^{The US reduces the maximum speed limit to 55 mph during the OPEC oil embargo. (Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0)}

Today in History

• In the largest espionage case in US history, 33 members of a German spy ring are convicted (1942)
• World War II: The Japanese capture Manila (1942)
• The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2, first to reach the vicinity of the Moon, is launched (1959)
• The US maximum speed limit is lowered to 55 miles per hour to conserve gasoline during the OPEC oil embargo (1974)

Birthdays

• Count Folke Bernadotte, liberated more than 30,00 prisoners from German concentration camps during World War II (1895)
• Barry Goldwater, US senator and presidential candidate (1909)
• Isaac Asimov, scientist and author (1920)
• Roger Miller, country musician (1936)
• Jim Bakker, televangelist (1940)
• Lynda Barry, cartoonist (1956)
• Cuba Gooding, Jr., actor (1968)

Deaths

• Guccio Gucci, fashion designer (1953)
• Dick Powell, actor and singer (1963)
• Tex Ritter, actor (1974)
• Erroll Garner, pianiast
• Una Merkel, actress (1986)
• Alan Hale, Jr., actor (1990)
• Patrick O’Brian, author (2002)
• Frank Kelly Freas, artist (2005)
• George MacDonald Fraser, author (2008)
• Anne Francis, actress (2011)

Holidays and Celebrations

• Ancestry Day (Haiti)
• Berchtold’s Day (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Alsace)
• Carnival Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
• Nyinlong (Bhutan)
• National Creampuff Day (US)
• Victory of Armed Forces Day (Cuba)

January 2 is the second day of the year. There are 363 days (364 in leap years) remaining until the end of the year.