July 2nd in History

Michael Dobson | July 2

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.