January 2: Ancestry Day, Haiti

[chandoo]

January 2 is the 2nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 363 days remaining until the end of the year (364 in leap years).

Events

* 366 - 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.

* 1818 - The British Institution of Civil Engineers is formed.

* 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.

* 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 - 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 Quebec Bank.

* 1920 - The Palmer Raids begin in the United States.

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

* 1923 - U.S. 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 - 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 became 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 - The first artificial satellite to orbit the moon, Luna 1, is launched by the U.S.S.R.

* 1969 - Luis Ferré becomes the first statehooder Governor of Puerto Rico.

* 1969 - Operation Barrier Reef began in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

* 1971 - The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic football game.

* 1974 - Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum US speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.

* 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.

* 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 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) at 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)

* 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)

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

* 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)

* 1892 - Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (d. 1962)

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

* 1897 - Jim Londos, wrestler (d. 1975)

* 1902 - Dan Keating, Irish republican (d. 2007)

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

* 1905 - Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician (d. 1938)

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

* 1905 - Luigi Zampa, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1991)

* 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-born author (d. 1992)

* 1921 - Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)

* 1925 - William J. Crowe, American admiral and ambassador (d. 2007)

* 1928 - Avie Bennett, Canadian philanthropist

* 1928 - Robert Goralski, American journalist (d. 1988)

* 1928 - Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese writer, president of SGI

* 1930 - Julius LaRosa, American singer

* 1933 - Morimura Seiichi, Japanese novelist

* 1935 - Neil Downing, Irish writer and musician

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

* 1938 - Ian Brady, British serial killer

* 1938 - Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author

* 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

* 1944 - Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian politician

* 1946 - Richard Cole, American tour manager

* 1947 - Jack Hanna, American zoologist

* 1947 - Calvin Hill, American football player

* 1949 - Christopher Durang, American playwright

* 1950 - David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist

* 1951 - Alexander Pogrebinsky, Russian-born painter

* 1954 - Henry Bonilla, American politician

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

* 1955 - Tex Brashear, American voice actor

* 1957 - Joanna Pacula, Polish actress

* 1958 - Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian pianist

* 1960 - Naoki Urasawa, Japanese manga author

* 1961 - Gabrielle Carteris, American actress

* 1961 - Todd Haynes, American film director

* 1963 - David Cone, American baseball player

* 1963 - Edgar Martinez, American baseball player

* 1964 - Pernell Whitaker, American boxer

* 1965 - Greg Swindell, American baseball player

* 1967 - Tia Carrere, American actress

* 1967 - Jón Gnarr, Icelandic comedian

* 1968 - Cuba Gooding Jr., American actor

* 1968 - Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion

* 1968 - Evan Parke, Jamaican actor

* 1968 - Goichi Suda, CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture

* 1969 - Tommy Morrison, American boxer

* 1969 - Christy Turlington, American model

* 1969 - Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austrian politician

* 1969 - Róbert Švehla, Slovak ice hockey player

* 1969 - Patrick Huard, Quebec actor and comedian

* 1970 - Royce Clayton, American baseball player

* 1970 - Robert Fertitta, American opera singer

* 1970 - Sanda Ladoşi, Romanian singer

* 1971 - Taye Diggs, American actor

* 1971 - Lisa Harrison, American basketball player

* 1971 - Renee Elise Goldsberry, American actress and singer

* 1972 - Hristos Meletoglou, Greek triple jumper

* 1973 - Lucy Davis, British actress

* 1973 - Will Kirby, American actor

* 1975 - Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby union player

* 1975 - Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)

* 1975 - Chris Cheney, Australian musician (The Living End)

* 1976 - Cletidus Hunt, American football player

* 1976 - Danilo Di Luca, Italian cyclist

* 1976 - Paz Vega, Spanish actress

* 1976 - Hrysopiyi Devetzi, triple jump & long jump athlete

* 1976 - Mahée Paiement, Canadian actress

* 1977 - Ales Pisa, Czech ice hockey player

* 1977 - Scott Proctor, American baseball player

* 1978 - Toyoguchi Megumi, Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)

* 1979 - Suranne Jones, British actress

* 1980 - Mac Danzig, American Mixed martial arts combatant

* 1980 - Bill Alldredge, American politician

* 1981 - Hanno Balitsch, German footballer

* 1981 - Kirk Hinrich, basketball player

* 1981 - Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer

* 1981 - Ryan Garko, American baseball player

* 1982 - Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker

* 1983 - Kate Bosworth, American actress

* 1984 - Colleen Taylor, American journalist

* 1985 - Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player

* 1987 - Loui Batley, British actress

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)

* 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)

* 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)

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

* 1946 - Joe Darling, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)

* 1950 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor and the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor (b. 1884)

* 1959 - Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-American 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 - Willard Maas, American educator and experimental filmmaker (b. 1906)

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

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

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

* 1986 - Bill Veeck, 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)

* 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)

* 1999 - Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)

* 2000 - Nat Adderley, American musician and composer (b. 1931)

* 2000 - Patrick O'Brian, British novelist (b. 1914)

* 2000 - Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., U.S. admiral (b. 1920)

* 2001 - Teri Diver, American actress (b. 1971)

* 2002 - Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (b. 1958)

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

* 2004 - Jess Collins, American artist (b. 1923)

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

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

* 2005 - Ronald 'Bo' Ginn, American politician (b. 1934)

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

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

* 2007 - Teddy Kollek, Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)

* 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 - David Perkins, Stanford University geneticist (b. 1919)

* 2007 - Paek Nam-sun, North Korean Foreign Affairs minister (b. 1929)

* 2007 - Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor (b. 1951)

* 2007 - Don Massengale, American PGA Tour golf player (b. 1937)

* 2007 - Mauno Jokipii, Finnish professor and World War II researcher (b. 1924)

* 2007 - Sergio Jiménez, Mexican actor (b. 1937)

* 2007 - Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian (b. 1941)

* 2007 - Garry Betty, American CEO of Earthlink (b. 1957)

Holidays and Observances

* Second day of New Year, New Zealand

* Second day of New Year, Slovenia

* Second day of New Year, Ukraine

* Second day of new Year, Japan

* Ancestry Day, Haiti

* Second day of the Hogmanay Bank Holiday, Scotland

Religious Observances

* The eighth day of Christmas (and ninth night of same) in Western Christianity.

* Basil the Great

* Caspar del Bufalo

* Gregory of Nazianzus

* Macarius the Younger

* Seraphim of Sarov

* St. Berchtold's Day, Switzerland

* January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)