Wednesday 3 January 2024 Calendar with holidays, observances and special days

Holidays and observances

• Alaska Statehood Day (1959)
• Anniversary of the 1966 Coup d'état in Burkina Faso
• Children’s Parade in St. Croix (According to USVI law, the St Croix Festival / Carnival parades must be held on the 1st Friday and Saturday of the New Year)
• Festival of Sleep Day (the holiday encourages people to catch up on their sleep post-holiday and New Year celebrations)
• Humiliation Day (as a time to recognize the negativity of humiliating someone, or a group of people)
• National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
• Tamaseseri Festival (Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan)
• The first day of Nakhatsenendyan toner in Armenia (celebrated until January 5)
• The tenth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)

Events

• In 2018 computer researchers report discovering two major security vulnerabilities, named "Meltdown" and "Spectre," in the microprocessors inside almost all computers in the world. By Wednesday evening, Google and Microsoft said they had updated their systems to deal with the flaw. Amazon told customers of its Amazon Web Services cloud service that the vulnerability “has existed for more than 20 years in modern processor architectures.” It said that it had already protected nearly all instances of A.W.S.
• 2009 – The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, was established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
• 2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history.
• 2002 – Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.
• 2000 – Final daily Peanuts comic strip.
• 1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched.
• 1994 – More than seven million people from the former apartheid Homelands receive South African citizenship.
• 1990 – Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.
• 1961 – A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
• 1961 – The SL-1 nuclear reactor is destroyed by a steam explosion in the only reactor incident in the United States to cause immediate fatalities.
• 1961 – The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter's nationalization of American assets.
• 1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
• 1958 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
• 1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
• 1953 – Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
• 1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
• 1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.
• 1944 – World War II: Top Ace Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
• 1938 – The March of Dimes is established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
• 1925 – Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
• 1919 – At the Paris Peace Conference, Emir Faisal I of Iraq signs an agreement with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann on the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
• 1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.
• 1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
• 1888 – The James Lick telescope at the Lick Observatory, measuring 91 cm in diameter, is used for the first time. It was the largest refracting telescope in the world at the time.
• 1870 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.
• 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of Liberia.
• 1777 – American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
• 1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
• 1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.
• 1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.

Births

• 1993 – Kevin Ware, American basketball player. Ware received widespread media attention when he suffered an open fracture of the tibia in his right leg during an Elite Eight game against the Duke Blue Devils on March 31, 2013.
• 1992 – Doug McDermott, American basketball player. Douglas Richard McDermott (born January 3, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
• 1988 – J. R. Hildebrand, American race car driver. Hildebrand won the 2009 Indy Lights championship, and came close to winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500, hitting the wall on the final corner of the race and crossing the line in second place.
• 1986 – Jessica O'Rourke, American footballer. Jessica Lynne O'Rourke Çarmıklı (born Jessica Lynne O'Rourke on January 3, 1986) is an American professional soccer player from Marlton, New Jersey.
• 1985 – Evan Moore, American football player. Evan James Moore (born January 3, 1985) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) and current TV football analyst.
• 1981 – Eli Manning, American football player. Elisha Nelson Manning IV (born January 3, 1981) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL).
• 1980 – Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player. She served as an ex officio member the Executive Board of the IOC from being elected the Chairperson of the IOC Athletes' Commission, the body that represents all Olympic athletes worldwide, a post which she held from 2016 to 2018.
• 1980 – Bryan Clay, American decathlete, was the 2008 Summer Olympic champion for the decathlon and was also World champion in 2005.
• 1980 – David Tyree, American football player. David Mikel Tyree (born January 3, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons.
• 1980 – Kurt Vile, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. Both in the studio and during live performances, Vile is accompanied by his backing band, The Violators, which currently includes Jesse Trbovich (bass, guitar, saxophone), Rob Laakso (guitar, bass) and Kyle Spence (drums).
• 1980 – Mary Wineberg, American sprinter. Mary Wineberg (née Danner, born January 3, 1980) is an American track and field athlete from Cincinnati, Ohio.
• 1977 – A. J. Burnett, American baseball player. Allan James Burnett (born January 3, 1977), is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies for 17 seasons.
• 1976 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor and producer. Neil Melendez on the ABC television series The Good Doctor.
• 1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress, writer, and mathematician. She played Winnie Cooper in the television series The Wonder Years from 1988–1993 and since 2019, McKellar voiced Miss Martian in the animated superhero series Young Justice.
• 1975 – Jun Maeda, Japanese businessman, co-founded the Key Company. Jun Maeda (麻枝 准, Maeda Jun, born January 3, 1975) is a Japanese writer and co-founder of the visual novel brand Key under VisualArt's.
• 1973 – Dan Harmon, American screenwriter and producer. Harmon published the book You'll Be Perfect When You're Dead in 2013.
• 1968 – Lorenzo Fertitta, American entrepreneur, casino executive and sports promoter. He is chairman of Fertitta Capital, director of Red Rock Resorts Inc. and former CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
• 1964 – Cheryl Miller, American basketball player and coach. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster for ABC Sports, TBS Sports, and ESPN.
• 1962 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (d. 2017), was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1983, 1985–1997) and Florida Marlins (1997). While with the Phillies, Daulton was a three-time MLB All-Star and won the 1992 Silver Slugger Award.
• 1958 – James J. Greco, American businessman. Throughout his career, he has held numerous executive positions in the foodservice industry, as well as various directorships.
• 1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Mel Colmcille Gerard Gibson AO (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker.
• 1950 – Linda Steiner, American journalist and academic. Linda Claire Steiner (born January 3, 1950) is a professor at Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland.
• 1950 – Victoria Principal, American actress and businesswoman. Vicki Ree Principal (born January 3, 1950), later known as Victoria Principal, is an American actress, producer, entrepreneur, and author, best known for her role as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the American primetime television soap opera series Dallas.
• 1947 – Zulema, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013), was an American disco and rhythm & blues singer and songwriter. Aside from her solo career, she was a member of an early line up of Faith, Hope and Charity and worked as a backing vocalist and songwriter with Aretha Franklin.
• 1945 – Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
• 1944 – Chris von Saltza, American swimmer. Susan Christina von Saltza (born January 13, 1944), also known by her married name Christina Olmstead, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events.
• 1944 – David Atherton, English conductor, co-founded London Sinfonietta. David Atherton OBE (born 3 January 1944) is an English conductor and co-founder of the London Sinfonietta.
• 1943 – Van Dyke Parks, American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, author, and actor. In addition to producing or arranging albums by Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Phil Ochs, Little Feat, Happy End, Ry Cooder, and Joanna Newsom, Parks has worked with performers such as Syd Straw, Ringo Starr, U2, Grizzly Bear, Inara George, Kimbra, Suzy Williams, and Silverchair.
• 1937 – Glen A. Larson, American director, producer, and screenwriter, created Battlestar Galactica (d. 2014), was an American musician, television producer, writer and director. His best known work in television was as the creator of the television series Alias Smith and Jones, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Quincy, M.E., The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, B.
• 1934 – Carla Anderson Hills, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Trade Representative.
• 1934 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2008), was an American born French actress, as well as a singer and dancer. She is best remembered for her role in the film Black Orpheus (1959).
• 1933 – Anne Stevenson, American-English poet and author. She is a recipient of a Lannan Literary Award.
• 1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor. Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor.
• 1930 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (d. 2015). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Jagged Edge (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for Big (1988).
• 1929 – Gordon Moore, American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation. As of October 2019, Moore's net worth is reported to be $11.9 billion.
• 1926 – W. Michael Blumenthal, American economist and politician, 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury. Werner Michael Blumenthal (born January 3, 1926) is a German-born American business leader, economist and political adviser who served as United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1979.
• 1924 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and educator (d. 2005), was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. Though a successful opera singer internationally, she spent most of her career at the Metropolitan Opera, where she worked from 1951 to 1976.
• 1924 – Otto Beisheim, German businessman and philanthropist, founded Metro AG (d. 2013), was a German businessman and founder of Metro AG. In 2010, his net worth was estimated at US $3.6 billion.
• 1923 – Hank Stram, American football coach and sportscaster (d. 2005). He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).
• 1919 – Herbie Nichols, American pianist and composer (d. 1963), was an American jazz pianist and composer who wrote the jazz standard "Lady Sings the Blues". Obscure during his lifetime, he is now highly regarded by many musicians and critics.
• 1917 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American journalist and publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux (d. 2004), was co-founder and chairman of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, a New York book publishing company, and member of the Guggenheim family.
• 1917 – Vernon A. Walters, American general and diplomat, 17th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002). Walters (January 3, 1917 – February 10, 2002) was a United States Army officer and a diplomat.
• 1916 – Betty Furness, American actress and television journalist (d. 1994), was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator.
• 1916 – Fred Haas, American golfer (d. 2004), was an American professional golfer.
• 1916 – Maxene Andrews, American singer (d. 1995). The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras.
• 1915 – Jack Levine, American painter and soldier (d. 2010), was an American Social Realist painter and printmaker best known for his satires on modern life, political corruption, and biblical narratives.
• 1912 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2005), was an American born - Finnish movie director and writer. He is best known as a director of a number of Pekka ja Pätkä movies.
• 1911 – John Sturges, American director and producer (d. 1982), was an American film director. His movies include Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Gunfight at the O.K.
• 1910 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (d. 2000), was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and third baseman for the Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Dodgers, St.
• 1909 – Victor Borge, Danish-American pianist and conductor (d. 2000), was a Danish comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the United States and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark," "The Unmelancholy Dane," and "The Great Dane."
• 1907 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 1986), was a Welsh-U.S. actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Oscar-winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend (1945), a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind (1942), the murder-plotting husband in Dial M for Murder which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1954), and as Oliver Barrett III in Love Story (1970).
• 1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961), was an American actress, considered to be the first Chinese American Hollywood movie star, as well as the first Chinese American actress to gain international recognition. Her long and varied career spanned silent film, sound film, television, stage, and radio.
• 1900 – Donald J. Russell, American businessman (d. 1985), was an American railroad executive. He was president of Southern Pacific Railroad from 1952–1964 and then chairman from 1964–1972.
• 1898 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (d. 1990), was an American writer and illustrator from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She created 47 children's books, most notably the series under the "Eddie" and "Betsy" titles.
• 1897 – Marion Davies, American actress and comedian (d. 1961), was an American film actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist.
• 1895 – Boris Lyatoshinsky, Ukrainian composer and conductor (d. 1968), was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, and teacher. A leading member of the new generation of twentieth-century Ukrainian composers, he was awarded a number of accolades, including the honorary title of People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR and two Stalin State Prizes.
• 1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963), was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic silent film Greed, and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the advent of sound films.
• 1892 – J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, and philologist (d. 1973), was an English writer, poet, philologist, and academic, who is best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
• 1887 – Helen Parkhurst, American author and educator (d. 1973), was an American educator, author, lecturer, the originator of the Dalton Plan, founder of The Dalton School and host of "Child's World with Helen Parkhurst" on ABC Television Network. Parkhurst took her cues from developmental psychologist Jean Piaget and education reformers such as John Dewey and Horace Mann, producing a progressive education philosophy emphasizing the development of the “whole child."
• 1886 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet and author (d. 1950), was an Imagist poet (the first Southern poet to win the Pulitzer Prize), author and authority on modern painting. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to a socially prominent family.
• 1885 – Harry Elkins Widener, American businessman (d. 1912), was an American businessman and bibliophile, and a member of the Widener family. His mother built Harvard University's Widener Memorial Library in his memory, after his death on the foundering of the RMS Titanic.
• 1880 – Francis Browne, Irish Jesuit priest and photographer (d. 1960), was a distinguished Irish Jesuit and a prolific photographer. His best known photographs are those of the RMS Titanic and its passengers and crew taken shortly before its sinking in 1912.
• 1877 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957), was an American stage and film actress who also was a director of plays. She had a successful 50-year career on stage while taking some of her better known roles to film.
• 1873 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman and art collector, founded the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (d. 1957), was a Japanese industrialist. He is best known as the founder of Hankyu Railway, Takarazuka Revue, and Toho.
• 1816 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (d. 1891), was a United States senator from Kansas in the mid-19th century. He served in the United States Senate during the American Civil War.
• 1793 – Lucretia Mott, American activist (d. 1880), was a U.S. Quaker, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer.
• 1710 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (d. 1796), was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a soldier and engineer who served for the British Army during the French and Indian Wars and for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
• 106 BC – Cicero, Roman philosopher, lawyer, and politician (d. 43 BC). Marcus Tullius Cicero (/ˈsɪsəroʊ/ SISS-ə-roh, Classical Latin: ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, orator, lawyer and philosopher, who served as consul in the year 63 BC.

Deaths

• 2016 – Paul Bley, Canadian-American pianist and composer (b. 1932)
• 2015 – Allie Sherman, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Bryan Caldwell, American football player (b. 1960)
• 2015 – Edward Brooke, American captain and politician, 47th Massachusetts Attorney General (b. 1919)
• 2015 – Martin Anderson, American economist and academic (b. 1936)
• 2014 – George Goodman, American economist and author (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Saul Zaentz, American film producer (b. 1921)
• 2013 – William Maxson, American general (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Gene Bartow, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Robert L. Carter, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Winifred Milius Lubell, American author and illustrator (b. 1914)
• 2010 – Mary Daly, American theologian and scholar (b. 1928)
• 2009 – Betty Freeman, American philanthropist and photographer (b. 1921)
• 2009 – Pat Hingle, American actor (b. 1924)
• 2007 – William Verity, Jr., American businessman and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1917)
• 2003 – Sid Gillman, American football player and coach (b. 1911)
• 1993 – Johnny Most, American soldier and sportscaster (b. 1923)
• 1988 – Joie Chitwood, American race car driver and stuntman (b. 1912)
• 1979 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (b. 1887)
• 1977 – William Gropper, American lithographer, cartoonist, and painter (b. 1897)
• 1975 – James McCormack, American general (b. 1910)
• 1967 – Jack Ruby, American businessman and murderer (b. 1911)
• 1967 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (b. 1874)
• 1966 – Sammy Younge Jr., American civil rights activist (b. 1944)
• 1965 – Milton Avery, American painter (b. 1885)
• 1960 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1884)
• 1956 – Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1864)
• 1946 – William Joyce, American-born Irish-British pro-Axis propaganda broadcaster (b. 1906)
• 1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic and author (b. 1877)
• 1933 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1896)
• 1916 – Grenville M. Dodge, American general and politician (b. 1831)
• 1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman, co-founded Currier and Ives (b. 1824)
• 1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (b. 1730)