On this day: January 2

Events on January 2

• 69 The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor. Wikipedia
• 366 The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire. Wikipedia
• 533 Mercurius, a Roman priest, was elected Pope John II; he was likely 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
• 1788 Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution. Wikipedia
• 1860 French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier announced the putative discovery of the planet Vulcan at a meeting at the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. Wikipedia
• 1865 Uruguayan War: Brazilian and Colorado Party forces captured the city of Paysandú from its Uruguayan defenders. Wikipedia
• 1900 American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China. Wikipedia
• 1920 Under the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, U.S. Department of Justice agents launched a series of raids against radical leftists and anarchists in more than 30 cities and towns across 23 states. Wikipedia
• 1921 World premiere of the science fiction play R.U.R. by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in a theater in Hradec Králové. Wikipedia
• 1941 Second World War: Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, was severely damaged by German bombing during the Cardiff Blitz. 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
• 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 The Soviet Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon, was launched by a Vostok rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. 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
• 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
• 1991 Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as the mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first African-American woman to hold the position. Wikipedia
• 2004 The Stardust space probe flew by the comet Wild 2 and collected particle samples from its coma, which were later returned to Earth. Wikipedia
• 2009 Sri Lankan civil war: The Sri Lankan army captured the town of Kilinochchi from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, concluding the Battle of Kilinochchi. Wikipedia
• 2016 Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia, was executed by the Saudi government along with 46 other people. 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 While landing at Haneda Airport, Japan Airlines Flight 516 collided with a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 which killed five people in total. 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
• 1727 James Wolfe, English general (died 1759) 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
• 1895 Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (died 1948) Wikipedia
• 1896 Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (died 1954) Wikipedia
• 1903 Kane Tanaka, Japanese Supercentenarian, Oldest Japanese person ever, Second oldest verified person in world history (died 2022) 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
• 1961 Todd Haynes, American film director, screenwriter, and producer Wikipedia
• 1967 Tia Carrere, American actress Wikipedia
• 1968 Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer 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

• 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
• 1904 James Longstreet, American general and diplomat (born 1821) Wikipedia
• 1939 Roman Dmowski, Polish politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1864) Wikipedia
• 1963 Dick Powell, American actor, singer, and director (born 1904) Wikipedia
• 1995 Siad Barre, Somali general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (born 1919) Wikipedia
• 1995 Nancy Kelly, American actress (born 1921) Wikipedia
• 2011 Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (born 1946) Wikipedia
• 2011 Anne Francis, American actress (born 1930) Wikipedia
• 2016 Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (born 1959) Wikipedia
• 2017 John Berger, English art critic, novelist and painter (born 1926) 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

Sources

• Wikipedia — “January 2” — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/January 2” — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikidata — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

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 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for January 2 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.