What Happened on January 2, 2024

• Claudine Gay, Harvard University's first Black president, resigns following testimony to Congress on anti-semitism and amid plagiarism allegations [1]
• Japan Airlines Flight 516 crashes into Coast Guard plane and burns during landing at Haneda airport in Tokyo; all 379 passengers and crew on board the JAL Airbus evacuate safely, 5 of the 6 Coast Guard members are killed

• Alberto Festa, Portuguese soccer right-back (19 caps; FC Tirsense, FC Porto), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 84
• Ángel Castellanos, Spanish soccer defender (3 caps; Granada CF, Valencia CF 363 games), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 71
• Cameron Dunkin, American boxing manager (Diego Corrales, Terence Crawford, Johnny Tapia, Kelly Pavlik, Timothy Bradley, Mikey Garcia), dies of pancreatic cancer at 67
• Carmen Valero, Spanish athlete (IAAF World Cross Country C'ship gold 1976, 77; bronze 1975), dies from a stroke at 68
• Daniel Revenu, French fencer (Olympic gold team foil 1968; bronze x 5; World C'ship gold 1971, 75), dies at 81
• Saleh al-Arouri, Palestinian militant, senior Hamas leader and founding commander of its military wing the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (1993-2024), killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon

Holidays: Day after New Year's Day (New Zealand), New Year Holiday (United Kingdom)

• #1 Song: Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
• #1 Song: Last Christmas - Wham!