August 2 facts for kids

2026 Calendar

August 2 in recent years

August 2 is the 214th day of the year (215th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 151 days remain until the end of the year.

August 2nd is a special day each year, filled with many important events from history, the birthdays of famous people, and moments when well-known figures passed away. Let's explore some of the interesting things that have happened on this day throughout time!

Historical Events
Famous Birthdays
Notable Deaths
Holidays and Observances
See also

Historical Events

Ancient Times (Before 1600)

338 BC – A Macedonian army, led by Philip II, won a big victory against the armies of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea. This win helped Macedonia gain control over Greece and the Aegean Sea area.
216 BC – The Carthaginian army, led by the famous general Hannibal, defeated a much larger Roman army at the Battle of Cannae.
49 BC – Caesar, a famous Roman leader, defeated Pompey's generals, Afranius and Petreius, in Ilerda, Spain.
461 – Majorian was arrested and removed from his position as emperor by the general Ricimer. Majorian was seen as a "puppet emperor," meaning he was controlled by others.
932 – After a two-year siege, the city of Toledo in Spain surrendered to the forces of the Caliph Abd al-Rahman III. This was a major victory in his effort to control the region.
1274 – Edward I of England returned from a long journey called the Ninth Crusade and was crowned King seventeen days later.
1343 – After her husband was executed, Jeanne de Clisson sold her lands and gathered a group of men to attack French ships and ports.
1377 – Russian troops were defeated by forces of the Blue Horde Khan Arapsha in the Battle on Pyana River.
1415 – Thomas Grey was executed for being part of a plan against the king, known as the Southampton Plot.
1492 – Many Jewish people were forced to leave Spain. Sultan Bayezid II of the Ottoman Empire sent his navy to bring them safely to Ottoman lands, especially to cities like Thessaloniki and İzmir.

Modern Times (1601–1900)

1610 – While searching for the Northwest Passage, explorer Henry Hudson sailed into the large body of water now known as Hudson Bay.
1776 – The official signing of the United States Declaration of Independence took place. This document declared the United States as a free and independent nation.
1790 – The first official count of the population, called the United States Census, was done in the United States.
1798 – During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Battle of the Nile ended with a big victory for the British navy.
1830 – Charles X of France gave up his throne, allowing his grandson Henri to become king.
1858 – The Government of India Act 1858 changed how India was ruled. It moved control from a company to the British government, starting the period known as the British Raj.
1869 – Japan's old class system, called the Edo society system, was ended as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. These reforms modernized Japan.
1870 – The Tower Subway, the world's first underground train system, opened in London, England.
1873 – The Clay Street Hill Railroad started running the first cable car in San Francisco. This was the beginning of the city's famous cable car system.
1897 – The Siege of Malakand ended when British forces reached the British soldiers in the Malakand states.

Recent History (1901–Present)

1903 – The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising began, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
1914 – The German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I started at the beginning of World War I.
1916 – During World War I, Austrian sabotage caused the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci to sink in Taranto.
1918 – The first general strike in Canadian history happened in Vancouver, where many workers stopped working to demand better conditions.
1922 – A very strong storm, a typhoon, hit Shantou, China, causing the deaths of more than 50,000 people.
1923 – Vice President Calvin Coolidge became U.S. President after President Warren G. Harding passed away.
1932 – The positron, which is the opposite particle of an electron, was discovered by scientist Carl D. Anderson.
1934 – Adolf Hitler became the Führer (leader) of Germany after President Paul von Hindenburg died.
1939 – Scientists Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard wrote an important letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. They urged him to start the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.
1943 – Jewish prisoners bravely staged a revolt at Treblinka, one of the terrible camps of the Nazis.
1943 – During World War II, the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 was hit by a Japanese destroyer and sank. Lt. John F. Kennedy, who later became a U.S. president, saved almost all of his crew.
1944 – The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was formed, and this day is now celebrated as Day of the Republic in North Macedonia.
1944 – World War II: The largest trade convoy of the world wars safely reached its destination in the Western Approaches.
1945 – World War II: The Potsdam Conference, a meeting of Allied leaders, came to an end.
1947 – A British South American Airways airliner crashed into a mountain during a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Santiago, Chile. The wreckage was not found until 1998.
1968 – An earthquake hit Casiguran, Aurora, Philippines, causing the deaths of more than 270 people and injuring many others.
1973 – A sudden fire killed 50 people at the Summerland amusement center on the Isle of Man.
1982 – The Helsinki Metro, Finland's first rapid transit system, opened to the public.
1985 – Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a plane, crashed at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, killing 137 people.
1989 – Pakistan was allowed back into the Commonwealth of Nations after bringing back democracy for the first time since 1972.
1990 – Iraq invaded Kuwait, which eventually led to the Gulf War.
1999 – The Gaisal train disaster in India caused the deaths of 285 people.
2014 – At least 146 people were killed and many more injured in a factory explosion in Kunshan, China.

Famous Birthdays

Before 1600

1260 – Kyawswa of Pagan, the last ruler of the Pagan Kingdom.
1455 – John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg.
1533 – Theodor Zwinger, a Swiss doctor and scholar.
1549 – Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł, a Polish nobleman.

1601–1900

1612 – Saskia van Uylenburgh, the wife of the famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn.
1627 – Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten, a Dutch painter.
1630 – Estephan El Douaihy, a Maronite patriarch.
1646 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, a French admiral and buccaneer.
1672 – Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, a Swiss paleontologist and scholar.
1674 – Philippe II, Duke of Orléans.
1696 – Mahmud I, an Ottoman sultan.
1703 – Lorenzo Ricci, an Italian religious leader.
1754 – Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French-American architect who designed Washington, D.C..
1788 – Leopold Gmelin, a German chemist.
1820 – John Tyndall, an Irish-English physicist.
1834 – Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty.
1835 – Elisha Gray, an American businessman who helped start Western Electric.
1861 – Prafulla Chandra Ray, an Indian chemist.
1868 – Constantine I of Greece.
1870 – Marianne Weber, a German sociologist and supporter of women's rights.
1876 – Pingali Venkayya, an Indian geologist who designed the Flag of India.
1892 – Jack L. Warner, a Canadian-born American producer who helped create Warner Bros..
1894 – Bertha Lutz, a Brazilian feminist and scientist.

1901–Present

1905 – Myrna Loy, a famous American actress.
1914 – Félix Leclerc, a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet.
1923 – Shimon Peres, a Polish-Israeli lawyer and politician who became the 9th President of Israel.
1924 – James Baldwin, an American novelist and critic.
1924 – Carroll O'Connor, an American actor.
1925 – Jorge Rafael Videla, an Argentinian general and politician.
1932 – Peter O'Toole, a famous British-Irish actor.
1934 – Valery Bykovsky, a Russian general and cosmonaut.
1939 – Wes Craven, an American director and screenwriter known for horror films.
1941 – Jules A. Hoffmann, a French biologist and academic who won a Nobel Prize.
1942 – Isabel Allende, a Chilean-American novelist.
1945 – Joanna Cassidy, an American actress.
1948 – Sam Worthington, an English-Australian actor.
1951 – Andrew Gold, an American singer-songwriter.
1951 – Joe Lynn Turner, an American singer.
1957 – Jacky Rosen, a United States senator.
1959 – Victoria Jackson, an American actress and singer.
1960 – Charli XCX, an English singer-songwriter.
1964 – Mary-Louise Parker, an American actress.
1966 – Tim Wakefield, an American baseball player.
1970 – Kevin Smith, an American actor, director, and screenwriter.
1976 – Sam Worthington, an English-Australian actor and producer.
1977 – Edward Furlong, an American actor.
1995 – Kristaps Porziņģis, a Latvian basketball player.
1996 – Simone Manuel, an American swimmer.
1999 – Mark Lee, a Korean-Canadian singer.
2000 – Mohammed Kudus, a Ghanaian footballer.

Notable Deaths

Before 1600

216 BC – Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, a Roman consul.
216 BC – Lucius Aemilius Paullus, a Roman consul and general.
257 – Pope Stephen I.
640 – Pope Severinus.
686 – Pope John V.
855 – Ahmad ibn Hanbal, an Arab theologian.
924 – Ælfweard of Wessex.
1100 – William II of England.
1222 – Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse.
1332 – King Christopher II of Denmark.
1445 – Oswald von Wolkenstein, an Austrian poet and composer.
1589 – Henry III of France.

1601–1900

1667 – Francesco Borromini, a Swiss architect who designed famous buildings like San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.
1788 – Thomas Gainsborough, a famous English painter.
1799 – Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, a French inventor who helped create the hot air balloon.
1823 – Lazare Carnot, a French mathematician and general.
1859 – Horace Mann, an American educator and politician.
1876 – "Wild Bill" Hickok, a famous American sheriff.

1901–Present

1921 – Enrico Caruso, a famous Italian singer.
1922 – Alexander Graham Bell, a Scottish-Canadian engineer who invented the telephone.
1923 – Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States.
1934 – Paul von Hindenburg, the 2nd president of Germany.
1945 – Pietro Mascagni, an Italian composer.
1955 – Wallace Stevens, an American poet.
1976 – Fritz Lang, an Austrian-American director and producer.
1979 – Thurman Munson, an American baseball player.
1988 – Raymond Carver, an American short story writer and poet.
1997 – William S. Burroughs, an American novelist.
1997 – Fela Kuti, a Nigerian singer-songwriter and activist.
1998 – Shari Lewis, an American television host and puppeteer.
2012 – John Keegan, an English historian.
2016 – Ahmed Zewail, an Egyptian-American chemist and academic who won a Nobel Prize.
2022 – Vin Scully, a famous American sportscaster.
2023 – Nitin Chandrakant Desai, an Indian art director and film producer.

Holidays and Observances

Christian feast day:
- Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church)
- Basil Fool for Christ (Russian Orthodox Church)
- Justin Russolillo
- Eusebius of Vercelli
- Peter Faber
- Peter Julian Eymard
- Plegmund
- Pope Stephen I
- Portiuncola Indulgence ("Pardon of Assisi"), a special day related to St. Francis of Assisi (Catholic Church).
- Samuel David Ferguson (Episcopal Church)
- August 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of Azerbaijani cinema (Azerbaijan)
Our Lady of the Angels Day (Costa Rica)
Paratroopers Day (Russia)
Republic Day (North Macedonia)
Remembrance Day for the Roma people, including:
- Roma Holocaust Memorial Day (Council of Europe, European Parliament)