Interesting things that happened January 2nd:

Birthdays on this date:

• In 1912 Ann Sothern, actor (Maisie films, The Whales of August)
• In 1920 Isaac Asimov, scientist, author (Foundation series; I, Robot)
• In 1927 Richard Belmont Ray, US Representative (D-GA, 1983-93)
• In 1939 Jim Bakker, televangelist, con-man

Events worth noting:

• + Betsy Ross Day
• In 1492 Granada, the last Moorish bastion in Spain, falls to the armies of Isabella and Ferdinand, ending The Reconquista.
• In 1788 Georgia becomes the 4th state.
• In 1813 The pineapple is introduced to Hawaii by Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, physician and advisor to King Kamehameha I.
• In 1863 Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone's river) ends.
• In 1890 Alice Sanger becomes first female White House staffer.
• In 1905 Port Arthur captured by Japanese forces in Russo-Japanese War. At 9 pm, Japan's General Nogi receives a letter from Russian General Stoessel offering to surrender, ending the Russo-Japanese War.
• In 1917 Royal Bank of Canada took over the Quebec Bank.
• In 1921 DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park opens.
• In 1933 Bruins beat Rangers in NY 13-3.
• In 1935 Bruno Richard Hauptmann went on trial for kidnap-murder of Charles Lindberg's baby.
• In 1936 First electron tube to enable night vision described, St Louis, MO.
• In 1942 Japanese occupied Manila.
  + 28 nations, at war with Axis, pledge no separate peace.
• In 1955 President Jose Antonio Remon of Panama assassinated.
• In 1957 The San Francisco and Los Angeles stock exchanges merge.
• In 1968 Dr. Christian Barnard performs first heart transplant where recipient goes on to live for more than a year.
• In 1986 19.166 million shares traded in the New York Stock Exchange.

And remember ...

• National Bald Eagle Watch Month