✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 2nd day of the year

January 2

A look at January 2 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Lynn Conway and Rudolf Clausius, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♑ZodiacCapricorn ◈BirthstoneGarnet ❀Birth flowerCarnation
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 2004

    Stardust (spacecraft)

    Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.

    NASA sample-return mission to
  2. 1993

    Sri Lankan civil war

    Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35–100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.

    1983–2009 Sri Lankan internal
  3. 1991

    Sharon Pratt

    Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.

    Mayor of the District
  4. 1976

    Gale of January 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.

    Extratropical cyclone and storm
  5. 1967

    Ronald Reagan

    Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.

    President of the United
  6. 1963

    Vietnam War

    Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.

    1955–1975 war in Southeast
  7. 1959

    Luna 1

    Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.

    Soviet spacecraft
  8. 1941

    World War II

    World War II: The Cardiff Blitz severely damages the cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  9. 1777

    American Revolutionary War

    American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of General George Washington repulse a British attack led by General Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.

    1775–1783 conflict in North
  10. 533

    Pope John II

    Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.

    Head of the Catholic
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Famous birthday twins

Born on January 2

Lynn Conway

b. 1938

American computer scientist and electrical engineer

Rudolf Clausius

b. 1822

Polish-German physicist and mathematician

Beatrice Hicks

b. 1919

American engineer

Dziga Vertov

b. 1896

Polish-Russian director and screenwriter

Luigi Zampa

b. 1905

Italian director and screenwriter

Saud bin Faisal Al Saud

b. 1940

Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Walter Heitler

b. 1904

German physicist and chemist

Willi Graf

b. 1918

German physician and activist

Deaths

  • 2016Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader
  • 2012Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer
  • 1999Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author
  • 1892George Biddell Airy, English mathematician and astronomer
  • 1861Frederick William IV, of Prussia
  • 1470Heinrich Reuß von Plauen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order

Holidays & observances

  • —Ancestry Day (Haiti)
  • —Berchtold's Day (Switzerland)
  • —Christian feast day: Basil the Great (Catholic Church and Church of England)
  • —Christian feast day: Gregory of Nazianzus (Catholic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: John the Good
  • —Christian feast day: Macarius of Alexandria
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Marie Anne Blondin
  • —Christian feast day: Seraphim of Sarov (Eastern Orthodox Church)

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