April 2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 273 days remaining after April 2 until the end of the year.
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[change] Events
- 1513 – Florida is sighted by a European for the first time.
- 1741 – The first official golf tournament is held in Leith, near Edinburgh, Scotland.
- 1783 – The Duke of Portland replaces the Earl of Shelburne as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
- 1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony.
- 1801 – British forces under Horatio Nelson defeat Denmark in the naval battle of Copenhagen.
- 1851 – Mongkut (Rama IV) is crowned King of Siam.
- 1865 – Jefferson Davis and his cabinet flee Richmond, Virginia.
- 1911 – Australia's first census is held.
- 1912 – The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials.
- 1917 – Woodrow Wilson asks US Congress for war with Germany.
- 1932 – Charles Lindbergh paid a $50,000 ransom for the return of his kidnapped son.
- 1943 – Off Bermuda the British ship Melbourne Star is torpedoed by the German U-boat U 129. It explodes and sinks within two minutes, killing 114 people.
- 1945 – The Soviet Union and Brazil establish diplomatic relations.
- 1972 – Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled as a Communist during the Red Scare of the 1950s.
- 1975 – The CN Tower in Toronto is completed.
- 1978 – The television show Dallas is shown for the first time.
- 1982 – The Falkland Islands War begins, as Argentine forces invade.
- 1984 – Rakesh Sharma becomes the first Indian in space on board the Soyuz T-11.
- 1991 – The eruption of the Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines begins.
- 1992 – Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering.
- 1998 – Former French minister Maurice Papon is found guilty of war crimes over the deportation of more than 1,700 Jews during World War II.
- 2004 – Spanish police prevent an attempt by Islamist terrorists to blow up a high speed train near Madrid.
- 2005 – Pope John Paul II dies at the age of 84 years, after more than 26 years as Pope.
- 2006 – 60 tornadoes break out in the United States. Tennessee is the worst affected with 29 people killed.
- 2007 – A magnitude 8.1 earthquake hits the Solomon Islands, with resulting tsunamis destroying villages, killing 52 people, and making 5,000 homeless.
- 2012 – President of Hungary Pal Schmitt resigns after losing his doctorate in a Plagiarism scandal.
[change] Births
- 742 – Charlemagne (d. 814)
- 1527 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish mapmaker (d. 1598)
- 1545 – Elisabeth of Valois, French princess and Queen of Spain (d. 1568)
- 1614 – Jahanara Begum Sahib, Imperial princess and daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (d. 1681)
- 1618 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)
- 1653 – Princess George of Denmark (d. 1708)
- 1725 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian writer (d. 1798)
- 1798 – Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (d. 1874)
- 1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer and poet (d. 1875)
- 1838 – Leon Gambetta, French statesman (d. 1882)
- 1840 – Émile Zola, French writer (d. 1902)
- 1862 – Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher, diplomat and educator (d. 1947)
- 1875 – Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940)
- 1891 – Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976)
- 1912 – Herbert Mills, American singer (d. 1989)
- 1914 – Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Jack Webb, American actor, director and producer (d. 1982)
- 1925 – George MacDonald Fraser, British author (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Carmen Basilio, American boxer
- 1927 – Ferenc Puskas, Hungarian footballer (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer, songwriter, actor and director (d. 1991)
- 1932 – Edward Egan, American Roman Catholic cardinal and former Archbishop of New York City
- 1939 – Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984)
- 1940 – Penelope Keith, British actress
- 1941 – Dr. Demento, American radio presenter
- 1942 – Leon Russell, American pianist and conductor
- 1952 – Leon Wilkeson, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2001)
- 1959 – Juha Kankkunen, Finnish rally driver
- 1960 – Linford Christie, British athlete
- 1961 – Christopher Meloni, American actor
- 1961 – Keren Woodward, British singer (Bananarama)
- 1965 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality
- 1966 – Teddy Sheringham, English footballer
- 1971 – Edmundo, Brazilian footballer
- 1971 – Zeebra, Japanese rapper
- 1973 – Tine Wittler, German actress and writer
- 1975 – Adam Rodriguez, American actor
- 1977 – Michael Fassbender, German-Irish actor
- 1979 – Jesse Carmichael, American musician (Maroon 5)
- 1980 – Carlos Salcido, Mexican footballer
- 1980 – Adam Fleming, Scottish journalist
- 1981 – Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer
- 1982 – Marco Amelia, Italian footballer
- 1982 – David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player
- 1983 – Paul Capdeville, Chilean tennis player
- 1985 – Stephane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater
- 1986 – Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer
- 1986 – Lee DeWyze, American singer
[change] Deaths
- 1118 – Baldwin I of Jerusalem (b. 1058)
- 1506 – Prince Arthur Tudor of England (b. 1486)
- 1657 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1608)
- 1803 – Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish politician and judge (b. 1721)
- 1817 – Johann Heinrich Jung, German author (b. 1740)
- 1827 – Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and naturalist (b. 1776)
- 1872 – Samuel F. B. Morse, American inventor (b. 1791)
- 1914 – Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse, German writer (b. 1830)
- 1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist (b. 1884)
- 1928 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist (b. 1868)
- 1930 – Empress Zauditu of Ethiopia (b. 1876)
- 1951 – Simon Barere, Russian pianist (b. 1896)
- 1958 – Tudor Davies, Welsh operatic tenor (b. 1892)
- 1972 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese martial arts grandmaster (b. 1887)
- 1974 – Georges Pompidou, President of France (b. 1911)
- 1987 – Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer and bandleader (b. 1917)
- 1992 – Juan Gomez Gonzalez, Spanish footballer (b. 1954)
- 1994 – Betty Furness, American actress (b. 1916)
- 1995 – Hannes Alfven, Swedish physicist (b. 1908)
- 1998 – Rob Pilatus, American model, dancer and singer (b. 1965)
- 2001 – Jennifer Syme, American actress (b. 1972)
- 2005 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)
- 2006 – Nina von Stauffenberg, widow of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (b. 1914)
- 2007 – Paul Reed, American actor (b. 1909)
[change] Observances
- International Children's Book Day - Birthday of Hans Christian Andersen
- Thai Heritage and Conservation Day
- World Autism Awareness Day
- Malvinas Day (Argentina)
