July 2nd in History
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The first Zeppelin flight takes place, July 2, 1900. (Photo by Peter Scherer, from the collection of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)
Today in History
- Bogdan III the One-Eyed becomes Voivode of Moldavia (1504)
- English Civil War: The Parliamentarians and the Covenanters defeat the Royalists in the Battle of Marston Moor (1644)
- The first steam engine is patented (1698)
- The Continental Congress declares independence, though the wording of the declaration was debated for two more days (1776)
- Vermont becomes the first American territory to abolish slavery (1777)
- Thirty-five rebelling slaves, including Denmark Vesey, are hanged in South Carolina (1822)
- Rebelling African slaves take over the Amistad (1839)
- US President James Garfield is assassinated (1881)
- The US Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)
- Marconi patents the radio (1897)
- The first Zeppelin flight takes place (1900)
- The Nazi purge known as the Night of the Long Knives ends (1934)
- The last communication from Amelia Earhart is received (1937)
- The first Wal-Mart opens (1962)
- LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act into law (1964)
- North Vietnam completes its takeover of South Vietnam to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976)
- Vincente Fox is elected the first Mexican president from a different party (2000)
Birthdays
- Hermann Hesse, author (1877)
- René Lacoste, tennis player and creator of the polo shirt (1904)
- Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court justice (1908)
- Pierre Cardin, fashion designer (1922)
- Cyril M. Kornbluth, science fiction writer (1923)
- Medgar Evers, civil rights activist (1925)
- Patrice Lumumba, Congolese ruler (1925)
- Imelda Marcos, Phillippine first lady (1929)
- Ahmad Jamal, pianist and composer (1930)
- Polly Holliday, actress (1937)
- Richard Petty, race car driver (1937)
- John Sununu, White House chief of staff (1939)
- Vincente Fox, president of Mexico (1942)
- Ron Silver, actor (1945)
- Larry David, actor, screenwriter, and producer (1947)
- Saul Rubinek, actor (1948)
- Jerry Hall, model and actress (1956)
- Jose Canseco, baseball player (1964)
- Ashley Tisdale, actress and singer (1985)
- Lindsay Lohan, actress (1986)
Deaths
- Nostradamus, astrologer and author (1566)
- Denmark Vesey, slave and rebel leader (1822)
- Robert Peel, creator of the modern police (1850)
- Ernst Röhm, Nazi leader (1934)
- Ernest Hemingway, journalist and author (1961)
- Betty Grable, actress, singer, and model (1973)
- Vladimir Nabokov, author (1977)
- Andrei Gromyko, Soviet foreign affairs minister (1989)
- Lee Remick, actress (1991)
- Fred Gwynne, actor (1993)
- James Stewart, actor (1997)
- Mario Puzo, author (1999)
- Beverly Sills, opera singer (2007)
Holidays and Celebrations
- Flag Day (Curaçao)
- Independence Day (Bahia)
- Palio di Provenzano (Siena)
- Police Day (Azerbaijan)
- World UFO Day
July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years). There are 182 days remaining until the end of the year.
July 2 is the midpoint of the common (not leap) year, because there are 182 days before it and 182 days after it. In common years, July 2 always falls on the same day of the week as New Year’s Day.