Events

• 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River 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.
• 1757 - The United Kingdom captures Calcutta, India.
• 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.
• 1793 - Russia and Prussia partition Poland.
• 1808 - The U.S. Congress bans the importation of slaves.
• 1818 - The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded.
• 1833 - Re-establishment of British rule on the Falklands.
• 1860 - The discovery of the planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the Académie des Sciences in Paris.
• 1871 - Amadeus I becomes King of Spain.
• 1872 - Brigham Young is arrested on charges of bigamy for having 25 wives.
• 1882 - John D. Rockefeller unites his oil holdings into the Standard Oil trust.
• 1893 - Webb C. Ball of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America introduces railroad chronometers.
• 1900 - John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
• 1905 - Russo-Japanese War: The Russian garrison surrenders at Port Arthur, China.
• 1905 - The American anarcho-syndicalist union known as the Industrial Workers of the World forms.
• 1917 - The Royal Bank of Canada takes over the Quebec Bank.
• 1920 - The Palmer Raids begin in the United States.
• 1923 - United States Interior Secretary Albert Fall resigns over the Teapot Dome scandal.
• 1929 - Canada and the United States agree on a plan to preserve Niagara Falls.
• 1935 - Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh.
• 1941 - World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.
• 1941 - World War II: The U.S. government announces its Liberty ship program to build freighters in support of the war effort.
• 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 is captured by Japanese forces.
• 1942 - The United States Navy opens a blimp base at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
• 1946 - Unable to resume rule after World War II, King Zog of Albania abdicates but retains his claim to the throne.
• 1949 - Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
• 1955 - Panamanian president Jose Antonio Remon is assassinated.
• 1957 - The San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange and Los Angeles Oil Exchange merge.
• 1959 - Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the U.S.S.R.
• 1969 - Luis Ferré becomes the first statehooder Governor of Puerto Rico.
• 1969 - Operation Barrier Reef begins in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.
• 1971 - The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic football match.
• 1974 - 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.
• 1993 - Leaders of the three warring factions in Bosnia meet to discuss peace plans.
• 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.
• 2001 - Sila Calderón becomes the first female Governor of Puerto Rico.
• 2002 - Eduardo Duhalde is appointed interim President of Argentina by the Legislative Assembly.
• 2004 - Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that it will return to Earth two years later.

Births

• 1642 - Mehmed IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1693)
• 1647 - Nathaniel Bacon, English-born American colonist (d. 1676)
• 1699 - Osman III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1757)
• 1713 - Marie Dumesnil, French actress (d. 1803)
• 1719 - Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat, French shipbuilder (d. 1797)
• 1727 - James Wolfe, British general (d. 1759)
• 1777 - Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor (d. 1857)
• 1822 - Rudolf Clausius, German physicist (d. 1888)
• 1827 - Peter Semenov of Tian Shan, Russian explorer (d. 1914)
• 1833 - Frederick A. Johnson, American politician (d. 1893)
• 1836 - Queen Emma of Hawaii, Consort of King Kamehameha IV (d. 1885)
• 1836 - Mendele Moykher Sforim, Jewish writer (d. 1917)
• 1837 - Mily Balakirev, Russian composer (d. 1910)
• 1866 - Prof Gilbert Murray, Australian classical scholar (d. 1957)
• 1870 - Ernst Barlach, German sculptor (d. 1938)
• 1873 - Thérèse de Lisieux, French Roman-Catholic nun (d. 1897)
• 1877 - Slava Raskaj, Croatian painter (d.1906)
• 1886 - Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (d. 1938)
• 1886 - Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English Antarctic explorer (d. 1959)
• 1888 - Tito Schipa, Italian tenor (d. 1965)
• 1889 - Sir Bertram Stevens, Premier of New South Wales 1932-39 (d. 1973)
• 1892 - Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (d. 1962)
• 1893 - Lillian Leitzel, German acrobat and strongwoman (d. 1931)
• 1895 - Count Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (d. 1948)
• 1896 - Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (d. 1954)
• 1896 - Sir Lawrence Wackett, Australian aircraft engineer (d. 1982)
• 1897 - Jim Londos, Greek wrestler (d. 1975)
• 1902 - Dan Keating, Irish republican (d. 2007)
• 1902 - Barry Goldwater, American politician (d. 1998)
• 1904 - Sally Rand, American fan dancer (d. 1979)
• 1905 - Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician (d. 1938)
• 1905 - Luigi Zampa, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
• 1905 - Michael Tippett, English composer (d. 1998)
• 1910 - Srirangam Srinivasarao, Telugu Poet (d. 1983)
• 1913 - Anna Lee, English actress (d. 2004)
• 1917 - Vera Zorina, German dancer (d. 2003)
• 1918 - Willi Graf, German anti-Nazi activist (d. 1943)
• 1920 - Isaac Asimov, Russian author (d. 1992)
• 1921 - Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
• 1925 - William J. Crowe, American admiral and ambassador (d. 2007)
• 1925 - Larry Harmon, American entertainer and TV producer (d. 2008)
• 1928 - Robert Goralski, American journalist (d. 1988)
• 1928 - Avie Bennett, Canadian philanthropist
• 1928 - Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese writer
• 1930 - Julius LaRosa, American singer
• 1931 - Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese politician
• 1933 - Ed Casey, Australian politician (d. 2006)
• 1933 - Morimura Seiichi, Japanese novelist
• 1936 - Roger Miller, American singer (d. 1992)
• 1938 - Ian Brady, British serial killer
• 1938 - Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author
• 1939 - Jim Bakker, American televangelist
• 1940 - S. R. S. Varadhan, Indian-American mathematician
• 1942 - Dennis Hastert, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
• 1942 - Hugh Shelton, 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• 1943 - Bar?? Manço, Turkish singer and television producer (d. 1999)
• 1944 - Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian politician
• 1946 - Richard Cole, American tour manager
• 1947 - Jack Hanna, American zoologist
• 1947 - Calvin Hill, American football player
• 1949 - Christopher Durang, American playwright
• 1950 - David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist
• 1951 - Alexander Pogrebinsky, Russian painter
• 1952 - Graeme Strachan, Australian rock singer (Skyhooks) (d. 2001)
• 1954 - Henry Bonilla, American politician
• 1954 - Dawn Silva, American singer (The Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk)
• 1955 - Tex Brashear, American voice actor
• 1956 - Lynda Barry, American cartoonist
• 1957 - Joanna Pacula, Polish actress
• 1958 - Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian pianist
• 1960 - Naoki Urasawa, Japanese manga author
• 1961 - Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
• 1961 - Todd Haynes, American film director
• 1963 - David Cone, American baseball player
• 1963 - Edgar Martínez, American baseball player
• 1964 - Pernell Whitaker, American boxer
• 1965 - Greg Swindell, American baseball player
• 1967 - Tia Carrere, American actress
• 1967 - Jón Gnarr, Icelandic comedian
• 1967 - Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
• 1968 - Cuba Gooding Jr., American actor
• 1968 - Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion
• 1968 - Evan Parke, Jamaican actor
• 1968 - Goichi Suda, Japanese video game developer
• 1969 - Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austrian politician
• 1969 - Patrick Huard, Quebec actor and comedian
• 1969 - Glen Johnson, Jamaican boxer
• 1969 - Tommy Morrison, American boxer
• 1969 - Róbert ?vehla, Slovak ice hockey player
• 1969 - Christy Turlington, American model
• 1969 - Robby Gordon, American racing driver
• 1970 - Royce Clayton, American baseball player
• 1970 - Robert Fertitta, American opera singer
• 1970 - Sanda Lado?i, Romanian singer
• 1971 - Taye Diggs, American actor
• 1971 - Renee Elise Goldsberry, American actress and singer
• 1971 - Lisa Harrison, American basketball player
• 1972 - Adam Elliot, Australian animator
• 1972 - Christopher Lennertz, American composer
• 1972 - Hristos Meletoglou, Greek triple jumper
• 1973 - Lucy Davis, British actress
• 1973 - Will Kirby, American actor
• 1975 - Chris Cheney, Australian musician (The Living End)
• 1975 - Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)
• 1975 - Dax Shepard, American actor
• 1975 - Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby union player
• 1976 - Hrysopiyi Devetzi, Greek triple jumper
• 1976 - Danilo Di Luca, Italian cyclist
• 1976 - Cletidus Hunt, American football player
• 1976 - Mahée Paiement, Canadian actress
• 1976 - Paz Vega, Spanish actress
• 1977 - Ales Pisa, Czech ice hockey player
• 1977 - Scott Proctor, American baseball player
• 1978 - Toyoguchi Megumi, Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)
• 1979 - Suranne Jones, British actress
• 1979 - Jonathan Greening, British footballer
• 1980 - Mac Danzig, American Mixed martial arts combatant
• 1981 - Hanno Balitsch, German footballer
• 1981 - Ryan Garko, American baseball player
• 1981 - Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player
• 1981 - Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
• 1982 - Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
• 1983 - Kate Bosworth, American actress
• 1984 - Colleen Taylor, American journalist
• 1985 - Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player
• 1987 - Loui Batley, British actress
• 1987 - Syesha Mercado, American singer
• 1988 - Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer

Deaths

• 1512 - Svante, Regent of Sweden (b. 1460)
• 1514 - William Smyth, English bishop and statesman (bc. 1460)
• 1557 - Pontormo, Italian painter (b. 1494)
• 1685 - Harbottle Grimston, English politician (b. 1603)
• 1694 - Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician (b. 1651)
• 1726 - Domenico Zipoli, Italian composer (b. 1688)
• 1861 - King Frederick William IV of Prussia (b. 1795)
• 1892 - George Airy, British Astronomer Royal (b. 1801)
• 1893 - John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist (b. 1805)
• 1904 - James Longstreet, American Confederate general (b. 1821)
• 1913 - Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (b. 1855)
• 1915 - Carl Goldmark, Hungarian composer (b. 1830)
• 1917 - Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (b. 1832)
• 1920 - Paul Adam, French novelist (b. 1862)
• 1924 - Sabine Baring-Gould, English composer and novelist (b. 1834)
• 1936 - Sir Francis Newdegate, Governor of Tasmania, Western Australia (b. 1862)
• 1939 - Roman Dmowski, Polish politician (b. 1864)
• 1941 - Mischa Levitzki, Russian-American pianist (b. 1898)
• 1945 - Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, British naval commander (b. 1883)
• 1946 - Joe Darling, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
• 1950 - James Dooley, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)
• 1950 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor and the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor (b. 1884)
• 1951 - Sir William Campion, Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)
• 1959 - Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-American writer and novelist (b. 1880)
• 1960 - Paul Sauvé, Canadian politician (b. 1907)
• 1960 - Fausto Coppi, Italian cyclist (b. 1919)
• 1963 - Dick Powell, American actor (b. 1904)
• 1963 - Jack Carson, American actor (b. 1910)
• 1971 - Willard Maas, American educator and experimental filmmaker (b. 1906)
• 1974 - Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)
• 1977 - Errol Garner, American musician (b. 1921)
• 1983 - Dick Emery, English comedian (b. 1915)
• 1986 - Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)
• 1986 - Bill Veeck, American baseball executive (b. 1914)
• 1986 - Dick James, English music publisher (Northern Songs) (b. 1920)
• 1990 - Alan Hale Jr., American actor (b. 1918)
• 1994 - Dixy Lee Ray, American politician (b. 1914)
• 1994 - Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (b. 1915)
• 1995 - Siad Barre, President of Somalia (b. 1919)
• 1995 - Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921)
• 1996 - Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist (b. 1915)
• 1997 - Randy California, American guitarist & songwriter (Spirit) (b. 1951)
• 1998 - Frank Muir, English writer, raconteur (b. 1920)
• 1999 - Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)
• 2000 - Patrick O'Brian, British novelist (b. 1914)
• 2000 - Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., U.S. admiral (b. 1920)
• 2000 - Nat Adderley, American musician and composer (b. 1931)
• 2001 - William P. Rogers, American politician (b. 1913)
• 2001 - Teri Diver, American actress (b. 1971)
• 2002 - Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (b. 1958)
• 2003 - Eric Jupp, British-Australian pianist, composer, arranger (b. 1922)
• 2004 - Jess Collins, American artist (b. 1923)
• 2004 - Lynn Cartwright, American actress (b. 1927)
• 2005 - Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist (b. 1911)
• 2005 - Cyril Fletcher, British comedian (b. 1913)
• 2005 - Edo Murti?, Croatian painter (b. 1921)
• 2005 - Frank Kelly Freas, American artist (b. 1922)
• 2005 - Ronald 'Bo' Ginn, American politician (b. 1934)
• 2006 - Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, first female Philippine Supreme Court Justice (b. 1913)
• 2007 - Teddy Kollek, Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
• 2007 - David Perkins, Stanford University geneticist (b. 1919)
• 2007 - Mauno Jokipii, Finnish professor and World War II researcher (b. 1924)
• 2007 - Paek Nam-sun, North Korean Foreign Affairs minister (b. 1929)
• 2007 - Sergio Jiménez, Mexican actor (b. 1937)
• 2007 - Don Massengale, American PGA Tour golf player (b. 1937)
• 2007 - Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian (b. 1941)
• 2007 - Robert C. Solomon, American scholar of continental philosophy (b. 1942)
• 2007 - Dan Shaver, NASCAR driver and ARCA race car driver/owner (b. 1950)
• 2007 - Richard Newton, Australian-born technology pioneer and professor (b. 1951)
• 2007 - Garry Betty, American CEO of Earthlink (b. 1957)
• 2008 - Gerry Staley, American baseball player (b. 1920)
• 2008 - Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krommaluang Narathiwat Rajanagarindra, elder sister of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand (b. 1923)
• 2008 - George MacDonald Fraser, British author (b. 1925)
• 2008 - Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

• Second day of the Hogmanay Bank Holiday, Scotland
• Second day of New Year, Slovenia - Public holidays in Slovenia
• Second day of New Year, Serbia - Public holidays in Serbia
• Day after New Year's Day, New Zealand - Public holidays in New Zealand
• The eighth day of Christmas (and ninth night of same) in Western Christianity.
• Basil the Great
• Caspar del Bufalo
• Gregory of Nazianzus
• Macarius the Younger
• Seraphim of Sarov
• Saint Defendens of Thebes
• January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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