January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 363 days remaining until the end of the year (This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Thursday or Friday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Sunday (56).
+ 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.
+ 1959 – Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
+ 1967 – Ronald Reagan is sworn in as Governor of California.
+ 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.
( Births )
+ 1909 – Barry Goldwater, American general and politician (d. 1998)
+ 1936 – Roger Miller, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (d. 1992)
+ 1940 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist
+ 1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer