August 2
| August 2 in recent years |
| 2024 (Friday) |
| 2023 (Wednesday) |
| 2022 (Tuesday) |
| 2021 (Monday) |
| 2020 (Sunday) |
| 2019 (Friday) |
| 2018 (Thursday) |
| 2017 (Wednesday) |
| 2016 (Tuesday) |
| 2015 (Sunday) |
August 2 is the 214th day of the year (215th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 151 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 338 BC – A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean.
- 216 BC – Second Punic War: Battle of Cannae – The Carthaginian army lead by Hannibal defeats a numerically superior Roman army under command of consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro.
- 1610 – Henry Hudson sails into what it is now known as Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean.
- 1776 – Delegates to the Continental Congress begin signing the United States Declaration of Independence.
- 1790 – The first US Census is conducted.
- 1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay) concludes in a British victory
- 1869 – Japan's samurai, farmer, artisan, merchant class system (Shinōkōshō) is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese date: June 25, 1869).
- 1870 – Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London.
- 1903 – Fall of the Ottoman Empire: Unsuccessful uprising led by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization against Ottoman Turkey, also known as the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising.
- 1916 – World War I: Austrian sabotage causes the sinking of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto.
- 1918 – Japan announces that it is deploying troops to Siberia in the aftermath of World War I.
- 1932 – The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson.
- 1934 – Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany.
- 1937 – The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, essentially rendering marijuana and all its by-products illegal.
- 1939 – Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan project to develop a nuclear weapon.
- 1943 – Rebellion in the Nazi death camp of Treblinka.
- 1943 – World War II: PT-109 rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri and sinks. Lt. John F. Kennedy, future U.S. President, saves all but two of his crew.
- 1944 – ASNOM: Birth of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia
- 1945 – World War II: Potsdam Conference, in which the Allied Powers discuss the future of defeated Germany, concludes.
- 1964 – Vietnam War: Gulf of Tonkin Incident – North Vietnamese gunboats allegedly fires on U.S. destroyers, USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy.
- 1967 – The second Blackwall Tunnel opens in Greenwich, London.
- 1968 – The 1968 Casiguran Earthquake hits Casiguran, Aurora, Philippines killing more than 270 people and wounding 261.
- 1973 – A flash fire kills 51 at the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man.
- 1980 – A bomb explodes at the railway station in Bologna, Italy, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200.
- 1985 – Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar crashes at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport killing 137.
- 1989 - Pakistan is re-admitted back into the Commonwealth of Nations, for restoring democracy, since 1972.
- 1989 – 1989 Valvettiturai massacre is carried out by Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 64 ethnic Tamil civilians.
- 1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to conflict with coalition forces in the Gulf War.
Births
- 1455 – John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1499)
- 1533 – Theodor Zwinger, Swiss scholar (d. 1588)
- 1612 – Saskia van Uylenburgh, wife of Rembrandt van Rijn (d. 1642)
- 1672 – Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, Swiss scholar (d. 1733)
- 1674 – Philip II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France (d. 1723)
- 1696 – Mahmud I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1754)
- 1702 – Dietrich of Anhalt-Dessau, German Prince (d. 1769)
- 1703 – Lorenzo Ricci, Italian Jesuit leader (d. 1775)
- 1740 – Jean Baptiste Camille Canclaux, French general (d. 1817)
- 1788 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist (d. 1853)
- 1815 – Adolf Friedrich von Schack, German writer (d. 1894)
- 1820 – John Tyndall, British physicist (d. 1893)
- 1828 – Manuel Pavía y Rodríguez de Alburquerque, Spanish general (d. 1895)
- 1834 – Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor (d. 1904)
- 1835 – Elisha Gray, American inventor and entrepreneur (d. 1901)
- 1858 – Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, queen of the Netherlands (d. 1934)
- 1865 – Irving Babbitt, American literary critic (d. 1933)
- 1865 – John Radecki, Australian stained glass artist (d. 1955)
- 1868 – King Constantine I of Greece (d. 1923)
- 1871 – John French Sloan, American artist (d. 1951)
- 1872 – George E. Stewart, American Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1946)
- 1875 – Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Russian artist (d. 1957)
- 1878 – Aino Kallas, Finnish – Estonian author (d. 1956)
- 1882 – Red Ames, baseball player (d. 1936)
- 1884 – Rómulo Gallegos, President of Venezuela (d. 1969)
- 1886 – John Alexander Douglas McCurdy Canadian Aviator (d. 1961)
- 1887 – Tommy Ward, Former South African cricketer (d. 1936)
- 1890 – Marin Sais, American actress (d. 1971)
- 1891 – Viktor Maksimovich Zhirmunsky, Russian literary historian, linguist (d. 1971)
- 1892 – Jack Warner, Canadian-born American film producer (d. 1978)
- 1895 – Matt Henderson, Former New Zealand cricketer (d. 1970)
- 1896 – Lorenzo Herrera, Venezuelan singer and composer (d. 1960)
- 1897 – Karl Otto Koch, German SS-officer (d. 1945)
- 1897 – Max Weber, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Charles Bennett, British screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1902 – Helen Morgan, American actress (d. 1941)
- 1905 – Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer (d. 1963)
- 1905 – Myrna Loy, American actress (d. 1993)
- 1907 – Mary Hamman, American writer (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Roger MacDougall, writer (d. 1993)
- 1912 – Palle Huld, Danish actor
- 1912 – Ann Dvorak, American actress (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Vladimir Zerjavic, Croatian statistician (d. 2001)
- 1914 – Félix Leclerc, Quebec singer, songwriter and writer (d. 1988)
- 1914 – Beatrice Straight, American actress (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Gary Merrill, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Nehemiah Persoff, American actor
- 1920 – Louis Pauwels, French journalist and writer (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Shimon Peres, Israeli politician, Prime Minister of Israel and the ninth President of the State of Israel
- 1924 – James Baldwin, American author (d. 1987)
- 1924 – Joe Harnell, American musician, composer and arranger (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Carroll O'Connor, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1925 – John Dexter, English stage and film director (d. 1990)
- 1925 – John McCormack, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1925 – Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentinian dictator
- 1925 – Alan Whicker, British journalist and broadcaster
- 1926 – Betsy Bloomingdale, American socialite
- 1928 – Malcolm Hilton, Former England cricketer (d. 1990)
- 1930 – Vali Myers, Australian painter (d. 2003)
- 1931 – Pierre DuMaine, Catholic bishop
- 1931 – Viliam Schrojf, Slovak footballer (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Eddie Fuller, Former South African cricketer (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Lamar Hunt, American sports executive (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Peter O'Toole, Irish-born actor
- 1934 – Valery Bykovsky, Soviet cosmonaut
- 1935 – Hank Cochran, American country music singer and songwriter
- 1937 – Billy Cannon, American football player
- 1937 – Garth Hudson, Canadian musician (The Band)
- 1938 – Dave Balon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1938 – Pierre de Bané, French Canadian politician
- 1938 – Terry Peck, Falkland Islander-born British soldier (d. 2006)
- 1939 – Benjamin Barber, American political theorist
- 1939 – Wes Craven, American film director
- 1939 – John W. Snow, American 73rd United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1941 – Doris Coley, American singer (Shirelles) (d. 2000)
- 1942 – Isabel Allende, Chilean author
- 1943 – Tom Burgmeier, American baseball player
- 1943 – Max Wright, American actor
- 1944 – Jim Capaldi, British musician and songwriter (Traffic) (d. 2005)
- 1944 – Naná Vasconcelos, Brazilian jazz musician
- 1945 – Joanna Cassidy, American actress
- 1945 – Alex Jesaulenko, Australian rules footballer
- 1947 – Massiel, Spanish singer
- 1948 – Andy Fairweather Low, British guitarist
- 1948 – Dennis Prager, American radio talk show host and author
- 1949 – James Fallows, American journalist
- 1950 – Lance Ito, American judge
- 1950 – Sue Rodriguez, Canadian assisted suicide advocate (d. 1994)
- 1951 – Andrew Gold, American musician and songwriter
- 1951 – Joe Lynn Turner, American singer (Deep Purple, Rainbow)
- 1951 – Freddie Wadling, Swedish actor and musician (The Leather Nun, Fleshquartet)
- 1951 – Per Westerberg, Swedish politician
- 1953 – Marjo, Quebec singer
- 1953 – Butch Patrick, American actor
- 1954 – James Charles Kopp, American citizen who murdered Barnett Slepian
- 1954 – Sammy McIlroy, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1955 – Caleb Carr, American novelist and military historian
- 1955 – Tim Dunigan, American Actor
- 1955 – Tony Godden, English footballer
- 1956 – Fulvio Melia, Italian-American physicist/astrophysicist and author
- 1956 – Jim Neidhart, American professional wrestler
- 1956 – Isabel Pantoja, Spanish singer
- 1957 – Mojo Nixon, American musician and actor
- 1958 – Arshad Ayub, Former Indian cricketer
- 1959 – Victoria Jackson, American comedian
- 1959 – Apollonia Kotero, American singer and actress
- 1960 – Neal Morse, American musician (Spock's Beard, Transatlantic)
- 1960 – David Yow, American musician (Scratch Acid, The Jesus Lizard)
- 1961 – Graham Dye, English singer/songwriter and guitarist (Scarlet Party; The Alan Parsons Project)
- 1961 – Linda Fratianne, American figure skater
- 1961 – Cold 187um, American rapper (Above the Law)
- 1963 – Daniel Pelosi, American convicted murderer
- 1963 – Laura Bennett, American architect and designer
- 1964 – Frank Biela, German racing driver
- 1964 – Mary-Louise Parker, American actress
- 1965 – Hisanobu Watanabe, Japanese baseball player and coach
- 1966 – Takayuki Iizuka, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1966 – Tim Wakefield, American baseball player
- 1966 – M.V. Sridhar, Indian cricketer
- 1967 – Aaron Krickstein, American tennis player
- 1967 – Aline Brosh McKenna, American screenwriter
- 1968 – Stefan Effenberg, German footballer
- 1968 – John Stanier, American musician Helmet
- 1969 – Cedric Ceballos, American basketball player
- 1969 – Fernando Couto, Portuguese footballer
- 1969 – Jan Axel Blomberg Norwegian musician (Dimmu Borgir, Winds, Mayhem)
- 1969 – Richard Hallebeek, Dutch guitarist
- 1970 – Tony Amonte, American ice hockey player
- 1970 – Kevin Smith, American director and screenwriter
- 1970 – Philo Wallace, West-Indian cricketer
- 1971 – Alice Evans, English actress
- 1971 – Michael Hughes, Irish footballer
- 1972 – Mohamed Al-Deayea, Saudi Arabian footballer
- 1972 – Jacinda Barrett, Australian model and actress
- 1972 – Daniele Nardello, Italian professional road racing cyclist
- 1972 – Justyna Steczkowska, Polish singer
- 1973 – Hiroyuki Goto, Japanese game designer
- 1973 – Danie Keulder, Namibian cricketer
- 1974 – Angie Cepeda, Colombian actress
- 1975 – Mineiro, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 – Xu Huaiwen, Chinese-born badminton player
- 1975 – Ingrid Rubio, Spanish actress
- 1976 – Reyes Estévez, Spanish athlete
- 1976 – Sam Worthington, Australian actor
- 1976 – Jay Heaps, American footballer
- 1976 – Michael Weiss, Olympic figure skater
- 1976 – Mohammad Zahid, Pakistani cricketer
- 1977 – Edward Furlong, American actor
- 1978 – Goran Gavrančić, Serbian footballer
- 1978 – Matt Guerrier, American baseball player
- 1979 – Reuben Kosgei, Kenyan athlete
- 1980 – Ivica Banović, Croatian footballer
- 1981 – Aleksander Emelianenko, Russian MMA fighter ( Fedor's brother)
- 1982 – Hélder Postiga, Portuguese footballer
- 1982 – Grady Sizemore, American baseball player
- 1982 Kerry Rhodes, American football player
- 1983 – Nick Diaz, American MMA fighter
- 1984 – Giampaolo Pazzini, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Harry Smith, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1986 – Mathieu Razanakolona, Malagasy skier
- 1991 – Evander Kane, Canadian ice hockey player
Deaths
- 686 – Pope John V
- 924 – Ælfweard of Wessex (b. 904)
- 1100 – King William II of England
- 1222 – Count Raymond VI of Toulouse (b. 1156)
- 1445 – Oswald von Wolkenstein, Austrian composer (b. 1376 or 1377)
- 1511 – Andrew Barton, Scottish naval leader
- 1589 – King Henry III of France (b. 1551)
- 1611 – Kato Kiyomasa, Japanese warlord and samurai (b. 1562)
- 1696 – Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, Scottish military commander (b. 1630)
- 1769 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician (b. 1689)
- 1776 – Louis François I, Prince of Conti, French military leader (b. 1717)
- 1788 – Thomas Gainsborough, English artist (b. 1727)
- 1799 – Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor (b. 1745)
- 1815 – Guillaume Marie Anne Brune, French marshal (b. 1763)
- 1823 – Lazare Carnot, French general, politician, and mathematician (b. 1753)
- 1849 – Governor Muhammad Ali of Egypt (b. 1769)
- 1859 – Horace Mann, American educator and abolitionist (b. 1796)
- 1876 – James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, American gunfighter (b. 1837)
- 1889 – Eduardo Gutiérrez, Argentinian author (b. 1851)
- 1890 – Louise-Victorine Ackermann, French poet (b. 1813)
- 1903 – Edmond Nocard, French veterinarian (b. 1850)
- 1920 – Ormer Locklear, American stunt pilot (b. 1891)
- 1921 – Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (b. 1873)
- 1922 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-born inventor, invented the telephone(b. 1847)
- 1923 – Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States (b. 1865)
- 1929 – Mae Costello, American actress (b. 1882)
- 1934 – Paul von Hindenburg, German field marshal and President of Germany (b. 1847)
- 1936 – Louis Blériot, French aviation pioneer (b. 1872)
- 1939 – Harvey Spencer Lewis, American Rosicrucian mystic (b. 1883)
- 1945 – Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer (b. 1863)
- 1955 – Alfred Lépine, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1901)
- 1972 – Helen Hoyt, American poet (b. 1887)
- 1972 – Brian Cole, American bass player (The Association) (b. 1942)
- 1973 – Jean-Pierre Melville, French film director (b. 1917)
- 1974 – W. Douglas Hawkes, British racing driver (b. 1893)
- 1976 – Fritz Lang, Austrian film director (b. 1890)
- 1978 – Carlos Chávez, Mexican composer (b. 1899)
- 1979 – Thurman Munson, American baseball player (b. 1947)
- 1983 – James Jamerson, American musician (b. 1936)
- 1986 – Roy Cohn, American politician (b. 1927)
- 1988 – Raymond Carver, American writer (b. 1938)
- 1988 – Joe Carcione, American consumer advocate (b. 1914)
- 1990 – Norman Mclean, American writer (b. 1902)
- 1990 – Edwin Richfield, British actor (b. 1921)
- 1992 – Michel Berger, French singer and songwriter (b. 1947)
- 1996 – Michel Debré, French politician (b. 1912)
- 1996 – Mohamed Farrah Aidid, Somalian Warlord (b. 1934)
- 1997 – William S. Burroughs, American writer (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Nigerian musician (b. 1938)
- 1998 – Shari Lewis, American puppeteer (b. 1933)
- 2001 – Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension) (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Don Estelle, British actor (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Mike Levey, American television personality (b. 1948)
- 2003 – Peter Safar, Austrian physician (b. 1924)
- 2004 – Don Tosti, American musician (b. 1923)
- 2004 – François Craenhals, Belgian comics artist (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Steven Vincent, American journalist and writer (b. 1955)
- 2007 – Chauncey Bailey, American journalist and editor (b. 1950)
- 2007 – Holden Roberto, Angolan founder and leader of the FNLA (b. 1923)
- 2007 – Kay Dotrice, English repertory actress (b. 1929)
- 2008 – Fujio Akatsuka, Japanese cartoonist (b. 1935)
Holidays and observances
- Costa Rica – Our Lady of the Angels.
- Republic of Macedonia – Republic Day.
- Day of Airborne Forces in Russia and Ukraine.
- Day of Azerbaijani cinema
- Basil Fool for Christ in the Russian Orthodox Church
- Saint Abel in the Syrian church
- Saint Alphonsus Mary de Ligouri
- Translation of Saint Alban, martyr (protomartyr of England)
- Saint Auspicius, Bishop of Apt, martyr
- Saint Eusebius, Bishop of Vercelli
- Saint Stephen I, pope, martyr
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to August 2.