July 2

July 2 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 182 days remain until the end of the year.

This day is the midpoint of a common year because there are 182 days before and 182 days after (median of the year) in common years, and 183 before and 182 after in leap years. The exact time in the middle of the year is at noon, or 12:00 p.m. In the UK and other countries that use "Summer Time" the actual exact time of the midpoint in a common year is at 1:00 p.m. this is when 182 days and 12 hours have elapsed and there are 182 days and 12 hours remaining. This is due to Summer Time having advanced the time by one hour. It falls on the same day of the week as New Year's Day in common years.

Events

• 437 – Emperor Valentinian III, begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
• 626 – Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor of China, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
• 706 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang outside Chang'an.
• 963 – The imperial army proclaims Nicephorus Phocas Emperor of the Romans on the plains outside Cappadocian Caesarea.
• 1298 – The Battle of Göllheim is fought between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg.
• 1494 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain.
• 1555 – The Ottoman Admiral Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola.
• 1561 – Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz.
• 1582 – Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide.
• 1613 – The first English expedition from Massachusetts against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place.
• 1644 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor.
• 1679 – Europeans first visit Minnesota and see headwaters of Mississippi in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth.
• 1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.
• 1776 – The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not approved until July 4.
• 1777 – Vermont becomes the first American territory to abolish slavery.
• 1823 – Bahia Independence Day: the end of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia.
• 1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves led by Joseph Cinqué take over the slave ship Amistad.
• 1853 – The Russian Army crossed the Pruth river into the Danubian Principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia—providing the spark that set off the Crimean War.
• 1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after having conquered it from the Papal States.
• 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield, who eventually dies from an infection on September 19.
• 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
• 1897 – Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London.
• 1900 – The first Zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
• 1917 – The East St. Louis Riots end.
• 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends with the death of Ernst Röhm.
• 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
• 1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta.
• 1950 – The Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto, Japan burns down.
• 1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
• 1964 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
• 1966 – The French military explodes a nuclear test bomb codenamed Aldébaran in Mururoa, their first nuclear test in the Pacific.
• 1976 – Fall of the Republic of Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam declares their union to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
• 1986 – Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana were burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
• 1993 – 37 participants in an Alevi cultural and literary festival are killed when a mob of demonstrators set fire to their hotel in Sivas during a violent protest.
• 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional, after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
• 2001 – The AbioCor self contained artificial heart is first implanted.
• 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
• 2010 – The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people.

Births

• 419 – Valentinian III, Roman Emperor (d. 455)
• 1262 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1312)
• 1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily and Duchess of Athens (d. 1401)
• 1489 – Thomas Cranmer, English Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1556)
• 1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, English daughter of Henry VII of England (d. 1495)
• 1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English statesman (d. 1730)
• 1665 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American historian (d. 1726)
• 1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal (d. 1740)
• 1698 – Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena (d. 1780)
• 1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (d. 1787)
• 1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet (d. 1803)
• 1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French composer (d. 1900)
• 1820 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician, and 5th Governor of the Oregon Territory (d. 1878)
• 1821 – Charles Tupper, Canadian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
• 1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919)
• 1855 – Louis Maxson, American archer (d. 1916)
• 1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
• 1865 – Lily Braun, German writer (d. 1916)
• 1869 – Liane de Pougy, French Folies Bergères dancer and courtesan (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
• 1877 – Hermann Hesse, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
• 1881 – Royal H. Weller, American politician (d. 1929)
• 1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist (d. 1931)
• 1893 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh gardener and author (d. 1950)
• 1896 – Lydia Mei, Estonian painter (d. 1965)
• 1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, English actor (d. 1971)
• 1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, English politician, 66th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
• 1903 – Olav V of Norway (d. 1991)
• 1904 – René Lacoste, French tennis player and businessman, created the polo shirt (d. 1996)
• 1906 – Hans Bethe, German-born nuclear physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
• 1906 – Christos Tsaganeas, Greek actor (d. 1976)
• 1908 – Thurgood Marshall, American jurist (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Frederick Fennell, American conductor (d. 2004)
• 1914 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist (d. 1990)
• 1915 – Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington
• 1916 – Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
• 1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German pilot (d. 1982)
• 1917 – Murry Wilson, American musician, songwriter, producer, and manager (d. 1973)
• 1918 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist (d. 2005)
• 1919 – Jean Craighead George, American author (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Pierre Cardin, French fashion designer
• 1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American writer (d. 1958)
• 1923 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Medgar Evers, American civil rights activist (d. 1963)
• 1925 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese independence leader and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1961)
• 1926 – Octavian Paler, Romanian writer and journalist (d. 2007)
• 1927 – Brock Peters, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1929 – Abraham Avigdorov, Israeli soldier, recipient of the Hero of Israel award (d. 2012)
• 1929 – John A. Cade, American politician (d. 1996)
• 1929 – Imelda Marcos, Filipino politician, wife of Ferdinand Marcos
• 1930 – Ahmad Jamal, American pianist, composer, and educator
• 1930 – Carlos Menem, Argentine politician, 50th President of Argentina
• 1932 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founder of Wendy's (d. 2002)
• 1933 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1934 – Tom Springfield, English singer-songwriter and producer (The Springfields)
• 1935 – Omar Soliman, Egyptian politician, Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012)
• 1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress
• 1937 – Richard Petty, American race car driver
• 1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek politician and poet
• 1939 – John H. Sununu, American politician, 14th White House Chief of Staff
• 1939 – Paul Williams, American singer and choreographer (The Temptations) (d. 1973)
• 1940 – Kenneth Clarke, English politician
• 1941 – Stéphane Venne, Canadian songwriter and composer
• 1942 – Vicente Fox, Mexican politician, 35th President of Mexico
• 1943 – Walter Godefroot, Belgian cyclist
• 1946 – Richard Axel, American neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1946 – Ron Silver, American actor (d. 2009)
• 1947 – Larry David, American actor, screenwriter, and producer
• 1948 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (McFadden & Whitehead) (d. 2006)
• 1948 – Saul Rubinek, Canadian actor
• 1949 – Roy Bittan, American keyboardist and songwriter (E Street Band)
• 1949 – Greg Brown, American singer-songwriter and musician
• 1949 – Robert Paquette, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1949 – Hanno Pöschl, Austrian actor
• 1951 – Elisabeth Brooks, Canadian actress (d. 1997)
• 1951 – Michele Santoro, Italian journalist
• 1952 – Johnny Colla, American musician (Huey Lewis and the News)
• 1953 – Tony Armas, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1953 – Mark Hart, American singer, musician, and producer (Crowded House and Supertramp)
• 1954 – Pete Briquette, Irish bassist, songwriter, producer, and composer (The Boomtown Rats)
• 1955 – Andrew Divoff, Venezuelan actor
• 1955 – Kevin Michael Grace, Canadian journalist
• 1956 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress
• 1957 – Bret Hart, Canadian wrestler
• 1957 – Purvis Short, American basketball player
• 1958 – Thomas Bickerton, American bishop
• 1958 – Dang Thai Son, Vietnamese pianist
• 1959 – Mike Hallett, English snooker player
• 1960 – Terry Rossio, American screenwriter and producer
• 1961 – Clark Kellogg, American basketball player and sports analyst
• 1961 – Michael Lindsay, American voice actor
• 1961 – Samy Naceri, French actor
• 1963 – Mark Kermode, English critic
• 1964 – José Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player
• 1964 – Ozzie Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player
• 1964 – Joe Magrane, American baseball player
• 1964 – Hisakatsu Oya, Japanese wrestler
• 1964 – Charles Robinson, American wrestling referee
• 1964 – Alan Tait, Scotland rugby player
• 1964 – Andrea Yates, American murderer
• 1965 – Norbert Röttgen, German politician
• 1969 – Matthew Cox, American criminal
• 1969 – Jenni Rivera, American-Mexican singer (d. 2012)
• 1969 – Tim Rodber, England rugby player
• 1970 – Yancy Butler, American actress
• 1970 – Colin Edwin, Australian musician (Porcupine Tree)
• 1970 – Scott Garland, American wrestler
• 1970 – Monie Love, English rapper
• 1970 – Steve Morrow, Irish footballer
• 1971 – Troy Brown, American football player
• 1971 – Evelyn Lau, Canadian poet and author
• 1971 – Bryan Redpath, Scottish rugby player
• 1972 – Darren Shan, Irish author
• 1973 – Peter Kay, English comedian, actor, writer, and director
• 1974 – Sean Casey, American baseball player
• 1974 – Tim Christensen, Danish singer-songwriter and musician (Dizzy Mizz Lizzy)
• 1974 – Rocky Gray, American singer-songwriter and musician (Evanescence, We Are the Fallen, Living Sacrifice, Soul Embraced, and Mourningside)
• 1974 – Matthew Reilly, Australian author
• 1974 – Moon So-ri, South Korean actress
• 1975 – Éric Dazé, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Erik Ohlsson, Swedish singer and guitarist (Millencolin)
• 1975 – Stefan Terblanche, South African rugby player
• 1976 – Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
• 1976 – Tomáš Vokoun, Czech ice hockey player
• 1978 – Julie Night, American porn actress
• 1978 – Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician
• 1978 – Owain Yeoman, Welsh actor
• 1979 – Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of United Airlines Flight 175 (d. 2001)
• 1979 – Diana Gurtskaya, Georgian singer-songwriter
• 1979 – Sam Hornish, Jr., American race car driver
• 1979 – Joe Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Nicole Briscoe, American sportscaster and model, Miss Illinois Teen USA 1998
• 1980 – Nyjer Morgan, American baseball player
• 1981 – Nathan Ellington, English footballer
• 1981 – Alex Koroknay-Palicz, American activist
• 1981 – Angel Pagán, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1981 – Carlos Rogers, American football player
• 1981 – Aaron Voros, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (The Wreckers)
• 1983 – Sammy J, Australian comedian and writer
• 1984 – Vanessa Lee Chester, American actress
• 1984 – Thomas Kortegaard, Danish footballer
• 1984 – Johnny Weir, American figure skater
• 1985 – Rhett Bomar, American football player
• 1985 – Corey Bringas, American actor
• 1985 – Chad Henne, American football player
• 1985 – Ashley Tisdale, American actress and singer
• 1985 – Jurgen Roelandts, Belgian cyclist
• 1986 – Brett Cecil, American baseball player
• 1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer
• 1987 – Esteban Granero, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakh model (d. 2008)
• 1988 – Porta, Spanish rapper
• 1988 – Lee Chung-Yong, South Korean footballer
• 1989 – Dev, American singer-songwriter
• 1989 – Ivan Dobronravov, Russian actor
• 1989 – Alex Morgan, American soccer player
• 1989 – Omero Mumba, Irish actor and singer
• 1990 – Roman Lob, German singer-songwriter
• 1990 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress
• 1990 – Danny Rose, English footballer
• 1992 – Madison Chock, American ice dancer
• 1996 – James Forde, English actor
• 1997 – Ashton Crowley-Mckay, Clarence High
• 2004 – Caitlin Carmichael, American actress

Deaths

• 862 – Swithun, English Bishop of Winchester and saint (b. 789)
• 1298 – Adolf, King of Germany (b. 1220)
• 1504 – Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1434)
• 1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and writer (b. 1503)
• 1582 – Akechi Mitsuhide, Japanese samurai (b. 1528)
• 1591 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian composer (b. 1520)
• 1621 – Thomas Harriot, English astronomer (b. 1560)
• 1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-French commander (b. 1611)
• 1674 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1614)
• 1743 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, English politician, 2nd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1673)
• 1746 – Thomas Baker, English antiquarian (b. 1656)
• 1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher (b. 1712)
• 1778 – Bathsheba Spooner, American murderer (b. 1746)
• 1822 – Denmark Vesey, American freed slave who planned a revolt (b. 1767)
• 1833 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentine politician (b. 1757)
• 1843 – Samuel Hahnemann, German physician (b. 1755)
• 1850 – Robert Peel, English politician, 28th and 30th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
• 1857 – Carlo Pisacane, Italian patriot and philosopher (b. 1818)
• 1903 – Ed Delahanty, American baseball player (b. 1867)
• 1912 – Tom Richardson, English cricketer (b. 1870)
• 1914 – Joseph Chamberlain, English politician and businessman (b. 1836)
• 1915 – Porfirio Díaz, Mexican general and politician, President of Mexico (b. 1830)
• 1916 – Louis Maxson, American archer (b. 1855)
• 1920 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (b. 1846)
• 1926 – Émile Coué, French psychologist (b. 1857)
• 1929 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (b. 1893)
• 1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
• 1934 – Ernst Röhm, German Nazi official (b. 1887)
• 1950 – Thomas William Burgess, second person to swim the English Channel (b. 1872)
• 1955 – Edward Lawson, Scottish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1873)
• 1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1963 – Alicia Patterson, American publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1906)
• 1964 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1929)
• 1966 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet (b. 1900)
• 1969 – Michael DiBiase, Italian-American wrestler (b. 1923)
• 1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious figure, 10th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)
• 1973 – Betty Grable, American actress (b. 1916)
• 1973 – Chick Hafey, American baseball player (b. 1903)
• 1973 – George McBride, American baseball player (b. 1880)
• 1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b. 1892)
• 1975 – James Robertson Justice, English actor (b. 1907)
• 1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian writer (b. 1899)
• 1978 – Aris Alexandrou, Greek novelist, poet, and translator (b. 1922)
• 1984 – Paul Dozois, Canadian politician (b. 1908)
• 1985 – David Purley, English race car driver (b. 1945)
• 1986 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player (b. 1917)
• 1989 – Andrei Gromyko, Soviet politician (b. 1909)
• 1989 – Franklin Schaffner, American director (b. 1920)
• 1990 – Snooky Lanson, American singer (b. 1914)
• 1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
• 1992 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer (b. 1950)
• 1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (b. 1926)
• 1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
• 1995 – Krissy Taylor, American model (b. 1978)
• 1997 – James Stewart, American actor (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Mario Puzo, American writer (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
• 2002 – Ray Brown, American bassist and composer (b. 1926)
• 2004 – Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Portuguese poet and writer (b. 1919)
• 2004 – John Cullen Murphy, American illustrator (b. 1919)
• 2004 – Mochtar Lubis, Indonesian journalist and novelist (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Ernest Lehman, American screenwriter, director, and producer (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Norm Prescott, American animation producer, co-founded Filmation Studios (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Jan Murray, American comedian and actor (b. 1916)
• 2007 – Beverly Sills, American soprano (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Natasha Shneider, Russian singer, musician, and actress (Eleven) (b. 1956)
• 2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs, English actress (b. 1929)
• 2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, English author (b. 1932)
• 2011 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian politician (b. 1930)
• 2011 – Chaturanan Mishra, Indian politician (b. 1925)
• 2012 – John E. Brooks, American priest (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Maurice Chevit, French actor (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Ben Davidson, American football player and actor (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Julian Goodman, American broadcaster (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Tsutomu Koyama, Japanese volleyball player (b. 1936)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Aberoh and Atom (Coptic Church)
  • Feast of the Visitation at Mariánska hora. (Levoča)
  • Monegundis
  • Otto of Bamberg
  • Oudoceus
  • Processus and Martinianus
  • July 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Flag Day (Curaçao)
• Independence Day (Bahia)
• Palio di Provenzano (Siena)
• World UFO Day

External links

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

---