April 2
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Events
- 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 Riots: 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, Minister of Interior 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.
- 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.
Births
- 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
- 1982 - Shandi Sullivan, American model
- 1983 - Felix Borja, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1984 - Ashley Peldon, American actress
- 1984 - Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress
Deaths
- 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)
Holidays and observances
- International Children's Book Day
- Malvinas Day in Argentina.
- Sizdah be dar in Iran
- JP and Trang in Valleyfair
Liturgical feasts
- Saint Franciscus of Paola (+1507)
- Blessed Arnold of Leuven
- Saint Genoveva of Brabant (+1760)
External links
April 1 - April 3 - March 2 - May 2 - listing of all days
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