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  • March 12- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.
    • 1622 – Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Society of Jesus, are canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
    • 1689 – James II of England landed at Kinsale, starting the Williamite War in Ireland.
    • 1811 – Peninsular War: A day after a successful rearguard action, French Marshal Michel Ney once again successfully delays the pursuing Anglo-Portuguese force at the Battle of Redinha.
    • 1912 – The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States.
    • 1913 – The future capital of Australia is officially named Canberra.
    • 1918 – Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for most of the period since 1713.
    • 1920 – The Kapp Putsch begins when the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt is ordered to march on Berlin.
    • 1928 – In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kill 431 people.
    • 1930 – Mahatma Gandhi begins the Salt March, a 200-mile march to the sea to protest the British monopoly on salt in India.
    • 1933 – Great Depression: Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation for the first time as President of the United States. This is also the first of his “fireside chats”.
    • 1938 – Anschluss: German troops occupy and absorb Austria.
    • 1940 – Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia.
    • 1942 – The Battle of Java ends with the surrender of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command to the Japanese Empire in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies.
    • 1947 – Cold War: The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
    • 1950 – The Llandow air disaster kills 80 people when the aircraft they are travelling in crashes near Sigingstone, Wales. At the time this was the world’s deadliest air disaster.
    • 1967 – Suharto takes power from Sukarno when the People’s Consultative Assembly inaugurate him as Acting President of Indonesia.
    • 1968 – Mauritius achieves independence from the United Kingdom.
    • 1971 – The 1971 Turkish military memorandum is sent to the Süleyman Demirel government of Turkey and the government resigns.
    • 1989 – Sir Tim Berners-Lee submits his proposal to CERN for an information management system, which subsequently develops into the world wide web.
    • 1992 – Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
    • 1993 – Several bombs explode in Mumbai, India, killing about 300 people and injuring hundreds more.
    • 1993 – North Korea announces that it will withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and refuses to allow inspectors access to its nuclear sites.
    • 1999 – Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.
    • 2003 – Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade.
    • 2003 – The World Health Organization officially release a global warning of outbreaks of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
    • 2004 – The President of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, is impeached by its National Assembly: the first such impeachment in the nation’s history.
    • 2009 – Financier Bernard Madoff pleads guilty to one of the largest frauds in Wall Street’s history.
    • 2011 – A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
    • 2014 – A gas explosion in the New York City neighborhood of East Harlem kills eight and injures 70 others.
    • 2019 – In the House of Commons, the revised EU Withdrawal Bill was rejected by a margin of 149 votes.

    Births on March 12

    • 1270 – Charles, Count of Valois (d. 1325)
    • 1515 – Caspar Othmayr, German Lutheran pastor and composer (d. 1553)
    • 1607 – Paul Gerhardt, German poet and composer (d. 1676)
    • 1613 – André Le Nôtre, French gardener and architect (d. 1700)
    • 1626 – John Aubrey, English historian and philosopher (d. 1697)
    • 1637 – Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and Albany (d. 1671)
    • 1672 – Richard Steele, Irish-Welsh journalist and politician (d. 1729)
    • 1685 – George Berkeley, Irish bishop and philosopher (d. 1753)
    • 1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer (d. 1778)
    • 1735 – François-Emmanuel Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest, French politician and diplomat (d. 1821)
    • 1753 – Jean Denis, French politician, lawyer, jurist, journalist, and historian (d. 1827)
    • 1766 – Claudius Buchanan, Scottish theologian (d. 1815)
    • 1781 – Frederica of Baden, Queen consort to Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (d. 1826)
    • 1784 – William Buckland, English geologist and paleontologist; Dean of Westminster (d. 1856)
    • 1795 – William Lyon Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Toronto (d. 1861)
    • 1795 – George Tyler Wood, American military officer and politician (d. 1858)
    • 1806 – Jane Pierce, American wife of Franklin Pierce, 15th First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
    • 1807 – James Abbott, Indian Army officer (d. 1896)
    • 1815 – Louis-Jules Trochu, French military leader and politician (d. 1896)
    • 1821 – John Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1893)
    • 1821 – Medo Pucić, Croatian writer and politician (d. 1882)
    • 1823 – Katsu Kaishū, Japanese statesman (d. 1899)
    • 1824 – Gustav Kirchhoff, Russian-German physicist and academic (d. 1887)
    • 1832 – Charles Boycott, English farmer and agent (d. 1897)
    • 1834 – Hilary A. Herbert, Secretary of the Navy (d. 1919)
    • 1835 – Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1909)
    • 1837 – Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (d. 1911)
    • 1838 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist and academic (d. 1907)
    • 1843 – Gabriel Tarde, French sociologist and criminologist (d. 1904)
    • 1855 – Eduard Birnbaum, Polish-born German cantor (d. 1920)
    • 1857 – William V. Ranous, American actor and director (d. 1915)
    • 1858 – Adolph Ochs, American publisher (d. 1935)
    • 1859 – Ernesto Cesàro, Italian mathematician (d. 1906)
    • 1860 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian poet and author (d. 1895)
    • 1863 – Gabriele D’Annunzio, Italian soldier, journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1938)
    • 1863 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian and Ukrainian mineralogist and chemist (d. 1945)
    • 1864 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (d. 1922)
    • 1874 – Edmund Eysler, Austrian composer (d. 1949)
    • 1877 – Wilhelm Frick, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 1946)
    • 1878 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (d. 1903)
    • 1880 – Henry Drysdale Dakin, English-American chemist and academic (d. 1952)
    • 1881 – Väinö Tanner, Finnish politician of Social Democratic Party of Finland (d. 1966)
    • 1882 – Carlos Blanco Galindo, Bolivian politician (d. 1943)
    • 1883 – Sándor Jávorka, Hungarian botanist (d. 1961)
    • 1888 – Walter Hermann Bucher, German-American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1965)
    • 1888 – Hans Knappertsbusch, German conductor (d. 1965)
    • 1890 – Evert Taube, Swedish singer-songwriter and lute player (d. 1976)
    • 1896 – Jesse Fuller, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1976)
    • 1898 – Tian Han, Chinese playwright (d. 1968)
    • 1898 – Luitpold Steidle, German army officer and politician (d. 1984)
    • 1899 – Ramón Muttis, Argentine footballer (d. 1955)
    • 1900 – Rinus van den Berge, Dutch athlete (d. 1972)
    • 1900 – Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, 19th President of Colombia (d. 1975)
    • 1904 – Lyudmila Keldysh, Russian mathematician (d. 1976)
    • 1905 – Takashi Shimura, Japanese actor (d. 1982)
    • 1907 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1908 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)
    • 1908 – David Marshall, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Singapore (d. 1995)
    • 1909 – Petras Cvirka, Lithuanian author (d. 1947)
    • 1910 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1980)
    • 1910 – László Lékai, Archbishop of Esztergom and Cardinal (d. 1986)
    • 1911 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 49th President of Mexico (d. 1979)
    • 1912 – Willie Hall, English international footballer (d. 1967)
    • 1912 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1913 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1984)
    • 1913 – Agathe von Trapp, Hungarian-American singer and author (d. 2010)
    • 1915 – Alberto Burri, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1995)
    • 1915 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist (d. 1991)
    • 1917 – Leonard Chess, American record company executive, co-founder of Chess Records (d. 1969)
    • 1917 – Millard Kaufman, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1917 – Googie Withers, Indian-Australian actress (d. 2011)
    • 1918 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish Fianna Fáil politician (d. 2012)
    • 1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1921 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (d. 2001)
    • 1921 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
    • 1922 – Jack Kerouac, American author and poet (d. 1969)
    • 1922 – Lane Kirkland, American sailor and union leader (d. 1999)
    • 1923 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater and cyclist (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d. 2005)
    • 1923 – Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – Mae Young, American wrestler (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1925 – Harry Harrison, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
    • 1926 – George Ariyoshi, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Hawaii
    • 1926 – Arthur A. Hartman, American career diplomat (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – John Clellon Holmes, American author and professor (d. 1988)
    • 1926 – David Nadien, American violinist (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Emmett Leith, professor of electrical engineering and co-inventor of three-dimensional holography (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – Sudharmono, 5th Vice President of Indonesia (d. 2006)
    • 1928 – Edward Albee, American director and playwright (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Antony Acland, British former diplomat and Provost of Eton College
    • 1931 – Józef Tischner, Polish priest and philosopher (d. 2000)
    • 1932 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Andrew Young, American pastor and politician, 14th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
    • 1933 – Myrna Fahey, American actress (d. 1973)
    • 1933 – Barbara Feldon, American actress
    • 1934 – Francisco J. Ayala, Spanish-American evolutionary biologist and philosopher
    • 1936 – Virginia Hamilton, American children’s books author (d. 2002)
    • 1936 – Michał Heller, Polish professor of philosophy
    • 1936 – Eddie Sutton, American basketball player and coach
    • 1937 – Zoltán Horvath, Hungarian sabre fencer
    • 1937 – Zurab Sotkilava, Georgian operatic tenor (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – Vladimir Msryan, Armenian actor, (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Johnny Rutherford, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1938 – Juan Horacio Suárez, Argentine bishop
    • 1940 – Al Jarreau, American singer (d. 2017)
    • 1941 – Josip Skoblar, former Croatian footballer
    • 1942 – Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player (d. 2020)
    • 1943 – Ratko Mladić, Serbian general
    • 1944 – Erwin Mueller, former American basketball player (d. 2018)
    • 1945 – Anne Summers, Australian feminist writer, editor, publisher and public servant
    • 1946 – Dean Cundey, American cinematographer and film director
    • 1946 – Liza Minnelli, American actress, singer and dancer
    • 1946 – Frank Welker, American voice actor and singer
    • 1947 – Peter Harry Carstensen, German educator and politician
    • 1947 – Jan-Erik Enestam, Finland-Swedish politician
    • 1947 – David Rigert, Soviet Olympic weightlifter
    • 1947 – Mitt Romney, American businessman and politician, 70th Governor of Massachusetts
    • 1948 – Virginia Bottomley, Scottish social worker and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
    • 1948 – Kent Conrad, American politician
    • 1948 – James Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1949 – Rob Cohen, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1949 – David Mellor, British politician
    • 1950 – Javier Clemente, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1952 – André Comte-Sponville, French philosopher
    • 1952 – Yasuhiko Okudera, former Japanese footballer
    • 1952 – John Mitchell, English footballer, forward
    • 1953 – Pavel Pinigin, former Soviet wrestler and Olympic champion
    • 1954 – Anish Kapoor, Indian-English sculptor
    • 1956 – Ove Aunli, former Norwegian cross-country skier
    • 1956 – Stanisław Bobak, Polish ski jumper (d. 2010)
    • 1956 – Steve Harris, English bass player and songwriter
    • 1956 – Lesley Manville, English actress
    • 1956 – Dale Murphy, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1956 – Pim Verbeek, Dutch football manager (d. 2019)
    • 1957 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer and coach
    • 1957 – Marlon Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1957 – Andrey Lopatov, Soviet basketball player
    • 1958 – Phil Anderson, English-Australian cyclist
    • 1959 – Milorad Dodik, Bosnian Serb politician and president of Republika Srpska
    • 1959 – Luenell, American comedian and actress
    • 1959 – Michael Walter, German luger (d. 2016)
    • 1960 – Jason Beghe, American actor
    • 1960 – Courtney B. Vance, American actor and painter
    • 1961 – Titus Welliver, American actor
    • 1962 – Julia Campbell, American actress
    • 1962 – Andreas Köpke, former German footballer
    • 1962 – Chris Sanders, American illustrator and voice actor
    • 1962 – Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player and minister
    • 1963 – John Andretti, American race car driver (d. 2020)
    • 1963 – Candy Costie, American swimmer
    • 1963 – Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner and coach
    • 1963 – Reiner Gies, German boxer
    • 1963 – Ian Holloway, English footballer and manager
    • 1963 – Paul Way, English golfer
    • 1964 – Dieter Eckstein, retired German footballer
    • 1964 – Umirzak Shukeyev, Kazakh chairman of Samruk-Kazyna
    • 1965 – Steve Finley, American baseball player
    • 1965 – Ivari Padar, former Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture of the Estonian Social Democratic Party
    • 1966 – David Daniels, American countertenor
    • 1966 – Grant Long, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Julio Dely Valdés, Panamanian footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Tammy Duckworth, Thai-American colonel, pilot, and politician
    • 1968 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor and producer
    • 1969 – Graham Coxon, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1969 – Jake Tapper, American journalist and author
    • 1970 – Karen Bradley, British politician
    • 1970 – Dave Eggers, American author and screenwriter
    • 1970 – Mathias Grönberg, Swedish golfer
    • 1970 – Rex Walters, American basketball player and coach
    • 1971 – Isaiah Rider, American basketball player and rapper
    • 1971 – Dragutin Topić, Serbian high jumper
    • 1972 – Doron Sheffer, Israeli basketball player
    • 1974 – Charles Akonnor, former Ghanaian footballer
    • 1974 – Walid Badir, former Israeli footballer
    • 1975 – Nicolae Grigore, former Romanian footballer
    • 1975 – Edgaras Jankauskas, former Lithuanian footballer
    • 1975 – Srđan Pecelj, Bosnian footballer
    • 1976 – Deron Quint, American ice hockey defenseman
    • 1976 – Zhao Wei, Chinese actress, film director, producer and pop singer
    • 1977 – Michelle Burgher, track and field athlete
    • 1977 – Ramiro Corrales, American soccer player
    • 1977 – Amdy Faye, former Senegalese footballer
    • 1977 – Brent Johnson, American ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Casey Mears, American race car driver
    • 1978 – Marco Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
    • 1978 – Arina Tanemura, Japanese author and illustrator
    • 1979 – Rhys Coiro, American actor
    • 1979 – Pete Doherty, English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist
    • 1979 – Jamie Dwyer, Australian field hockey player and coach
    • 1979 – Gerard López, former Spanish footballer
    • 1979 – Ben Sandford, New Zealand skeleton racer
    • 1979 – Tim Wieskötter, German sprint canoer
    • 1979 – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian goalkeeper
    • 1980 – Césinha, Brazilian footballer
    • 1980 – Becky Holliday, American pole vaulter
    • 1980 – Jens Mouris, Dutch cyclist
    • 1980 – Douglas Murray, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese wrestler and kick-boxer
    • 1981 – Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenian tennis player
    • 1981 – Holly Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1982 – Lili Bordán, Hungarian-American actress
    • 1982 – Samm Levine, American actor and comedian
    • 1982 – Ilya Nikulin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Hisato Satō, Japanese footballer
    • 1982 – Yūto Satō, Japanese footballer
    • 1982 – Tobias Schweinsteiger, German footballer
    • 1983 – Atif Aslam, Pakistani singer and actor
    • 1984 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer
    • 1984 – Jaimie Alexander, American actress
    • 1985 – Marco Bonanomi, Italian racing driver
    • 1985 – Aleksandr Bukharov, Russian footballer
    • 1985 – Ed Clancy, English track and road cyclist
    • 1985 – Andriy Tovt, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1986 – Martynas Andriuškevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1986 – Oleh Dopilka, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1986 – Danny Jones, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1986 – Ben Offereins, Australian runner
    • 1986 – František Rajtoral, Czech footballer (d. 2017)
    • 1987 – Manuele Boaro, Italian cyclist
    • 1987 – Jessica Hardy, American swimmer
    • 1987 – Maxwell Holt, American volleyball player
    • 1987 – Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
    • 1987 – Chris Seitz, American soccer player
    • 1987 – Vadim Shipachyov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Pablo Velázquez, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1988 – Sebastian Brendel, German canoe racer
    • 1988 – Kostas Mitroglou, Greek footballer
    • 1988 – Cristian Chagas Tarouco, Brazilian footballer
    • 1989 – Jordan Adéoti, French footballer
    • 1989 – Vytautas Černiauskas, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1989 – Tyler Clary, former American swimmer
    • 1989 – Richard Eckersley, English footballer
    • 1989 – Chen Jianghua, Chinese basketball player
    • 1989 – Siim Luts, Estonian footballer
    • 1990 – Alexander Kröckel, German skeleton racer
    • 1990 – Irakli Kvekveskiri, Georgian footballer
    • 1990 – Dawid Kubacki, Polish ski jumper
    • 1990 – Matias Myttynen, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Ilija Nestorovski, Macedonian footballer
    • 1990 – Milena Raičević, Montenegrin handballer
    • 1990 – Mikko Sumusalo, Finnish footballer
    • 1991 – Felix Kroos, German footballer
    • 1991 – Niclas Heimann, German footballer
    • 1991 – Leandro Fernandez, Argentine footballer
    • 1992 – Daniele Baselli, Italian footballer
    • 1992 – Jordan Ferri, French footballer
    • 1992 – Ciara Mageean, Irish middle-distance runner
    • 1992 – Jiří Skalák, Czech footballer
    • 1993 – Shehu Abdullahi, Nigerian footballer
    • 1993 – Amjad Attwan, Iraqi footballer
    • 1993 – Anton Shramchenko, Belarusian footballer
    • 1994 – Katie Archibald, Scottish track cyclist
    • 1994 – Jerami Grant, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1996 – Sehrou Guirassy, French footballer
    • 1996 – Karim Hafez, Egyptian footballer
    • 1996 – Robert Murić, Croatian footballer
    • 1997 – Dean Henderson, English footballer
    • 1997 – Allan Saint-Maximin, French footballer
    • 1997 – Felipe Vizeu, Brazilian footballer
    • 1998 – Mecole Hardman, American football player
    • 1998 – Daniel Samohin, Israeli figure skater
    • 1998 – Elizaveta Ukolova, Czech figure skater

    Deaths on March 12

    • 417 – Innocent I, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 604 – Gregory I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 540)
    • 1022 – Symeon the New Theologian (b. 949)
    • 1316 – Stefan Dragutin (b. c. 1244)
    • 1539 – Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English diplomat and politician (b.1477)
    • 1648 – Tirso de Molina, Spanish monk and poet (b. 1571)
    • 1699 – Peder Griffenfeld, Danish politician (b. 1635)
    • 1898 – Zachris Topelius, Finnish-Swedish journalist, historian, and author (b. 1818)
    • 1916 – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian author (b. 1830)
    • 1925 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese physician and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (b. 1866)
    • 1929 – Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman and politician, 44th Mayor of Atlanta (b. 1851)
    • 1935 – Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and chemist (b. 1858)
    • 1942 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
    • 1943 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (b. 1869)
    • 1946 – Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian soldier and politician, Head of State of Hungary (b. 1897)
    • 1949 – Wilhelm Steinkopf, German chemist (b. 1879)
    • 1954 – Marianne Weber, German sociologist and suffragist (b. 1870)
    • 1955 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1920)
    • 1955 – Theodor Plievier, German author best known for his anti-war novel (b. 1892)
    • 1957 – Josephine Hull, American actress (b. 1877)
    • 1971 – Eugene Lindsay Opie, American physician and pathologist (b. 1873)
    • 1973 – Frankie Frisch, American baseball player and manager (b. 1898)
    • 1974 – George D. Sax, American banker and businessman (b. 1904)
    • 1985 – Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian-American violinist and conductor (b. 1899)
    • 1989 – Maurice Evans, English-American actor (b. 1901)
    • 1991 – Ragnar Granit, Finnish-Swedish neuroscientist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
    • 1991 – William Heinesen, Faroese author, poet, and author (b. 1900)
    • 1992 – Lucy M. Lewis, American potter (b. 1890)
    • 1998 – Beatrice Wood, American painter and potter (b. 1893)
    • 1999 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1916)
    • 1999 – Bidu Sayão, Brazilian-American soprano (b. 1902)
    • 2000 – Aleksandar Nikolić, Yugoslav basketball coach (b. 1924)
    • 2001 – Morton Downey Jr., American singer-songwriter, actor, and talk show host (b. 1933)
    • 2001 – Robert Ludlum, American author (b. 1927)
    • 2001 – Victor Westhoff, Dutch botanist and academic (b. 1916)
    • 2002 – Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Cyprus (b. 1932)
    • 2002 – Jean-Paul Riopelle, Canadian painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
    • 2003 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (b. 1952)
    • 2003 – Howard Fast, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1914)
    • 2003 – Lynne Thigpen, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
    • 2004 – Milton Resnick, Russian-American painter (b. 1917)
    • 2006 – Victor Sokolov, Russian-American priest and journalist (b. 1947)
    • 2008 – Jorge Guinzburg, Argentinian journalist and producer (b. 1949)
    • 2008 – Lazare Ponticelli, Italian-French soldier and supercentenarian (b. 1897)
    • 2010 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Dick Harter, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Michael Hossack, American drummer (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Friedhelm Konietzka, German-Swiss footballer and manager (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Clive Burr, English drummer and songwriter (b. 1957)
    • 2013 – Michael Grigsby, English director and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Ganesh Pyne, Indian painter and illustrator (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Willie Barrow, American minister and activist (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Michael Graves, American architect and academic, designed the Portland Building and the Humana Building (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Ada Jafri, Pakistani poet and author (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
    • 2016 – Rafiq Azad, Bangladeshi poet and author (b. 1942)
    • 2016 – Felix Ibru, Nigerian architect and politician, Governor of Delta State (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)

    Holidays and observances on March 12

    • Arbor Day (China)
    • Arbor Day (Taiwan)
    • Aztec New Year
    • Christian feast day:
      • Alphege
      • Bernard of Carinola (or of Capua)
      • Gorgonius, Peter Cubicularius and Dorotheus of Nicomedia
      • Mura (McFeredach)
      • Fina
      • Maximilian of Tebessa
      • Paul Aurelian
      • Pope Gregory I (Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church, and Anglican Communion)
      • Theophanes the Confessor
      • March 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • National Day (Mauritius)
    • World Day Against Cyber Censorship
    • Youth Day (Zambia)

  • January 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 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 execute the rebel leader Trunajaya. 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, North America, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War.
    • 1818 – The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded by a group of six engineers; Thomas Telford would later become its first president.
    • 1833 – Captain James Onslow, in the Clio, arrives at Port Egmont to reassert British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
    • 1865 – Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as the Brazilians and Coloradans capture Paysandú, Uruguay.
    • 1900 – American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
    • 1920 – The second Palmer Raid, ordered by the US Department of Justice, results in 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists being arrested and held without trial.
    • 1941 – World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
    • 1942 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) obtains the conviction of 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, enabling them to control the Philippines.
    • 1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín is inaugurated as the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
    • 1954 – India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.
    • 1955 – Following the assassination of the Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera, his deputy, José Ramón Guizado, takes power, but is quickly deposed after his involvement in Cantera’s death is discovered.
    • 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, at the Battle of Ap Bac.
    • 1967 – Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, 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 – At the opening of a new railway line, a bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.
    • 1975 – The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress.
    • 1976 – The Gale of January 1976 begins, resulting in coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts, affecting countries from Ireland to Yugoslavia and causing at least 82 deaths and US$1.3 billion in damage.
    • 1978 – On the orders of the President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, paramilitary forces opened fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan, Pakistan; it is known as 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills.
    • 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.
    • 1993 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35–100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.
    • 2004 – Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.

    Births on January 2

    • 869 – Yōzei, Japanese emperor (d. 949)
    • 1462 – Piero di Cosimo, Italian painter (d. 1522)
    • 1509 – Henry of Stolberg, German nobleman (d. 1572)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • 1803 – Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1869)
    • 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 – Mendele Mocher Sforim, Russian author (d. 1917)
    • 1836 – Queen Emma of Hawaii (d. 1885)
    • 1837 – Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1910)
    • 1857 – M. Carey Thomas, American educator and activist (d. 1935)
    • 1860 – Dugald Campbell Patterson, Canadian engineer (d. 1931)
    • 1860 – William Corless Mills, American historian and curator (d. 1928)
    • 1866 – Gilbert Murray, Australian-English playwright and scholar (d. 1957)
    • 1870 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and playwright (d. 1938)
    • 1870 – Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and businessman (d. 1929)
    • 1873 – Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer and theorist (d. 1960)
    • 1873 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (d. 1897)
    • 1878 – Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, Indian activist, founded the Nair Service Society (d. 1970)
    • 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)
    • 1889 – Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1973)
    • 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)
    • 1892 – Artur Rodziński, Polish-American conductor (d. 1958)
    • 1895 – Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (d. 1948)
    • 1896 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (d. 1954)
    • 1896 – Lawrence Wackett, Australian commander and engineer (d. 1982)
    • 1897 – Theodore Plucknett, English legal historian (d. 1965)
    • 1900 – Una Ledingham, British physician, known for research on diabetes in pregnancy (d. 1965)
    • 1901 – Bob Marshall, American activist, co-founded The Wilderness Society (d. 1939)
    • 1902 – Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 2007)
    • 1903 – Kane Tanaka, Japanese supercentenarian, oldest verified living person
    • 1904 – Walter Heitler, German physicist and chemist (d. 1981)
    • 1905 – Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
    • 1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – Barry Goldwater, American politician, businessman, and author (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (d. 2009)[
    • 1913 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (d. 2004)[79]
    • 1913 – Juanita Jackson Mitchell, American lawyer and activist (d. 1992)
    • 1917 – Vera Zorina, German-Norwegian actress and dancer (d. 2003)
    • 1918 – Willi Graf, German physician and activist (d. 1943)
    • 1919 – Beatrice Hicks, American engineer (d. 1979)
    • 1920(probable) – Isaac Asimov, American writer and professor of biochemistry (d. 1992)
    • 1921 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Gino Marchetti, American football player (d. 2019)
    • 1928 – Dan Rostenkowski, American politician (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Tellervo Koivisto, Finnish politician, former First Lady of Finland
    • 1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese lawyer and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Japan
    • 1934 – John Hollowbread, English footballer, goalkeeper (d. 2007)
    • 1936 – Roger Miller, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (d. 1992)
    • 1938 – David Bailey, English photographer and painter
    • 1938 – Lynn Conway, American computer scientist and electrical engineer
    • 1938 – Robert Smithson, American sculptor and photographer (d. 1973)
    • 1940 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist
    • 1940 – Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
    • 1942 – Thomas Hammarberg, Swedish lawyer and diplomat
    • 1943 – Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer (d. 2004)
    • 1944 – Charlie Davis, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1944 – Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian field marshal and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia
    • 1944 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor
    • 1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player
    • 1947 – David Shapiro, American poet, historian, and critic
    • 1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist and author
    • 1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright and screenwriter
    • 1949 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1952 – Indulis Emsis, Latvian biologist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Latvia
    • 1954 – Henry Bonilla, American broadcaster and politician
    • 1954 – Évelyne Trouillot, Haitian playwright and author
    • 1959 – Kirti Azad, Indian cricketer and politician
    • 1961 – Craig James, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
    • 1961 – Paula Hamilton, English model
    • 1961 – Robert Wexler, American lawyer and politician
    • 1963 – David Cone, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Edgar Martínez, American baseball player
    • 1964 – Pernell Whitaker, American boxer (d. 2019)
    • 1965 – Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
    • 1967 – Jón Gnarr, Icelandic actor and politician; 20th Mayor of Reykjavik City
    • 1967 – Tia Carrere, American actress
    • 1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion
    • 1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer
    • 1969 – Christy Turlington, American model
    • 1969 – István Bagyula, Hungarian pole vaulter
    • 1969 – William Fox-Pitt, English horse rider and journalist
    • 1970 – Eric Whitacre, American composer and conductor
    • 1971 – Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress
    • 1971 – Taye Diggs, American actor and singer
    • 1972 – Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
    • 1972 – Rodney MacDonald, Canadian educator and politician, 26th Premier of Nova Scotia
    • 1972 – Shiraz Minwalla, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist
    • 1974 – Ludmila Formanová, Czech runner
    • 1974 – Tomáš Řepka, Czech footballer
    • 1975 – Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1977 – Brian Boucher, American ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player
    • 1979 – Jonathan Greening English footballer
    • 1981 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress
    • 1987 – Robert Milsom, English footballe
    • 1988 – Damien Tussac, French-German rugby player
    • 1992 – Korbin Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Paulo Gazzaniga, Argentinian footballer, goalkeeper
    • 1998 – Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Dutch footballer

    Deaths on January 2

    • 951 – Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of the Later Han
    • 951 – Su Fengji, Chinese official and chancellor
    • 1096 – William de St-Calais, Bishop of Durham and chief counsellor of William II of England[
    • 1169 – Bertrand de Blanchefort, sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1109)1184 – Theodora Komnene, Duchess of Austria, daughter of Andronikos Komnenos
    • 1298 – Lodomer, Hungarian prelate, Archbishop of Esztergom
    • 1470 – Heinrich Reuß von Plauen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
    • 1512 – Svante Nilsson, Sweden politician (b. 1460)
    • 1514 – William Smyth, English bishop and academic (b. 1460)
    • 1543 – Francesco Canova da Milano, Italian composer (b. 1497)
    • 1557 – Pontormo, Italian painter and educator (b. 1494)
    • 1613 – Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (b. 1539)
    • 1614 – Luisa Carvajal y Mendoza, Spanish mystical poet and Catholic martyr (b. 1566)
    • 1726 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian organist and composer (b. 1688)
    • 1763 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English statesman (b. 1690)
    • 1850 – Manuel de la Peña y Peña, Mexican lawyer and 20th President (1847) (b. 1789)
    • 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)
    • 1939 – Roman Dmowski, Polish 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)
    • 1950 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)
    • 1951 – William Campion, English colonel and politician, 21st Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)
    • 1953 – Guccio Gucci, Italian businessman and fashion designer, founder of Gucci (b. 1881)
    • 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)
    • 1974 – Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)
    • 1975 – Siraj Sikder, Bangladesh revolutionary leader (b. 1944)
    • 1977 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (b. 1921)
    • 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)
    • 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 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921)
    • 1995 – Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (b. 1919)
    • 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 – Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist and physician (b. 1911)
    • 2006 – Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (b. 1914)
    • 2007 – A. Richard Newton, Australian-American engineer and academic (b. 1951)
    • 2007 – Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian and author (b. 1941)
    • 2007 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
    • 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)
    • 2009 – Inger Christensen, Danish poet and author (b. 1935)
    • 2009 – Dnyaneshwar Agashe, Indian businessman and cricketer (b. 1942)
    • 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 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – William P. Carey, American businessman and philanthropist, founded W. P. Carey (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American historian, author, and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (b. 1944)
    • 2014 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English author and screenwriter (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2016 – Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (b. 1959)
    • 2016 – Gisela Mota Ocampo, mayor of Temixco, Morelos, Mexico, assassinated (b. 1982)
    • 2017 – Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – John Berger, English art critic, novelist and painter (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (b. 1950)
    • 2018 – Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1927)
    • 2019 – Daryl Dragon, American musician (b. 1942)
    • 2019 – Bob Einstein, American actor and comedian (b. 1942)
    • 2019 – Gene Okerlund, American wrestling announcer (b. 1942)

    Holidays and observances on January 2

    • Ancestry Day (Haiti)
    • Berchtold’s Day (Switzerland and Liechtenstein)
    • 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, 1960 calendar)
      • Gregory of Nazianzus (Catholic Church)
      • Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe (Lutheran Church)
      • Macarius of Alexandria
      • Seraphim of Sarov (repose) (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • 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, North 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)
    • The victory of Armed Forces Day (Cuba)