1. On January 2, 1863, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his men raided and captured the city of Glasgow, Kentucky. This was part of Morgan's famous raid through Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, and the capture of Glasgow enabled him to resupply and recruit more soldiers for his army.

2. In 1942, the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team suffered a devastating loss to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station team on January 2. The final score was 62-52, which was the largest margin of defeat for the Wildcats that season.

3. On January 2, 1963, the Kentucky River oil well in Estill County, Kentucky exploded, killing eight workers and injuring several others. The well had been drilled by the Ashland Oil Company, and the explosion was later determined to have been caused by a gas leak.

4. In 1929, the L&N Railroad announced plans to construct a new passenger station in Louisville, Kentucky. The station would be located on Broadway, and would eventually become known as the Louisville Union Station. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new station was held on January 2, 1930.

5. In 1913, a devastating fire destroyed the courthouse in Richmond, Kentucky on January 2. The fire started in the cupola of the building, and quickly spread throughout the entire structure. Although many records and documents were lost in the fire, no one was killed or injured. A new courthouse was eventually built to replace the old one.