January 2
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| January 2 in recent years |
| 2016 (Saturday) |
| 2015 (Friday) |
| 2014 (Thursday) |
| 2013 (Wednesday) |
| 2012 (Monday) |
| 2011 (Sunday) |
| 2010 (Saturday) |
| 2009 (Friday) |
| 2008 (Wednesday) |
| 2007 (Tuesday) |
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).
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.
- 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.
- 1871 – Amadeus I becomes King of Spain.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 (in German, Nürnberg) 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 in the Battle of Ap Bac.
- 1967 – Ronald Reagan 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 Minister of Railways Lalit Narayan Mishra.
- 1975 – Bangladeshi Marxist leader Siraj Sikder is arrested and dies while in police custody.
- 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.
- 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, while leaving one miner in critical condition.
- 2011 – January 2011 Baghdad shootings take place.
- 2013 – Barack Obama signs the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.
Births
- 1403 – Basilios Bessarion, Greek cardinal and scholar (d. 1472)
- 1462 – Piero di Cosimo, Italian painter (d. 1522)
- 1642 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (d. 1693)
- 1647 – Nathaniel Bacon, English-American rebel leader (d. 1676)
- 1699 – Osman III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1757)
- 1713 – Marie Dumesnil, French actress (d. 1803)
- 1719 – Jacques-Alexandre Laffon de Ladebat, French shipbuilder and merchant (d. 1797)
- 1727 – James Wolfe, English general (d. 1759)
- 1732 – František Brixi, Czech organist and composer (d. 1771)
- 1777 – Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor and educator (d. 1857)
- 1822 – Rudolf Clausius, Polish-German physicist and mathematician (d. 1888)
- 1827 – Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Russian geographer and statistician (d. 1914)
- 1833 – Frederick A. Johnson, American banker and politician (d. 1893)
- 1836 – Queen Emma of Hawaii (d. 1885)
- 1836 – Mendele Mocher Sforim, Russian author (d. 1917)
- 1837 – Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1910)
- 1851 – Ludwig von Graff, Austrian zoologist (d. 1924)
- 1852 – Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (d. 1937)
- 1857 – M. Carey Thomas, American educator and activist (d. 1935)
- 1860 – William Corless Mills, American historian and curator (d. 1928)
- 1860 – Dugald Campbell Patterson, Canadian engineer (d. 1931)
- 1866 – Gilbert Murray, Australian-English playwright and scholar (d. 1957)
- 1870 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and playwright (d. 1938)
- 1873 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (d. 1897)
- 1873 – Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer and theorist (d. 1960)
- 1876 – Aquiles Serdán, Mexican activist and politician (d. 1910)
- 1878 – Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, Indian activist, founded the Nair Service Society (d. 1970)
- 1879 – Rudolf Bauer, Hungarian discus thrower (d. 1932)
- 1884 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli historian and politician, 4th Israeli Minister of Education (d. 1973)
- 1885 – Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
- 1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English explorer and author (d. 1959)
- 1886 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian-American actress (d. 1938)
- 1887 – Burhan Asaf Belge, Turkish diplomat (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1973)
- 1890 – Henrik Visnapuu, Estonian-American poet and playwright (d. 1951)
- 1891 – Giovanni Michelucci, Italian architect and urban planner, designed the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station (d. 1990)
- 1892 – Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (d. 1962)
- 1893 – Lillian Leitzel, German acrobat and strongwoman (d. 1931)
- 1895 – Folke Bernadotte, Swedish lieutenant and diplomat (d. 1948)
- 1896 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (d. 1954)
- 1896 – Lawrence Wackett, Australian commander and engineer (d. 1982)
- 1897 – Jim Londos, Greek-American wrestler (d. 1975)
- 1898 – Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, American economist and lawyer (d. 1989)
- 1900 – William Haines, American actor and interior designer (d. 1973)
- 1901 – Bob Marshall, American activist, co-founded The Wilderness Society (d. 1939)
- 1902 – Dan Keating, Irish soldier (d. 2007)
- 1904 – Truus Klapwijk, Dutch diver and swimmer (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Jainendra Kumar, Indian author and translator (d. 1988)
- 1905 – Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1938)
- 1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (d. 1998)
- 1905 – Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
- 1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (d. 2009)
- 1909 – Barry Goldwater, American general and politician (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (d. 2004)
- 1913 – Juanita Jackson Mitchell, American lawyer and activist (d. 1992)
- 1914 – Kenny Clarke, American drummer and composer (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 1985)
- 1914 – Noor Inayat Khan, Russian-English SOE agent (d. 1944)
- 1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish-American midwife, actress, and producer for the Yiddish stage (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Vera Zorina, German-Norwegian actress and dancer (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Willi Graf, German physician and activist (d. 1943)
- 1920 – Isaac Asimov, Russian-American chemist, author, and academic (d. 1992)
- 1921 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1923 – Rachel Waterhouse, English historian and author
- 1924 – Evgenios Spatharis, Greek puppeteer, actor, and director (d. 2009)
- 1925 – William J. Crowe, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 2007)
- 1925 – Giacomo Furia, Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Avie Bennett, Canadian businessman and philanthropist
- 1928 – Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese religious leader
- 1928 – Robert Goralski, American journalist and author (d. 1988)
- 1928 – Kate Molale, South African activist and politician (d. 1980)
- 1931 – James D. Murray, Scottish mathematician and academic
- 1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese lawyer and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Japan
- 1932 – Peter Redgrove, English poet, author, and playwright (d. 2003)
- 1933 – Ed Casey, Australian banker and politician (d. 2006)
- 1933 – Seiichi Morimura, Japanese author
- 1933 – Richard Riley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Secretary of Education
- 1933 – Keith Thomas, Welsh historian, author, and academic
- 1935 – David McKee, English author and illustrator
- 1935 – Lolo Soetoro, Indonesian geographer and academic (d. 1987)
- 1936 – Roger Miller, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1992)
- 1937 – David Bailey, English photographer and painter
- 1937 – Martin Lauer, German runner and journalist
- 1938 – Lynn Conway, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic
- 1938 – Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author and educator
- 1938 – Goh Kun, South Korean politician, 31st Prime Minister of South Korea
- 1938 – Robert Smithson, American sculptor and photographer (d. 1973)
- 1940 – Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
- 1940 – S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan, Indian-American mathematician and academic
- 1942 – Thomas Hammarberg, Swedish lawyer and diplomat
- 1942 – Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1942 – Ray Moore, English radio host (d. 1989)
- 1942 – Hugh Shelton, American general
- 1943 – Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor
- 1944 – Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian field marshal and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia
- 1946 – Sonny Ruberto, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist and author
- 1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player
- 1947 – David Shapiro, American poet, historian, and critic
- 1948 – Judith Miller, American journalist and author
- 1948 – Joyce Wadler, American journalist and author
- 1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright and screenwriter
- 1949 – Jean Krier, Luxembourger poet (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 2006)
- 1950 – Débora Duarte, Brazilian actress
- 1950 – David Shifrin, American clarinet player and educator
- 1950 – Anatoli Ushanov, Russian footballer and coach
- 1951 – Stipe Božić, Croatian mountaineer and photographer
- 1951 – Jim Essian, American baseball player and coach
- 1951 – Alexander Pogrebinsky, Ukrainian-American painter and educator
- 1952 – Jimmy Santiago Baca, American poet and author
- 1952 – Indulis Emsis, Latvian biologist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Latvia
- 1952 – Robbie Ftorek, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1952 – Wendy Phillips, American actress
- 1952 – Graeme Strachan, Australian singer-songwriter (Skyhooks) (d. 2001)
- 1953 – Vincent Racaniello, American virologist, author, and academic
- 1953 – Jacques Tichelaar, Dutch educator and politician
- 1954 – Henry Bonilla, American broadcaster and politician
- 1956 – Lynda Barry, American cartoonist and author
- 1956 – John Bedford Lloyd, American actor
- 1957 – Beppe Gabbiani, Italian race car driver
- 1958 – Helen Goodman, English lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Russian pianist and educator
- 1959 – Kirti Azad, Indian cricketer and politician
- 1959 – Ines Müller, German shot putter
- 1960 – Raman Lamba, Indian cricketer (d. 1998)
- 1960 – Naoki Urasawa, Japanese illustrator, singer, and guitarist
- 1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
- 1961 – Todd Haynes, American director and screenwriter
- 1961 – Craig James, American football player and sportscaster
- 1961 – Hitoshi Saito, Japanese martial artist (d. 2015)
- 1961 – Robert Wexler, American lawyer and politician
- 1963 – David Cone, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1963 – Edgar Martínez, American baseball player
- 1964 – Michael McCann, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1965 – Greg Swindell, American baseball player and coach
- 1967 – Jón Gnarr, Icelandic actor and politician; 20th Mayor of Reykjavik City
- 1967 – Robert Liberace, American painter
- 1967 – Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
- 1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer
- 1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch horse rider
- 1969 – István Bagyula, Hungarian pole vaulter
- 1969 – William Fox-Pitt, English horse rider and journalist
- 1969 – Robby Gordon, American race car driver
- 1969 – Karl-Heinz Grasser, Austrian businessman and politician, 16th Finance Minister of Austria
- 1969 – Patrick Huard, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Glen Johnson, Jamaican boxer
- 1969 – Tommy Morrison, American boxer and actor (d. 2013)
- 1969 – Christy Turlington, American model
- 1970 – Eric Whitacre, American composer and conductor
- 1970 – Ogie Diaz, Filipino comedian and actor
- 1971 – Taye Diggs, American actor
- 1971 – Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress
- 1971 – Lisa Harrison, American basketball player
- 1972 – Adam Elliot, Australian animator and screenwriter
- 1972 – Paweł Januszewski, Polish hurdler
- 1972 – Rodney MacDonald, Canadian educator and politician, 26th Premier of Nova Scotia
- 1972 – Hristos Meletoglou, German-Greek triple jumper
- 1972 – Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
- 1973 – Lucy Davis, English actress
- 1974 – Jason de Vos, Canadian soccer player and sportscaster
- 1974 – Ludmila Formanová, Czech runner
- 1974 – Tomáš Řepka, Czech footballer
- 1975 – Chris Cheney, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (The Living End and The Wrights)
- 1975 – David Sandström, Swedish singer-songwriter and drummer (Refused, AC4 and Final Exit)
- 1975 – Dax Shepard, American actor
- 1975 – Jeff Suppan, American baseball player
- 1975 – Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby player
- 1976 – Hrysopiyi Devetzi, Greek jumper
- 1977 – Brian Boucher, American ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1977 – Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player
- 1977 – Aleš Píša, Czech ice hockey player
- 1978 – Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American dancer
- 1978 – Kjartan Sveinsson, Icelandic keyboard player (Sigur Rós)
- 1978 – Megumi Toyoguchi, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1979 – Tim Cruz, American singer (B3 and React)
- 1979 – Jonathan Greening, English footballer and coach
- 1980 – Georgios Dedas, Greek basketball player
- 1980 – Melvin Holwijn, Dutch footballer
- 1980 – Jérôme Pineau, French cyclist
- 1981 – Hanno Balitsch, German footballer
- 1981 – Ryan Garko, American baseball player
- 1981 – Kirk Hinrich, American basketball player
- 1981 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentinian footballer
- 1982 – Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
- 1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress
- 1984 – Otacílio Jales, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Ivan Dodig, Croatian tennis player
- 1985 – Marius Neset, Norwegian saxophonist and composer (JazzKamikaze)
- 1985 – Heather O'Reilly, American soccer player
- 1986 – Ediz Bahtiyaroğlu, Turkish-Bosnian footballer (d. 2012)
- 1986 – Nicolás Bertolo, Argentinian footballer
- 1986 – Trombone Shorty, American trumpet player and composer
- 1988 – Damien Tussac, French-German rugby player
- 1989 – Maksims Bogdanovs, Latvian motorcycle racer
- 1989 – Şeref Osmanoğlu, Ukrainian-Turkish triple jumper
- 1990 – Karel Abraham, Czech motorcycle racer
- 1990 – Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (d. 2014)
- 1991 – Davide Santon, Italian footballer
- 1991 – Luis Pedro Cavanda, Belgian footballer
- 1993 – Bryson Tiller, American singer-songwriter
Deaths
- 1512 – Svante Nilsson, Sweden politician (b. 1460)
- 1514 – William Smyth, English bishop and academic (b. 1460)
- 1557 – Pontormo, Italian painter and educator (b. 1494)
- 1664 – Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl (b. 1588)
- 1726 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian organist and composer (b. 1688)
- 1849 – Micanopy, American tribal chief (b. 1780)
- 1861 – Frederick William IV of Prussia (b. 1795)
- 1892 – George Biddell Airy, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1801)
- 1904 – James Longstreet, American general and diplomat (b. 1821)
- 1913 – Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (b. 1855)
- 1915 – Karl Goldmark, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1830)
- 1917 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (b. 1877)
- 1920 – Paul Adam, French author (b. 1862)
- 1924 – Sabine Baring-Gould, English author and scholar (b. 1834)
- 1937 – Ross Alexander, American stage and film actor (b. 1907)
- 1939 – Roman Dmowski, Polish businesswoman and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1864)
- 1941 – Mischa Levitzki, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1898)
- 1946 – Joe Darling, Australian cricketer and politician (b. 1870)
- 1948 – Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet (b. 1893)
- 1950 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)
- 1950 – Theophrastos Sakellaridis, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1883)
- 1951 – William Campion, English colonel and politician, 21st Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)
- 1959 – Chris van Abkoude, Dutch-American author (b. 1880)
- 1960 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (b. 1907)
- 1963 – Dick Powell, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1904)
- 1963 – Jack Carson, Canadian-American actor (b. 1910)
- 1968 – Nikolai Stepulov, Russian-Estonian boxer (b. 1913)
- 1974 – Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1977 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (b. 1921)
- 1983 – Dick Emery, English comedian and actor (b. 1915)
- 1986 – Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)
- 1987 – Harekrushna Mahatab, Indian journalist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Odisha (b. 1899)
- 1989 – Safdar Hashmi, Indian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1954)
- 1990 – Alan Hale, Jr., American film and television actor (b. 1921)
- 1990 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence (b. 1910)
- 1990 – Leonhard Merzin, Estonian actor (b. 1934)
- 1994 – Dixy Lee Ray, American biologist and politician; 17th Governor of Washington (b. 1914)
- 1994 – Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, French lawyer and businessman (b. 1915)
- 1995 – Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1996 – Karl Targownik, Hungarian-American psychiatrist and author (b. 1915)
- 1996 – Karl Rappan, Austrian footballer and coach (b. 1905)
- 1997 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Spirit and The Blue Flames) (b. 1951)
- 1998 – Frank Muir, English radio and television host (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Rolf Liebermann, Swiss-French composer and manager (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 2000 – Elmo Zumwalt, American admiral (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Patrick O'Brian, English author and translator (b. 1914)
- 2001 – William P. Rogers, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Edo Murtić, Croatian painter and educator (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Frank Kelly Freas, American illustrator and painter (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist and physician (b. 1911)
- 2006 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1913)
- 2007 – A. Richard Newton, Australian-American engineer and academic (b. 1951)
- 2007 – Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian and author (b. 1941)
- 2007 – Garry Betty, American businessman (b. 1957)
- 2007 – Mauno Jokipii, Finnish author and academic (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
- 2007 – David Perkins, American geneticist and academic (b. 1919)
- 2007 – Robert C. Solomon, American philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1942)
- 2008 – Galyani Vadhana, Thai princess (b. 1923)
- 2008 – George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish journalist and author (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Lee S. Dreyfus, American sailor, academic, and politician, 40th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1926)
- 2008 – Martinus Tels, Dutch physicist and engineer (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Inger Christensen, Danish poet and author (b. 1935)
- 2010 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (b. 1958)
- 2011 – Anne Francis, American actress (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Bali Ram Bhagat, Indian politician; 16th Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Gordon Hirabayashi, American-Canadian sociologist and academic (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Larry Reinhardt, American guitarist (Iron Butterfly and Captain Beyond) (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (b. 1953)
- 2012 – William P. Carey, American businessman and philanthropist, founded W. P. Carey (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Yoshiro Hayashi, Japanese golfer (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American historian, author, and academic (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Maulvi Nazir, Pakistani militant leader (b. 1975)
- 2013 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Anne Dorte of Rosenborg (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English author and screenwriter (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Thomas Kurzhals, German keyboard player and songwriter (Karat and Stern-Combo Meißen) (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Michael J. Matthews, American lawyer and politician; 34th Mayor of Atlantic City (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Jay Traynor, American singer-songwriter (The Mystics and Jay and the Americans) (b. 1943)
- 2015 – Abu Anas al-Libi, Libyan terrorist (b. 1964)
- 2015 – Derek Minter, English motorcycle racer (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (b. 1959)
- 2016 – Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Michel Delpech, French singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1946)
- 2016 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1935)
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day:
- Ancestry Day (Haiti)
- Berchtold's Day (Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Alsace)
- Blacks and Whites' Carnival, January 2–7 (southern Colombia)
- Carnival of Riosucio, January 2–8 celebrated every 2 years. (Riosucio)
- Carnival Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
- Funaoroshi (Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan)
- Kakizome (Japan)
- National Creampuff Day (United States)
- National Science Fiction Day (United States)
- The second day of New Year (a holiday in Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Mauritius, Montenegro, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine):
- Nyinlong (Bhutan)
- Victory of Armed Forces Day (Cuba)
External links
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