April 2
April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 273 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 1755 – Commodore William James captures the pirate fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India.
- 1792 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.
- 1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.
- 1801 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen – The British destroy the Danish fleet.
- 1851 – Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand.
- 1863 – Richmond Bread Riot: Food shortages incite hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond, Virginia and demand that the Confederate government release emergency supplies.
- 1865 – American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg is broken – Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
- 1885 – Cree warriors attacked the village of Frog Lake, North-West Territories, Canada, killing 9.
- 1900 – The Congress passes the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.
- 1902 – Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg.
- 1902 – "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California.
- 1911 – The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country's first national census.
- 1917 – World War I: President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
- 1930 – After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.
- 1945 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Brazil are established.
- 1956 – As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS-TV. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format.
- 1962 – The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.
- 1972 – Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s.
- 1973 – Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service.
- 1973 – The Liberal Movement breaks away from the Liberal and Country League in South Australia.
- 1975 – Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.
- 1975 – Construction of the CN Tower is completed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It reaches 553.33 metres (1,815.4 ft) in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure.
- 1980 – President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the U.S. economy rebound.
- 1982 – Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
- 1984 – Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma is launched aboard Soyuz T-11, and becomes the first Indian in space.
- 1989 – Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
- 1991 – Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.
- 1992 – In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.
- 2002 – Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated. A siege ensues.
- 2004 – Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid. Their attack is thwarted.
- 2006 – Over 60 tornadoes break out in the United States; hardest hit is in Tennessee with 29 people killed.
Births
- 742 – Charlemagne (d. 814)
- 1527 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (d. 1598)
- 1545 – Elisabeth of Valois, third wife of Philip II of Spain (d. 1568)
- 1565 – Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599)
- 1614 – Jahanara Begum Sahib, daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (d. 1681)
- 1618 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)
- 1647 – Maria Sibylla Merian, German botanist (d. 1717)
- 1653 – Prince George of Denmark, prince consort of Anne of England (d. 1708)
- 1719 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803)
- 1725 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and writer (d. 1798)
- 1781 – Bhagwan Swaminarayan, religious leader (d. 1830)
- 1788 – Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet (d. 1862)
- 1788 – Wilhelmine Reichard, first German women balloonist (d. 1848)
- 1798 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (d. 1874)
- 1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (d. 1875)
- 1814 – Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (d. 1879)
- 1827 – William Holman Hunt, English painter (d. 1910)
- 1838 – Léon Gambetta, French statesman (d. 1882)
- 1840 – Émile Zola, French novelist and critic (d. 1902)
- 1841 – Clément Ader, French aviation pioneer (d. 1926)
- 1861 – Iván Persa, Hungarian Slovene writer and catholic priest (d. 1935)
- 1862 – Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1947)
- 1867 – Eugen Sandow, German bodybuilder and circus performer (d. 1925)
- 1869 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (d. 1928)
- 1875 – Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940)
- 1884 – Sir John Squire, British poet, writer, and historian (d. 1958)
- 1891 – Jack Buchanan, Scottish actor, singer, producer and director (d. 1957)
- 1891 – Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976)
- 1900 – Roberto Arlt, Argentine writer (d. 1942)
- 1902 – Jan Tschichold, German typographer (d. 1974)
- 1903 – Lionel Chevrier, Canadian politician (d. 1987)
- 1907 – Luke Appling, American baseball player (d. 1991)
- 1908 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)
- 1910 – Paul Triquet, Canadian military officer (d. 1980)
- 1910 – Francisco Cândido Xavier, Most popular Brazilian medium (d. 2002)
- 1912 – Herbert Mills, American singer (The Mills Brothers) (d. 1989)
- 1914 – Sir Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
- 1917 – Dabbs Greer, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Lou Monte, American singer (d. 1989)
- 1920 – Jack Webb, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1982)
- 1923 – Clifford Scott Green, American Federal Judge (d. 2007)
- 1923 – Gloria Henry, American actress
- 1923 – G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician
- 1925 – George MacDonald Fraser, English author (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Sir Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver
- 1927 – Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Kenneth Tynan, English critic and writer (d. 1980)
- 1928 – Joseph Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996)
- 1928 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (d. 1991)
- 1928 – Prof David Robinson, Irish horticulturist (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Roddy Maude-Roxby, English actor
- 1932 – Edward Egan, Cardinal-Archbishop Emeritus of New York
- 1933 – György Konrád, Hungarian Jewish author, sociologist, essayist
- 1934 – Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Brian Glover, British actor and wrestler (d. 1997)
- 1934 – Carl Kasell, American newscaster
- 1937 – Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1938 – John Larsson, 17th General of The Salvation Army
- 1938 – Booker Little, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1961)
- 1939 – Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984)
- 1939 – Anthony Lake, American political figure
- 1939 – Lise Thibault, Lieutenant-governor of Quebec
- 1940 – Penelope Keith, English actress
- 1941 – Dr. Demento, American radio personality
- 1942 – Leon Russell, American blues-rock pianist/guitarist
- 1942 – Hiroyuki Sakai, Japanese chef
- 1942 – Roshan Seth, Indian actor
- 1943 – Caterina Bueno, Italian singer (d. 2007)
- 1945 – Linda Hunt, American actress
- 1945 – Reggie Smith, American baseball player
- 1945 – Don Sutton, American baseball player
- 1945 – Anne Waldman, American poet
- 1946 – Judith A. Lanzinger, American jurist, Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio
- 1946 – Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist (The Guess Who) (d. 1997)
- 1947 – Sam Anderson, American actor
- 1947 – Emmylou Harris, American singer
- 1947 – Camille Paglia, American feminist writer
- 1948 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer
- 1948 – Joan D. Vinge, American author
- 1949 – Paul Gambaccini, British television presenter
- 1949 – Ron Palillo, American actor
- 1949 – Pamela Reed, American actress
- 1949 – David Robinson, American musician
- 1951 – Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer
- 1951 – Moriteru Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist
- 1952 – Pat Drummond, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Thierry Le Luron, French humorist (d. 1986)
- 1952 – Leon Wilkeson, American rock bassist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2001)
- 1953 – Jim Allister, Northern Irish politician
- 1953 – Debralee Scott, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1954 – Susumu Hirasawa, Japanese electropop musician
- 1954 – Donald Petrie, American film director
- 1955 – Michael Stone, British terrorist
- 1957 – Giuliana De Sio, Italian actress
- 1958 – Stefano Bettarello, Italian rugby player
- 1958 – Larry Drew, American basketball player
- 1959 – Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver
- 1959 – Yves Lavandier, French film director
- 1959 – Badou Zaki, Morrocan footballer and manager
- 1960 – Linford Christie, English athlete
- 1960 – Brad Jones, Australian racing driver
- 1961 – Christopher Meloni, American actor
- 1961 – Keren Woodward, English singer (Bananarama)
- 1962 – Pierre Carles, French documentarist
- 1962 – Clark Gregg, American actor
- 1962 – Mark Shulman, American children's author
- 1963 – Karl Beattie, English television director and producer
- 1963 – Mike Gascoyne, British engineer
- 1964 – Pete Incaviglia, American baseball player
- 1965 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality
- 1966 – Bill Romanowski, American football player
- 1966 – Teddy Sheringham, English footballer
- 1966 – Garnett Silk, Jamaican singer (d. 1994)
- 1967 – Greg Camp, American musician (Smash Mouth)
- 1967 – Helen Chamberlain, British television presenter
- 1969 – Ajay Devgan, Indian actor
- 1971 – Elton, German comedian
- 1971 – Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player
- 1971 – ZEEBRA, Japanese hip hop artist
- 1972 – Chico Slimani, Moroccan-British singer
- 1973 – Roselyn Sánchez, Puerto Rican singer, model and actress
- 1973 – Tine Wittler, German TV presenter and writer
- 1974 – Håkan Hellström, Swedish musician
- 1975 – Randy Livingston, American basketball player
- 1975 – Adam Rodriguez, American actor
- 1975 – Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski, German rower
- 1976 – Andreas Anastasopoulos, Greek shot putter
- 1976 – Rory Sabbatini, South African golfer
- 1977 – Jelena Abbou, Serbian fitness model
- 1977 – Michael Fassbender, actor
- 1977 – Aiden Turner, British actor
- 1978 – John Gall, American baseball player
- 1979 – Lindy Booth, Canadian actress
- 1979 – Jesse Carmichael, American musician (Maroon 5)
- 1980 – Adam Fleming, English reporter
- 1980 – Ricky Hendrick, NASCAR driver and owner (d. 2004)
- 1980 – Cristian Lizzori, Italian footballer
- 1980 – Carlos Salcido, Mexican footballer
- 1981 – Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer
- 1981 – Bethany Joy Lenz-Galeotti, American actress
- 1982 – Marco Amelia, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Jeremy Bloom, American skier and football player
- 1982 – Bianca Chatfield, Australian netballer
- 1982 – Jack Evans, American professional wrestler
- 1982 – Leyla Milani, Canadian actress and model
- 1983 – Felix Borja, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1983 – Owen Fussey, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Paul Capdeville, Chilean tennis player
- 1983 – Yung Joc, American rapper
- 1984 – Nóra Barta, Hungarian diver
- 1984 – Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress
- 1984 – Jérémy Morel, French footballer
- 1984 – Ashley Peldon, American actress
- 1985 – Stéphane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater
- 1986 – Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer
- 1986 – Lee DeWyze, American singer
- 1990 – Amy Castle, American actress
- 1990 – Felipe Chalegre, Brazilian footballer
- 1990 – Jeffery Johnson, Jr., American rapper
- 1990 – Miralem Pjanić, Bosnian footballer
- 1993 – Aaron Kelly, American singer
Deaths
- 1118 – Baldwin I of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem (b. c. 1058)
- 1272 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1209)
- 1335 – Duke Henry of Carinthia (b. c. 1265)
- 1412 – Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, Spanish traveler and writer
- 1502 – Prince Arthur Tudor, son of Henry VII of England (b. 1486)
- 1507 – Francis of Paola, Italian founder of the Order of the Minims (b. 1416)
- 1640 – Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and prominent Latin poet (b. 1595)
- 1657 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1608)
- 1657 – Jean-Jacques Olier – French catholic priest, founder of the Society of Saint-Sulpice (b. 1608)
- 1720 – Joseph Dudley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1647)
- 1742 – James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (b. 1675)
- 1747 – Johann Jacob Dillenius, German botanist (b. 1684)
- 1754 – Thomas Carte, English historian (b. 1686)
- 1787 – Thomas Gage, British general (b. 1719)
- 1791 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, French statesman (b. 1749)
- 1801 – Thomas Dadford Junior, British canal engineer (b. c. 1761)
- 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)
- 1845 – Philip Charles Durham, Royal Navy Admiral (b. 1763)
- 1865 – General A. P. Hill, American Confederate general (b. 1825)
- 1872 – Samuel F. B. Morse, American painter and inventor of the telegraph (b. 1791)
- 1891 – Albert Pike, American Confederate Brigadier General, envoy, author, attorney, and Freemason (b. 1809)
- 1902 – Esther Morris, suffragist and first female American judge (b. 1814)
- 1914 – Paul von Heyse, German writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1830)
- 1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist (b. 1884)
- 1928 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1868)
- 1930 – Empress Zauditu of Ethiopia (b. 1876)
- 1933 – K. S. Ranjitsinhji, Indian king and Test cricketer (b. 1872)
- 1936 – Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne, French general (b. 1860)
- 1953 – Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (b. 1885)
- 1958 – Tudor Davies, Welsh operatic tenor (b. 1892)
- 1958 – Josei Toda, Japanese second president of the Buddhist association Soka Gakkai (b. 1900)
- 1966 – C. S. Forester, English author (b. 1899)
- 1972 – Franz Halder, German general (b. 1884)
- 1972 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese Martial Arts Grandmaster (b. 1887)
- 1972 – Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (b. 1924)
- 1974 – Georges Pompidou, President of France (b. 1911)
- 1977 – Walter Wolf, German politician (b. 1907)
- 1987 – Buddy Rich, American drummer (b. 1917)
- 1992 – Tomisaburo Wakayama, Japanese actor (b. 1929)
- 1992 – Juan Gómez González, Spanish football player (b. 1954)
- 1994 – Betty Furness, American actress (b. 1916)
- 1995 – Harvey Penick, American golf instructor (b. 1904)
- 1995 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist (b. 1908)
- 1998 – Rob Pilatus, American model and entertainer (Milli Vanilli) (b. 1965)
- 2000 – Tommaso Buscetta, Sicilian mafioso and pentito (b. 1928)
- 2001 – Charles Daudelin, Canadian artist (b. 1920)
- 2001 – Jennifer Syme, American actress (b. 1972)
- 2003 – Edwin Starr, American singer (b. 1942)
- 2004 – John Argyris, Greek aeronautical engineer (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)
- 2006 – Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, German widow of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Paul Reed, American actor (b. 1909)
- 2010 – Mike Cuellar, Cuban baseball player (b. 1937)
- 2010 – Chris Kanyon, American wrestler (b. 1970)
- 2010 – Thomas J. Moyer, American jurist, Chief Justice Supreme Court of Ohio (b. 1939)
Holidays and observances
External links