Did you know
He won a bronze medal in the downhill at the World Championships in 1958 at Bad Gastein, before winning gold in the same event in the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley
Notable Deaths on January 2
89 people
951 – 2025
January 2 has seen 89 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 951 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
2017 — Jean Vuarnet
French ski racer (born 1933)
Did you know
An Olympic gold medalist, he is known for inventing the "Tuck" skiing position, and was the first Olympian to win a gold medal using metal skis
Did you know
In 1995, his wife Edith Bonlieu, a fellow Olympian, and their son Patrick both died in a mass murder-suicide of members of the Order of the Solar Temple.
Did you know
Jean Raoul Célina André Vuarnet was an alpine ski racer from France
Did you know
Raised in Morzine, he had a childhood interest in skiing, which he pursued
Emperor Yin of the Later Han (born 931)
Liu Chengyou, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Yin of Later Han (後漢隱帝), was the second and last emperor of the Later Han dynasty of China, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He reigned…
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951
951
Bishop of Durham and chief counsellor of William II of England
William de St-Calais was a medieval Norman monk, abbot of the abbey of Saint-Vincent in Le Mans in Maine, who was nominated by King William I of England as Bishop of Durham in 1080. During his term as bishop, St-Calais…
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1096
sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar (born c. 1109)
Bertrand de Blanchefort, was the sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar, from 1156 until his death in 1169. He is known as a great reformer of the order.
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1169
Duchess of Austria, daughter of Andronikos Komnenos
Theodora Komnene, Latinized Theodora Comnena, was a daughter of the Byzantine prince Andronikos Komnenos and his wife, Eirene (?Aineiadissa). Based on the writings of Niketas Choniates, it is likely Theodora was…
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1184
1298
Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
Heinrich Reuß von Plauen was the 32nd Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, serving from 1467 to 1470. He was the nephew of the previous Grand Master, Ludwig von Erlichshausen, and a distant relative to the 27th Grand…
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1470
Swedish politician (born 1460)
Svante Nilsson was a Swedish nobleman and regent of Sweden from 1504 to 1512. He was the father of Sten Sture the Younger (1493–1520), who later served as regent of Sweden during the era of the Kalmar Union.
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1512
English bishop and academic (born 1460)
William Smyth was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1493 to 1496 and then Bishop of Lincoln until his death. He held political offices, the most important being Lord President of the Council of Wales and the…
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1514
Italian composer (born 1497)
Francesco Canova da Milano was an Italian lutenist and composer. He was born in Monza, near Milan, and worked for the papal court for almost all of his career. Francesco was heralded throughout Europe as the foremost…
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1543
1557
Welsh soldier and writer (born c.1555)
Morris Kyffin was a Welsh author and soldier, brother of the poet Edward Kyffin. He was also a student and friend of Doctor John Dee. Kyffin was a member of a literary circle that included the Queen's Godson Sir John…
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1598
Empress of the Mughal Empire (born 1539)
Salima Sultan Begum was the third wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Akbar, and a granddaughter of Babur.
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1613
Spanish mystical poet and Catholic martyr (born 1566)
Luisa Carvajal y Mendoza is best known for her mystical religious poetry as well as her fight to spread Catholicism throughout England, by preaching against Anglicanism. She was imprisoned on two occasions, once in 1608…
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1614
Italian organist and composer (born 1688)
Domenico Zipoli (1688–1726) was an Italian composer from the Baroque period who worked in Córdoba, in the Viceroyalty of Peru, Spanish Empire,. He became a Jesuit in order to work in the Reductions of Paraguay where he…
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1726
2nd Earl Granville, English statesman (born 1690)
John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, commonly known by his earlier title Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763 and worked closely with the Prime…
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1763
French chemist and politician (born 1793)
Louis-Bernard Guyton, Baron de Morveau was a French chemist, politician, and aeronaut. He is credited with producing the first systematic method of chemical nomenclature.
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1816
Mexican lawyer and 20th President (1847) (born 1789)
José Manuel de la Peña y Peña was a Mexican lawyer and judge who served two non-consecutive, but closely following, terms as the president of Mexico during the Mexican American War. In contrast to many other…
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1850
Frederick William IV was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death in 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the throne", he was deeply religious and believed that he ruled by divine right. He feared…
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1861
Swiss poet (born 1797)
Meta Heusser-Schweizer was a Swiss poet. Born in Hirzel as the niece of Georg Gessner, she wrote several collections of poems associated with the Württemberg Pietism movement. She was the mother of Johanna Spyri, best…
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1876
English mathematician and astronomer (born 1801)
Sir George Biddell Airy was an English mathematician and astronomer, as well as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from 1826 to 1828 and the seventh Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881. His many achievements include…
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1892
American general and diplomat (born 1821)
James Longstreet was a Confederate general during the American Civil War and was the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps commander for most…
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1904
French meteorologist (born 1855)
Léon Philippe Teisserenc de Bort was a French meteorologist and a pioneer in the field of aerology. Together with Richard Assmann (1845-1918), he is credited as co-discoverer of the stratosphere, as both men announced…
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1913
Hungarian violinist and composer (born 1830)
Karl Goldmark was a Hungarian-born Viennese composer.
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1915
French cyclist (born 1877)
Marie Léon Flameng was a French cyclist and a World War I pilot. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning three medals including one gold.
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1917
1920
English author and scholar (born 1834)
Sabine Baring-Gould of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar.
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1924
Polish politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1864)
Roman Stanisław Dmowski was a Polish politician, statesman, and co-founder and chief ideologue of the National Democracy political movement active during the interwar period.
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1939
Russian-American pianist and composer (born 1898)
Mischa Levitzki was a Russian-born U.S.-based concert pianist and composer.
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1941
Australian cricketer and politician (born 1870)
Joseph Darling was an Australian cricketer who played 34 Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1894 and 1905. As captain, he led Australia in a total of 21 Tests, winning seven and losing four. In Test cricket,…
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1946
Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (born 1877)
James Thomas Dooley was an Australian political figure who served twice, briefly, as Premier of New South Wales during the early 1920s.
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1950
English colonel and politician, 21st Governor of Western Australia (born 1870)
Sir William Robert Campion, was a British soldier, politician, and the 21st Governor of Western Australia from 1924 to 1931.
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1951
1951
Italian businessman and fashion designer, founder of Gucci (born 1881)
Guccio Giovanbattista Giacinto Dario Maria Gucci was an Italian businessman and fashion designer and founder of the fashion house Gucci.
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1953
Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (born 1907)
Joseph-Mignault-Paul Sauvé was a Canadian lawyer, World War II veteran, and politician. He was the 17th premier of Quebec in 1959 and 1960.
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1960
American actor, singer, and director (born 1904)
Richard Ewing Powell was an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility and successfully transformed into a…
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1963
Canadian-American actor (born 1910)
John Elmer Carson, known as Jack Carson, was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including The Strawberry Blonde (1941) with James Cagney…
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1963
American actor (born 1905)
Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter was an American country music singer and actor. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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1974
Bangladesh revolutionary leader (born 1944)
Sirajul Huq Sikder, better known as Siraj Sikder, was a Bangladeshi revolutionary, engineer, and Marxist–Leninist-Maoist insurgent.
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1975
American pianist and composer (born 1921)
Erroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first recorded in…
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1977
American actress (born 1903)
Una Merkel was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress.
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1986
Indian journalist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Odisha (born 1899)
Harekrushna Mahatab was a leader of the Indian National Congress, a notable figure in the Indian independence movement and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 1946 to 1950 and from 1956 to 1961. He was popularly known by…
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1987
Indian actor, director, and playwright (born 1954)
Safdar Hashmi was an Indian communist playwright and director, best known for his work with street theatre in India. He was also an actor, lyricist, and theorist, and he is still considered an important voice in Indian…
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1989
American film and television actor (born 1921)
Alan Hale Jr. was an American actor and restaurateur. He was the son of actor Alan Hale Sr. His television career spanned four decades, but he was best known for his secondary lead role as Captain Jonas Grumby, better…
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1990
Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence (born 1910)
Evangelos Averoff-Tossizza was a Greek politician, leader of the New Democracy party (1981–1984), member of parliament, and author.
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1990
American biologist and politician; 17th Governor of Washington (born 1914)
Dixy Lee Ray was an American academic, scientist, and politician who served as the 17th governor of Washington from 1977 to 1981. Variously described as idiosyncratic and "ridiculously smart," she was the state's first…
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1994
French lawyer and businessman (born 1915)
Pierre-Paul Schweitzer was a French businessman who served as the fourth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1963 to 1973.
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1994
American actress (born 1921)
Nancy Kelly was an American actress in film, theater, and television. A child actress and model, she was a repertory cast member of CBS Radio's The March of Time, and appeared in several films in the late 1920s. She…
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1995
Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (born 1919)
Mohammed Siad Barre was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 January 1991.
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1995
Swiss-French composer and manager (born 1910)
Rolf Liebermann, was a Swiss composer and music administrator. He served as the artistic director of the Hamburg State Opera from 1959 to 1973 and again from 1985 to 1988. He was also the artistic director of the Paris…
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1999
German journalist and author (born 1907)
Raimund Pretzel, better known by his pseudonym Sebastian Haffner, was a German journalist and historian. As an émigré in Britain during World War II, Haffner argued that accommodation was not only impossible with Adolf…
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1999
American admiral (born 1920)
Elmo Russell "Bud" Zumwalt Jr. was a United States Navy officer and the youngest person to serve as Chief of Naval Operations. As an admiral and later the 19th Chief of Naval Operations, Zumwalt played a major role in…
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2000
English author and translator (born 1914)
Patrick O'Brian, born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series. These sea novels are set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centre on the…
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2000
American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (born 1913)
William Pierce Rogers was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Attorney General in the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower and as U.S. Secretary of State in…
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2001
American geneticist and physician (born 1911)
Maclyn McCarty was an American geneticist, a research scientist described in 2005 as "the last surviving member of a Manhattan scientific team that overturned medical dogma in the 1940s and became the first to…
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2005
Filipino lawyer and jurist (born 1913)
Cecilia Arreglado Muñoz-Palma was a Filipino jurist and the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ferdinand Marcos on October 29, 1973, and…
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2006
Danish-American actress (born 1914)
Osa Massen was a Danish actress who became a successful movie actress in Hollywood. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1941.
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2006
Australian-American engineer and academic (born 1951)
Arthur Richard Newton was the dean of the College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.
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2007
American historian and author (born 1941)
Elizabeth Ann Fox-Genovese was an American historian best known for her works on women and society in the Antebellum South. A Marxist early on in her career, she later converted to Roman Catholicism and became a primary…
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2007
Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (born 1911)
Theodor "Teddy" Kollek was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993.
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2007
Scottish journalist and author (born 1925)
George MacDonald Fraser was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven novels and one short-story…
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2008
American politician, Governor of Wisconsin (born 1926)
Lee Sherman Dreyfus was an American educator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 40th governor of Wisconsin from January 4, 1979, to January 3, 1983. Dreyfus was a 33rd degree Mason in the…
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2008
Danish poet and author (born 1935)
Inger Christensen was a Danish poet, novelist, essayist and editor. She is considered the foremost Danish poetic experimentalist of her generation.
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2009
Scottish historian and author (born 1958)
David Robertson Ross was a Scottish author and historian. He published eight books, most of them mixing elements of Scottish history and travel literature.
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2010
American actress (born 1930)
Anne Lloyd Francis was an American actress known for her pioneering roles in the science fiction film Forbidden Planet (1956) and the television action-drama series Honey West (1965–1966). Forbidden Planet marked a…
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2011
Indian politician; 16th Governor of Rajasthan (born 1922)
Bali Ram Bhagat was an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress (INC). He has served as Member of Parliament (MP) in Lok Sabha representing Patna-cum-Shahabad from 1952 to 1957 and Shahabad (Arrah)…
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2011
English actor (born 1946)
Peter William Postlethwaite was an English character actor. After various stage and minor television appearances, Postlethwaite's first major success arose through the film Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), directed…
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2011
American-Canadian sociologist and academic (born 1918)
Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi was an American sociologist whose principled resistance to the Japanese American internment during World War II included a 1943 Supreme Court challenge decided under the caption Hirabayashi…
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2012
American actress and producer (born 1953)
Sandra Silvana Gallardo was an American film and television actress, acting coach, and writer.
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2012
American businessman and philanthropist, founded W. P. Carey (born 1930)
William Polk Carey was an American philanthropist and businessman. He was the founder of W. P. Carey & Co., a corporate real estate financing firm headquartered in New York City, and donated the funds to establish the…
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2012
Austrian-American historian, author, and academic (born 1920)
Gerda Hedwig Lerner was an Austrian-born American historian and woman's history author. In addition to her numerous scholarly publications, she wrote poetry, fiction, theatre pieces, screenplays, and an autobiography.…
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2013
Polish journalist and author (born 1944)
Teresa Sławomira Torańska was a Polish journalist and writer. She was perhaps best known for her award winning monograph, Oni.
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2013
American director and producer (born 1924)
Bernard M. Glasser was an American film producer and director. The first film he produced was Gold Raiders. After many years he retired from the business to go into real estate. He lived in Los Angeles with his wife…
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2014
English author and screenwriter (born 1923)
Elizabeth Jane Howard, was an English novelist. She wrote 15 novels including the best-selling series The Cazalet Chronicle.
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2014
Serbian-American physicist and academic (born 1929)
Tihomir Novakov, also known as Tica Novakov was a Serbian-born American physicist. As a scientist, Novakov is known for his black carbon, air quality, and climate change research. James Hansen dubbed him "the godfather…
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2015
Indian lawyer and politician (born 1924)
Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan was a trade union leader and the former general secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), one of the oldest political parties in India.
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2016
American psychiatrist and author (born 1935)
Frances Luella Cress Welsing was an American psychiatrist and well-known proponent of the pseudoscientific melanin theory. Her 1970 essay, The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism , offered her interpretation…
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2016
Saudi Arabian religious leader (born 1959)
Ayatollah Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, commonly referred to as Sheikh Nimr, was a Saudi Shia sheikh from Al-Awamiyah in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. His arrest and execution were widely condemned by various…
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2016
mayor of Temixco, Morelos, Mexico, assassinated (born 1982)
Gisela Raquel Mota Ocampo was the assassinated first female mayor of Temixco, in the Mexican state of Morelos. Affiliated with the PRD, she won the mayoral elections in June 2015. She took office on 1 January 2016 but…
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2016
English art critic, novelist and painter (born 1926)
John Peter Berger was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize. His essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to the BBC series of the same name,…
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2017
Portuguese actress (born 1950)
Guida Maria was a Portuguese actress. Her career spanned 60 years and included appearances on stage, in film and on television.
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2018
American religious leader, 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1927)
Thomas Spencer Monson was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As president, he was considered by adherents of the religion to be a prophet,…
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2018
American musician (born 1942)
Daryl Frank Dragon was an American musician known as Captain from the pop musical duo Captain & Tennille with his wife, Toni Tennille.
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2019
British transgender activist (born 1954)
Julia Grant was the first transgender person to have her transition chronicled on a mainstream UK television documentary in A Change of Sex.
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2019
American actor and comedian (born 1942)
Stewart Robert Einstein was an American actor, comedy writer, and producer. He created and performed the satirical stuntman character Super Dave Osborne, and was also known for his roles as Marty Funkhouser in Curb Your…
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2019
American wrestling announcer (born 1942)
Eugene Arthur Okerlund was an American professional wrestling interviewer, announcer and television host. He was best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Okerlund…
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2019
Hungarian Olympic gymnast (born 1921)
Ágnes Keleti was a Hungarian and Israeli artistic gymnast and coach, who won multiple Olympic medals. She was the oldest living Olympic champion and medallist, reaching her 100th birthday on 9 January 2021. While…
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2025
Spanish politician (born 1958)
Francesc Antich Oliver was a Venezuelan-born Spanish politician, who was the President of the Balearic Islands between 1999 and 2003, and 2007 and 2011. He also was the Secretary General of the Socialist Party of the…
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2025
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Notable deaths
Who died on January 2?
Jean Vuarnet — French alpine skier (1933–2017)
FeaturedJean Vuarnet
Death year2017
Known forAn Olympic gold medalist, he is known for inventing the "Tuck" skiing position, and was the first Olympian to win a gold medal using metal skis
Deaths on this date89 (951 – 2025)
Explore January 2
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on January 2 in History
2024
Two aircraft collide on a runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, killing 5 and injuring 18. Wikipedia →
2022
Massive nationwide protests and unrest break out in Kazakhstan over the sudden increase of liquefied petroleum gas prices, leading to 238 people dead and thousands injured by January 11. Wikipedia →
2004
See all events on January 2
Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth. Wikipedia →
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