Calendar date · January

What happened on January 2

On January 2, 69: The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.

Events

38

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Capricorn

Featured moment · 69

The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.

AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the consulship of Galba and Vinius. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

People

Born on January 2

Claudio Echeverri 2006– Argentine footballer (born 2006)
CJ Egan-Riley 2003– English footballer (born 2003)
Elye Wahi 2003– Ivorian footballer (born 2003)
Cole Caufield 2001– Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 2001)
Luiz Henrique 2001– Brazilian footballer (born 2001)
Spencer Arrighetti 2000– American baseball player (born 2000)
Georgios Kalaitzakis 1999– Greek basketball player (born 1999)
Fernando Tatís Jr. 1999– Dominican baseball player (born 1999)
Aaron Wiggins 1999– American basketball player (born 1999)
Show 9 more — notable births on January 2
Tfue 1998– American professional esports player (born 1998)
Timothy Fosu-Mensah 1998– Dutch footballer (born 1998)
Arshad Nadeem 1997– Pakistani javelin thrower (born 1997)
Carlos Soler 1997– Spanish footballer (born 1997)
Jonah Bolden 1996– Australian-American basketball player (born 1996)
Ronald Darby 1994– American football player (born 1994)
Bryson Tiller 1993– American singer (born 1993)
Paulo Gazzaniga 1992– Argentine footballer (born 1992)
Alexey Marchenko 1992– Russian ice hockey player (born 1992)

People

Died on January 2

Ágnes Keleti Hungarian-Israeli artistic gymnast (1921–2025)
Francesc Antich Venezuelan-born Spanish politician (1958–2025)
Daryl Dragon American musician (1942–2019)
Julia Grant British transgender activist (1954–2019)
Bob Einstein American actor and comedy writer (1942–2019)
Gene Okerlund American wrestling interviewer and announcer (1942–2019)
Guida Maria Portuguese actress (1950–2018)
Thomas S. Monson President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (1927–2018)
Jean Vuarnet French alpine skier (1933–2017)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on January 2
John Berger British painter, writer and art critic
Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan Former General secretary of the Communist party of India
Frances Cress Welsing American psychiatrist (1935–2016)
Nimr al-Nimr Shia Muslim religious figure and Saudi government critic; executed in 2016
Gisela Mota Ocampo Mexican politician and murder victim
Tihomir Novakov Serbian-American physicist (1929–2015)
Bernard Glasser American film director
Elizabeth Jane Howard English novelist
Gerda Lerner American historian and woman's history author (1920–2013)

Timeline

Every January 2 on record

  1. 69 The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.

    Calendar year

    AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the consulship of Galba and Vinius. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

  2. 366 The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire.

    Germanic people

    The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes on the Upper Rhine River during the 1st millennium. They are first mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 AD, the Alemanni captured the Agri Decumates in 260 AD, and later expanded into present-day Alsace and northern Switzerland, leading to the establishment of the Old High German language in those regions, which by the 8th century were collectively referred to as Alamannia.

  3. 533 Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.

    Head of the Catholic Church from 533 to 535

    Pope John II, born Mercurius, was the Bishop of Rome from 2 January 533 to his death on 8 May 535. As a priest at St. Clement's Basilica, he endowed that church with gifts and commissioned stone carvings for it.

  4. 1444 Christian forces defeat the Turks in the battle of Kunovica.

    1444 battle in Serbia

    The Battle of Kunovica or Battle at Kunovitsa was fought between crusaders led by John Hunyadi and the armies of the Ottoman Empire on 2 or 5 January 1444, near the mountain Kunovica between Pirot and Niš, in present-day Serbia. It was part of the Long Campaign.

  5. 1492 Reconquista: The Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.

    Medieval Christian military campaigns

    The Reconquista or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military campaigns by northern Iberian Christian polities against Muslim-ruled al-Andalus, which had previously been part of the Visigothic Kingdom before the Muslim Conquest of 711. The Reconquista concluded in 1492 with the capture of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, thereby ending the presence of any Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula.

  6. 1680 Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram and his bodyguards execute the rebel leader Trunajaya.
  7. 1776 Empress Maria Theresa of Austria amends the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana to include the abolition of torture throughout the Habsburg-ruled countries of Austria and Bohemia.
  8. 1777 American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of General George Washington repulse a British attack led by General Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.
  9. 1788 Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
  10. 1791 Northwest Indian War: The Big Bottom massacre is committed by Lenape and Wyandot warriors in the Ohio Country, North America.
  11. 1818 The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded by a group of six engineers; Thomas Telford would later become its first president.
  12. 1863 American Civil War: The three-day Battle of Stones River ends in a Union victory when the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg are repulsed for the final time by the Army of the Cumberland under General William S. Rosecrans.
  13. 1865 Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as the Brazilians and Coloradans capture Paysandú, Uruguay.
  14. 1900 American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
  15. 1900 Chicago Canal opens.
Show 15 earlier entries from January 2
  1. 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.
  2. 1921 World premiere of the science fiction play R.U.R. by the Czech writer Karel Čapek in a theater in Hradec Králové.
  3. 1932 The Young Brothers engaged in a gun battle resulting in the deaths of six law enforcement officers; the worst single killing of US police officers in the 20th century.
  4. 1941 World War II: The Cardiff Blitz severely damages the cathedral in Cardiff, Wales.
  5. 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; Also known as the Duquesne Spy Ring.
  6. 1942 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces, enabling them to control the Philippines.
  7. 1949 Luis Muñoz Marín is inaugurated as the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
  8. 1954 India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.
  9. 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.
  10. 1959 Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
  11. 1963 Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.
  12. 1967 Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.
  13. 1971 The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football match.
  14. 1975 At the opening of a new railway line, a bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.
  15. 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.

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