What are the important events that happened on January 2? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
January 2: Facts & Myths About This Day
January 2 is the 2nd day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 20, 2023 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,402,560 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘digon’ day.
Capricorn is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Garnet is the modern birthstone for this month. Emerald is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 39 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,029 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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January 2 Historical Events
- 366 –The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire
- 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
- 1871 –Amadeus I becomes King of Spain
- 1900 –John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China
- 1911 –A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill
- 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.
- 1935 –Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh
- 1959 –Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union
- 1971 –The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football (soccer) match
- 2006 –An explosion in a coal mine in Sago, West Virginia traps and kills 12 miners, while leaving one miner in critical condition.
Who were born on January 2?
- 1877 –Slava Raškaj, Croatian painter (d. 1906)
- 1948 –Judith Miller, American journalist
- 1949 –Christopher Durang, American playwright
- 1953 –Manfred Wittke, German footballer
- 1967 –Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
- 1968 –Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor
- 1969 –Glen Johnson, Jamaican boxer
- 1972 –Adam Elliot, Australian animator
- 1974 –Luis Moro, Cuban-American actor and filmmaker
- 1988 –Damien Tussac, French-born German rugby player
Who died on January 2?
- 1946 –Joe Darling, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
- 1974 –Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)
- 2000 –Patrick O'Brian, British novelist (b. 1914)
- 2002 –Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (b. 1958)
- 2004 –Lynn Cartwright, American actress (b. 1927)
- 2005 –Ronald ‘Bo’Ginn, American politician (b. 1934)
- 2007 –Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian (b. 1941)
- 2007 –Robert C. Solomon, American scholar of continental philosophy (b. 1942)
- 2011 –Anne Francis, American actress (b. 1930)
- 2012 –Helmut Müller-Brühl, 78, German conductor(b.19)
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