2 January Events

January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 363 days remaining until the end of the year (364 in leap years). This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Thursday or Friday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Sunday (56).

Events

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.
1492 – Reconquista: the Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.
1680 – Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram and his bodyguards stabbed Trunajaya to death a month after the rebel leader was captured by the Dutch East India Company.
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.
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.
1818 – The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded.
1833 – Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
1860 – The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France.
1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River (a.k.a. Battle of Murfreesboro) resumes in central Tennessee after a day's respite, resulting in a significant Union victory.
1865 – Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as Brazilian and Coloradans capture Paysandú, Uruguay.
1900 – American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian garrison surrenders at Port Arthur, China.
1920 – The second Palmer Raid takes place with another 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists arrested and held without trial. These raids take place in several U.S. cities.
1941 – World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
1942 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) convicts 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history—the Duquesne Spy Ring.
1942 – World War II: Manila, Philippines is captured by Japanese forces.
1945 – World War II: Nuremberg, Germany is severely bombed by Allied forces.
1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
1955 – Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera is assassinated.
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.
1967 – Ronald Reagan is sworn in as Governor of California.
1971 – The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football (soccer) match.
1974 – United States President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
1975 – A bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.
1976 – The Gale of January 1976 begins, which results in coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts, resulting in at least 82 deaths and US$1.3 billion in damage.
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.
1991 – Sharon Pratt Kelly becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.
1992 – Leaders of armed opposition declare the President Zviad Gamsakhurdia deposed during a military coup in Georgia.
1993 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35-100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.
1999 – A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359 mm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 19 inches (487 mm) in Chicago, where temperatures plunge to -13 °F (-25 °C); 68 deaths are reported.
2004 – Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.
2006 – An explosion in a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia traps and kills 12 miners, leaving only one survivor.

Holidays and observances

Ancestry Day (Haiti)
Berchtold's Day (Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Alsace)
Carnival Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Christian feast day:
Basil the Great (Catholic Church and Church of England)
Defendens of Thebes
Earliest day on which the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is observed, while January 5 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday between January 2 and 5. (Roman Catholic Church)
Gregory of Nazianzus (Catholic Church)
Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe (Lutheran Church)
Macarius of Alexandria
Seraphim of Sarov (repose)
Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (Episcopal Church)
January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics))
Nyinlong (Bhutan)
The first day of Blacks and Whites' Carnival, celebrated until January 7. (southern Colombia)
The first day of the Carnival of Riosucio, celebrated until January 8 every 2 years. (Riosucio)
The ninth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
The second day of New Year (a holiday in Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Mauritius, Montenegro, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine):
New Year Holiday (Scotland), if it is a Sunday, the day moves to January 3
Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town, South Africa)
National Creampuff Day (United States)
Victory of Armed Forces Day (Cuba)

Source: wikipedia