January 2

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2006 Calendar

[edit] Events

366 - Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading Roman Empire.
533 - Mercurius became Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.
1492 - Reconquista: Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.
1757 - The United Kingdom captures Calcutta, India.
1788 - Georgia becomes the 4th state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1793 - Russia and Prussia partition Poland.
1815 - Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke, Seaham, County Durham.
1818 - British Institution of Civil Engineers formed
1859 - Erastus Beadle publishes The Dime Book of Practical Etiquette.
1860 - The discovery of the planet Vulcan was announced at a meeting of the Académie des Sciences in Paris.
1870 - Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.
1871 - Amadeus I becomes King of Spain.
1872 - Brigham Young is arrested for bigamy (25 wives).
1879 - Fred Spofforth claims the first Hat-trick in test cricket on the Sydney Cricket Ground against England.
1882 - John D. Rockefeller unites his oil holdings into the Standard Oil trust.
1890 - Alice Sanger becomes the first female staffer for the White House.
1893 - Introduction by Webb C. Ball of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America: Railroad chronometers.
1900 - John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
1900 - Chicago Canal opens.
1905 - Russo-Japanese War: The Russian fleet surrenders at Port Arthur, China.
1917 - The Royal Bank of Canada takes over Quebec Bank.
1921 - The first religious radio broadcast (KDKA AM in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) .
1921 - DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park San Francisco opens.
1923 - U.S. Interior Secretary Albert Fall resigns due to the Teapot Dome scandal.
1929 - Canada and the United States agree on a plan to preserve Niagara Falls.
1935 - Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr., infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh.
1941 - WWII: German bombing severely damaged the Llandaff Cathedral, built in 1290 on the bank of the River Taff in Cardiff, Wales.
1941 - The U.S. government announces its Liberty ship program with a stated goal of building 200 freighters. Over 2,700 ships will eventually be constructed by the end of the war.
1942 - World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces.
1942 - The United States Navy opens a blimp base at Lakehurst, New Jersey.
1946 - Unable to resume his rule over Albania after World War II, King Zog abdicated but retained his claim to the throne.
1949 - Luis Muñoz Marín became the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
1955 - Panamanian president Jose Antonio Remon is assassinated.
1957 - San Francisco and Los Angeles stock exchanges merge.
1959 - CBS Radio cuts four soap operas: Backstage Wife Our Gal Sunday, Road of Life, and This is Nora Drake.
1967 - Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the second successful heart transplant.
1971 - 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster.
1974 - Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum US speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
1979 - Sid Vicious goes on trial for the murder of Nancy Spungen.
1981 - Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, is arrested.
1983 - The musical Annie is performed for the last time after 2,377 shows at the Uris Theatre on Broadway.
1991 - Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first African American woman to lead a city of that size and importance.
1992 - Paraguay becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
1993 - Leaders of the three warring factions in Bosnia meet to discuss peace plans.
1998 - Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
1999 - A brutal snowstorm smashes into the Midwestern United States, causing 14 inches (359mm) of snow at Milwaukee, Wisconsin and 19 inches (487mm) at Chicago. In Chicago, temperatures plunge to -13°F (-25°C), and 68 deaths are reported.
2002 - Levy Mwanawasa took office as the third President of Zambia.
2004 - Stardust successfully flew past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that it will return to Earth two years later.

[edit] Births

1727 - James Wolfe, British general in French and Indian War (d. 1759)
1777 - Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor (d. 1857)
1816 - Benjamin Hobson, medical missionary to China
1822 - Rudolf Clausius, German physicist, contributions to thermodynamics (d. 1888)
1836 - Mendele Moykher Sforim, Russian writer (d. 1917)
1837 - Mily Balakirev, Russian composer (d. 1910)
1859 - Anna Sacher, Austrian hotelier, Sacher cake (d. 1930)
1870 - Ernst Barlach, German sculptor, graphic artist, and poet (d. 1938)
1877 - Slava Raskaj, Croatian painter (d.1906)
1886 - Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (d. 1938)
1896 - Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (d. 1954)
1904 - Sally Rand, American fan dancer (d. 1979)
1905 - Michael Tippett, English composer (d. 1998)
1912 - Renato Guttuso, Italian painter (d. 1987)
1913 - Anna Lee, English actress (d. 2004)
1917 - Vera Zorina, dancer, actress (d. 2003)
1920 - Isaac Asimov, Russian-born American science fiction author (d. 1992)
1930 - Julius LaRosa, singer
1936 - Roger Miller, American country music singer (d. 1992)
1938 - Ian Brady, British serial killer
1938 - Hans Herbjørnsrud, Norwegian author
1939 - Jim Bakker, American televangelist
1939 - Konstanze Vernon, dancer
1942 - Hugh Shelton, American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
1944 - Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian politician
1947 - Jack Hanna, American zoologist
1949 - Christopher Durang, American playwright
1954 - Henry Bonilla, American politician
1954 - Dawn Silva, singer (The Brides of Funkenstein, P-Funk)
1955 - Tex Brashear, American voice actor
1959 - Kirti Azad, Indian cricketer
1961 - Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
1961 - Todd Haynes, American film director
1963 - David Cone, American baseball pitcher
1964 - Pernell Whitaker, American boxer
1967 - Tia Carrere, American actress
1968 - Cuba Gooding Jr., American actor
1969 - Christy Turlington, American fashion model
1969 - Tommy Morrison, American boxer
1972 - Taye Diggs, American actor
1974 - Tricia Helfer, Canadian actress and model
1975 - Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank)
1976 - Paz Vega, Spanish actress
1983 - Kate Bosworth, American actress