On this day · Capricorn

January 2 birthdays

304 notable historical figures were born on January 2, and 189 died on this day. Everyone born on January 2 is a Capricorn.

19% of January 2 birthdays work in Science, more than any other field. More come from United States (65) than any other country.

Born on January 2

• Thérèse of Lisieux (1873 to 1897. French Discalced Carmelite nun and saint (1873–1897))
• Isaac Asimov (1920 to 1992. American writer and biochemist (1920–1992))
• Kate Bosworth (born 1983. American actress (born 1983))
• Barry Goldwater (1909 to 1998. American politician and military officer (1909–1998))
• Mehmed IV (1642 to 1693. Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687)
• Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1784 to 1844. Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld)
• Gabrielle Carteris (born 1961. American actress)
• Bryson Tiller (born 1993. American singer (born 1993))
• Florence Lawrence (1886 to 1938. Canadian-American actress (1886–1938))
• Osman III (1699 to 1757. Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1754 to 1757)
• Lynn Conway (1938 to 2024. American computer scientist and electrical engineer (1938–2024))
• John Dowland (1563 to 1626. English composer and lutenist (1563–1626))
• Norodom Ranariddh (1944 to 2021. Prime Minister of Cambodia from 1993 to 1997)
• Barış Manço (1943 to 1999. Turkish musician (1943–1999))
• William Haines (1900 to 1973. American actor and interior designer (1900–1973))
• Eric Whitacre (born 1970. American composer (born 1970))
• Tony Judt (1948 to 2010. English historian (1948–2010))
• Mo Hayder (1962 to 2021. British author (1962–2021))
• Rudolf Clausius (1822 to 1888. German physicist and mathematician (1822–1888))
• Daisaku Ikeda (1928 to 2023. Japanese religious leader (1928–2023))
• Jules Brunet (1838 to 1911. French military officer (1838-1911))
• Bessarion (1403 to 1472. Greek theologian and scholar (1403–1472))
• S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan (born 1940. Indian American mathematician (born 1940))
• Guy Mollet (1906 to 1975. French politician (1905–1975))
• Michael Tippett (1905 to 1998. English composer (1905–1998))
• Chandrashekhara Kambara (born 1937. Indian poet and playwright (born 1937))
• Anton Pannekoek (1873 to 1960. Dutch astronomer and Marxist theorist (1873–1960))
• Moisei Uritsky (1873 to 1918. Bolshevik revolutionary (1873–1918))
• Ahmad Qavam (1876 to 1955. Five time prime minister of Iran (1873–1955))
• Hugh Shelton (born 1942. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001)
• Bashir Shihab II (1767 to 1850. Emir of Lebanon from 1789 to 1840)
• Noe Zhordania (1868 to 1953. Georgian journalist, intellectual, revolutionary and politician)
• Iris Marion Young (1949 to 2006. American philosopher (1949–2006))
• Piero di Cosimo (1462 to 1522. Italian painter (1462–1522))
• Emperor Yōzei (869 to 949. Emperor of Japan from 876 to 884)
• Christian Malanga (1983 to 2024. Congolese politician and military officer (1983–2024))
• Ernst Barlach (1870 to 1938. German expressionist sculptor, printmaker and writer (1870–1938))
• Sri Sri (writer) (1910 to 1983. Telugu poet and lyricist (1910–1983))
• John Hope Franklin (1915 to 2009. American historian (1915–2009))
• Giovanna Ralli (born 1935. Italian actress (born 1935))
• Zainab al-Ghazali (1917 to 2005. Egyptian activist)
• Karamjit Anmol (born 1972. Indian comedian, singer and film producer)
• John Manners, Marquess of Granby (1721 to 1770. British Army officer and politician (1721–1770))
• Gilbert Murray (1866 to 1957. Anglo-Australian scholar (1866–1957))
• Farouk El-Baz (born 1938. Egyptian space scientist)
• Abhijit Mukherjee (born 1960. Indian politician (born 1960))
• Jan Fischer (politician) (born 1951. Czech politician (born 1951))
• Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa (born 1968. American physician)
• Goh Kun (born 1938. South Korean politician (born 1938))
• Amy Mainzer (born 1974. American astronomer)
• Richard Miles (historian) (born 1969. British historian and archaeologist (born 1969))
• Walter Heitler (1904 to 1981. German–Irish physicist (1904–1981))
• Nyam-Osoryn Uchral (born 1987. Prime minister of Mongolia since 2026)
• Marie Thérèse, Madame Royale (1667 to 1672. French Madame Royale (1667–1672))
• James Cantor (born 1966. American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist)
• Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (1862 to 1919. Engineer (1862–1919))
• Domenico Ottomano (1642 to 1676. Ottoman Catholic friar (1642–1676))
• Kemi Badenoch (born 1980. British politician (born 1980))
• Robert Nathan (1894 to 1985. American novelist)
• Angela Gallop (born 1950. British forensic scientist)

Died on January 2

• Bob Einstein (1942 to 2019. American actor and comedy writer (1942–2019))
• Siad Barre (1919 to 1995. President of Somalia from 1969 to 1991)
• James Longstreet (1821 to 1904. Confederate Army general (1821–1904))
• Frederick William IV of Prussia (1795 to 1861. King of Prussia from 1840 to 1861)
• Thomas S. Monson (1927 to 2018. President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (1927–2018))
• John Berger (1926 to 2017. British painter, writer and art critic)
• Maria Luisa of Parma (1751 to 1819. Queen of Spain from 1788 to 1808)
• Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies (1910 to 2000. Countess of Barcelona)
• Richard Leakey (1944 to 2022. Kenyan conservationist (1944–2022))
• Đurađ Branković (1377 to 1457. Despot of Serbia from 1427 to 1456)
• Edward Burnett Tylor (1832 to 1917. English anthropologist (1832–1917))
• Sabine Baring-Gould (1834 to 1924. English priest and scholar (1834–1924))
• Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923 to 2014. English novelist)
• Sebastian Haffner (1907 to 1999. German journalist and author (1907–1999))
• George Biddell Airy (1801 to 1892. English mathematician and astronomer (1801–1892))
• Zvi Zamir (1925 to 2024. Director of the Mossad (1968–1974))
• Frances Cress Welsing (1935 to 2016. American psychiatrist (1935–2016))
• Princess Mathilde (1820 to 1904. Princesse Française)
• Eleazar López Contreras (1883 to 1973. President of Venezuela from 1935 to 1941)
• Gerda Lerner (1920 to 2013. American historian and woman's history author (1920–2013))
• Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741 to 1801. Swiss poet (1741–1801))
• João Manuel, Prince of Portugal (1537 to 1554. Prince of Portugal (1537–1554))
• Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg (1780 to 1857. Duchess Louis of Württemberg)
• Sartaj Aziz (1929 to 2024. Pakistani economist and strategist (1929–2021))
• Montgomery C. Meigs (1816 to 1892. Union Army general)
• Efua Sutherland (1924 to 1996. Ghanaian writer, publisher, educationalist and cultural activist (1924–1996))
• Caleb Cushing (1800 to 1879. American politician & diplomat (1800–1879))
• Manuel de la Peña y Peña (1789 to 1850. President of Mexico from 1847 to 1848)
• Ephraim Amu (1899 to 1995. Ghanaian composer, musicologist, and teacher)
• Karl Goldmark (1830 to 1915. Hungarian-born Viennese composer (1830–1915))

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