July 2 facts for kids

2025 Calendar

July 2 in recent years

July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 182 days remain until the end of the year. This page tells you about important events, famous birthdays, and notable deaths that happened on July 2nd throughout history. Get ready to discover some cool facts about this day!

Historical Events on July 2
Famous Birthdays on July 2
Notable Deaths on July 2
Holidays and Observances
See also

Historical Events on July 2

Ancient Times (Before 1600)

437 – Valentinian III becomes the new Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. His mother, Galla Placidia, was no longer the official ruler, but she still had a lot of influence in Rome.
626 – Li Shimin, who would later become Emperor Taizong of Tang, defeats his brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in a big event called the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
866 – In the Battle of Brissarthe, the Franks, led by Robert the Strong, are beaten by a combined army of Breton and Viking warriors.
936 – King Henry the Fowler passes away in his royal palace. His son, Otto I, takes over as the ruler of East Francia.
963 – The Byzantine army declares Nikephoros II Phokas as the new Emperor of the Romans near Cappadocian Caesarea.
1298 – The Battle of Göllheim takes place between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg.
1494 – Spain officially agrees to the Treaty of Tordesillas. This treaty divided newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal.
1504 – Bogdan III the One-Eyed becomes the leader, or Voivode, of Moldavia.
1555 – Ottoman Admiral Turgut Reis attacks and sacks the Italian city of Paola.
1561 – Menas, the emperor of Ethiopia, successfully stops a rebellion in Emfraz.
1582 – In the Battle of Yamazaki, Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide.

Modern History (1601–1900)

1613 – The first English group from Virginia goes on an expedition against Acadia, led by Samuel Argall.
1644 – During the English Civil War, the important Battle of Marston Moor takes place.
1645 – The Battle of Alford happens as part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
1698 – Thomas Savery gets a patent for the very first steam engine. This was a big step in technology!
1723 – Johann Sebastian Bach's famous music piece, Magnificat, is performed for the first time.
1776 – The American Revolution is in full swing! The Continental Congress votes to break away from Kingdom of Great Britain. The official Declaration of Independence is adopted two days later.
1816 – The French ship French frigate Méduse hits a sandbank. Many people have to escape on a makeshift raft. This event was later painted by Théodore Géricault in his famous work The Raft of the Medusa.
1823 – It's Bahia Independence Day in Brazil! This marks the end of Portuguese rule in the province of Bahia.
1839 – Off the coast of Cuba, 53 kidnapped Africans, led by Joseph Cinqué, take control of the slave ship Amistad.
1840 – A strong earthquake (magnitude 7.4) hits what is now Turkey and Armenia. Along with a volcanic eruption, it causes many deaths.
1853 – The Russian Army crosses into the Danubian Principalities, which helps start the Crimean War.
1864 – Dimitri Atanasescu opens the first Romanian school in the Balkans for the Aromanians in Trnovo.
1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after taking it from the Papal States, uniting Italy.
1881 – U.S. President James A. Garfield is shot and badly wounded by Charles J. Guiteau. He later dies from his injuries.
1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act. This law was made to stop big companies from becoming monopolies and hurting competition.
1897 – British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi gets a patent in London for his invention: the radio.
1900 – The first airship designed by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany takes its first flight over Lake Constance.
1900 – Jean Sibelius' famous music piece Finlandia is performed for the first time in Helsinki.

Recent History (1901–present)

1921 – World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs a resolution that officially ends the war between the United States and Germany.
1934 – The "Night of the Long Knives" ends after three days of violence in Germany.
1937 – Famous pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean. They were trying to fly around the world.
1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested in Calcutta.
1940 – The ship SS Arandora Star is sunk by a German submarine in the North Atlantic.
1962 – The very first Walmart store opens its doors in Rogers, Arkansas.
1964 – Civil rights movement: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This important law made segregation in public places illegal.
1966 – France conducts its first nuclear weapon test in the Pacific Ocean.
1976 – North Vietnam takes over South Vietnam, creating the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
1990 – In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, many Muslim pilgrims are suffocated and trampled in a tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca.
1994 – USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, sadly killing many people.
1997 – The Bank of Thailand lets its currency, the baht, float freely. This action helps trigger the Asian financial crisis.
2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party in over 70 years.
2001 – The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart is put into a person for the first time.
2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world without stopping in a balloon.
2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts take place around the world. Over 1,000 musicians perform to raise awareness for poverty.
2008 – Íngrid Betancourt, a Colombian politician, is freed after being held captive for six and a half years.
2010 – A tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people.
2013 – The International Astronomical Union officially names Pluto's fourth and fifth moons: Kerberos and Styx.
2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits Aceh, Indonesia, causing deaths and injuries.

Famous Birthdays on July 2

Born Before 1600

419 – Valentinian III, a Roman emperor. (d. 455)
1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily. (d. 1401)
1478 – Louis V, Elector Palatine. (d. 1544)
1486 – Jacopo Sansovino, an Italian sculptor and architect. (d. 1570)
1489 – Thomas Cranmer, an English archbishop and theologian. (d. 1556)
1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England. (d. 1495)
1500 – Federico Cesi (cardinal), an Italian cardinal. (d. 1565)
1575 – Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby, an English noblewoman. (d. 1627)
1597 – Theodoor Rombouts, a Flemish painter. (d. 1637)

Born 1601–1900

1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, an English politician. (d. 1730)
1648 – Arp Schnitger, a German organ builder. (d. 1719)
1665 – Samuel Penhallow, an English-American soldier and historian. (d. 1726)
1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, an Italian cardinal and art collector. (d. 1740)
1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, a German composer. (d. 1787)
1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, a German poet and author. (d. 1803)
1797 – Francisco Javier Echeverría, a Mexican businessman and politician who was President of Mexico. (d. 1852)
1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, a French pianist and composer. (d. 1900)
1820 – George Law Curry, an American publisher and politician. (d. 1878)
1820 – Juan N. Méndez, a Mexican general and interim president. (d. 1894)
1821 – Charles Tupper, a Canadian physician and politician who became Prime Minister. (d. 1915)
1825 – Émile Ollivier, a French statesman. (d. 1913)
1834 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, a Dutch economist and historian. (d. 1917)
1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. (d. 1919)
1862 – William Henry Bragg, an English physicist and Nobel Prize winner. (d. 1942)
1865 – Lily Braun, a German author. (d. 1916)
1869 – Liane de Pougy, a French-Swiss dancer and author. (d. 1950)
1876 – Harriet Brooks, a Canadian physicist. (d. 1933)
1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, a German businessman and Chancellor of Germany. (d. 1933)
1877 – Hermann Hesse, a German-born Swiss poet and Nobel Prize winner. (d. 1962)
1877 – Rinaldo Cuneo, an American artist known as "the painter of San Francisco." (d. 1939)
1881 – Royal Hurlburt Weller, an American lawyer and politician. (d. 1929)
1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, a German neurologist. (d. 1931)
1893 – Ralph Hancock, a Welsh gardener and author. (d. 1950)
1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, an English actor and director. (d. 1971)
1900 – Sophie Harris, an English costume and scenic designer. (d. 1966)

Born 1901–Present

1902 – K. Kanapathypillai, a Sri Lankan author. (d. 1968)
1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, an English politician who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (d. 1995)
1903 – Olav V of Norway, King of Norway. (d. 1991)
1904 – René Lacoste, a French tennis player who created the polo shirt. (d. 1996)
1906 – Hans Bethe, a German-American physicist and Nobel Prize winner. (d. 2005)
1906 – Károly Kárpáti, a Hungarian wrestler. (d. 1996)
1906 – Séra Martin, a French middle-distance runner. (d. 1993)
1908 – Thurgood Marshall, an American lawyer and civil rights activist who became a Supreme Court Justice. (d. 1993)
1911 – Reg Parnell, an English race car driver. (d. 1964)
1913 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, an English historian. (d. 1999)
1914 – Frederick Fennell, an American conductor. (d. 2004)
1914 – Ethelreda Leopold, an American actress. (d. 1988)
1914 – Mário Schenberg, a Brazilian physicist. (d. 1990)
1914 – Erich Topp, a German admiral. (d. 2005)
1915 – Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, a British peer and soldier. (d. 2014)
1916 – Ken Curtis, an American actor and singer. (d. 1991)
1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, a German colonel and pilot. (d. 1982)
1916 – Reino Kangasmäki, a Finnish wrestler. (d. 2010)
1916 – Zélia Gattai, a Brazilian author. (d. 2008)
1917 – Leonard J. Arrington, an American author and academic. (d. 1999)
1918 – Athos Bulcão, a Brazilian painter and sculptor. (d. 2008)
1918 – Indumati Bhattacharya, an Indian politician. (d. 1990)
1919 – Jean Craighead George, an American author. (d. 2012)
1920 – John Kneubuhl, a Samoan-American historian and screenwriter. (d. 1992)
1922 – Pierre Cardin, an Italian-French fashion designer. (d. 2020)
1922 – Paula Valenska, a Czech actress. (d. 1994)
1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, an American author. (d. 1958)
1923 – Wisława Szymborska, a Polish poet and Nobel Prize winner. (d. 2012)
1925 – Medgar Evers, an American civil rights activist. (d. 1963)
1925 – Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (d. 1961)
1925 – Marvin Rainwater, an American singer-songwriter. (d. 2013)
1926 – Octavian Paler, a Romanian journalist and politician. (d. 2007)
1927 – Lee Allen, an American saxophone player. (d. 1994)
1927 – James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, a Scottish lawyer and politician.
1927 – Brock Peters, an American actor. (d. 2005)
1929 – Imelda Marcos, a Filipino politician and former First Lady.
1930 – Ahmad Jamal, an American jazz musician. (d. 2023)
1930 – Carlos Menem, an Argentinian lawyer and President of Argentina. (d. 2021)
1931 – Mohammad Yazdi, an Iranian cleric. (d. 2020)
1932 – Dave Thomas, an American businessman who founded Wendy's. (d. 2002)
1933 – Peter Desbarats, a Canadian journalist and author. (d. 2014)
1933 – Kenny Wharram, a Canadian ice hockey player. (d. 2017)
1934 – Tom Springfield, an English musician. (d. 2022)
1935 – Gilbert Kalish, an American pianist.
1936 – Omar Suleiman, an Egyptian general and politician. (d. 2012)
1937 – Polly Holliday, an American actress.
1937 – Richard Petty, an American race car driver.
1938 – David Owen, an English physician and politician.
1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis, a Greek poet and politician. (d. 1976)
1939 – John H. Sununu, an American engineer and politician.
1939 – Paul Williams, an American singer. (d. 1973)
1940 – Kenneth Clarke, an English politician.
1940 – Georgi Ivanov, a Bulgarian cosmonaut.
1941 – William Guest, an American singer. (d. 2015)
1941 – Wendell Mottley, a Trinidadian sprinter and economist.
1942 – John Eekelaar, a South African-English lawyer.
1942 – Vicente Fox, a Mexican businessman and President of Mexico.
1943 – Ivi Eenmaa, an Estonian politician.
1943 – Larry Lake, an American-Canadian trumpet player. (d. 2013)
1946 – Richard Axel, an American neuroscientist and Nobel Prize winner.
1946 – Ron Silver, an American actor. (d. 2009)
1947 – Larry David, an American actor, comedian, and producer.
1947 – Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, an English politician.
1948 – Mutula Kilonzo, a Kenyan lawyer and politician. (d. 2013)
1949 – Greg Brown, an American musician.
1949 – Robert Paquette, a Canadian singer-songwriter.
1950 – Lynne Brindley, an English librarian.
1950 – Jon Trickett, an English politician.
1952 – Sylvia Rivera, an American transgender rights activist. (d. 2002)
1952 – Anatoliy Solomin, a Ukrainian race walker.
1954 – Chris Huhne, an English journalist and politician.
1954 – Wendy Schaal, an American actress.
1955 – Kim Carr, an Australian educator and politician.
1956 – Jerry Hall, an American model and actress.
1957 – Bret Hart, a Canadian wrestler.
1957 – Jüri Raidla, an Estonian lawyer and politician.
1957 – Purvis Short, an American basketball player.
1958 – Pavan Malhotra, an Indian actor.
1960 – Maria Lourdes Sereno, a Filipino lawyer and Chief Justice.
1961 – Clark Kellogg, an American basketball player.
1962 – Neil Williams, an English cricketer. (d. 2006)
1964 – Jose Canseco, a Cuban-American baseball player.
1964 – Ozzie Canseco, a Cuban-American baseball player.
1964 – Joe Magrane, an American baseball player.
1964 – Alan Tait, an English-Scottish rugby player.
1965 – Norbert Röttgen, a German lawyer and politician.
1969 – Tim Rodber, an English rugby player.
1970 – Derrick Adkins, an American hurdler.
1970 – Steve Morrow, a Northern Irish footballer.
1971 – Troy Brown, an American football player.
1971 – Bryan Redpath, a Scottish rugby player.
1972 – Darren Shan, an Irish author.
1974 – Sean Casey, an American baseball player.
1975 – Éric Dazé, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1975 – Kristen Michal, an Estonian lawyer and politician.
1975 – Erik Ohlsson, a Swedish singer and guitarist.
1975 – Elizabeth Reaser, an American actress.
1975 – Stefan Terblanche, a South African rugby player.
1976 – Krisztián Lisztes, a Hungarian footballer.
1976 – Tomáš Vokoun, a Czech-American ice hockey player.
1976 – Ľudovít Ódor, Prime Minister of Slovakia.
1977 – Deniz Barış, a Turkish footballer.
1978 – Jüri Ratas, an Estonian politician.
1979 – Walter Davis, an American triple jumper.
1979 – Sam Hornish Jr., an American race car driver.
1979 – Joe Thornton, a Canadian ice hockey player.
1980 – Nyjer Morgan, an American baseball player.
1981 – Nathan Ellington, an English footballer.
1981 – Carlos Rogers, an American football player.
1983 – Michelle Branch, an American singer-songwriter.
1983 – Kyle Hogg, an English cricketer.
1984 – Thomas Kortegaard, a Danish footballer.
1984 – Johnny Weir, an American figure skater.
1985 – Rhett Bomar, an American football player.
1985 – Chad Henne, an American football player.
1985 – Ashley Tisdale, an American actress and singer.
1986 – Brett Cecil, an American baseball player.
1986 – Lindsay Lohan, an American actress and singer.
1987 – Esteban Granero, a Spanish footballer.
1988 – Lee Chung-yong, a South Korean footballer.
1989 – Nadezhda Grishaeva, a Russian basketball player.
1989 – Alex Morgan, an American soccer player.
1990 – Kayla Harrison, an American judoka.
1990 – Merritt Mathias, an American soccer player.
1990 – Morag McLellan, a Scottish field hockey player.
1990 – Margot Robbie, an Australian actress and producer.
1990 – Danny Rose, an English footballer.
1990 – Bill Tupou, a New Zealand rugby league player.
1992 – Madison Chock, an American ice dancer.
1993 – Vince Staples, an American rapper and actor.
1993 – Saweetie, an American rapper.
1994 – Henrik Kristoffersen, a Norwegian skier.
1995 – Ryan Murphy, an American swimmer.
1996 – Julia Grabher, an Austrian tennis player.

Notable Deaths on July 2

Died Before 1600

626 – Li Jiancheng, a Chinese prince. (b. 589)
626 – Li Yuanji, a Chinese prince. (b. 603)
649 – Li Jing, a Chinese general. (b. 571)
862 – Swithun, an English bishop and saint. (b. 789)
866 – Robert the Strong, a Frankish nobleman.
936 – Henry the Fowler, a German king. (b. 876)
1298 – Adolf, King of the Romans. (b. 1220)
1504 – Stephen III of Moldavia. (b. 1434)
1566 – Nostradamus, a French astrologer and author. (b. 1503)
1578 – Thomas Doughty, an English explorer.
1582 – Akechi Mitsuhide, a Japanese samurai. (b. 1528)
1591 – Vincenzo Galilei, an Italian lute player and composer. (b. 1520)

Died 1601–1900

1619 – Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg. (b. 1547)
1621 – Thomas Harriot, an English astronomer and mathematician. (b. 1560)
1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, an Italian-French general. (b. 1611)
1674 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg. (b. 1614)
1743 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, an English politician and Prime Minister. (b. 1673)
1746 – Thomas Baker, an English author. (b. 1656)
1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Swiss philosopher and composer. (b. 1712)
1833 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, an Argentinian lawyer and politician. (b. 1757)
1843 – Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician. (b. 1755)
1850 – Robert Peel, an English politician and Prime Minister. (b. 1788)
1857 – Carlo Pisacane, an Italian soldier and philosopher. (b. 1818)

Died 1901–Present

1903 – Ed Delahanty, an American baseball player. (b. 1867)
1912 – Tom Richardson, an English cricketer. (b. 1870)
1914 – Joseph Chamberlain, an English businessman and politician. (b. 1836)
1915 – Porfirio Díaz, a Mexican general and President of Mexico. (b. 1830)
1920 – William Louis Marshall, an American general and engineer. (b. 1846)
1926 – Émile Coué, a French psychologist. (b. 1857)
1929 – Gladys Brockwell, an American actress. (b. 1894)
1932 – Manuel II of Portugal, the last King of Portugal. (b. 1889)
1950 – Thomas William Burgess, an English swimmer. (b. 1872)
1955 – Edward Lawson, an English soldier and Victoria Cross recipient. (b. 1873)
1961 – Ernest Hemingway, a famous American novelist and Nobel Prize winner. (b. 1899)
1963 – Alicia Patterson, an American publisher who co-founded Newsday. (b. 1906)
1964 – Fireball Roberts, an American race car driver. (b. 1929)
1966 – Jan Brzechwa, a Polish poet and author. (b. 1900)
1970 – Jessie Street, an Australian suffragette and feminist. (b. 1889)
1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith, an American religious leader. (b. 1876)
1973 – Betty Grable, an American actress and singer. (b. 1916)
1973 – George McBride, an American baseball player. (b. 1880)
1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, a German field marshal. (b. 1892)
1975 – James Robertson Justice, an English actor. (b. 1907)
1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, a Russian-born novelist. (b. 1899)
1978 – Aris Alexandrou, a Greek author and poet. (b. 1922)
1986 – Peanuts Lowrey, an American baseball player. (b. 1917)
1988 – Vibert Douglas, a Canadian astronomer. (b. 1894)
1989 – Andrei Gromyko, a Soviet politician. (b. 1909)
1990 – Snooky Lanson, an American singer. (b. 1914)
1991 – Lee Remick, an American actress. (b. 1935)
1993 – Fred Gwynne, an American actor. (b. 1926)
1994 – Andrés Escobar, a Colombian footballer. (b. 1967)
1995 – Lloyd MacPhail, a Canadian businessman and politician. (b. 1920)
1997 – James Stewart, a famous American actor. (b. 1908)
1999 – Mario Puzo, an American author and screenwriter. (b. 1920)
2000 – Joey Dunlop, a Northern Irish motorcycle racer. (b. 1952)
2002 – Ray Brown, an American bassist. (b. 1926)
2003 – Briggs Cunningham, an American race car driver. (b. 1907)
2004 – Mochtar Lubis, an Indonesian journalist and author. (b. 1922)
2005 – Ernest Lehman, an American director and producer. (b. 1915)
2005 – Norm Prescott, an American actor and producer. (b. 1927)
2006 – Jan Murray, an American comedian and actor. (b. 1916)
2007 – Beverly Sills, an American opera singer. (b. 1929)
2008 – Natasha Shneider, a Russian-American singer and actress. (b. 1956)
2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs, an English actress. (b. 1929)
2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, an English author. (b. 1932)
2011 – Itamar Franco, a Brazilian engineer and President of Brazil. (b. 1930)
2012 – Maurice Chevit, a French actor. (b. 1923)
2012 – Julian Goodman, an American journalist. (b. 1922)
2012 – Angelo Mangiarotti, an Italian architect. (b. 1921)
2012 – Betty Meggers, an American archaeologist. (b. 1921)
2012 – Ed Stroud, an American baseball player. (b. 1939)
2013 – Anthony G. Bosco, an American bishop. (b. 1927)
2013 – Douglas Engelbart, an American computer scientist who invented the computer mouse. (b. 1925)
2013 – Armand Gaudreault, a Canadian ice hockey player. (b. 1921)
2013 – Anthony Llewellyn, a Welsh-American chemist and astronaut. (b. 1933)
2014 – Emilio Álvarez Montalván, a Nicaraguan politician. (b. 1919)
2014 – Manuel Cardona, a Spanish physicist. (b. 1934)
2014 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe. (b. 1915)
2014 – Harold W. Kuhn, an American mathematician. (b. 1925)
2014 – Louis Zamperini, an American runner and World War II captain. (b. 1917)
2015 – Ronald Davison, a New Zealand judge. (b. 1920)
2015 – Charlie Sanders, an American football player. (b. 1946)
2015 – Jim Weaver, an American football player and coach. (b. 1945)
2015 – Jacobo Zabludovsky, a Mexican journalist. (b. 1928)
2016 – Caroline Aherne, an English actress and comedian. (b. 1963)
2016 – Michael Cimino, an American director. (b. 1939)
2016 – Patrick Manning, a Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. (b. 1946)
2016 – Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, activist, and author. (b. 1928)
2017 – Vladislav Rastorotsky, a Russian gymnastics coach. (b. 1933)
2017 – Smith Hart, an American-born Canadian professional wrestler. (b. 1948)
2018 – Alan Longmuir, a Scottish musician. (b. 1948)
2019 – Lee Iacocca, an American automotive executive. (b. 1924)
2020 – Ángela Jeria, a Chilean archaeologist. (b. 1926)
2020 – Byron Bernstein, an American Twitch streamer. (b. 1989)

Holidays and Observances

Christian feast day:
- Aberoh and Atom (Coptic Church)
- Bernardino Realino
- Feast of the Visitation (Anglicanism; Levoča at Mariánska hora)
- Monegundis
- Otto of Bamberg
- Oudoceus
- Martinian and Processus
- Pishoy (Coptic Church)
- Stephen III of Moldavia
- July 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Flag Day (Curaçao)
Palio di Provenzano (Siena, Italy)
Police Day (Azerbaijan)