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[HistoryMan]

January 2 Luis Muñoz Marín became the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico


366 - The Alamanni crossed the frozen Rhine in large numbers to invade the Roman Empire.

533 - Mercurius became Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.
John II, was pope from 533 - 535. His name at birth was Mercurius, and was the son of Projectus, born in Rome on the Caelian Hill. He was made pope January 2, 533.

He was the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy. At the outset of his pontificate, John II secured from Athalaric, king of the Ostrogoths in Italy, confirmation of the decree against simony (the purchase or sale of church offices or preferment) that had been issued by the Roman Senate. The following year John obtained a profession of orthodox faith from the Byzantine emperor Justinian I the Great, a significant accomplishment in light of the strength of Monophysitism in the Byzantine Empire at that time.

1492 - Reconquista: Los Reyes Católicos expelled Boabdil of Granada, the last of the Moorish rulers, from the Iberian Peninsula.
The Reconquista (Spanish and Portuguese for reconquest) was the conquest of the Moorish kingdoms of Spain and Portugal by Christian rulers, culminating on January 2, 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella, Los Reyes Catolicos ("The Catholic Monarchs"), expelled the last of the Moorish rulers, Boabdil of Granada, from the Iberian Peninsula, uniting most of what is now Spain under their rule (Navarre was not incorporated until 1512).


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1946 - Unable to resume his reign after World War II, King Zog of Albania abdicated but retained his claim to the throne.

Zogu crowned himself King Zog of Albania on September 1, 1928 and declared a constitutional monarchy sharing similarities with the Italian monarchal government (which included a strong police force). He instituted a Zogist salute (flat hand over the heart with palm facing forwards) and claimed to be a successor of Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg. Zog hoarded gold coins and precious stones which were used to back Albania's first paper currency, but his household expenses hovered near 2% of the national budget. He was mostly ignored by European monarchs.


1949 - Luis Muñoz Marín became the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.

Luis Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898 - April 30, 1980) was a poet, journalist and politician. He was the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico and considered one of the most important twentieth-century political figures in the Americas. He worked closely with the Government of the United States for the creation of a Constitution for Puerto Rico that would create a more favorable environment in which the island could achieve progress both economically and politically. Muñoz served for sixteen years as Governor and his achievements made him worthy of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1962 and of the title "Father of the Modern Puerto Rico".




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