Updated January 1, 2012, 1:28 pm
On Jan. 2, 1905, Japanese Gen. Nogi received from Russian Gen. Stoessel at 9 o’clock P.M. a letter formally offering to surrender, ending the Russo-Japanese War.
On Jan. 2, 1920, Isaac Asimov, the immensely popular science fiction writer, was born. Following his death on April 6, 1992, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1492 The leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain surrendered to Spanish forces loyal to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. 1788 Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. 1900 Secretary of State John Hay announced the Open Door Policy to prompt trade with China. 1935 Bruno Hauptmann went on trial in Flemington, N.J., on charges of kidnapping and murdering the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (He was found guilty and executed.) 1965 The New York Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath for a reported $400,000. 1974 President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph. 1981 Police in Sheffield, England, arrested Peter Sutcliffe, who confessed to being the “Yorkshire Ripper,” the serial killer of 13 women. 1991 Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first African-American woman to head a city of Washington’s size and prominence. 2006 A methane gas explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia trapped 13 miners underground for more than 40 hours; only one survived. 2008 Oil prices soared to $100 a barrel for the first time. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actress Kate Bosworth turns 29 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
Actor Dax Shepard turns 37 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
1940 Jim Bakker, Former TV evangelist, turns 72 1942 Dennis Hastert, Former House speaker, turns 70 1947 Jack Hanna, TV host, turns 65 1967 Tia Carrere, Actress, turns 45 1968 Cuba Gooding Jr., Actor, turns 44 1969 Christy Turlington, Model, turns 43 1971 Taye Diggs, Actor, turns 41 1976 Paz Vega, Actress, turns 36
Historic Birthdays
Isaac Asimov 1/2/1920 – 4/6/1992 American science fiction author.Go to obituary »
32 James Wolfe 1/2/1727 – 9/13/1759
English general who captured Quebec67 Johann Daniel Titius 1/2/1729 – 12/11/1796
Prussian astronomer and physicist66 Rudolf Clausius 1/2/1822 – 8/24/1888
German mathematical physicist66 Justin Winsor 1/2/1831 – 10/22/1897
American librarian and historian68 Ernst Barlach 1/2/1870 – 10/24/1938
German sculpture and playwright58/59 Tex Rickard 1/2/1870/71 – 1/6/1929
American fight promoter and gambler79 Albert Coombs Barnes 1/2/1872 – 7/24/1951
American inventor and art collector24 Saint Theresa of Lisieux 1/2/1873 – 9/30/1897
French Carmelite nun53 Count Folke Bernadotte 1/2/1895 – 9/17/1948
Swedish diplomat, humanitarian75 Sally Rand 1/2/1904 – 8/31/1979
American actress and fan dancer
