October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining.
Events
- 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule.
- 1535 - Jacques Cartier discovers Montreal, Quebec.
- 1780 - American Revolutionary War: British spy John Andre is hanged by American forces for his role in Benedict Arnold's plot to sell West Point to the British Army.
- 1835 - The Texas Revolution begins with the Battle of Gonzales: Mexican soldiers attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, Texas, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia.
- 1836 - Naturalist Charles Darwin returns to Falmouth, England aboard the HMS Beagle after a five-year journey collecting biological data he will later use to develop his theory of evolution.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Saltville - Union forces attack Saltville, Virginia, but are defeated by Confederate troops.
- 1889 - In Colorado, Nicholas Creede strikes it rich in silver during the last great silver boom of the American old west.
- 1889 - In Washington, DC, the first international Conference of American States begins.
- 1919 - US President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed.
- 1924 - The Geneva Protocol is adopted as a means to strengthen the League of Nations.
- 1928 - The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, was founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá.
- 1935 - Italy invades Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
- 1941 - World War II: In Operation Typhoon, Germany begins an all-out offensive against Moscow.
- 1944 - Holocaust: Nazi troops end the Warsaw Uprising.
- 1950 - The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven US newspapers.
- 1955 - The ENIAC computer is deactivated at 11:45 PM.
- 1955 - Alfred Hitchcock Presents debuts (last new episode aired on June 26, 1962).
- 1958 - Guinea declares itself independent from France.
- 1959 - The Twilight Zone pilot premieres.
- 1962 - Johnny Carson debuts as host of The Tonight Show.
- 1967 - Thurgood Marshall sworn in as the first African-American justice of United States Supreme Court.
- 1968 - A peaceful student demonstration in Mexico City ends in the Tlatelolco massacre.
- 1978 - Baseball: Bucky Dent hits a home run for the New York Yankees to defeat the Boston Red Sox in a one-game play off at Fenway Park. The home run was Dent's 5th of the season.
- 1990 - A Chinese airline Boeing 737-247 is hijacked; after landing at Guangzhou it crashes into two airliners on the ground, killing 132
- 1992 - The Carandiru Massacre takes place after a riot in the Carandiru prison system in São Paulo, Brazil.
- 1996 - The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
- 1996 - An AeroPerú Boeing 757 crashes in Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff from Lima, Peru killing 70.
- 1996 - Lance Armstrong is diagnosed with testicular cancer that spreads to his liver, lungs, and brain.
- 2000 - The science fiction TV-series Andromeda Ascendet premiered, it ended on May 13, 2005.
- 2001 - Bankruptcy of Swissair.
- 2001 - First palindromic MM-DD-YYYY date since August 31, 1380.
- 2004 - American Samoa joins the North American Numbering Plan.
Births
- 1452 - King Richard III of England (d. 1485)
- 1539 - Saint Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal (d. 1584)
- 1644 - François-Timoléon de Choisy, French writer (d. 1724)
- 1737 - Francis Hopkinson, American author and signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1791)
- 1768 - William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, British general and politician (d. 1854)
- 1798 - Charles Albert of Savoy (d. 1849)
- 1800 - Nat Turner, American leader of slave uprising (d. 1831)
- 1832 - Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (d. 1917)
- 1847 - Paul von Hindenburg, German officer and politician (d. 1934)
- 1851 - Ferdinand Foch, French soldier (d. 1929)
- 1852 - William Ramsay, Scottish chemist (d. 1916)
- 1853 - François Arago, French mathematician (b. 1786)
- 1869 - Mahatma Gandhi, Indian political leader (d. 1948)
- 1871 - Cordell Hull, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1955)
- 1879 - Wallace Stevens, American poet (d. 1955)
- 1890 - Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor (d. 1977)
- 1895 - Bud Abbott, American comedian and actor (d. 1974)
- 1901 - Alice Prin, French singer and artist (d. 1953)
- 1904 - Graham Greene, British novelist (d. 1991)
- 1911 - Jack Finney, American author (d. 1995)
- 1914 - Jack Parsons, American rocket scientist (d. 1952)
- 1921 - Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 2000)
- 1926 - Jan Morris, English writer
- 1928 - "Spanky" McFarland, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1932 - Maury Wills, baseball player
- 1934 - Earl Wilson, baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1937 - Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., American attorney (d. 2005)
- 1938 - Rex Reed, American movie critic and actor
- 1943 - Franklin Rosemont, American artist
- 1945 - Don McLean, American songwriter
- 1948 - Avery Brooks, American actor
- 1948 - Donna Karan, American fashion designer
- 1948 - Chris LeDoux, American musicician and rodeo performer (d. 2005)
- 1949 - Richard Hell, American musician
- 1950 - Persis Khambatta, Indian actress (d. 1998)
- 1951 - Sting, British singer and actor
- 1955 - Lorraine Bracco, American actress
- 1966 - Rodney "Yokozuna" Anoai, Samoan professional wrestler (d. 2000)
- 1967 - Frankie Fredericks, Namibian athlete
- 1968 - Jana Novotna, Czech tennis player
- 1970 - Kelly Ripa, American actress and television host
- 1971 - Tiffany, American singer
- 1971 - James Root, American guitarist (Slipknot)
- 1978 - Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer
Deaths
- 1264 - Pope Urban IV
- 1559 - Jacquet of Mantua, French composer (b. 1483)
- 1626 - Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, conde de Gondomar, Spanish diplomat (b. 1567)
- 1629 - Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and statesman (b. 1575)
- 1629 - Antonio Cifra, Italian composer (b. 1584)
- 1708 - Anne-Jules, 2nd duc de Noailles, French general (b. 1650)
- 1724 - François-Timoléon de Choisy, French writer (b. 1644)
- 1746 - Josiah Burchett, English Secretary of the Admiralty
- 1775 - Chiyo-ni, Japanese poet (b. 1703)
- 1782 - Charles Lee, British and U.S. general (b. 1732)
- 1803 - Samuel Adams, American patriot (b. 1722)
- 1850 - Sarah Biffen, English painter (b. 1784)
- 1853 - François Jean Dominique Arago, French mathematician (b. 1786)
- 1901 - Karl Rudolf König, German physicist (b. 1832)
- 1927 - Svante Arrhenius, Swedish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
- 1962 - Boris Y. Bukreev, Soviet mathematician (b. 1859)
- 1968 - Marcel Duchamp, French artist (b. 1887)
- 1973 - Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner (b. 1897)
- 1981 - Hazel Scott, West Indian-born singer (b. 1920)
- 1981 - Harry Golden, American journalist (b. 1902)
- 1985 - Rock Hudson, American actor (b. 1925)
- 1998 - Gene Autry, American singer, actor, and entrepreneur (b. 1907)
- 2002 - Heinz von Foerster, Austrian-born physicist and philosopher (b. 1911)
- 2003 - John T. Dunlop, U.S. Secretary of Labor (b. 1914)
External links
Links to October 2
Holidays and observances
October 1 - October 3 - September 2 - November 2 – more historical anniversaries