Historical Events on January 2
- 1777: General George Washington and American forces drive back a British attack at the Battle of Assunpink Creek during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1788: The state of Georgia becomes the 4th state to ratify the Constitution of the U.S.
- 1791: The Big Bottom Massacre begins in the Ohio Country. This would become known as the start of the Northwest Indian War.
- 1863: After stopping for just one day, the Battle of Stones River starts up again during the American Civil War.
- 1941: Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales is extremely damaged by Nazi bombing during WWII.
- 1942: The FBI convicts over thirty members of a German spy ring. This spy ring was headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne and is known as one of the biggest cases of espionage in modern U.S history.
- 1942: Japanese forces capture the city of Manila in the Philippines during WWII.
- 1945: Allied forces drop an enormous amount of bombs on the city of Nuremberg in Germany during World War II.
- 1959: The Soviet Union launches Luna 1.
- 2004: The Stardust Spacecraft successfully completes its mission by flying past the Comet Wild 2. As it does so, it collects samples that are returned to NASA.
- 2006: Twelve miners are trapped and killed in a Sago, West Virginia mine. 1 miner managers to survive.
Famous Birthdays on January 2
- Russian-American author and chemist, Isaac Asimov is born in 1920.
- American journalist and author Rober Goralski is born in 1928.
- English author, poet and playwright, Peter Redgrove is born in 1932.
- American singer-songwriter Roger Miller is born in 1936.
- American computer scientists Dana Ulery is born in 1938.
- American zoologist Jack Hanna is born in 1947.
- American poet and historian, David Shapiro is born in 1947.
- American journalist and author Judith Miller is born in 1948.
- American actress Gabrielle Carteris is born in 1961.
- American model Christy Turlington is born in 1969.
- American actor Taye Diggs is born in 1971.
- American actress Renee Elise Goldsberry is born in 1971.