July 2nd in History

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.