April 2
is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in
leap years) in the
Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining.
*
69 -
Galba,
governor of
Hispania, names himself
legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of
Roman emperors begun with
Julius Caesar and
Augustus.
*
1453 -
Mehmed II begins his siege of
Constantinople (
İstanbul), which would fall on
May 29.
*
1513 -
Juan Ponce de Leon sets foot on
Florida becoming the first known
European to do so.
*
1755 -
Commodore William James captures
pirate fortress of
Suvarnadurg on west coast of
India.
*
1792 - The
Coinage Act is passed establishing the
United States Mint.
*
1801 -
Napoleonic Wars:
Battle of Copenhagen - The
British destroy the
Danish fleet.
*
1863 -
Richmond Bread Riot:
Food shortages incite hundreds of angry women to
riot in
Richmond, Virginia and demand the
Confederate government to release emergency supplies.
*
1865 -
American Civil War:
Siege of Petersburg broken -
Union troops capture the trenches around
Petersburg, Virginia, forcing
Confederate General
Robert E. Lee to retreat.
* 1865 -
American Civil War:
Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his
Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of
Richmond, Virginia.
*
1900 - The
Foraker Act passes through
Congress, giving
Puerto Ricans limited
self-rule.
*
1902 -
Dmitry Sipyagin, of the
Russian Empire, is assassinated by a terrorist in the
Marie Palace,
St Petersburg.
* 1902 - "Electric Theatre", the first full-time
movie theater in the
United States, opens in
Los Angeles, California.
*
1917 -
World War I:
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asks the
U.S. Congress for a
declaration of war on
Germany.
* 1917 - The first
woman ever elected to the
U.S. Congress,
Jeannette Rankin, takes her seat as a representative from
Montana.
*
1930 -
Haile Selassie is proclaimed
emperor of
Ethiopia.
* 1956 -
As the World Turns and
The Edge of Night first aired on the
CBS network in the
United States, as the first half-hour serial dramas.
*
1972 -
Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the
United States for the first time since being labeled a
communist in the early
1950s during the
Red Scare.
* 1972 -
Vietnam War:
Easter Offensive begins -
North Vietnamese soldiers of the
304th Division take the northern half of
Quang Tri Province.
*
1973 - Launch of
LexisNexis computerized legal research service.
*
1975 -
Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian
refugees flee from the
Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing
North Vietnamese troops.
* 1975 -
CN Tower completed in
Toronto Ontario Canada: reaches 553.33 metres in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure
*
1980 -
U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the
Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the
U.S. economy rebound.
*
1982 -
Falklands War:
1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands by
Argentina. The disputed
islands are later retaken by the
United Kingdom.
*
1984 - Sqn Ldr
Rakesh Sharma is launched aboard
Soyuz T-11, and becomes the first
Indian in space.
*
1989 -
Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in
Havana,
Cuba to meet with
Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
*
1992 - In
New York,
Mafia boss
John Gotti is convicted of
murder and
racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.
* 1992 -
Pierre Bérégovoy becomes
Prime Minister of
France.
*
2002 -
Israeli forces surrounded the
Church of the Nativity in
Bethlehem into which armed
Palestinians retreated. A siege ensues.
*
2004 -
Islamist terrorists involved in the
11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt a thwarted bombing of the
Spanish high-speed train
AVE near
Madrid.
*
2005 -
Pope John Paul II dies. Hundreds of millions of
Catholics and non-
Catholics mourn worldwide.
* 2005 -
James Stewart Jr. becomes first
African American to win a major motorsports event.
*
2006 - Over 50
tornadoes breakout, hardest hit is
Tennessee with 28 people killed.
*
1348 -
Andronicus IV Palaeologus,
Eastern Roman Emperor*
1510 -
Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (d.
1550)
*
1527 -
Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (d.
1598)
*
1545 -
Elizabeth of Valois, wife of
Philip II of Spain (d.
1568)
*
1565 -
Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d.
1599)
*
1618 -
Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d.
1663)
*
1653 -
Prince George of Denmark, prince consort of
Anne of England (d.
1708)
*
1719 -
Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d.
1803)
*
1725 -
Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and writer (d.
1798)
*
1781 -
Bhagwan Swaminarayan, The Supreme God (d.
1830)
*
1788 -
Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet (d.
1862)
*
1798 -
August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (d.
1874)
*
1805 -
Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (d.
1875)
*
1827 -
William Holman Hunt, English painter (d.
1910)
*
1838 -
Léon Gambetta, French statesman (d.
1882)
*
1840 -
Émile Zola, French novelist and critic (d.
1902)
*
1862 -
Nicholas Murray Butler, former president of Columbia University, recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize (d.
1947)
*
1867 -
Eugen Sandow, German bodybuilder and circus performer (d.
1925)
*
1869 -
Hughie Jennings, baseball player (d.
1928)
*
1875 -
Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d.
1940)
*
1891 -
Max Ernst, German painter (d.
1976)
*
1900 -
Roberto Arlt, Argentine writer (d.
1942)
*
1907 -
Luke Appling, Major League Baseball Player (d.
1991)
*
1908 -
Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d.
2003)
*
1914 - Sir
Alec Guinness, English actor (d.
2000)
*
1917 -
Lou Monte, American singer (d.
1989)
*
1920 -
Jack Webb, American actor, director, and producer (d.
1982)
*
1923 -
G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician
*
1926 -
George MacDonald Fraser, English author
* 1926 - Sir
Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver
*
1927 -
Carmen Basilio, American boxer
* 1927 -
Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer
* 1927 -
Kenneth Tynan, English critic and writer (d.
1980)
*
1928 -
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, American cardinal (d.
1996)
* 1928 -
Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (d.
1991)
*
1934 -
Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician
* 1934 -
Brian Glover, British actor and wrestler (d.
1997)
*
1937 -
Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d.
2005)
*
1938 -
John Larsson, 17th General of
The Salvation Army* 1938 -
Whirlaway, American racehorse, 1941
Triple Crown Winner (d.
1953)
*
1939 -
Marvin Gaye, American singer (d.
1984)
*
1940 -
Penelope Keith, English actress
*
1941 -
Dr. Demento, American radio personality
* 1941 -
Leon Russell, American blues-rock pianist/guitarist
session musician*
1942 -
Hiroyuki Sakai, Japanese chef
*
1945 -
Linda Hunt, American actress
* 1945 -
Don Sutton,
Major League Baseball player
* 1945 -
Reggie Smith,
Major League Baseball player
*
1947 -
Emmylou Harris, American singer
* 1947 -
Camille Paglia, American feminist writer
*
1949 -
Pamela Reed, American actress
*
1951 -
Ayako Okamoto, Japanese professional golfer
* 1951 -
Moriteru Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist
*
1952 -
Leon Wilkeson, American rock bassist (
Lynyrd Skynyrd)
*
1953 -
Jim Allister, Northern Irish politician
* 1953 -
David Robinson, American musician
* 1953 -
Debralee Scott, American actress (d.
2005)
*
1954 -
Ron Palillo, American actor
*
1955 -
Allan Davis, Australian Diplomat
*
1959 -
Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver
*
1960 -
Linford Christie, British athlete
*
1961 -
Christopher Meloni, American actor
* 1961 -
Keren Woodward, British singer (
Bananarama)
*
1962 -
Pierre Carles, French documentarist
* 1962 -
Clark Gregg, American actor
* 1962 -
Mark Shulman, American children's author
*
1965 -
Rodney King, American victim of police brutality
*
1966 -
Bill Romanowski, American football player
* 1966 -
Teddy Sheringham, English footballer
*
1967 -
Greg Camp, American guitarist and songwriter (
Smash Mouth)
* 1967 -
Helen Chamberlain, British television presenter
*
1971 -
Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player
*
1978 -
John Gall, Baseball player
*
1982 -
Jack Evans, American
professional wrestler*
1982 -
Shandi Sullivan, American model
*
1983 -
Felix Borja, Ecuadorian footballer
*
1984 -
Ashley Peldon, American actress
* 1984 -
Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress
*
1118 -
Baldwin I of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem
*
1272 -
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor (b.
1209)
*
1335 - Duke
Henry of Carinthia*
1412 -
Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, Spanish traveler and writer
*
1502 -
Prince Arthur Tudor, son of
Henry VII of England (b.
1486)
*
1507 -
Francis of Paola, Italian founder of the Order of the Minims (b.
1416)
*
1657 -
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b.
1608)
*
1720 -
Joseph Dudley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (b.
1647)
*
1742 -
James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (b.
1675)
*
1747 -
Johann Jacob Dillenius, German botanist (b.
1684)
*
1754 -
Thomas Carte, English historian (b.
1686)
*
1787 -
Thomas Gage, British general (b.
1719)
*
1791 -
Mirabeau, French statesman (b.
1749)
*
1801 -
Thomas Dadford Junior, British canal engineer
*
1803 -
Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish politician and judge (b.
1721)
*
1817 -
Johann Heinrich Jung, German author (b.
1740)
*
1827 -
Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and naturalist (b.
1776)
*
1865 - General
A. P. Hill, American Confederate general (b.
1825)
*
1872 -
Samuel Morse, American inventor (b.
1791)
*
1902 -
Esther Morris, suffragist and first female American judge (b.
1814)
*
1914 -
Paul von Heyse, German writer,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1830)
*
1922 -
Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist (b.
1884)
*
1928 -
Theodore William Richards, American chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1868)
*
1930 - Empress
Zauditu of Ethiopia (b.
1876)
*
1936 -
Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne, French general (b.
1860)
*
1953 -
Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (b.
1885)
*
1966 -
C.S. Forester, British author (b.
1899)
*
1972 -
Gil Hodges, American baseball player (b.
1924)
* 1972 -
Franz Halder, German general (b.
1884)
*
1974 -
Georges Pompidou,
President of France (b.
1911)
*
1987 -
Buddy Rich, American drummer (b.
1917)
*
1994 -
Betty Furness, American actress (b.
1916)
*
1995 -
Harvey Penick, American golfer (b.
1904)
* 1995 -
Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist (b.
1908)
*
2000 -
Tommaso Buscetta, Italian gangster (b.
1928)
*
2001 -
Charles Daudelin, Canadian artist (b.
1920)
*
2003 -
Edwin Starr, American singer (b.
1942)
*
2005 -
Pope John Paul II (b.
1920)
*
2006 -
Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, German wife of freedom fighter
Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (b.
1913)
*
International Children's Book Day*
Malvinas Day in
Argentina.
*
Sizdah be dar in
Iran*
JP and Trang in
ValleyfairLiturgical feasts
*
Saint Franciscus of Paola (+1507)
*
Blessed Arnold of Leuven*
Saint Genoveva of Brabant (+1760)
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in Canada*
Epic Idiot: On This DayApril 1 -
April 3 -
March 2 -
May 2 -
listing of all days
