2 January 1954

While landing at Haneda Airport, Japan Airlines Flight 516 collided with a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 which killed five people in total.

Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia, was executed by the Saudi government along with 46 other people.

Sri Lankan civil war: The Sri Lankan army captured the town of Kilinochchi from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, concluding the Battle of Kilinochchi.

The Stardust space probe flew by the comet Wild 2 and collected particle samples from its coma, which were later returned to Earth.

Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as the mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first African-American woman to hold the position.

An extratropical cyclone began affecting parts of western Europe, resulting in coastal flooding around the southern portions of the North Sea and leading to at least 82 deaths.

Ronald Reagan began his career in government when he was sworn in as the 33rd governor of California.

Vietnam War: The Viet Cong won its first major victory at the Battle of Ap Bac.

The Soviet Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon, was launched by a Vostok rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

World War II: United States and Australian forces successfully landed in Papua New Guinea in an attempt to cut off a Japanese retreat.

Second World War: Llandaff Cathedral (pictured) in Cardiff, Wales, was severely damaged by German bombing during the Cardiff Blitz.

Under the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer (pictured), U.S. Department of Justice agents launched a series of raids against radical leftists and anarchists in more than 30 cities and towns across 23 states.

Uruguayan War: Brazilian and Colorado Party forces captured the city of Paysandú from its Uruguayan defenders.

French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier (pictured) announced the putative discovery of the planet Vulcan at a meeting at the French Academy of Sciences in Paris.

American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.

Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram of Java and his courtiers stabbed Trunajaya to death a week after the rebel leader surrendered to VOC forces.

Two aircraft collide on a runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, killing 5 and injuring 18.

Massive nationwide protests and unrest break out in Kazakhstan over the sudden increase of liquefied petroleum gas prices, leading to 238 people dead and thousands injured by January 11.

Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.

Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35–100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.

Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.

Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782 crashes near Seferihisar, Turkey, killing 16 people.

One of the largest investigations by a British police force ends when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

On the orders of the President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, paramilitary forces opened fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan, Pakistan; it is known as 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills.