January 2
Activity of the day
Today is . . .
- Feast Day of St Marcarius, patron saint of confectioners
On this day . . .
- Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders to the Spaniards (1492)
- Cardinal Richelieu founds the Académie Française to maintain the purity of the French language (1635)
- Georgia becomes the fourth state of the Union (1788)
- The first photograph of the Moon is taken by Louis Daguerre (1839)
- The first electric omnibus service begins in New York (1900)
- The murder trial of punk musician Sid Vicious begins in New York
(1979)
Births
- Michael Tippett, English composer (1905)
- Isaac Asimov, American biochemist and science fiction writer (1920)
- David Bailey, English photographer (1938)
- Todd Haynes, American film director (1961)
- Paz Vega, Spanish actress (1976)
Deaths
- Livy, Roman historian (AD 17)
- Errol Garner, American musician (1977)
- Dick James, English music publisher (1986)