March 2

March 2 is the 61st day of the year (62nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 304 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off.
• 986 – Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
• 1121 – Dirk VI becomes the Count of Holland.
• 1127 – Assassination of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders.
• 1444 – Skanderbeg organizes a group of Albanian nobles to form the League of Lezhë.
• 1458 – George of Poděbrady is chosen as the king of Bohemia.
• 1476 – Burgundian Wars: The Old Swiss Confederacy hands Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a major defeat in the Battle of Grandson in Canton of Neuchâtel.
• 1484 – The College of Arms is formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.
• 1498 – Vasco da Gama's fleet visits the Island of Mozambique.
• 1561 – Mendoza, Argentina is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro del Castillo.
• 1657 – Great Fire of Meireki: A fire in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, caused more than 100,000 deaths; it lasted three days
• 1717 – The Loves of Mars and Venus is the first ballet performed in England.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.
• 1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
• 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
• 1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.
• 1808 – The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
• 1811 – Argentine War of Independence: A royalist fleet defeats a small flotilla of revolutionary ships in the Battle of San Nicolás on the River Plate.
• 1815 – Signing of the Kandyan Convention treaty by British invaders and the leaders of the Kingdom of Kandy.
• 1825 – Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
• 1836 – Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
• 1855 – Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
• 1865 – East Cape War: The Völkner Incident in New Zealand.
• 1867 – The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act.
• 1877 – U.S. presidential election, 1876: Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876.
• 1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick McLean in Windsor.
• 1885 – Sino-French War: French victory in the Battle of Hòa Mộc near Tuyên Quang, northern Vietnam.
• 1901 – United States Steel Corporation is founded as a result of a merger between Carnegie Steel Company and Federal Steel Company which became the first corporation in the world with a market capital over $1 billion.
• 1901 – The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment limiting the autonomy of Cuba, as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
• 1903 – In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
• 1917 – The enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
• 1919 – The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
• 1933 – The film King Kong opens at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
• 1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
• 1939 – Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
• 1941 – World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joins the Axis Pact.
• 1943 – World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea: United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
• 1946 – Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
• 1949 – Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
• 1949 – The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut.
• 1955 – Norodom Sihanouk, king of Cambodia, abdicates the throne in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit.
• 1956 – Morocco gains its independence from France.
• 1962 – In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup d'état.
• 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
• 1965 – The US and South Vietnamese Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
• 1969 – In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
• 1969 – Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River.
• 1970 – Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
• 1972 – The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
• 1977 – Libya becomes the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as the General People's Congress adopted the "Declaration of the Establishment of the People's Authority".
• 1978 – Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
• 1983 – Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.
• 1989 – Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
• 1990 – Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
• 1991 – Battle at Rumaila oil field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
• 1992 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.
• 1995 – Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
• 1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
• 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
• 2004 – War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
• 2012 – A tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States and into the Ohio Valley region, resulting in 40 tornado-related fatalities.

Births

• 1409 – Jean II, Duke of Alençon (d. 1476)
• 1459 – Pope Adrian VI (d. 1523)
• 1545 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (d. 1613)
• 1578 – George Sandys, English poet (d. 1644)
• 1705 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1793)
• 1760 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (d. 1794)
• 1769 – DeWitt Clinton, American politician, 6th Governor of New York (d. 1828)
• 1770 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (d. 1826)
• 1779 – Joel Roberts Poinsett, American physician and politician, 15th United States Secretary of War (d. 1851)
• 1793 – Sam Houston, American soldier and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1863)
• 1800 – Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian-Italian poet and philosopher (d. 1844)
• 1810 – Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903)
• 1816 – Alexander Bullock, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1882)
• 1817 – János Arany, Hungarian journalist and poet (d. 1882)
• 1820 – Multatuli, Dutch-German author (d. 1887)
• 1824 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1884)
• 1829 – Carl Schurz, German-American general, lawyer, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1906)
• 1836 – Henry Billings Brown, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1913)
• 1842 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer, art collector, and philanthropist (d. 1914)
• 1843 – Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy (d. 1911)
• 1846 – Marie Roze, French soprano (d. 1926)
• 1849 – Robert Means Thompson, American commander, lawyer, and businessman (d. 1930)
• 1859 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (d. 1916)
• 1860 – Susanna M. Salter, American politician (d. 1961)
• 1862 – John Jay Chapman, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1933)
• 1862 – Boris Borisovich Golitsyn, Russian physicist and seismologist (d. 1916)
• 1876 – Pope Pius XII (d. 1958)
• 1878 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, American sailor and race car driver (d. 1944)
• 1885 – Victor Houteff, Bulgarian religious reformer and author (d. 1955)
• 1886 – Willis H. O'Brien, American animator and director (d. 1962)
• 1886 – Friedebert Tuglas, Estonian author and critic (d. 1971)
• 1900 – Harri Moora, Estonian archeologist and academic (d. 1968)
• 1900 – Matilde Muñoz Sampedro, Spanish actress (d. 1969)
• 1900 – Kurt Weill, German-American composer (d. 1950)
• 1902 – Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy (d. 1972)
• 1902 – Edward Condon, American physicist and academic (d. 1974)
• 1904 – Dr. Seuss, American author, poet, and illustrator (d. 1991)
• 1905 – Marc Blitzstein, American composer (d. 1964)
• 1905 – Geoffrey Grigson, English poet and critic (d. 1985)
• 1908 – Walter Bruch, German engineer (d. 1990)
• 1908 – Fyodor Okhlopkov, Russian sergeant (d. 1968)
• 1909 – Mel Ott, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 1958)
• 1912 – Henry Katzman, American pianist, composer, and painter (d. 2001)
• 1912 – William Thayer Tutt, American businessman (d. 1989)
• 1913 – Godfried Bomans, Flemish television host and author (d. 1971)
• 1913 – Mort Cooper, American baseball player (d. 1958)
• 1913 – Celedonio Romero, Spanish guitarist and songwriter (The Romeros) (d. 1996)
• 1914 – Mayo Kaan, American bodybuilder and model (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Martin Ritt, American actor, director, and playwright (d. 1990)
• 1915 – John Burton, Australian public servant and diplomat (d. 2010)
• 1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1986)
• 1917 – David Goodis, American author and screenwriter (d. 1967)
• 1917 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player and coach (d. 1976)
• 1918 – Michael Rye, American actor (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Eddie Lawrence, American actor, singer, and playwright (d. 2014)
• 1919 – Tamara Toumanova, Russian-American ballerina and actress (d. 1996)
• 1920 – Heinz-Ludwig Schmidt, German footballer and manager (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Ernst Haas, Austrian-American photographer and journalist (d. 1986)
• 1922 – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, American saxophonist (d. 1986)
• 1922 – Bill Quackenbush, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Basil Hume, English cardinal (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Orrin Keepnews, American songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Robert H. Michel, American soldier and politician
• 1923 – Dave Strack, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Cal Abrams, American baseball player (d. 1997)
• 1924 – Renos Apostolidis, Greek philologist, author, and critic (d. 2004)
• 1926 – Bernard Agré, Ivorian cardinal (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Murray Rothbard, American economist and historian (d. 1995)
• 1927 – Roger Walkowiak, French cyclist and economist
• 1928 – John S. Romanides, Greek priest and author (d. 2001)
• 1929 – Donald Gosling, English admiral and businessman
• 1930 – John Cullum, American actor and singer
• 1930 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (d. 2007)
• 1930 – Dominique Zardi, French actor (d. 2009)
• 1931 – Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian lawyer and politician, President of the Soviet Union, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1931 – Tom Wolfe, American journalist and author
• 1932 – Gun Hägglund, Swedish journalist and translator (d. 2011)
• 1934 – Dottie Rambo, American singer-songwriter (The Rambos) (d. 2008)
• 1935 – Gene Stallings, American football player and coach
• 1935 – Al Waxman, Canadian actor and director (d. 2001)
• 1936 – Haroon Ahmed, Pakistani-English engineer and academic
• 1936 – John Tusa, Czech-English journalist and academic
• 1937 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algerian soldier and politician, 5th President of Algeria
• 1937 – Denny Crum, American basketball player and coach
• 1938 – Ricardo Lagos, Chilean economist, lawyer, and politician, 33rd President of Chile
• 1938 – Lawrence Payton, American singer-songwriter and producer (Four Tops) (d. 1997)
• 1939 – Jan Howard Finder, American author and academic (d. 2013)
• 1939 – BarBara Luna, American actress
• 1940 – Tony Croatto, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
• 1940 – Mamnoon Hussain, Pakistani businessman and politician, 12th President of Pakistan
• 1941 – Jon Finch, English actor (d. 2012)
• 1941 – David Satcher, American admiral and physician, 16th Surgeon General of the United States
• 1942 – Kwang Jo Choi, South Korean martial artist
• 1942 – John Irving, American novelist and screenwriter
• 1942 – Claude Larose, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1942 – Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Iranian architect and politician, 79th Prime Minister of Iran
• 1942 – Lou Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (The Velvet Underground and Metal Machine Trio) (d. 2013)
• 1943 – George Layton, English actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1943 – Tony Meehan, English drummer (The Shadows and The Vipers Skiffle Group) (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Peter Straub, American novelist and poet
• 1943 – Robert Williams, American painter and cartoonist
• 1944 – Uschi Glas, German actress and screenwriter
• 1945 – Derek Watkins, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Nelson Ned, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
• 1947 – Harry Redknapp, English footballer and manager
• 1948 – Rory Gallagher, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Taste) (d. 1995)
• 1948 – Jeff Kennett, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of Victoria
• 1949 – Alain Chamfort, French singer
• 1949 – Gates McFadden, American actress and choreographer
• 1949 – J.P.R. Williams, Welsh rugby player and surgeon
• 1950 – Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (The Carpenters) (d. 1983)
• 1950 – Jeffrey Chodorow, American lawyer and businessman
• 1952 – Mark Evanier, American author and screenwriter
• 1952 – Laraine Newman, American actress and singer
• 1953 – Russ Feingold, American lawyer and politician
• 1954 – Ed Johnstone, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1955 – Shoko Asahara, Japanese cult leader, founded Aum Shinrikyo
• 1955 – Dale Bozzio, American singer (Missing Persons)
• 1955 – Jay Osmond, American singer and drummer (The Osmonds)
• 1955 – Ken Salazar, American lawyer and politician, 50th United States Secretary of the Interior
• 1955 – Terrence Stone, Irish-American voice actor and casting director
• 1956 – John Cowsill, American singer and drummer (The Cowsills)
• 1956 – Mark Evans, Australian bass player (AC/DC, Finch, and Heaven)
• 1958 – Kevin Curren, South African-American tennis player
• 1958 – Grace Kennedy, Jamaican-English singer and television host
• 1958 – Ian Woosnam, English-Welsh golfer
• 1959 – Larry Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Restless Heart)
• 1960 – Hector Calma, Filipino basketball player
• 1960 – Debra Marshall, American wrestler, manager, and actress
• 1961 – Simone Young, Australian conductor, director, and composer
• 1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (Bon Jovi)
• 1962 – Paul Farrelly, English journalist and politician
• 1962 – Scott La Rock, American DJ and producer (Boogie Down Productions) (d. 1987)
• 1962 – Hiroyuki Morioka, Japanese author
• 1962 – Tom Nordlie, Norwegian footballer and coach
• 1962 – Michael Salinger, American poet and educator
• 1962 – Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
• 1962 – Gabriele Tarquini, Italian race car driver
• 1963 – Alvin Youngblood Hart, American singer and guitarist
• 1963 – Tuff Hedeman, American bull rider
• 1963 – Anthony Albanese, Australian politician, 15th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
• 1964 – Laird Hamilton, American surfer and actor
• 1964 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1987)
• 1965 – Ron Gant, American baseball player and journalist
• 1965 – Lembit Öpik, Irish politician
• 1966 – Simon Reevell, English lawyer and politician
• 1968 – Daniel Craig, English actor
• 1969 – Ben Oxenbould, Australian actor
• 1969 – Mark Selbee, American kick-boxer (d. 2014)
• 1970 – Alexander Armstrong, English comedian and actor
• 1970 – James Purnell, English politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
• 1970 – Wibi Soerjadi, Dutch pianist and composer
• 1971 – Dave Gorman, English comedian and author
• 1971 – Lisa Lackey, Australian actress
• 1971 – Method Man, American rapper, record producer and actor (Wu-Tang Clan)
• 1971 – Amber Smith, American model and actress
• 1971 – Manami Toyota, Japanese wrestler
• 1972 – Richard Ruccolo, American actor
• 1972 – Rene Bitorajac, Croatian actor
• 1972 – Mauricio Pochettino, Argentinian footballer and manager
• 1973 – Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player
• 1973 – Trevor Sinclair, English footballer and manager
• 1974 – Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer and television host
• 1975 – El-P, American rapper and producer (Company Flow and The Weathermen)
• 1977 – Dominique Canty, American basketball player and coach
• 1977 – Chris Martin, English singer-songwriter and producer (Coldplay)
• 1977 – Stephen Parry, English swimmer and sportscaster
• 1977 – Andrew Strauss, South African-English cricketer
• 1978 – Gabby Eigenmann, Filipino actor and singer
• 1978 – Lee Hodges, English footballer
• 1978 – Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey player
• 1978 – Giannis Skopelitis, Greek footballer
• 1979 – Sergei Davydov, Belarusian figure skater
• 1979 – Damien Duff, Irish footballer
• 1979 – Nicky Weaver, English footballer
• 1980 – Chris Barker, English footballer and manager
• 1980 – Karl Dominik, Polish-Chinese actor
• 1980 – Sunny Lane, American porn actress and model
• 1980 – Édson Nobre, Angolan footballer
• 1980 – Rebel Wilson, Australian actress and screenwriter
• 1981 – Lance Cade, American wrestler (d. 2010)
• 1981 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress and director
• 1981 – Lorelei Lee, American porn actress
• 1982 – Jade Galbraith, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1982 – Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
• 1982 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1982 – Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
• 1982 – Corey Webster, American football player
• 1983 – Deuce, American singer-songwriter and producer (Hollywood Undead)
• 1983 – Kolawole Agodirin, Nigerian footballer
• 1983 – Lisandro López, Argentinian footballer
• 1983 – Jay McClement, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Glen Perkins, American baseball player
• 1983 – Ryan Shannon, American ice hockey player
• 1984 – Elizabeth Jagger, American model and actress
• 1985 – Reggie Bush, American football player
• 1985 – Robert Iler, American actor
• 1985 – Suso Santana, Spanish footballer
• 1986 – Jon D'Aversa, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 – Jonas Jerebko, Swedish basketball player
• 1988 – Édgar Andrade, Mexican footballer
• 1988 – James Arthur, English singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Nicola Geuer, German tennis player
• 1988 – Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver
• 1988 – Chris Rainey, American football player
• 1988 – Geert Arend Roorda, Dutch footballer
• 1988 – Nadine Samonte, German-Filipino actress
• 1989 – Alemão, Brazilian footballer
• 1989 – Toby Alderweireld, Belgian footballer
• 1989 – André Bernardes Santos, Portuguese footballer
• 1989 – Marcel Hirscher, Austrian skier
• 1989 – Shane Vereen, American football player
• 1990 – Rauno Alliku, Estonian footballer
• 1990 – Malcolm Butler, American football player
• 1990 – Lee Hong-gi, South Korean singer and actor (F.T. Island)
• 1990 – Josh McGuire, Australian rugby league footballer
• 1993 – Mariya Yaremchuk, Ukrainian singer
• 1995 – Ange-Freddy Plumain, French footballer
• 1997 – Becky G, American rapper

Deaths

• 672 – Chad of Mercia, English bishop and saint (b. 634)
• 1316 – Marjorie Bruce, Scottish daughter of Robert the Bruce (b. 1296)
• 1572 – Mem de Sá, Portuguese-Brazilian politician (b. 1500)
• 1589 – Alessandro Farnese, Italian cardinal (b. 1520)
• 1619 – Anne of Denmark (b. 1574)
• 1625 – James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton, Scottish politician (b. 1589)
• 1729 – Francesco Bianchini, Italian astronomer and philosopher (b. 1662)
• 1755 – Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French soldier and diplomat (b. 1675)
• 1758 – Pierre Guérin de Tencin, French cardinal (b. 1679)
• 1791 – John Wesley, English cleric and theologian (b. 1703)
• 1793 – Carl Gustaf Pilo, Swedish-Danish painter and academic (b. 1711)
• 1797 – Horace Walpole, English historian and politician (b. 1717)
• 1829 – Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, Mexican conspirator (b. 1768)
• 1830 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, German physician, anatomist, and anthropologist (b. 1755)
• 1835 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1768)
• 1840 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, German physician and astronomer (b. 1758)
• 1855 – Nicholas I of Russia (b. 1796)
• 1864 – Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel (b. 1842)
• 1865 – Carl Sylvius Völkner, German-New Zealand priest and missionary (b. 1819)
• 1880 – John Benjamin Macneill, Irish engineer (b. 1790)
• 1895 – Berthe Morisot, French painter (b. 1841)
• 1895 – Isma'il Pasha, Egyptian politician (b. 1830)
• 1919 – Melchora Aquino, Filipino activist (b. 1812)
• 1921 – Champ Clark, American lawyer and politician, 41st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1850)
• 1930 – D. H. Lawrence, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1885)
• 1938 – Ben Harney, American pianist and composer (b. 1871)
• 1939 – Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian (b. 1874)
• 1942 – Tyler Brooke, American actor and singer (b. 1886)
• 1943 – Charlie Christian, American guitarist (b. 1916)
• 1945 – Emily Carr, Canadian painter and author (b. 1871)
• 1946 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1895)
• 1946 – George E. Stewart, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1872)
• 1947 – Frans Johan Louwrens Ghijsels, Dutch architect and urban planner (b. 1882)
• 1949 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet and activist (b. 1879)
• 1950 – Rosli Dhobi, Malaysian rebel (b. 1932)
• 1953 – James Lightbody, American runner (b. 1882)
• 1957 – Selim Sırrı Tarcan, Turkish educator and politician (b. 1874)
• 1958 – Fred Merkle, American baseball player and manager (b. 1888)
• 1958 – Nikolaos Tselementes, Greek chef and author (b. 1878)
• 1959 – Eric Blore, English-American actor and singer (b. 1887)
• 1962 – Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician and academic (b. 1866)
• 1967 – José Martínez Ruiz, Spanish author and critic (b. 1873)
• 1970 – Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Canadian painter (b. 1888)
• 1972 – Herbert Feis, American historian and economist (b. 1893)
• 1972 – Léo-Ernest Ouimet, Canadian director and producer (b. 1877)
• 1973 – Cleo A. Noel, Jr., American academic and diplomat (b. 1918)
• 1974 – Salvador Puig Antich, Spanish anarchist (b. 1948)
• 1975 – Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, Kenyan politician (b. 1929)
• 1979 – Christy Ring, Irish hurler (b. 1920)
• 1982 – Philip K. Dick, American philosopher and author (b. 1928)
• 1987 – Randolph Scott, American actor and director (b. 1898)
• 1987 – Lolo Soetoro, Indonesian geographer (b. 1935)
• 1991 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor, and director (b. 1928)
• 1991 – Mary Howard, English author (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (b. 1937)
• 1994 – Maurice Bambier, French politician (b. 1925)
• 1994 – Anita Morris, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1943)
• 1999 – David Ackles, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1937)
• 1999 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (The Lana Sisters and The Springfields) (b. 1939)
• 2000 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler (b. 1963)
• 2001 – John Diamond, English journalist (b. 1953)
• 2003 – Hank Ballard, American singer-songwriter (The Midnighters) (b. 1927)
• 2003 – Malcolm Williamson, Australian pianist and composer (b. 1931)
• 2004 – Cormac McAnallen, Irish footballer (b. 1980)
• 2004 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Marge Schott, American businesswoman (b. 1928)
• 2005 – Martin Denny, American pianist and composer (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Rick Mahler, American baseball player and coach (b. 1953)
• 2007 – Thomas S. Kleppe, American soldier and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Clem Labine, American baseball player (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Ivan Safronov, Russian colonel and journalist (b. 1956)
• 2007 – Henri Troyat, French historian and author (b. 1911)
• 2008 – Jeff Healey, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1966)
• 2009 – Chris Finnegan, English boxer (b. 1944)
• 2009 – João Bernardo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1939)
• 2010 – Winston Churchill, English journalist and politician (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Lawrence Anthony, South African environmentalist, explorer, and author (b. 1950)
• 2012 – Van T. Barfoot, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Doug Furnas, American wrestler and powerlifter (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1929)
• 2012 – James Q. Wilson, American political scientist and academic (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Isagani Yambot, Filipino journalist and publisher (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Tom Borland, American baseball player (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Peter Harvey, Australian journalist (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Giorgos Kolokithas, Greek basketball player (b. 1945)
• 2013 – Shabnam Shakeel, Pakistani poet and author (b. 1942)
• 2014 – Ryhor Baradulin, Belarusian poet and translator (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Molly Bobak, Canadian painter and educator (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Porky Chedwick, American radio announcer (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Gail Gilmore, Canadian-American actress and dancer (b. 1937)
• 2015 – Leslie Chamberlain, English rugby player (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Dean Hess, American minister and colonel (b. 1917)
• 2015 – Dave Mackay, Scottish-English footballer and manager (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Jenna McMahon, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Mal Peet, English author and illustrator (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Agnes of Bohemia
  • Angela of the Cross
  • Blessed Charles the Good, Count of Flanders
  • Chad of Mercia (Church of England)
  • John Maron
  • March 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Feast of 'Alá (Loftiness), First day of the 19th month of the Bahá'í calendar (Bahá'í Faith) and first day of the Baha'i Nineteen Day Fast
• Jamahiriya Day (Libya)
• Peasants' Day (Burma)
• Read Across America Day (United States)
• Texas Independence Day
• Victory at Adwa Day (Ethiopia)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to March 2.

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