On this day: January 2

Events on January 2

• 366 The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire. Wikipedia
• 533 Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy. Wikipedia
• 1492 Reconquista: The Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders. Wikipedia
• 1680 Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram of Java and his courtiers stabbed Trunajaya to death a week after the rebel leader surrendered to VOC forces. Wikipedia
• 1777 American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1788 Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1941 Second World War: Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, was severely damaged by German bombing during the Cardiff Blitz. Wikipedia
• 1941 World War II: The Cardiff Blitz severely damages the cathedral in Cardiff, Wales. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces, enabling them to control the Philippines. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: United States and Australian forces successfully landed in Papua New Guinea in an attempt to cut off a Japanese retreat. Wikipedia
• 1954 India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1959 Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union. Wikipedia
• 1963 Vietnam War: The Viet Cong won its first major victory at the Battle of Ap Bac. Wikipedia
• 1967 Ronald Reagan began his career in government when he was sworn in as the 33rd governor of California. Wikipedia
• 1967 Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California. Wikipedia
• 1971 The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football match. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1976 An extratropical cyclone began affecting parts of western Europe, resulting in coastal flooding around the southern portions of the North Sea and leading to at least 82 deaths. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 2004 Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 2024 Two aircraft collide on a runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, killing 5 and injuring 18. Wikipedia

Born on January 2

• 1462 Piero di Cosimo, Italian painter (died 1522) Wikipedia
• 1642 Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (died 1693) Wikipedia
• 1699 Osman III, Ottoman sultan (died 1757) Wikipedia
• 1822 Rudolf Clausius, Polish-German physicist and mathematician (died 1888) Wikipedia
• 1837 Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist and composer (died 1910) Wikipedia
• 1870 Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and playwright (died 1938) Wikipedia
• 1873 Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (died 1897) Wikipedia
• 1885 Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1918) Wikipedia
• 1896 Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (died 1954) Wikipedia
• 1902 Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (died 2007) Wikipedia
• 1909 Barry Goldwater, American politician, businessman, and author (died 1998) Wikipedia
• 1931 Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Japan (died 2022) Wikipedia
• 1942 Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 2026) Wikipedia
• 1967 Tia Carrere, American actress Wikipedia
• 1968 Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer Wikipedia
• 1972 Shiraz Minwalla, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist Wikipedia
• 1976 Paz Vega, Spanish actress Wikipedia
• 1980 Kemi Badenoch, English politician Wikipedia
• 1981 Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer Wikipedia
• 1983 Kate Bosworth, American actress Wikipedia
• 1987 Loïc Rémy, French footballer Wikipedia
• 1997 Carlos Soler, Spanish footballer Wikipedia

Died on January 2

• 1096 William de St-Calais, Bishop of Durham and chief counsellor of William II of England Wikipedia
• 1557 Pontormo, Italian painter and educator (born 1494) Wikipedia
• 1861 Frederick William IV of Prussia (born 1795) Wikipedia
• 1892 George Biddell Airy, English mathematician and astronomer (born 1801) Wikipedia
• 1939 Roman Dmowski, Polish politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1864) Wikipedia
• 1953 Guccio Gucci, Italian businessman and fashion designer, founder of Gucci (born 1881) Wikipedia
• 1995 Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (born 1919) Wikipedia
• 2001 William P. Rogers, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (born 1913) Wikipedia
• 2011 Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (born 1946) Wikipedia
• 2016 Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (born 1959) Wikipedia
• 2017 John Berger, English art critic, novelist and painter (born 1926) Wikipedia
• 2018 Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1927) Wikipedia
• 2019 Bob Einstein, American actor and comedian (born 1942) Wikipedia
• 2025 Ágnes Keleti, Hungarian Olympic gymnast (born 1921) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Ancestry Day (Haiti) Wikipedia
• Berchtold's Day (Switzerland) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Basil the Great (Catholic Church and Church of England) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Gregory of Nazianzus (Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: John the Good Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Macarius of Alexandria Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Marie Anne Blondin Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Seraphim of Sarov (Eastern Orthodox Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Theodore of Marseille Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (Episcopal Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• The Day after New Year's Day (New Zealand) Wikipedia
• Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town, South Africa) Wikipedia
• The first day of Blacks and Whites' Carnival, celebrated until January 7 (Colombia) Wikipedia
• The ninth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity) Wikipedia
• Bank holiday (Scotland) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “January 2” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.