanese Prime Minister 1989-911933 - Ed Casey , Australian politician (d. 2006 )1933 - Morimura Seiichi , Japanese novelist
1936 - Roger Miller , American singer (d. 1992 )1938 - Ian Brady , British serial killer1938 - Hans Herbjørnsrud , Norwegian author
1939 - Jim Bakker , American televangelist1940 - S. R. S. Varadhan , Indian-American mathematician1942 - Dennis Hastert , 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives 1942 - Hugh Shelton , 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
1943 - Barış Manço , Turkish singer, composer, television producer and celebrity (d. 1999 )1944 - Prince Norodom Ranariddh , Cambodian politician1946 - Richard Cole , American tour manager1947 - Jack Hanna , American zoologist1947 - Calvin Hill , American football player
1949 - Christopher Durang , American playwright1950 - David Shifrin , American classical clarinetist1951 - Alexander Pogrebinsky , Russian painter1952 - Graeme "Shirley" Strachan , Australian rocker, lead singer with Skyhooks 2001 )1954 - Henry Bonilla , American politician1954 - Dawn Silva , American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein , P-Funk )
1955 - Tex Brashear , American voice actor1957 - Joanna Pacula , Polish actress1958 - Vladimir Ovchinnikov , Russian pianist1960 - Naoki Urasawa , Japanese manga author1961 - Gabrielle Carteris , American actress1961 - Todd Haynes , American film director
1963 - David Cone , American baseball player1963 - Edgar Martínez , American baseball player
1964 - Pernell Whitaker , American boxer1965 - Greg Swindell , American baseball player1967 - Tia Carrere , American actress1967 - Jón Gnarr , Icelandic comedian
1967 - Francois Pienaar , South African Rugby Union player
1968 - Cuba Gooding Jr. , American actor1968 - Anky van Grunsven , Dutch dressage champion
1968 - Evan Parke , Jamaican actor
1968 - Goichi Suda , CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture
1969 - Karl-Heinz Grasser , Austrian politician1969 - Patrick Huard , Quebec actor and comedian
1969 - Glen Johnson , Jamaican boxer
1969 - Tommy Morrison , American boxer
1969 - Róbert Švehla , Slovak ice hockey player
1969 - Christy Turlington , American model
1970 - Royce Clayton , American baseball player1970 - Robert Fertitta , American opera singer
1970 - Sanda Ladoşi , Romanian singer
1971 - Taye Diggs , American actor1971 - Renee Elise Goldsberry , American actress and singer
1971 - Lisa Harrison , American basketball player
1972 - Adam Elliot , Australian animator1972 - Christopher Lennertz , American composer
1972 - Hristos Meletoglou , Greek triple jumper
1973 - Lucy Davis , British actress1973 - Will Kirby , American actor
1975 - Chris Cheney , Australian musician (The Living End )1975 - Doug Robb , American singer (Hoobastank )
1975 - Dax Shepard , American actor
1975 - Reuben Thorne , New Zealand rugby union player
1976 - Hrysopiyi Devetzi , Greek triple jump & long jump athlete1976 - Danilo Di Luca , Italian cyclist
1976 - Cletidus Hunt , American football player
1976 - Mahée Paiement , Canadian actress
1976 - Paz Vega , Spanish actress
1977 - Ales Pisa , Czech ice hockey player1977 - Scott Proctor , American baseball player
1978 - Toyoguchi Megumi , Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)1979 - Suranne Jones , British actress1979 - Jonathan Greening , British footballer
1980 - Mac Danzig , American Mixed martial arts combatant1981 - Hanno Balitsch , German footballer1981 - Ryan Garko , American baseball player
1981 - Kirk Hinrich , American basketball player
1981 - Maxi Rodríguez , Argentine footballer
1982 - Athanasia Tsoumeleka , Greek race walker1983 - Kate Bosworth , American actress1984 - Colleen Taylor , American journalist1985 - Heather O'Reilly , American soccer player1987 - Loui Batley , British actress1988 - Jonny Evans , Northern Irish footballer
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 )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, Western Australia (b. 1862 )1939 - Roman Dmowski , Polish politician (b. 1864 )1941 - Mischa Levitzki , Russian-American pianist (b. 1898 )1945 - Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay , British naval commander (b. 1883 )1946 - Joe Darling , Australian cricketer (b. 1870 )1950 - James Dooley , Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877 )1950 - Emil Jannings , Swiss actor and the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor (b. 1884 )
1951 - Sir William Campion , Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870 )1959 - Chris van Abkoude , Dutch-American writer and novelist (b. 1880 )1960 - Paul Sauvé , Canadian politician (b. 1907 )1960 - Fausto Coppi , Italian cyclist (b. 1919 )
1963 - Dick Powell , American actor (b. 1904 )1963 - Jack Carson , American actor (b. 1910 )
1971 - Willard Maas , American educator and experimental filmmaker (b. 1906 )1974 - Tex Ritter , American actor (b. 1905 )1977 - Errol Garner , American musician (b. 1921 )1983 - Dick Emery , English comedian (b. 1915 )1986 - Una Merkel , American actress (b. 1903 )1986 - Bill Veeck , American 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 )1994 - Pierre-Paul Schweitzer , Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (b. 1915 )
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 )1998 - Frank Muir , English writer, raconteur (b. 1920 )1999 - Sebastian Haffner , German journalist and author (b. 1907 )2000 - Patrick O'Brian , British novelist (b. 1914 )2000 - Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. , U.S. admiral (b. 1920 )
2000 - Nat Adderley , American musician and composer (b. 1931 )
2001 - William P. Rogers , American politician (b. 1913 )2001 - Teri Diver , American actress (b. 1971 )
2002 - Armi Aavikko , Finnish singer (b. 1958 )2003 - Eric Jupp , British-Australian pianist, composer, arranger (b. 1922 )2004 - Jess Collins , American artist (b. 1923 )2004 - Lynn Cartwright , American actress (b. 1927 )
2005 - Maclyn McCarty , American geneticist (b. 1911 )2005 - Cyril Fletcher , British comedian (b. 1913 )
2005 - Edo Murtić , Croatian painter (b. 1921 )
2005 - Frank Kelly Freas , American artist (b. 1922 )
2005 - Ronald 'Bo' Ginn , American politician (b. 1934 )
2006 - Cecilia Muñoz-Palma , first female Philippine Supreme Court Justice (b. 1913 )2007 - Teddy Kollek , Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911 )2007 - David Perkins , Stanford University geneticist (b. 1919 )
2007 - Mauno Jokipii , Finnish professor and World War II researcher (b. 1924 )
2007 - Paek Nam-sun , North Korean Foreign Affairs minister (b. 1929 )
2007 - Sergio Jiménez , Mexican actor (b. 1937 )
2007 - Don Massengale , American PGA Tour golf player (b. 1937 )
2007 - Elizabeth Fox-Genovese , American historian (b. 1941 )
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 - Richard Newton , Australian-born technology pioneer and professor (b. 1951 )
2007 - Garry Betty , American CEO of Earthlink (b. 1957 )
2008 - Gerry Staley , American baseball player (b. 1920 )2008 - Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krommaluang Narathiwat Rajanagarindra, elder sister of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand (b. 1923 )
2008 - George MacDonald Fraser , British author (b. 1925 )
2008 - Lee S. Dreyfus , American politician (b. 1926 )
Holidays and observances
External links
