On this day January 2

1879 – Thomas Edison began construction on his first generator.

1917 – Royal Bank of Canada took over the Quebec Bank.

1996 – AT&T announced that it would eliminate 40,000 jobs over three years.

2004 – NASA’s Stardust space probe collected samples from the comet Wild 2. The samples returned to Earth on January 15, 2006.

2008 – The price of oil hit $100 per barrel for the first time.