UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
2 January 2012 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 2 January 2012 was a Monday.
- ARIA No. 1
- The ARIA No. 1 was “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO.
- Top Film of 2012
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 2012 was The Avengers.
- Best-Selling Vehicle of 2012
- Australia's top-selling new vehicle in 2012 was the Mazda3.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 2 January is Capricorn.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 2 January 2012 fell in the Year of the Rabbit.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for January is Garnet.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 2 January 2012 was Waxing Gibbous.
On this day: 2 January
- 1959 Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
- 1963 Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.
- 1967 Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.
- 1991 Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.
- 2004 Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.
Famous people born on 2 January
- Jim Bakker, American televangelist (1940–2026)
- Kemi Badenoch, English politician (born 1980)
- Dax Shepard, American actor (born 1975)
- Kate Bosworth, American actress (born 1983)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.
Events of 2012 in Australia
A selection from Wikipedia's '2012 in Australia'. Not a complete list.
- 6 February – Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II's accession as Queen of Australia
- 27 February – The Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party holds a ballot to determine its leader and by extension the Prime Minister of Australia. Julia Gillard wins the ballot by 71 votes to Kevin Rudd's 31 votes.
- 24 March – The Queensland state election is held. Anna Bligh's Labor government is defeated heavily, with the Liberal National Party led by Campbell Newman winning the largest parliamentary majority in the state's history.
Life in Australia in 2012
Prime Minister
Julia Gillard
Monarch
Queen Elizabeth II
Petrol (per litre)
$1.45
Loaf of Bread
$3.10
Average House
$480,000
Weekly Wage
$1,355.00
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