July 2

It is the middle day of a non-leap year, because there are 182 days before and 182 days after (median of the year). It falls on the same day of the week as New Year's Day (on non-leap years).

Events

• 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected.
• 626 - In fear of assassination, Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Incident at Xuanwu Gate. On September 4, Shimin's father abdicates in his favour and Shimin becomes Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor of China.
• 706 - In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang has the remains of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, his wife and recently-deceased ruling empress Wu Zetian, her son Li Xian, her grandson Li Chongrun, and granddaughter Li Xianhui all interred in a new tomb complex outside Chang'an known as the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang.
• 963 - The imperial army proclaims Nicephorus Phocas to be 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 signed by Spain.
• 1555 - Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola.
• 1561 - Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz.
• 1578 - Martin Frobisher sights Baffin Island.
• 1582 - Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide.
• 1613 - The first English expedition from Massachusetts against Acadia led by Samuel Argall.
• 1644 - English Civil War: the Battle of Marston Moor.
• 1698 - Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine
• 1679 - Europeans first visit Minnesota and see headwaters of Mississippi in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth.
• 1776 - The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with 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.
• 1808 - Simon Fraser reaches the Pacific Ocean near New Westminster.
• 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 Cinque take over the slave ship Amistad.
• 1850 - The self-contained gas mask is patented by Benjamin J. Lane.
• 1853 - The Russian Army invades Turkey, beginning the Crimean War.
• 1863 - American Civil War: second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
• 1870 - Jules Joseph d'Anethan is elected the tenth Prime Minister of Belgium.
• 1871 - Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after its conquest from the Papal States.
• 1878 - The Brighton Beach Line (now the BMT Brighton Line) opens in the then-city of Brooklyn.
• 1881 - Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield, who eventually dies from infection on September 19.
• 1890 - The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
• 1897 - Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi obtains patent for radio in London.
• 1900 - 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 - Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto, Japan burns down.
• 1950 - Henri Queuille is elected the seventh Prime Minister of the Fourth French Republic.
• 1962 - The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
• 1964 - 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.
• 1971 - Australian Evonne Goolagong becomes the first Aborigine to win the Wimbledon singles tennis title.
• 1976 - North and South Vietnam, divided since 1954, reunite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
• 1979 - The first U.S. coin to honor a woman, the Susan B. Anthony dollar, is introduced.
• 1985 - Andrei Gromyko is appointed the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.
• 1987 - Nilde Iotti is named as the first female President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
• 1990 - A stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel leads to the deaths of 1,426 pilgrims in Mecca during hajj.
• 1992 - Václav Klaus is elected Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia.
• 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 - AbioCor self contained artificial heart created.
• 2002 - Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
• 2003 - Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy, insults German MP Martin Schulz by calling him a "kapo" during a session of the European Parliament.
• 2004 - ASEAN Regional Forum accepts Pakistan as its 24th member.¨
• 2008 - Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other FARC hostages are rescued by the Colombian armed forces.

Births

• 419 - Valentinian III, Roman Emperor (d. 455)
• 1029 - Caliph Al-Mustansir of Cairo (d. 1094)
• 1262 - Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1312)
• 1363 - Mary, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
• 1489 - Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1556)
• 1492 - Elizabeth Tudor, English princess (d. 1495)
• 1647 - Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English privy councilor (d. 1730)
• 1665 - Samuel Penhallow, English-born American colonist and historian (d. 1726)
• 1667 - Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal (d. 1740)
• 1698 - Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena (d. 1780)
• 1714 - Christoph Willibald von 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, Newspaper publisher and Governor of Oregon (d. 1878)
• 1821 - Charles Tupper, sixth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
• 1849 - Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, queen of Bavaria (d. 1919)
• 1862 - William Henry Bragg, English physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1942)
• 1865 - Lily Braun, German writer (d. 1916)
• 1876 - Wilhelm Cuno, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
• 1877 - Hermann Hesse, German-born writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1962)
• 1881 - Royal H. Weller, American politician (d. 1929)
• 1884 - Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist (d. 1931)
• 1890 - Earl Roy Curry, religious thinker and Kirtland Temple overseer (d. 1980)
• 1893 - Ralph Hancock, Welsh garden designer (Rockefeller Center) (d. 1950)
• 1896 - Lydia Mei, Estonian artist (d. 1965)
• 1900 - Tyrone Guthrie, English actor (d. 1971)
• 1903 - Alec Douglas-Home, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
• 1903 - King Olav V of Norway (d. 1991)
• 1904 - René Lacoste, French tennis player (d. 1996)
• 1906 - Hans Bethe, German-born nuclear physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2005)
• 1908 - Thurgood Marshall, American Supreme Court Justice (d. 1993)
• 1914 - Frederick Fennell, American conductor (d. 2004)
• 1914 - Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist (d. 1990)
• 1916 - Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
• 1916 - Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Combat pilot and highest-decorated German soldier of WWII (d. 1982)
• 1917 - Murry Wilson, American musician and producer (The Beach Boys) (d. 1973)
• 1918 - Wibo, Dutch cartoonist (d. 2005)
• 1919 - Jean Craighead George, American writer
• 1923 - Wisława Szymborska, Polish writer, Nobel laureate
• 1925 - Medgar Evers, American civil rights activist (d. 1963)
• 1925 - Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1961)
• 1926 - Octavian Paler, Romanian writer, journalist, (d. 2007)
• 1927 - Brock Peters, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1927 - Gene Ray, Founder of the Time Cube website and proponent of Time Cube philosophy
• 1929 - Imelda Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines
• 1929 - John A. Cade, American politician
• 1930 - Carlos Menem, President of Argentina
• 1932 - Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (d. 2002)
• 1933 - Kenny Wharram, Canadian hockey player
• 1934 - Tom Springfield, British singer and songwriter (The Springfields)
• 1937 - Polly Holliday, American actress
• 1937 - Richard Petty, American race car driver
• 1939 - John H. Sununu, White House Chief of Staff under George HW Bush
• 1939 - Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek politician and poet
• 1939 - Paul Williams, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1973)
• 1940 - Kenneth Harry Clarke, British politician
• 1941 - Stéphane Venne, French Canadian songwriter
• 1942 - Vicente Fox, Former Mexican president
• 1943 - Walter Godefroot, Belgian cyclist
• 1946 - Richard Axel, American scientist, Nobel laureate
• 1946 - Ron Silver, American actor
• 1947 - Larry David, American television producer
• 1948 - Saul Rubinek, Canadian film actor
• 1948 - Gene McFadden, American songwriter (d. 2006)
• 1949 - Roy Bittan, American musician (E Street Band)
• 1949 - Hanno Pöschl, Austrian actor
• 1949 - Robert Paquette, French Canadian singer and songwriter
• 1951 - Michele Santoro, Italian TV journalist
• 1953 - Mark Hart, British musician (Crowded House and Supertramp)
• 1953 - Tony Armas, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1954 - Pete Briquette, Irish musician (Boomtown Rats)
• 1955 - Andrew Divoff, Venezuelan actor
• 1955 - Kevin Michael Grace, Canadian journalist
• 1956 - Jerry Hall, American actress
• 1957 - Bret "Hitman" Hart, Canadian wrestler
• 1958 - Thomas Bickerton, American Methodist bishop
• 1959 - Mike Hallett, English snooker player
• 1960 - Terry Rossio, American screenwriter
• 1961 - Michael Lindsay, Voice actor
• 1963 - Mark Kermode, British film critic
• 1964 - José Canseco, Cuban-born American baseball player
• 1964 - Ozzie Canseco, Cuban-born American baseball player
• 1964 - Joe Magrane, American baseball player
• 1964 - Charles Robinson, American wrestling referee
• 1969 - Matthew Cox, American convicted felon
• 1970 - Yancy Butler, American actress
• 1970 - Colin Edwin, Australian musician (Porcupine Tree)
• 1970 - Scotty 2 Hotty, American wrestler
• 1970 - Monie Love, English rapper
• 1970 - Steve Morrow, Irish footballer
• 1971 - Evelyn Lau, Canadian author
• 1971 - Troy Brown, American football player
• 1972 - Darren Shan, Irish children's author
• 1973 - Peter Kay, British comedian
• 1974 - Sean Casey, American baseball player
• 1974 - Moon So-ri, South Korean actress
• 1974 - Matthew Reilly, Australian author
• 1974 - Rocky Gray, American musician
• 1975 - Erik Ohlsson, Swedish guitarist (Millencolin)
• 1975 - Eric Daze, French Canadian ice hockey player
• 1976 - Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
• 1976 - Tomáš Vokoun, Czech hockey player
• 1976 - Ivan Tomić,Croatian buissnesman
• 1978 - Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician
• 1979 - Diana Gurtskaya, Georgian singer
• 1979 - Sam Hornish, Jr., American race car driver
• 1979 - Joe Thornton, Canadian hockey player
• 1980 - Nicole Manske, American beauty queen and motorsports television commentator
• 1981 - Alex Koroknay-Palicz, American youth rights activist
• 1981 - Angel Pagán, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1981 - Aaron Voros, Canadian hockey player
• 1982 - Olivia Munn, American television hostess
• 1983 - Michelle Branch, American singer (The Wreckers)
• 1984 - Vanessa Lee Chester, American actress
• 1984 - Thomas Kortegaard, Danish footballer
• 1984 - Johnny Weir, American figure skater
• 1985 - Rhett Bomar, American football player
• 1985 - Chad Henne, American football player
• 1985 - Ashley Tisdale, American actress and singer
• 1986 - Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer
• 1987 - Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakhstani model (d. 2008)
• 1989 - Emon Chatterjee, Indian singer

Deaths

• 862 - St. Swithun, Bishop of Winchester(b. 789)
• 1298 - Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg, King of the Romans(b. 1220)
• 1504 - Ştefan cel Mare, Prince of Moldova (b. 1434)
• 1566 - Nostradamus, French astrologer (b. 1503)
• 1582 - Akechi Mitsuhide, Japanese samurai (b. 1528)
• 1591 - Vincenzo Galilei, Italian composer (b. 1520)
• 1621 - Thomas Harriot, English astronomer
• 1656 - François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-born French commander (b. 1611)
• 1674 - Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1614)
• 1684 - John Rogers, president of Harvard University (b. 1630)
• 1743 - Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, second Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1746 - Thomas Baker, English antiquarian (b. 1656)
• 1778 - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher (b. 1712)
• 1778 - Bathsheba Spooner, American murderer
• 1822 - Denmark Vesey, American who planned slave revolt, hanged (b. ca. 1767)
• 1833 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentine politician (b. 1757)
• 1843 - Samuel Hahnemann, German physician (b. 1755)
• 1850 - Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
• 1857 - Carlo Pisacane, Italian patriot (b. 1818)
• 1903 - Ed Delahanty, American Hall of Fame baseball player (b. 1867)
• 1912 - Tom Richardson, English cricket player (b. 1870)
• 1914 - Joseph Chamberlain, Mayor of Birmingham and Father of Neville (b. 1836)
• 1915 - Porfirio Díaz, President of Mexico (b. 1830)
• 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, Nazi official (b. 1887)
• 1955 - Edward Lawson, Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1873)
• 1961 - Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1964 - Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1929)
• 1966 - Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet (b. 1900)
• 1969 - Michael DiBiase, wrestler (b. 1923)
• 1972 - Joseph Fielding Smith, tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)
• 1973 - Betty Grable, American actress (b. 1916)
• 1973 - Chick Hafey, baseball player (b. 1903)
• 1973 - George McBride, baseball player (b. 1880)
• 1973 - Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b. 1892)
• 1975 - James Robertson Justice, British actor (b. 1907)
• 1977 - Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born writer (b. 1899)
• 1978 - Aris Alexandrou, Greek novelist, poet and translator (b. 1922)
• 1984 - Paul Dozois, Quebec politician (b. 1908)
• 1985 - David Purley, British Formula 1 driver (b. 1945)
• 1986 - Peanuts Lowrey, baseball player (b. 1917)
• 1989 - Franklin Schaffner, American film director (b. 1920)
• 1989 - Andrei Gromyko, Soviet politician (b. 1909)
• 1991 - Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
• 1992 - Camarón de la Isla, Spanish flamenco singer (b. 1950)
• 1993 - Fred Gwynne, American actor (b. 1926)
• 1993 - Sir Edward Dunlop, Australian war hero (b. 1907)
• 1994 - Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
• 1995 - Krissy Taylor, American model (b. 1978)
• 1997 - Jimmy Stewart, American actor (b. 1908)
• 1999 - Mario Puzo, American author (b. 1920)
• 2000 - Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
• 2002 - Ray Brown, American jazz bassist (b. 1926)
• 2004 - Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Portuguese writer (b. 1919)
• 2004 - John Cullen Murphy, American comic strip artist (b. 1919)
• 2005 - Ernest Lehman, American screenwriter (b. 1915)
• 2006 - Jan Murray, American comedian (b. 1916)
• 2007 - Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano (b. 1929)
• 2008 - Natasha Shneider, Russian-born musician (b. 1956)
• 2008 - Elizabeth Spriggs, English-Born Actress (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances

• Palio di Provenzano in Siena, Italy
• Canada Day. Under the Holidays Act, Canada Day is always observed on July 1 unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case it is observed on July 2.
• Originally, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Feast of the Visitation was celebrated on this day, although it has since been transferred to May 31
• Aberoh and Atom
• Saint Bernardino Realino (d. 1616)
• Saint John Regis
• Saint Martial
• Saint Otto, bishop of Bamberg (d. 1139)
• Saint Oudoceus, bishop of Landaff
• Saints Processus and Martinianus, martyrs
• Saint Swithun, bishop of Winchester, confessor
• Saint Monegundes, matron, recluse
• Annual pilgrimage at Mariánska hora

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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Last updated on Wednesday July 23, 2008 at 03:25:56 PDT (GMT -0700)
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