Events

Pre-1600

• 69 The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.

• 366 The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine 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.

• 1444 Christian forces defeat the Turks in the battle of Kunovica.

• 1492 Reconquista: The Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.

1601–1900

• 1680 Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram and his bodyguards execute the rebel leader Trunajaya.

• 1776 Empress Maria Theresa of Austria amends the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana to include the abolition of torture throughout the Habsburg-ruled countries of Austria and Bohemia.

• 1777 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.

• 1788 Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.

• 1791 Northwest Indian War: The Big Bottom massacre is committed by Lenape and Wyandot warriors in the Ohio Country, North America.

• 1818 The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded by a group of six engineers; Thomas Telford would later become its first president.

• 1863 American Civil War: The three-day Battle of Stones River ends in a Union victory when the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg are repulsed for the final time by the Army of the Cumberland under General William S. Rosecrans.

• 1865 Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as the Brazilians and Coloradanss capture Paysandú, Uruguay.

• 1900 American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.

• 1900 Chicago Canal opens.

1901–present

• 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.

• 1921 World premiere of the science fiction play R.U.R. by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in a theater in Hradec Králové.

• 1932 The Young Brothers engaged in a gun battle resulting in the deaths of six law enforcement officers; the worst single killing of US police officers in the 20th century.

• 1941 World War II: The Cardiff Blitz severely damages the cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.

• 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.

• 1942 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces, enabling them to control the Philippines.

• 1949 Luis Muñoz Marín is inaugurated as the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.

• 1954 India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.

• 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.

• 1959 Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.

• 1963 Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.

• 1967 Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.

• 1971 The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football match.

• 1975 At the opening of a new railway line, a bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 1988 Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782 crashes near Seferihisar, Turkey, killing 16 people.

• 1991 Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.

• 1993 Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35–100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.

• 2004 Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.

• 2022 Massive nationwide protests and unrest break out in Kazakhstan over the sudden increase of liquefied petroleum gas prices, leading to 238 people dead and thousands injured by January 11.

• 2024 Two aircraft collide on a runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, killing 5 and injuring 18.

Births

Pre-1600

• 869 Yōzei, Japanese emperor (died 949)

• 1462 Piero di Cosimo, Italian painter (died 1522)

• 1509 Henry of Stolberg, German nobleman (died 1572)

1601–1900

• 1642 Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (died 1693)

• 1647 Nathaniel Bacon, English-American rebel leader (died 1676)

• 1699 Osman III, Ottoman sultan (died 1757)

• 1713 Marie Dumesnil, French actress (died 1803)

• 1727 James Wolfe, English general (died 1759)

• 1732 František Brixi, Czech organist and composer (died 1771)

• 1777 Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor and educator (died 1857)

• 1803 Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja, Italian mathematician and academic (died 1869)

• 1822 Rudolf Clausius, Polish-German physicist and mathematician (died 1888)

• 1827 Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Russian geographer and statistician (died 1914)

• 1833 Frederick A. Johnson, American banker and politician (died 1893)

• 1836 Mendele Mocher Sforim, Russian author (died 1917)

• 1836 Queen Emma of Hawaii (died 1885)

• 1837 Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist and composer (died 1910)

• 1857 M. Carey Thomas, American educator and activist (died 1935)

• 1860 Dugald Campbell Patterson, Canadian engineer (died 1931)

• 1860 William Corless Mills, American historian and curator (died 1928)

• 1866 Gilbert Murray, Australian-English playwright and scholar (died 1957)

• 1870 Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and playwright (died 1938)

• 1870 Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and businessman (died 1929)

• 1873 Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer and theorist (died 1960)

• 1873 Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (died 1897)

• 1878 Jaakko Mäki, Finnish politician (died 1938)

• 1878 Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, Indian activist, founded the Nair Service Society (died 1970)

• 1884 Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli historian and politician, 4th Israeli Minister of Education (died 1973)

• 1885 Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1918)

• 1886 Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English explorer and author (died 1959)

• 1889 Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (died 1973)

• 1891 Giovanni Michelucci, Italian architect and urban planner, designed the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station (died 1990)

• 1892 Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (died 1962)

• 1895 Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (died 1948)

• 1896 Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (died 1954)

• 1896 Lawrence Wackett, Australian commander and engineer (died 1982)

• 1897 Theodore Plucknett, English legal historian (died 1965)

• 1900 Una Ledingham, British physician, known for research on diabetes in pregnancy (died 1965)

1901–present

• 1901 Bob Marshall, American activist, co-founded The Wilderness Society (died 1939)

• 1902 Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (died 2007)

• 1903 Kane Tanaka, Japanese Supercentenarian, Oldest Japanese person ever, Second oldest verified person in world history (died 2022)

• 1904 Walter Heitler, German physicist and chemist (died 1981)

• 1905 Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (died 1998)

• 1905 Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1991)

• 1909 Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (died 2009)

• 1909 Barry Goldwater, American politician, businessman, and author (died 1998)

• 1913 Juanita Jackson Mitchell, American lawyer and activist (died 1992)

• 1913 Anna Lee, English-American actress (died 2004)

• 1914 Jack Beaton, Australian rugby league player (died 1996)

• 1917 Vera Zorina, German-Norwegian actress and dancer (died 2003)

• 1918 Willi Graf, German physician and activist (died 1943)

• 1919 Ernest Bender, American Indologist (died 1996)

• 1919 Beatrice Hicks, American engineer (died 1979)

• 1920 (probable) Isaac Asimov, American writer and professor of biochemistry (died 1992)

• 1920 Bob Feerick, American basketball player and coach (died 1976)

• 1921 Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2007)

• 1926 Gino Marchetti, American football player (died 2019)

• 1928 Dan Rostenkowski, American politician (died 2010)

• 1929 Charles Beaumont, screenwriter and American author of speculative fiction (died 1967)

• 1929 Tellervo Koivisto, Finnish politician, former First Lady of Finland

• 1931 Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Japan (died 2022)

• 1933 Richard Riley, American politician, 6th United States Secretary of Education

• 1934 John Hollowbread, English footballer, goalkeeper (died 2007)

• 1936 Roger Miller, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (died 1992)

• 1938 David Bailey, English photographer and painter

• 1938 Lynn Conway, American computer scientist and electrical engineer (died 2024)

• 1938 Robert Smithson, American sculptor and photographer (died 1973)

• 1940 Jim Bakker, American televangelist

• 1940 Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2015)

• 1942 Thomas Hammarberg, Swedish lawyer and diplomat

• 1942 Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

• 1943 Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer (died 2004)

• 1944 Charlie Davis, Trinidadian cricketer

• 1944 Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor (died 2024)

• 1944 Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian field marshal and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (died 2021)

• 1944 Mohamed Ali Yusuf, Somali politician (died 2024)

• 1947 Jack Hanna, American zoologist and author

• 1947 Calvin Hill, American football player

• 1947 David Shapiro, American poet, historian, and critic (died 2024)

• 1948 Judith Miller, American journalist

• 1948 Deborah Watling, English actress (died 2017)

• 1949 Christopher Durang, American playwright and screenwriter (died 2024)

• 1949 Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and academic (died 2006)

• 1952 Indulis Emsis, Latvian biologist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Latvia

• 1952 Wendy Phillips, American actress

• 1954 Henry Bonilla, American broadcaster and politician

• 1954 Évelyne Trouillot, Haitian playwright and author

• 1961 Gabrielle Carteris, American actress

• 1961 Paula Hamilton, English model

• 1961 Todd Haynes, American film director, screenwriter, and producer

• 1961 Craig James, American football player and sportscaster

• 1961 Robert Wexler, American lawyer and politician

• 1963 David Cone, American baseball player and sportscaster

• 1963 Edgar Martínez, American baseball player

• 1964 Chris Welp, German-American basketball player (died 2015)

• 1964 Pernell Whitaker, American boxer (died 2019)

• 1967 Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player

• 1967 Tia Carrere, American actress

• 1967 Jón Gnarr, Icelandic actor and politician; 20th Mayor of Reykjavík

• 1968 Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer

• 1968 Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion

• 1969 István Bagyula, Hungarian pole vaulter

• 1969 William Fox-Pitt, English horse rider and journalist

• 1969 Elena Gorolová, Czech Romani activist

• 1969 Tommy Morrison, American boxer and actor (died 2013)

• 1969 Róbert Švehla, Slovak ice hockey player

• 1969 Christy Turlington, American model

• 1970 Eric Whitacre, American composer and conductor

• 1971 Taye Diggs, American actor and singer

• 1971 Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress

• 1972 Rodney MacDonald, Canadian educator and politician, 26th Premier of Nova Scotia

• 1972 Shiraz Minwalla, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist

• 1972 Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey player and manager

• 1974 Ludmila Formanová, Czech runner

• 1974 Juha Lind, Finnish ice hockey player

• 1974 Tomáš Řepka, Czech footballer

• 1975 Chris Cheney, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

• 1975 Dax Shepard, American actor

• 1975 Jeff Suppan, American baseball player

• 1975 Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby player

• 1976 Paz Vega, Spanish actress

• 1977 Brian Boucher, American ice hockey player and sportscaster

• 1977 Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player

• 1979 Jonathan Greening, English footballer

• 1980 Kemi Badenoch, English politician

• 1980 David Gyasi, British actor

• 1981 Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player

• 1981 Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer

• 1983 Kate Bosworth, American actress

• 1983 Anthony Carrigan, American actor

• 1987 Shelley Hennig, American actress and model

• 1987 Robert Milsom, English footballer

• 1987 Loïc Rémy, French footballer

• 1988 Germán Cano, Argentine footballer

• 1988 Luke Harangody, American basketball player

• 1988 Damien Tussac, French-German rugby player

• 1991 Ben Hardy, English actor

• 1992 Paulo Gazzaniga, Argentine footballer

• 1992 Alexey Marchenko, Russian ice hockey player

• 1992 Teemu Pulkkinen, Finnish ice hockey player

• 1992 Korbin Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player

• 1993 Bryson Tiller, American singer and rapper

• 1994 Ronald Darby, American football player

• 1996 Jonah Bolden, Australian-American basketball player

• 1997 Arshad Nadeem, Pakistani javelin thrower

• 1997 Carlos Soler, Spanish footballer

• 1998 Tfue, American online streamer

• 1998 Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Dutch footballer

• 1999 Georgios Kalaitzakis, Greek basketball player

• 1999 Fernando Tatís Jr., Dominican baseball player

• 1999 Aaron Wiggins, American professional basketball player

• 2000 Spencer Arrighetti, American baseball player

• 2001 Cole Caufield, American ice hockey player

• 2001 Luiz Henrique, Brazilian footballer

• 2003 CJ Egan-Riley, English footballer

• 2003 Elye Wahi, French footballer

• 2006 Claudio Echeverri, Argentine footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 951 Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of the Later Han (born 931)

• 951 Su Fengji, Chinese official and chancellor

• 1096 William de St-Calais, Bishop of Durham and chief counsellor of William II of England

• 1169 Bertrand de Blanchefort, sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar (born c. 1109)

• 1184 Theodora Komnene, Duchess of Austria, daughter of Andronikos Komnenos

• 1298 Lodomer, Hungarian prelate, Archbishop of Esztergom

• 1470 Heinrich Reuß von Plauen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order

• 1512 Svante Nilsson, Swedish politician (born 1460)

• 1514 William Smyth, English bishop and academic (born 1460)

• 1543 Francesco Canova da Milano, Italian composer (born 1497)

• 1557 Pontormo, Italian painter and educator (born 1494)

• 1598 Morris Kyffin, Welsh soldier and writer (born c.1555)

1601–1900

• 1613 Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (born 1539)

• 1614 Luisa Carvajal y Mendoza, Spanish mystical poet and Catholic martyr (born 1566)

• 1726 Domenico Zipoli, Italian organist and composer (born 1688)

• 1763 John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English statesman (born 1690)

• 1816 Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, French chemist and politician (born 1793)

• 1850 Manuel de la Peña y Peña, Mexican lawyer and 20th President (1847) (born 1789)

• 1861 Frederick William IV of Prussia (born 1795)

• 1876 Meta Heusser-Schweizer, Swiss poet (born 1797)

• 1892 George Biddell Airy, English mathematician and astronomer (born 1801)

1901–present

• 1904 James Longstreet, American general and diplomat (born 1821)

• 1913 Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (born 1855)

• 1915 Karl Goldmark, Hungarian violinist and composer (born 1830)

• 1917 Léon Flameng, French cyclist (born 1877)

• 1920 Paul Adam, French author (born 1862)

• 1924 Sabine Baring-Gould, English author and scholar (born 1834)

• 1939 Roman Dmowski, Polish politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1864)

• 1941 Mischa Levitzki, Russian-American pianist and composer (born 1898)

• 1946 Joe Darling, Australian cricketer and politician (born 1870)

• 1950 James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (born 1877)

• 1951 William Campion, English colonel and politician, 21st Governor of Western Australia (born 1870)

• 1951 Edith New, English militant suffragette (born 1877)

• 1953 Guccio Gucci, Italian businessman and fashion designer, founder of Gucci (born 1881)

• 1960 Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (born 1907)

• 1963 Dick Powell, American actor, singer, and director (born 1904)

• 1963 Jack Carson, Canadian-American actor (born 1910)

• 1974 Tex Ritter, American actor (born 1905)

• 1975 Siraj Sikder, Bangladesh revolutionary leader (born 1944)

• 1977 Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (born 1921)

• 1986 Una Merkel, American actress (born 1903)

• 1987 Harekrushna Mahatab, Indian journalist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Odisha (born 1899)

• 1989 Safdar Hashmi, Indian actor, director, and playwright (born 1954)

• 1990 Alan Hale Jr., American film and television actor (born 1921)

• 1990 Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence (born 1910)

• 1994 Dixy Lee Ray, American biologist and politician; 17th Governor of Washington (born 1914)

• 1994 Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, French lawyer and businessman (born 1915)

• 1995 Nancy Kelly, American actress (born 1921)

• 1995 Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (born 1919)

• 1999 Rolf Liebermann, Swiss-French composer and manager (born 1910)

• 1999 Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (born 1907)

• 2000 Elmo Zumwalt, American admiral (born 1920)

• 2000 Patrick O'Brian, English author and translator (born 1914)

• 2001 William P. Rogers, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (born 1913)

• 2005 Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist and physician (born 1911)

• 2006 Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Filipino lawyer and jurist (born 1913)

• 2006 Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (born 1914)

• 2007 A. Richard Newton, Australian-American engineer and academic (born 1951)

• 2007 Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian and author (born 1941)

• 2007 Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (born 1911)

• 2008 George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish journalist and author (born 1925)

• 2008 Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician, Governor of Wisconsin (born 1926)

• 2009 Inger Christensen, Danish poet and author (born 1935)

• 2010 David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (born 1958)

• 2011 Anne Francis, American actress (born 1930)

• 2011 Bali Ram Bhagat, Indian politician; 16th Governor of Rajasthan (born 1922)

• 2011 Mia Bustam, Indonesian painter, writer, and political prisoner (born 1920)

• 2011 Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (born 1946)

• 2012 William P. Carey, American businessman and philanthropist, founded W. P. Carey (born 1930)

• 2012 Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (born 1953)

• 2012 Gordon Hirabayashi, American-Canadian sociologist and academic (born 1918)

• 2013 Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American historian, author, and academic (born 1920)

• 2013 Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (born 1944)

• 2014 Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (born 1924)

• 2014 Elizabeth Jane Howard, English author and screenwriter (born 1923)

• 2015 Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (born 1929)

• 2016 Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian lawyer and politician (born 1924)

• 2016 Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (born 1935)

• 2016 Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (born 1959)

• 2016 Gisela Mota Ocampo, mayor of Temixco, Morelos, Mexico, assassinated (born 1982)

• 2017 Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (born 1933)

• 2017 John Berger, English art critic, novelist and painter (born 1926)

• 2018 Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (born 1950)

• 2018 Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1927)

• 2019 Daryl Dragon, American musician (born 1942)

• 2019 Bob Einstein, American actor and comedian (born 1942)

• 2019 Julia Grant, British transgender activist (born 1954)

• 2019 Gene Okerlund, American wrestling announcer (born 1942)

• 2025 Ágnes Keleti, Hungarian Olympic gymnast (born 1921)

• 2025 Francesc Antich, Spanish politician (born 1958)

Holidays and observances

• Ancestry Day (Haiti)

• Berchtold's Day (Switzerland)

Christian feast day:

• Basil the Great (Catholic Church and Church of England)

• Gregory of Nazianzus (Catholic Church)

• John the Good

• Macarius of Alexandria

• Blessed Marie Anne Blondin

• Seraphim of Sarov (Eastern Orthodox Church)

• Theodore of Marseille

• Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (Episcopal Church)

• January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• The Day after New Year's Day (New Zealand)

• Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town, South Africa)

• The first day of Blacks and Whites' Carnival, celebrated until January 7 (Colombia)

• The ninth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)

• Bank holiday (Scotland)

References

External links

• BBC: On This Day

• Historical Events on January 2