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).
Up to 1900
- 366 – Many Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine, invading the Roman Empire.
- 533 – Mercurius became Pope John II. He was the first pope to use a papal name.
- 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. People later realized that this planet does not exist.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River, which started on December 31, 1862, ends in a Union victory.
- 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. It happens 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.
1901–1950
- 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 gunfight in East London.
- 1917 – The Royal Bank of Canada takes over Quebec Bank.
- 1920 – Under A. Mitchell Palmer, United States Attorney General, United States Department of Justice agents launch raids against people with leftist and anarchist views, in 30 cities across 23 US States.
- 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 – The DeYoung Museum opens in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
- 1923 – United States Secretary of the Interior 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: 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. They plan to build 200 freighters. Over 2,700 ships were built 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.
- 1944 – World War II: US and Australian forces land on Papua New Guinea in an attempt to cut off a Japanese retreat.
- 1945 – World War II: Nuremberg is severely bombed by the Allies.
- 1946 – King Zog is unable to resume his rule over Albania after World War II. He abdicates but still claims to be King of Albania.
- 1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín became the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
1951–2000
- 1955 – Panamanian president José 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 cancels 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.
- 1967 – Ronald Reagan becomes Governor of California.
- 1968 – Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the second successful heart transplant.
- 1971 – 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland.
- 1974 – Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum US speed limit to 55 miles per hour in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
- 1976 – The Gale of January 1976 begins, causing flooding on southern North Sea coasts. 82 people are eventually killed.
- 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 ends its first Broadway run after 2,377 shows at the Uris Theatre.
- 1991 – Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, D.C. 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 groups in Bosnia meet to discuss peace plans.
- 1996 – The Akademia Nauk stratovolcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula erupts.
- 1998 – Russia begins to circulate new rubles to slow inflation and promote confidence.
- 1999 – A major snowstorm hits the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (360 mm) of snow at Milwaukee, Wisconsin and 19 inches (480 mm) at Chicago. In Chicago, temperatures drop to −13 °F (−25 °C), and 68 deaths are reported.
From 2001
- 2002 – Levy Mwanawasa becomes the third President of Zambia.
- 2002 – Eduardo Duhalde becomes interim President of Argentina.
- 2003 – The spill from the oil tanker Prestige reaches France.
- 2004 – Stardust successfully flies 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.
- 2016 – Saudi Arabia executes 47 prisoners in one day, including Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
- 2017 – A bomb attack in Baghdad kills at least 35 people.
- 2018 – A bus plunges off a cliff near Pasamayo, Peru (to the north of Lima), killing at least 48 people.
- 2024 – 2024 Haneda Airport runway collision happened in Japan.
Up to 1900
- 869 – Emperor Yozei of Japan (d. 949)
- 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)
- 1752 – Philip Freneau, American poet (d. 1832)
- 1777 – Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor (d. 1857)
- 1822 – Rudolf Clausius, German physicist, contributions to thermodynamics (d. 1888)
- 1827 – Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Russian geographer and statistician (d. 1914)
- 1833 – Frederick A. Johnson, American politician (d. 1893)
- 1834 – Karl Louis Friedrich Dobermann, German dog breeder (d. 1894)
- 1836 – Mendele Mocher 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 hotel owner, Hotel Sacher (d. 1930)
- 1862 – Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky, Polish-Russian engineer, electrician and inventor (d. 1919)
- 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)
- 1872 – Albert C. Barnes, American physician, writer, collector and philanthropist (d. 1951)
- 1873 – Therese of Liseaux, French nun and saint (d. 1897)
- 1873 – Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer (d. 1960)
- 1877 – Slava Raskaj, Croatian painter (d. 1906)
- 1879 – Rudolf Bauer, Hungarian athlete (d. 1932)
- 1884 – Oscar Michaux, American writer and movie director (d. 1951)
- 1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, British explorer of Antarctica (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 movie maker (d. 1954)
1901–1950
- 1904 – Walter 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)
- 1908 – Lawrence Wetherby, American politician, Governor of Kentucky (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer (d. 2009)
- 1909 – Barry Goldwater, American politician (d. 1998)
- 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)
- 1918 – Gudrun Zapf-von Hesse, German type designer
- 1919 – William Needles, Canadian theatre actor (d. 2016)
- 1920 – Isaac Asimov, Russian-born American science fiction writer (d. 1992)
- 1920 – Bob Feerick, American basketball player (d. 1976)
- 1920 – George Herbig, American astronomer (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Anna Langfus, Polish-French writer (d. 1966)
- 1922 – Maurice Faure, French diplomat and politician (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Irina Arkhipova, Russian opera singer (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Giacomo Furia, Italian actor (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Larry Harmon, American entertainer and television producer (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Gino Marchetti, American football player
- 1928 – Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese writer
- 1928 – Alberto Zedda, Italian conductor and musicologist (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Julius La Rosa, American singer (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, former Prime Minister of Japan
- 1931 – James D. Murray, English mathematician
- 1933 – Richard Riley, 111th Governor of North Carolina
- 1935 – Lolo Soetoro, Indonesian geographer, stepfather of Barack Obama (d. 1987)
- 1936 – Roger Miller, American country music singer (d. 1992)
- 1936 – Kjell Opseth, Norwegian politician (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Martin Lauer, German athlete and Schlager singer
- 1938 – Goh Kun, 31st Prime Minister of South Korea
- 1938 – Ian Brady, British serial killer (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian writer
- 1939 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist
- 1939 – Konstanze Vernon, dancer
- 1940 – Saud bin Faisal, Saudi royal and politician (d. 2015)
- 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
- 1944 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor
- 1945 – Slobodan Praljak, Croatian-Bosnian general and politician (d. 2017)
- 1946 – Sonny Ruberto, American baseball player (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Alexander Yakushev, Russian ice hockey player
- 1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player
- 1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist
- 1947 – David Shapiro, American poet
- 1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player
- 1947 – Alexander Yakushev, Russian ice hockey player
- 1948 – Deborah Watling, British actress (d. 2017)
- 1948 – Tony Judt, British historian (d. 2010)
- 1948 – Judith Miller, American journalist
- 1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright
1951–1975
- 1951 – Waldir Peres, Brazilian footballer (d. 2017)
- 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
- 1955 – Vivien Savage, French singer-songwriter
- 1959 – Kirti Azad, Indian cricketer
- 1960 – Naoki Urasawa, Japanese manga artist
- 1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
- 1961 – Neil Dudgeon, British actor
- 1961 – Todd Haynes, American movie director
- 1963 – David Cone, American baseball pitcher
- 1964 – Luis Moro, Cuban-American actor, producer and screenwriter
- 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 – Goichi Suda, Japanese video game designer
- 1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor
- 1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage competitor
- 1969 – William Fox-Pitt, English equestrian
- 1969 – Christy Turlington, American fashion model
- 1969 – Tommy Morrison, American boxer (d. 2013)
- 1969 – Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austrian politician
- 1969 – Robby Gordon, American racing driver
- 1971 – Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress and singer
- 1972 – Taye Diggs, American actor
- 1972 – Rodney MacDonald, 26th Premier of Nova Scotia
- 1973 – Lucy Davis, English actress
- 1974 – Michèle George, Belgian para-equestrian
- 1975 – Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)
- 1975 – Dax Shepard, American actor, comedian, writer and director
From 1976
- 1976 – Paz Vega, Spanish actress
- 1976 – Phil Radford, Greenpeace Executive Director
- 1978 – Kjartan Sveinsson, Icelandic musician
- 1978 – Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American dancer and actress
- 1979 – Jonathan Greening, English footballer
- 1980 – Paulo da Silva, Paraguayan footballer
- 1981 – Hanno Balitsch, German footballer
- 1981 – Maxi Rodriguez, Argentine footballer
- 1981 – Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player
- 1982 – Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
- 1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress
- 1985 – Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player
- 1985 – Ivan Dodig, Croatian tennis player
- 1986 – Asa Akira, Japanese-American pornographic actress
- 1986 – Trombone Shorty, American jazz musician
- 1987 – Loïc Rémy, French footballer
- 1987 – Shelley Hennig, American model and actress
- 1988 – Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer
- 1989 – Bianca Knight, American sprinter
- 1991 – Davide Santon, Italian footballer
- 1991 – Luis Pedro Cavanda, Belgian footballer
- 1991 – Steele Sidebottom, Australian rules footballer
- 1993 – Bryson Tiller, American singer-songwriter
- 1995 – Renata Notni, Mexican actress and model
Up to 1900
- 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)
- 1850 – Manuel de la Pena y Pena, President of Mexico (b. 1789)
- 1861 – Frederick William IV of Prussia (b. 1795)
- 1879 – Caleb Cushing, United States Attorney General (b. 1800)
- 1892 – George Biddell Airy, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1801)
1901–2000
- 1904 – James Longstreet, American Confederate general (b. 1821)
- 1913 – Léon-Philippe Teisserenc, French meteorologist (b. 1855)
- 1915 – Carl Goldmark, Hungarian composer (b. 1830)
- 1917 – Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (b. 1832)
- 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 – José Antonio Remon, President of Panama (b. 1908)
- 1960 – Fausto Coppi, Italian composer (b. 1919)
- 1960 – Paul Sauvé, 17th Premier of Quebec (b. 1907)
- 1960 – Friedrich Adler, Austrian politician and assassin (b. 1897)
- 1961 – Daniel Chanis Pinzon, President of Panama (b. 1892)
- 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)
- 1987 – Harekrushna Mahatab, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1899)
- 1989 – Safdar Hashmi, Indian playwright, writer 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)
- 1997 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1951)
- 1999 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and writer (b. 1907)
- 2000 – Nat Adderley, American jazz musician and composer (b. 1931)
From 2001
- 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)
- 2008 – Lee S. Dreyfus, 40th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1926)
- 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)
- 2013 – Mamie Rearden, American supercentenarian (b. 1898)
- 2013 – Ned Wertimer, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English novelist (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Dirk Sager, German journalist (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Thomas Kurzhals, German keyboardist and songwriter (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Lam Po-chuen, Hong Kong dubbing artist (b. 1951)
- 2015 – Arthur A. Neu, American politician (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Little Jimmy Dickens, American country music singer (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Noel Cobb, British philosopher, psychologist and writer (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Tihomir Novakov, American physicist (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Abu Anas al-Libi, Libyan Al-Qaeda member (b. 1964)
- 2015 – Basil Hansen, Australian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Danny Dunton, English speedway rider and promoter (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Roger Kitter, English actor (b. 1949)
- 2016 – Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi cleric (b. 1959)
- 2016 – Michel Delpech, French singer (b. 1946)
- 2016 – Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian politician (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and writer (b. 1935)
- 2016 – Gisela Mota Ocampo, Mexican politician (b. 1982)
- 2016 – Marcel Barbeau, Canadian artist (b. 1925)
- 2016 – Shigeji Kaneko, Japanese boxer (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Matt Hobden, English cricketer (b. 1993)
- 2017 – John Berger, English art critic, writer and painter (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Viktor Tsaryov, Russian footballer (b. 1931)
- 2017 – Albert Brewer, American politician, 47th Governor of Alabama (b. 1928)
- 2017 – Jean Vuarnet, French skier (b. 1933)
- 2017 – François Chérèque, French trade unionist (b. 1956)
- 2017 – Richard Machowicz, American navy SEAL (b. 1965)
- 2017 – René Ballet, French journalist and writer (b. 1928)
- 2017 – Tom Harpur, Canadian classicist, journalist, theologian an priest (b. 1929)
- 2018 – Frank Buxton, American actor (b. 1930)
- 2018 – Rick Hall, American songwriter and recording producer (b. 1932)
- 2018 – Ferdinando Imposimato, Italian judge and politician (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Lawal Kaita, Nigerian politician (b. 1932)
- 2018 – Ali Akbar Moinfar, Iranian politician (b. 1928)
- 2018 – Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1927)
- 2019 – Daryl Dragon, American songwriter (Captain & Tennille) (b. 1942)
- 2019 – Bob Einstein, American actor and comedian (b. 1942)
- 2022 – Richard Leakey, Kenyan paleoanthropologist, conservationist and politician (b. 1944)
- New Year's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland)
- Ancestry Day (Haiti)
- Berchtold's Day (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Alsace)
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