April 2 facts for kids

April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 273 days remain until the end of the year. April 2nd is a special day filled with many interesting events throughout history. From important discoveries and famous musical premieres to big changes in countries and the birth of well-known people, this date has seen a lot happen. It's also a day for important observances around the world, like celebrating children's books and raising awareness for autism. Let's explore some of the exciting things that have happened on April 2nd!

Events

Early History (Before 1600)

• 1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León landed in what is now Florida. He had first seen the land on March 27. He came ashore somewhere between the cities of St. Augustine and the St. Johns River.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1755 – Commodore William James captured the Maratha fort of Suvarnadurg on the west coast of India.
• 1792 – The Coinage Act was passed by Congress. This law created the United States Mint, which makes coins for the country.
• 1800 – The famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven led the first performance of his First Symphony in Vienna.
• 1801 – During the French Revolutionary Wars, a British naval group won a battle against the Dano-Norwegian Navy in the Battle of Copenhagen. This made Denmark leave an important group of countries.
• 1863 – During the American Civil War, a large protest called the Southern bread riots happened in Richmond, Virginia. People were upset about food shortages.
• 1865 – Also during the American Civil War, the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate government had to leave Richmond, Virginia, after losing the Third Battle of Petersburg.

Modern History (1901–present)

• 1902 – The "Electric Theatre," which was the first movie theater in the United States that was open all the time, opened in Los Angeles.
• 1911 – Australia held its very first national count of its population, called a census.
• 1912 – The famous ship RMS Titanic began its first tests at sea.
• 1917 – American entry into World War I: President Wilson asked the U.S. Congress to declare war on Germany.
• 1930 – After the death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie became the emperor of Ethiopia.
• 1954 – A photographer named John L. Gaunt took a famous picture called "Tragedy by the Sea" at Hermosa Beach, California.
• 1956 – Two popular TV shows, As the World Turns and The Edge of Night, started on CBS. They were the first daytime dramas to be 30 minutes long.
• 1964 – The Soviet Union launched a spacecraft called Zond 1.
• 1972 – The famous actor Charlie Chaplin returned to the United States. It was his first visit since the 1950s when he was wrongly thought to be a communist.
• 1973 – The LexisNexis service, which helps people research legal information using computers, was launched.
• 1975 – During the Vietnam War, many people had to leave Quảng Ngãi Province as North Vietnamese troops moved forward.
• 1976 – Prince Norodom Sihanouk stepped down as leader of Cambodia and was placed under house arrest.
• 1979 – An accident at a lab in the Soviet Union released harmful spores, causing many deaths.
• 1980 – United States President Jimmy Carter signed a law about taxes on oil.
• 1982 – The country of Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, starting the Falklands War.
• 1986 – Alabama governor George Wallace announced he would retire from public life. He was known for his past support of racial segregation.
• 1989 – Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev visited Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba, to improve relations between their countries.
• 1991 – Rita Johnston became the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she became Premier of British Columbia.
• 1992 – In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti was found guilty of serious crimes and was later sentenced to life in prison.
• 2002 – Israeli forces surrounded the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where armed Palestinians had gone.
• 2004 – Terrorists tried to bomb a Spanish high-speed train near Madrid, but the attack was stopped.
• 2006 – More than 60 tornadoes hit the United States. Tennessee was hit the hardest, and 29 people died.
• 2015 – Four men stole very valuable items from a safe deposit place in London. It was called the "largest burglary in English legal history."
• 2020 – During the COVID-19 pandemic, the total number of confirmed cases around the world reached one million.

Births

Early History (Before 1600)

• 181 – Emperor Xian of Han, a Chinese emperor.
• 747 – Charlemagne, a powerful Frankish king.
• 1473 – John Corvinus, a Hungarian noble.
• 1545 – Elisabeth of Valois.
• 1565 – Cornelis de Houtman, a Dutch explorer.
• 1586 – Pietro Della Valle, an Italian traveler.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1602 – Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, a Franciscan abbess.
• 1618 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, an Italian mathematician and physicist.
• 1647 – Maria Sibylla Merian, a German-Dutch botanist and illustrator.
• 1653 – Prince George of Denmark.
• 1696 – Francesca Cuzzoni, an Italian opera singer.
• 1719 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, a German poet.
• 1725 – Giacomo Casanova, an Italian explorer and author.
• 1755 – Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a French lawyer and politician.
• 1788 – Francisco Balagtas, a Filipino poet.
• 1788 – Wilhelmine Reichard, a German balloonist.
• 1789 – Lucio Norberto Mansilla, an Argentinian general.
• 1792 – Francisco de Paula Santander, a Colombian general and politician.
• 1798 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, a German poet.
• 1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, a famous Danish writer of fairy tales.
• 1814 – Henry L. Benning, an American general.
• 1814 – Erastus Brigham Bigelow, an American inventor.
• 1827 – William Holman Hunt, an English painter.
• 1835 – Jacob Nash Victor, an American engineer.
• 1838 – Léon Gambetta, a French lawyer and politician.
• 1840 – Émile Zola, a French novelist and journalist.
• 1841 – Clément Ader, a French engineer who designed early aircraft.
• 1842 – Dominic Savio, an Italian Catholic saint.
• 1861 – Iván Persa, a Slovenian priest and author.
• 1862 – Nicholas Murray Butler, an American philosopher and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1869 – Hughie Jennings, an American baseball player.
• 1870 – Edmund Dwyer-Gray, an Irish-Australian politician.
• 1875 – Walter Chrysler, an American businessman who founded the Chrysler car company.
• 1875 – William Donne, an English cricketer.
• 1884 – J. C. Squire, an English poet and author.
• 1888 – Neville Cardus, an English writer about cricket and music.
• 1891 – Jack Buchanan, a Scottish entertainer.
• 1891 – Max Ernst, a German painter and sculptor.
• 1891 – Tristão de Bragança Cunha, an Indian activist.
• 1896 – Johnny Golden, an American golfer.
• 1898 – Harindranath Chattopadhyay, an Indian poet and actor.
• 1898 – Chiungtze C. Tsen, a Chinese mathematician.
• 1900 – Roberto Arlt, an Argentinian journalist and author.
• 1900 – Anis Fuleihan, a Cypriot-American composer.
• 1900 – Alfred Strange, an English footballer.

Modern Era (1901–present)

• 1902 – Jan Tschichold, a German-Swiss graphic designer.
• 1902 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a spiritual leader.
• 1903 – Lionel Chevrier, a Canadian lawyer and politician.
• 1906 – Alphonse-Marie Parent, a Canadian priest and educator.
• 1907 – Harald Andersson, an American-Swedish discus thrower.
• 1907 – Luke Appling, an American baseball player.
• 1908 – Buddy Ebsen, an American actor and dancer.
• 1910 – Paul Triquet, a Canadian general and Victoria Cross recipient.
• 1910 – Chico Xavier, a Brazilian spiritual medium.
• 1914 – Alec Guinness, a famous English actor.
• 1919 – Delfo Cabrera, an Argentinian runner.
• 1920 – Gerald Bouey, a Canadian civil servant.
• 1920 – Jack Stokes, an English animator.
• 1920 – Jack Webb, an American actor and director.
• 1922 – John C. Whitehead, an American banker and politician.
• 1923 – Gloria Henry, an actress.
• 1923 – Johnny Paton, a Scottish footballer.
• 1923 – G. Spencer-Brown, an English mathematician.
• 1924 – Bobby Ávila, a Mexican baseball player.
• 1925 – George MacDonald Fraser, a Scottish author.
• 1925 – Hans Rosenthal, a German radio and television host.
• 1926 – Jack Brabham, an Australian race car driver.
• 1926 – Rudra Rajasingham, a Sri Lankan police officer.
• 1927 – Carmen Basilio, an American boxer.
• 1927 – Howard Callaway, an American politician.
• 1927 – Rita Gam, an American actress.
• 1927 – Billy Pierce, an American baseball player.
• 1927 – Kenneth Tynan, an English author and critic.
• 1928 – Joseph Bernardin, an American cardinal.
• 1928 – Serge Gainsbourg, a French singer-songwriter.
• 1928 – Roy Masters, an English-American radio host.
• 1928 – David Robinson, a Northern Irish academic.
• 1929 – Ed Dorn, an American poet.
• 1930 – Roddy Maude-Roxby, an English actor.
• 1931 – Keith Hitchins, an American historian.
• 1931 – Vladimir Kuznetsov, a Russian javelin thrower.
• 1932 – Edward Egan, an American cardinal.
• 1933 – György Konrád, a Hungarian author.
• 1934 – Paul Cohen, an American mathematician.
• 1934 – Brian Glover, an English wrestler and actor.
• 1934 – Carl Kasell, an American journalist.
• 1934 – Richard Portman, an American sound engineer.
• 1934 – Dovid Shmidel, an Israeli rabbi.
• 1936 – Shaul Ladany, an Israeli race walker and engineer.
• 1937 – Dick Radatz, an American baseball player.
• 1938 – John Larsson, a leader of The Salvation Army.
• 1938 – Booker Little, an American trumpet player.
• 1938 – Al Weis, an American baseball player.
• 1939 – Marvin Gaye, a famous American singer-songwriter.
• 1939 – Anthony Lake, an American diplomat.
• 1939 – Lise Thibault, a Canadian journalist and politician.
• 1940 – Donald Jackson, a Canadian figure skater.
• 1940 – Mike Hailwood, an English motorcycle racer.
• 1940 – Penelope Keith, an English actress.
• 1941 – Dr. Demento, an American radio host.
• 1941 – Sonny Throckmorton, an American country singer-songwriter.
• 1942 – Leon Russell, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1942 – Roshan Seth, an Indian-English actor.
• 1943 – Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce, an English admiral.
• 1943 – Caterina Bueno, an Italian singer.
• 1943 – Larry Coryell, an American jazz guitarist.
• 1943 – Antonio Sabàto, Sr., an Italian actor.
• 1944 – Bill Malinchak, an American football player.
• 1945 – Jürgen Drews, a German singer-songwriter.
• 1945 – Guy Fréquelin, a French race car driver.
• 1945 – Linda Hunt, an American actress.
• 1945 – Reggie Smith, an American baseball player.
• 1945 – Don Sutton, an American baseball player.
• 1945 – Anne Waldman, an American poet.
• 1946 – Richard Collinge, a New Zealand cricketer.
• 1946 – David Heyes, an English politician.
• 1946 – Sue Townsend, an English author.
• 1946 – Kurt Winter, a Canadian guitarist.
• 1947 – Paquita la del Barrio, a Mexican singer-songwriter.
• 1947 – Tua Forsström, a Finnish writer.
• 1947 – Emmylou Harris, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1947 – Camille Paglia, an American author and critic.
• 1948 – Roald Als, a Danish author and illustrator.
• 1948 – Dimitris Mitropanos, a Greek singer.
• 1948 – Daniel Okrent, an American journalist.
• 1948 – Joan D. Vinge, an American author.
• 1949 – Paul Gambaccini, an American-English radio host.
• 1949 – Bernd Müller, a German footballer.
• 1949 – Pamela Reed, an American actress.
• 1949 – David Robinson, an American drummer.
• 1950 – Lynn Westmoreland, an American politician.
• 1951 – Ayako Okamoto, a Japanese golfer.
• 1952 – Lennart Fagerlund, a Swedish cyclist.
• 1952 – Will Hoy, an English race car driver.
• 1952 – Leon Wilkeson, an American bass player.
• 1953 – Jim Allister, a Northern Irish politician.
• 1953 – Rosemary Bryant Mariner, a U.S. Navy aviator.
• 1953 – Malika Oufkir, a Moroccan writer.
• 1953 – Debralee Scott, an American actress.
• 1953 – James Vance, an American author.
• 1954 – Gregory Abbott, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1954 – Donald Petrie, an American actor and director.
• 1955 – Michael Stone, a Northern Irish paramilitary.
• 1957 – Caroline Dean, an English biologist.
• 1957 – Hank Steinbrenner, an American businessman.
• 1958 – Stefano Bettarello, an Italian rugby player.
• 1958 – Larry Drew, an American basketball player and coach.
• 1959 – Gelindo Bordin, an Italian runner.
• 1959 – David Frankel, an American director.
• 1959 – Juha Kankkunen, a Finnish race car driver.
• 1959 – Yves Lavandier, a French director.
• 1959 – Badou Ezzaki, a Moroccan footballer.
• 1960 – Linford Christie, a Jamaican-English sprinter.
• 1960 – Brad Jones, an Australian race car driver.
• 1960 – Pascale Nadeau, a Canadian journalist.
• 1961 – Buddy Jewell, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1961 – Christopher Meloni, an American actor.
• 1961 – Keren Woodward, an English singer-songwriter.
• 1962 – Pierre Carles, a French director.
• 1962 – Billy Dean, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1962 – Clark Gregg, an American actor.
• 1963 – Karl Beattie, an English director.
• 1963 – Mike Gascoyne, an English engineer.
• 1964 – Pete Incaviglia, an American baseball player.
• 1964 – Jonathon Sharkey, an American wrestler.
• 1965 – Rodney King, an American known for a police brutality incident.
• 1966 – Bill Romanowski, an American football player.
• 1966 – Teddy Sheringham, an English footballer.
• 1967 – Greg Camp, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1967 – Phil Demmel, an American guitarist.
• 1969 – Ajay Devgn, an Indian actor and director.
• 1971 – Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto, a Brazilian footballer.
• 1971 – Jason Lewry, an English cricketer.
• 1971 – Todd Woodbridge, an Australian tennis player.
• 1972 – Eyal Berkovic, an Israeli footballer.
• 1972 – Remo D'Souza, an Indian choreographer.
• 1972 – Calvin Davis, an American sprinter.
• 1972 – Zane Lamprey, an American actor and director.
• 1973 – Dmitry Lipartov, a Russian footballer.
• 1973 – Roselyn Sánchez, a Puerto Rican-American actress.
• 1973 – Aleksejs Semjonovs, a Latvian footballer.
• 1974 – Tayfun Korkut, a Turkish football manager.
• 1975 – Nate Huffman, an American basketball player.
• 1975 – Randy Livingston, an American basketball player.
• 1975 – Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski, a German rower.
• 1975 – Pattie Mallette, a Canadian author.
• 1975 – Pedro Pascal, a Chilean and American actor.
• 1976 – Andreas Anastasopoulos, a Greek shot putter.
• 1976 – Rory Sabbatini, a South African golfer.
• 1977 – Per Elofsson, a Swedish skier.
• 1977 – Michael Fassbender, a German-Irish actor.
• 1977 – Hanno Pevkur, an Estonian politician.
• 1980 – Avi Benedi, an Israeli singer.
• 1980 – Adam Fleming, a Scottish journalist.
• 1980 – Gavin Heffernan, a Canadian director.
• 1980 – Ricky Hendrick, an American race car driver.
• 1980 – Wairangi Koopu, a New Zealand rugby league player.
• 1980 – Carlos Salcido, a Mexican footballer.
• 1981 – Michael Clarke, an Australian cricketer.
• 1981 – Kapil Sharma, an Indian comedian and actor.
• 1982 – Marco Amelia, an Italian footballer.
• 1982 – David Ferrer, a Spanish tennis player.
• 1983 – Maksym Mazuryk, a Ukrainian pole vaulter.
• 1984 – Engin Atsür, a Turkish basketball player.
• 1984 – Nóra Barta, a Hungarian diver.
• 1984 – Jérémy Morel, a French footballer.
• 1985 – Thom Evans, a Zimbabwean-Scottish rugby player.
• 1985 – Stéphane Lambiel, a Swiss figure skater.
• 1986 – Ibrahim Afellay, a Dutch footballer.
• 1986 – Andris Biedriņš, a Latvian basketball player.
• 1987 – Pablo Aguilar, a Paraguayan footballer.
• 1988 – Jesse Plemons, an American actor.
• 1990 – Yevgeniya Kanayeva, a Russian gymnast.
• 1990 – Miralem Pjanić, a Bosnian footballer.
• 1990 – Amr El Solia, an Egyptian footballer.
• 1991 – Quavo, an American rapper.
• 1993 – Keshorn Walcott, a Trinidadian javelin thrower.
• 1994 – Pascal Siakam, a Cameroonian basketball player.
• 1997 – Dillon Bassett, an American race car driver.
• 1997 – Abdelhak Nouri, a Dutch footballer.
• 1997 – Austin Riley, an American baseball player.
• 2004 – Diana Shnaider, a Russian tennis player.
• 2007 – Brenda Fruhvirtová, a Czech tennis player.

Deaths

Early History (Before 1600)

• 670 – Hasan ibn Ali, an important figure in Islam.
• 870 – Æbbe the Younger, a Frankish abbess.
• 872 – Muflih al-Turki, a Turkish general.
• 968 – Yuan Dezhao, a Chinese chancellor.
• 991 – Bardas Skleros, a Byzantine general.
• 1118 – Baldwin I, king of Jerusalem.
• 1244 – Henrik Harpestræng, a Danish author.
• 1272 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, an English noble.
• 1335 – Henry of Bohemia.
• 1412 – Ruy González de Clavijo, a Spanish explorer.
• 1416 – Ferdinand I, king of Aragon.
• 1502 – Arthur, prince of Wales.
• 1507 – Francis of Paola, an Italian friar and saint.
• 1511 – Bernard VII, Lord of Lippe, a German nobleman.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1640 – Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, a Polish author.
• 1657 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1657 – Jean-Jacques Olier, a French priest.
• 1672 – Pedro Calungsod, a Filipino missionary and saint.
• 1672 – Diego Luis de San Vitores, a Spanish Jesuit missionary.
• 1720 – Joseph Dudley, an English politician and Governor of Massachusetts Bay.
• 1742 – James Douglas, a Scottish physician.
• 1747 – Johann Jacob Dillenius, a German-English botanist.
• 1754 – Thomas Carte, an English historian.
• 1787 – Thomas Gage, an English general and Governor of Massachusetts Bay.
• 1791 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, a French politician.
• 1801 – Thomas Dadford, Jr., an English engineer.
• 1803 – Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, a Scottish judge.
• 1817 – Johann Heinrich Jung, a German author.
• 1827 – Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, a German physician.
• 1845 – Philip Charles Durham, a Scottish admiral.
• 1865 – A. P. Hill, an American general.
• 1872 – Samuel Morse, an American painter who invented the Morse code.
• 1891 – Albert Pike, an American lawyer and general.
• 1891 – Ahmed Vefik Pasha, a Greek playwright and politician.
• 1894 – Achille Vianelli, an Italian painter.
• 1896 – Theodore Robinson, an American painter.

Modern Era (1901–present)

• 1914 – Paul Heyse, a German author and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1917 – Bryn Lewis, a Welsh rugby player.
• 1923 – Topal Osman, a Turkish colonel.
• 1928 – Theodore William Richards, an American chemist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1930 – Zewditu I of Ethiopia.
• 1933 – Ranjitsinhji, an Indian cricketer.
• 1936 – Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne, a French general.
• 1942 – Édouard Estaunié, a French novelist.
• 1948 – Sabahattin Ali, a Turkish journalist and author.
• 1953 – Hugo Sperrle, a German field marshal.
• 1954 – Hoyt Vandenberg, a US Air Force general.
• 1966 – C. S. Forester, an English novelist.
• 1972 – Franz Halder, a German general.
• 1972 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu, a Japanese martial artist.
• 1974 – Georges Pompidou, a French politician and President of France.
• 1977 – Walter Wolf, a German academic.
• 1987 – Buddy Rich, an American drummer.
• 1989 – Manolis Angelopoulos, a Greek singer.
• 1992 – Juanito, a Spanish footballer.
• 1992 – Jan van Aartsen, a Dutch politician.
• 1994 – Betty Furness, an American actress and consumer advocate.
• 1994 – Marc Fitch, a British historian.
• 1995 – Hannes Alfvén, a Swedish physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1997 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, a Japanese director and producer.
• 1998 – Rob Pilatus, an American-German singer.
• 2001 – Charles Daudelin, a Canadian sculptor.
• 2002 – Levi Celerio, a Filipino composer.
• 2002 – John R. Pierce, an American engineer.
• 2003 – Edwin Starr, an American singer-songwriter.
• 2004 – John Argyris, a Greek computer scientist.
• 2005 – Lillian O'Donnell, an American crime novelist.
• 2005 – Pope John Paul II.
• 2006 – Lloyd Searwar, a Guyanese diplomat.
• 2007 – Henry L. Giclas, an American astronomer.
• 2008 – Yakup Satar, a Turkish World War I veteran.
• 2009 – Albert Sanschagrin, a Canadian bishop.
• 2009 – Bud Shank, an American saxophonist.
• 2010 – Chris Kanyon, an American wrestler.
• 2011 – John C. Haas, an American businessman.
• 2012 – Jesús Aguilarte, a Venezuelan politician.
• 2012 – Elizabeth Catlett, an American-Mexican sculptor.
• 2012 – Mauricio Lasansky, an American graphic designer.
• 2013 – Fred, a French author and illustrator.
• 2013 – Jesús Franco, a Spanish director.
• 2013 – Milo O'Shea, an Irish-American actor.
• 2014 – Urs Widmer, a Swiss author.
• 2015 – Manoel de Oliveira, a Portuguese director.
• 2015 – Robert H. Schuller, an American pastor.
• 2015 – Steve Stevaert, a Belgian businessman and politician.
• 2016 – Gallieno Ferri, an Italian comic book artist.
• 2016 – Robert Abajyan, an Armenian sergeant.
• 2017 – Alma Delia Fuentes, a Mexican actress.
• 2021 – Simon Bainbridge, a British composer.
• 2022 – Estelle Harris, an American actress and comedian.

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Abundius of Como
  • Amphianus of Lycia
  • Æbbe the Younger
  • Bronach of Glen-Seichis (Irish martyrology)
  • Francis of Paola
  • Francisco Coll Guitart
  • Henry Budd (Anglican Church of Canada)
  • Nicetius of Lyon
  • Pedro Calungsod
  • Theodosia of Tyre
  • Urban of Langres
  • April 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• International Children's Book Day (International)
• Thai Heritage Conservation Day (Thailand)
• Unity of Peoples of Russia and Belarus Day (Belarus)
• World Autism Awareness Day (International)
• Malvinas Day (Argentina)

See also

In Spanish: 2 de abril para niños