September 2

September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 120 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 44 BC – Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.
• 44 BC – Cicero launches the first of his Philippics (oratorical attacks) on Mark Antony. He will make 14 of them over the following months.
• 31 BC – Final War of the Roman Republic: Battle of Actium – off the western coast of Greece, forces of Octavian defeat troops under Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
• 421 – Galla Placidia, wife of the Emperor Constantius III, becomes a widow for the second time when he dies suddenly of an illness.
• 1649 – The Italian city of Castro is completely destroyed by the forces of Pope Innocent X, ending the Wars of Castro.
• 1666 – The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings including St Paul's Cathedral.
• 1752 – Great Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe.
• 1789 – The United States Department of the Treasury is founded.
• 1792 – During what became known as the September Massacres of the French Revolution, rampaging mobs slaughter three Roman Catholic Church bishops, more than two hundred priests, and prisoners believed to be royalist sympathizers.
• 1806 – A massive landslide destroys the town of Goldau, Switzerland, killing 457.
• 1807 – The Royal Navy bombards Copenhagen with fire bombs and phosphorus rockets to prevent Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon.
• 1811 – The University of Oslo is founded as The Royal Fredericks University, after Frederick VI of Denmark and Norway.
• 1833 – Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio is founded by John Jay Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart.
• 1856 – The Tianjing Incident takes place in Nanjing, China.
• 1859 – A solar super storm affects electrical telegraph service.
• 1862 – American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln reluctantly restores Union General George B. McClellan to full command after General John Pope's disastrous defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Union forces enter Atlanta, Georgia, a day after the Confederate defenders flee the city, ending the Atlanta Campaign.
• 1867 – Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Japan, marries Masako Ichijō. The Empress consort is thereafter known as Lady Haruko. Since her death in 1914, she is called by the posthumous name Empress Shōken.
• 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan – Prussian forces take Napoleon III of France and 100,000 of his soldiers prisoner.
• 1885 – Rock Springs massacre: in Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 White miners, who are struggling to unionize so they could strike for better wages and work conditions, attack their Chinese fellow workers killing 28, wounding 15 and forcing several hundred more out of town.
• 1898 – Battle of Omdurman – British and Egyptian troops defeat Sudanese tribesmen and establish British dominance in Sudan.
• 1901 – Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair.
• 1935 – Labor Day Hurricane of 1935: a large hurricane hits the Florida Keys killing 423.
• 1939 – World War II: following the start of the invasion of Poland the previous day, the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) is annexed by Nazi Germany.
• 1945 – World War II: Combat ends in the Pacific Theater: the Instrument of Surrender of Japan is signed by Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and accepted aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
• 1945 – Vietnam declares its independence, forming the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
• 1946 – The Interim Government of India is formed with Jawaharlal Nehru as Vice President with the powers of a Prime Minister.
• 1957 – President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam becomes the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to Australia.
• 1958 – United States Air Force C-130A-II is shot down by fighters over Yerevan in Armenia when it strays into Soviet airspace while conducting a sigint mission. All crew members are killed.
• 1960 – The first election of the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration, in history of Tibet. The Tibetan community observes this date as the Democracy Day.
• 1963 – CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
• 1970 – NASA announces the cancellation of two Apollo missions to the Moon, Apollo 15 (the designation is re-used by a later mission), and Apollo 19.
• 1990 – Transnistria is unilaterally proclaimed a Soviet republic; the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev declares the decision null and void.
• 1992 – An earthquake in Nicaragua kills at least 116 people.
• 1998 – Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia. All 229 people on board are killed.
• 1998 – The UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finds Jean Paul Akayesu, the former mayor of a small town in Rwanda, guilty of nine counts of genocide.

Births

• 1661 – Georg Böhm, German organist and composer (d. 1733)
• 1675 – William Somervile, English poet (d. 1742)
• 1753 – Marie Joséphine of Savoy (d. 1810)
• 1778 – Louis Bonaparte, French-Dutch king (d. 1846)
• 1805 – Esteban Echeverría, Argentine writer (d. 1851)
• 1810 – Lysander Button, American machinist and inventor of the Button Steamer Fire Engine (d. 1898)
• 1810 – William Seymour Tyler, American educator and historian (d. 1897)
• 1820 – Lucretia Hale, American journalist and author (d. 1900)
• 1830 – William P. Frye, American politician (d. 1911)
• 1838 – Liliuokalani of Hawaii (d. 1917)
• 1839 – Henry George, American economist (d. 1897)
• 1847 – Roger Wolcott, American politician, 39th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1900)
• 1850 – Eugene Field American writer and poet (d. 1895)
• 1850 – Albert Spalding, American baseball player, manager, and businessman, co-founded the Spalding Sporting Goods Company (d. 1915)
• 1850 – Woldemar Voigt, German physicist (d. 1919)
• 1852 – Paul Bourget, French novelist and critic (d. 1935)
• 1853 – Wilhelm Ostwald, Russian-German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
• 1854 – Hans Jæger, Norwegian writer and activist (d. 1910)
• 1857 – Thomas Groube, Australian cricketer (d. 1927)
• 1862 – Franjo Krežma, Croatian violinist (d. 1881)
• 1865 – Simeón Ola, Filipino general (d. 1952)
• 1866 – Charles Vintcent, South African cricketer (d. 1943)
• 1877 – Frederick Soddy, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1956)
• 1878 – Ion Dragoumis, Greek diplomat, writer, and revolutionary (d. 1920)
• 1878 – Werner von Blomberg, German field marshal (d. 1946)
• 1879 – An Jung-geun, Korean activist, assassin of Ito Hirobumi (d. 1910)
• 1883 – Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Frank Laubach, American missionary and mystic (d. 1970)
• 1886 – Warren Brittingham, American soccer player (d. 1962)
• 1894 – Joseph Roth, Austrian novelist (d. 1939)
• 1901 – Andreas Embirikos, Greek poet (d. 1975)
• 1901 – Adolph Rupp, American basketball coach (d. 1977)
• 1911 – Romare Bearden, American painter and writer (d. 1988)
• 1912 – Ernest Bromley, Australian cricketer (d. 1967)
• 1913 – Israel Gelfand, Russian mathematician (d. 2009)
• 1913 – Bill Shankly, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 1981)
• 1914 – Tom Glazer, American singer-songwriter and composer (d. 2003)
• 1915 – Benjamin Aaron, American attorney and scholar (d. 2007)
• 1915 – Meinhardt Raabe, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1917 – Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 1995)
• 1917 – Cleveland Amory, American author (d. 1997)
• 1918 – Allen Drury, American novelist (d. 1998)
• 1919 – Marge Champion, American actress and dancer
• 1923 – René Thom, French mathematician (d. 2002)
• 1924 – Daniel arap Moi, Kenyan politician, 2nd President of Kenya
• 1925 – Hugo Montenegro, American composer and bandleader (d. 1981)
• 1927 – Milo Hamilton, American sportscaster
• 1928 – Jim Jordan, Canadian politician (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Horace Silver, American pianist and composer
• 1929 – Hal Ashby, American director (d. 1988)
• 1929 – Victor Spinetti, Welsh actor (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Clifford Jordan, American saxophonist (d. 1993)
• 1932 – Arnold Greenberg, American businessman, co-founded Snapple (d. 2012)
• 1933 – Ed Conlin, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
• 1934 – Sam Gooden, American singer (The Impressions)
• 1934 – Chuck McCann, American actor
• 1934 – Grady Nutt, American comedian, minister, and author (d. 1982)
• 1935 – D. Wayne Lukas, American horse trainer
• 1936 – Andrew Grove, Hungarian-American businessman, engineer, and author
• 1936 – Károly Krajczár, Hungarian-Slovene educator and writer
• 1937 – Len Carlson, Canadian voice actor (d. 2006)
• 1937 – Derek Fowlds, English actor
• 1937 – Peter Ueberroth, American sport executive
• 1938 – Mary Jo Catlett, American actress
• 1938 – Clarence Felder, American actor
• 1938 – Giuliano Gemma, Italian actor
• 1940 – Jimmy Clanton, American singer
• 1941 – David Bale, South African–American pilot and activist (d. 2003)
• 1941 – Graeme Langlands, Australian rugby player
• 1941 – Jyrki Otila, Finnish economist, politician, and game show host (d. 2003)
• 1941 – John Thompson, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1943 – Rosalind Ashford, American singer (Martha and the Vandellas)
• 1943 – Glen Sather, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
• 1943 – Joe Simon, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1944 – Janet Simpson, English sprinter (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Luis Ávalos, Cuban actor
• 1946 – Billy Preston, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 2006)
• 1946 – Walt Simonson, American illustrator and writer
• 1946 – Dan White, American politician, assassin of George Moscone and Harvey Milk (d. 1985)
• 1946 – Joe Yamanaka, Japanese singer and actor (Flower Travellin' Band and The Wailers Band) (d. 2011)
• 1947 – Richard Coughlan, English drummer (Caravan and The Wilde Flowers)
• 1947 – Louis Michel, Belgian politician
• 1947 – Jim Richards, New Zealand race car driver
• 1948 – Nate Archibald, American basketball player
• 1948 – Terry Bradshaw, American football player
• 1948 – Christa McAuliffe, American educator and astronaut (d. 1986)
• 1949 – Moira Stuart, English journalist
• 1950 – Rosanna DeSoto, American actress
• 1950 – Michael Rother, German musician and composer (Neu!, Kraftwerk, and Harmonia)
• 1950 – Yuen Wah, Chinese actor and stuntman
• 1951 – Jim DeMint, American politician
• 1951 – Jon Feltheimer, American film executive
• 1951 – Michael Gray, American actor
• 1951 – Mark Harmon, American actor
• 1951 – Mik Kaminski, English violinist (Electric Light Orchestra, Violinski, and ELO Part II)
• 1952 – Jimmy Connors, American tennis player
• 1953 – Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghan commander (d. 2001)
• 1953 – John Zorn, American saxophonist, producer, and composer (Naked City, Masada, and Painkiller)
• 1956 – Angelo Fusco, Irish army officer
• 1956 – Mario Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1957 – Tony Alva, American skateboarder
• 1958 – Olivier Grouillard, French race car driver
• 1959 – Guy Laliberté, Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and poker player, founder of Cirque du Soleil
• 1960 – Eric Dickerson, American football player
• 1960 – John S. Hall, American poet
• 1960 – Kristin Halvorsen, Norwegian politician
• 1960 – Rex Hudler, American baseball player
• 1961 – Carlos Valderrama, Colombian footballer
• 1962 – Jon Berkeley, Irish author and illustrator
• 1962 – Eugenio Derbez, Mexican comedian and actor
• 1962 – Alonso Lujambio, Mexican politician (d. 2012)
• 1962 – Prachya Pinkaew, Thai director
• 1963 – Sam Mitchell, American basketball player and coach
• 1964 – Keanu Reeves, Canadian actor
• 1965 – Lennox Lewis, English-Canadian boxer
• 1965 – Partho Sen-Gupta, Indian director and screenwriter
• 1966 – Dino Cazares, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Fear Factory, Asesino, and Divine Heresy)
• 1966 – Massimo Cuttitta, Italian rugby player and coach
• 1966 – Salma Hayek, Mexican-American actress, director, and producer
• 1966 – Olivier Panis, French race car driver
• 1966 – Tuc Watkins, American actor
• 1967 – Frank Fontsere, American drummer (Fozzy and Stuck Mojo)
• 1967 – Andreas Möller, German footballer
• 1968 – Kristen Cloke, American actress
• 1968 – Cynthia Watros, American actress
• 1969 – Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey, American singer (K-Ci & JoJo)
• 1969 – Stéphane Matteau, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1969 – Stephen Peall, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1971 – Kjetil André Aamodt, Norwegian skier
• 1971 – Pawan Kalyan, Indian actor
• 1971 – Tommy Maddox, American football player
• 1971 – César Sánchez, Spanish footballer
• 1971 – Shauna Sand, American model and actress
• 1971 – Tom Steels, Belgian cyclist
• 1972 – Robert Coles, English golfer
• 1972 – Matthew Dunn, Australian swimmer
• 1973 – Jason Blake, American ice hockey player
• 1973 – Indika de Saram, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1973 – Katt Williams, American comedian, actor, and rapper
• 1974 – Steven Johnson, Australian race car driver
• 1974 – Inari Vachs, American porn actress
• 1975 – MC Chris, American rapper, actor, and writer
• 1976 – Phil Lipscomb, American bass player (Taproot)
• 1976 – Erin Hershey Presley, American actress
• 1976 – Aziz Zakari, Ghanaian sprinter
• 1977 – Frédéric Kanouté, Malian footballer
• 1977 – Amanda Marcotte, American blogger
• 1979 – Tomer Ben Yosef, Israeli footballer
• 1979 – Alex Chu, South Korean-Canadian singer and actor (Clazziquai)
• 1979 – Ron Ng, Hong Kong actor
• 1979 – Brian Westbrook, American football player
• 1980 – Dany Sabourin, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Danny Shittu, Nigerian Footballer
• 1980 – Hiroki Yoshimoto, Japanese race car driver
• 1981 – Fariborz Kamkari, Iranian director and producer
• 1981 – Chris Tremlett, English cricketer
• 1981 – Bracha van Doesburgh, Dutch actress
• 1982 – Joey Barton, English footballer
• 1982 – Mandy Cho, Hong Kong actress
• 1982 – Jason Hammel, American baseball player
• 1983 – Rich Boy, American rapper and producer
• 1983 – Mark Foster, English rugby player
• 1984 – Jack Peñate, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1984 – Danson Tang, Taiwanese model, actor, and singer
• 1986 – Gelson Fernandes, Swiss footballer
• 1986 – Kyle Hines, American basketball player
• 1986 – Rob Ramsay, Canadian actor
• 1987 – Scott Moir, Canadian ice dancer
• 1987 – Spencer Smith, American drummer (Panic! at the Disco)
• 1988 – Javi Martínez, Spanish footballer
• 1988 – Ishant Sharma, Indian cricketer
• 1988 – Ishmeet Singh, Indian singer (d. 2008)
• 1989 – Joel Goonan, English actor
• 1989 – William Hanson, English etiquette consultant
• 1989 – Marcus Morris, American basketball player
• 1989 – Markieff Morris, American basketball player
• 1989 – Alexandre Pato, Brazilian footballer
• 1990 – Marcus Ericsson, Swedish race car driver
• 1990 – Shayla Worley, American gymnast
• 1992 – Alberto Masi, Italian footballer
• 1993 – Montana Cox, Australian model
• 1996 – Sungha Jung, South Korean guitarist
• 1997 – Nikki Taylor Melton, American actress

Deaths

• 421 – Constantius III, Roman Emperor
• 459 – Simeon Stylites, Turkish saint (b. 390)
• 595 – John IV, patriarch of Constantinople
• 1031 – Saint Emeric of Hungary (b. 1007)
• 1274 – Prince Munetaka, Japanese shogun (b. 1242)
• 1397 – Francesco Landini, Italian composer, organist, singer, and poet (b. 1335)
• 1540 – Dawit II of Ethiopia (b. 1501)
• 1680 – Per Brahe the Younger, Swedish soldier and statesman (b. 1602)
• 1688 – Sir Robert Viner, 1st Baronet, English politician (b. 1631)
• 1690 – Philip William, Elector Palatine (b. 1615)
• 1764 – Nathaniel Bliss, English astronomer (b. 1700)
• 1765 – Henry Bouquet, Swiss-English army officer (b. 1719)
• 1768 – Antoine Deparcieux, French mathematician (b. 1703)
• 1790 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian and theologian (b. 1701)
• 1813 – Jean Victor Marie Moreau, French general (b. 1763)
• 1820 – Jiaqing Emperor of China (b. 1760)
• 1832 – Franz Xaver von Zach, Austrian astronomer (b. 1754)
• 1834 – Thomas Telford, Scottish engineer and architect, designed the Menai Suspension Bridge (b. 1757)
• 1865 – William Rowan Hamilton, Irish mathematician (b. 1805)
• 1872 – Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig, Danish writer and philosopher (b. 1783)
• 1877 – Constantine Kanaris, Greek admiral and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1793)
• 1896 – Nat Thomson, Australian cricketer (b. 1839)
• 1898 – Wilford Woodruff, American religious leader, 4th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1807)
• 1910 – Henri Rousseau, French painter (b. 1844)
• 1921 – Henry Austin Dobson, English poet (b. 1840)
• 1921 – Anthony Francis Lucas Croatian-American businessman (b. 1855)
• 1927 – Umegatani Tōtarō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 20th Yokozuna (b. 1878)
• 1934 – James Allan, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1860)
• 1934 – Russ Columbo, American singer, violinist, and actor (b. 1908)
• 1934 – Alcide Nunez, American clarinet player (b. 1884)
• 1937 – Pierre de Coubertin, French educator and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1863)
• 1941 – Lloyd Seay, American race car driver (b. 1919)
• 1942 – James Juvenal, American rower (b. 1874)
• 1942 – Tom Williams, Irish soldier (b. 1924)
• 1944 – Bella Rosenfeld, Russian-American model and author (b. 1895)
• 1945 – Mason Phelps, American golfer (b. 1885)
• 1948 – Sylvanus Morley, American archaeologist and spy (b. 1883)
• 1953 – Hendrik Offerhaus, Dutch rower (b. 1875)
• 1953 – Jonathan M. Wainwright, American general (b. 1883)
• 1962 – William Wilkerson, American businessman, founder of The Hollywood Reporter and the Flamingo Hotel (b. 1890)
• 1964 – Glenn Albert Black, American archaeologist (b. 1900)
• 1964 – Alvin York, American soldier (b. 1887)
• 1965 – Johannes Bobrowski, German poet and writer (b. 1917)
• 1969 – Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnamese politician, President of North Vietnam (b. 1890)
• 1971 – Robert Mensah, Ghanaian footballer (b. 1939)
• 1973 – Carl Dudley, American director (b. 1910)
• 1973 – J. R. R. Tolkien, English philologist, writer, and poet (b. 1892)
• 1975 – Mabel Vernon, American suffragist (b. 1883)
• 1976 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1934)
• 1978 – Fred G. Meyer, American businessman, founder of Fred Meyer (b. 1886)
• 1979 – Otto P. Weyland, American general (b. 1903)
• 1984 – Manos Katrakis, Greek actor (b. 1908)
• 1985 – Abe Lenstra, Dutch footballer (b. 1920)
• 1985 – Jay Youngblood, American wrestler (b. 1955)
• 1991 – Alfonso García Robles, Mexican diplomat and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
• 1992 – Barbara McClintock, American geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
• 1994 – Roy Castle, English actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1932)
• 1996 – Paddy Clift, Zimbabwean cricketer (b. 1953)
• 1997 – Rudolf Bing, Austrian-English manager (b. 1902)
• 1997 – Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (b. 1905)
• 1998 – Jackie Blanchflower, Irish footballer (b. 1933)
• 1998 – Allen Drury, American novelist (b. 1918)
• 2000 – Elvera Sanchez, Puerto Rican dancer (b. 1905)
• 2000 – Curt Siodmak, German-American screenwriter (b. 1907)
• 2001 – Christiaan Barnard, South African surgeon (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Troy Donahue, American actor (b. 1936)
• 2002 – Dick Reynolds, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1915)
• 2004 – Joan Oró, Catalan chemist (b. 1923)
• 2004 – Eleni Zafeiriou, Greek actress (b. 1916)
• 2005 – Bob Denver, American actor (b. 1935)
• 2006 – Bob Mathias, American decathlete and politician (b. 1930)
• 2006 – Willi Ninja, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1961)
• 2007 – Rajae Belmlih, Moroccan singer (b. 1962)
• 2007 – Franz-Benno Delonge, German game designer, created TransAmerica (b. 1957)
• 2007 – Esther Hoffe, Israeli mistress of Max Brod
• 2007 – Max McNab, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1924)
• 2008 – Bill Melendez, Mexican-American animator, director, producer, and voice actor (b. 1916)
• 2009 – Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian politician, 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (b. 1949)
• 2011 – Roberto Bruce, Chilean journalist (b. 1979)
• 2011 – Felipe Camiroaga, Chilean TV host (b. 1966)
• 2012 – Mark Abrahamian, American guitarist (Starship) (b. 1966)
• 2012 – Jack Boucher, American photographer (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Emmanuel Nunes, Portuguese composer (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Blas Riquelme, Paraguayan politician and businessman (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Bert Worner, Australian footballer (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • Agricola of Avignon
  • Antoninus of Pamiers
  • Castor of Apt
  • Nonnosus
  • San Esteban del Rey (Acoma Pueblo)
  • September 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Democracy Day (Tibet)
• Independence day (Transnistria, unrecognized)
• Independence day (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, unrecognized)
• National Day, celebrates the independence of Vietnam from Japan and France in 1945.
• Sedantag (German Empire)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

---