April 2

2023 Calendar

April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 273 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events Edit

Up to 1900 Edit

999 - Pope Sylvester II is elected.
1285 - Pope Martin IV is elected.
1453 - The Ottoman Empire's Sultan Mehmed II begins the Siege of Constantinople.
1513 – Florida is sighted by a European for the first time.
1744 – The first official golf tournament is held in Leith, near Edinburgh, Scotland.
1783 – The Duke of Portland replaces the Earl of Shelburne as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony.
1801 – British forces under Horatio Nelson defeat Denmark in the naval Battle of Copenhagen.
1814 - The French senate declares Napoleon Bonaparte removed from power.
1845 - Armand Hippolyte Louis Fizeau and Jean Bernard Leon Foucault take the first photograph of the Sun.
1851 – Mongkut (Rama IV) is crowned King of Siam.
1865 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis and his cabinet flee Richmond, Virginia.
1865 - American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg is broken, as Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia.
1885 - Cree warriors attack the village of Frog Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories, killing 9 people.
1900 - The United States Congress passes the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.

1901 – 2000 Edit

1902 - The Electric Theater, the first full-time movie theater in the US, opens in Los Angeles, California.
1911 – Australia's first census is held.
1912 – The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials.
1917 – Woodrow Wilson asks US Congress for war with Germany.
1921 - The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government covering present-day Iran, is created.
1930 - Haile Selassie becomes Emperor of Ethiopia.
1932 – Charles Lindbergh paid a $50,000 ransom for the return of his kidnapped son.
1943 – Off Bermuda, the British ship Melbourne Star is torpedoed by the German U-boat U 129. It explodes and sinks within two minutes, killing 114 people.
1945 – The Soviet Union and Brazil establish diplomatic relations.
1962 - In road use, the first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station in London.
1972 – Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled as a Communist during the Red Scare of the 1950s.
1974 - The Westfalenstadion stadium in Dortmund is opened. It is currently the home of the Borussia Dortmund football team, and hosts international matches.
1975 - Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese forces.
1975 – The CN Tower in Toronto is completed.
1978 – The television show Dallas is shown for the first time.
1982 – The Falklands War begins, as Argentine forces invade.
1984 – Rakesh Sharma becomes the first Indian in space on board the Soyuz T-11.
1989 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba, for talks with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
1991 – The eruption of the Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines begins.
1991 - Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province, in British Columbia.
1992 – Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering.
1998 – Former French minister Maurice Papon is found guilty of war crimes over the deportation of more than 1,700 Jews during World War II.

From 2001 Edit

2004 – Spanish police prevent an attempt by Islamist terrorists to blow up a high speed train near Madrid.
2005 – Pope John Paul II dies at the age of 84 years, after more than 26 years as Pope.
2006 – 60 tornadoes break out in the United States. Tennessee is the worst affected with 29 people killed.
2007 – A magnitude 8.1 earthquake hits the Solomon Islands, with resulting tsunamis destroying villages, killing 52 people, and making 5,000 homeless.
2011 - India wins the Cricket World Cup for the second time.
2012 – President of Hungary Pal Schmitt resigns after losing his doctorate in a Plagiarism scandal.
2013 - Major flooding affects Buenos Aires and La Plata in Argentina, killing 62 people.
2015 - A trawler sinks in the Sea of Okhotsk, west of Russia's far-eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, killing at least 50 sailors on board.
2015 - Al-Shabaab militants attack a university in Garissa, Kenya, killing 147 people.
2019 - Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigns as President of Algeria with immediate effect, ending his almost-20-year Presidency, after several weeks of protests.
2019 - Lori Lightfoot is elected Mayor of Chicago, making her the first African American Lesbian woman chosen to govern a major city in the United States.

Births Edit

Up to 1900 Edit

742 – Charlemagne (d. 814)
1527 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish mapmaker (d. 1598)
1545 – Elisabeth of Valois, French princess and Queen of Spain (d. 1568)
1565 - Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599)
1614 – Jahanara Begum Sahib, Imperial princess and daughter of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal (d. 1681)
1618 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)
1647 - Maria Sibylla Merian, German botanist (d. 1717)
1653 – Prince George of Denmark (d. 1708)
1719 - Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803)
1725 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian writer (d. 1798)
1745 - Richard Bassett, Governor of Delaware (d. 1815)
1788 - Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet (d. 1862)
1788 - Wilhelmine Reichard, first female German balloonist (d. 1848)
1791 - David Henshaw, 14th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1852)
1792 - Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician (d. 1840)
1798 – Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (d. 1874)
1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer and poet (d. 1875)
1814 - Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (d. 1879)
1826 - George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (d. 1914)
1827 - William Holman Hunt, English painter (d. 1910)
1838 – Léon Gambetta, French statesman (d. 1882)
1840 – Émile Zola, French writer (d. 1902)
1841 - Clement Ader, French aviation pioneer (d. 1926)
1852 - Frederick B. Fancher, Governor of North Dakota (d. 1944)
1862 – Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher, diplomat and educator (d. 1947)
1863 - William Adamson, Scottish trade union leader and politician (d. 1936)
1867 - Eugen Sandow, German bodybuilder and circus performer (d. 1925)
1869 - Hughie Jennings, American baseball player (d. 1928)
1875 – Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940)
1891 – Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976)
1891 - Jack Buchanan, Scottish actor, singer, director and producer (d. 1957)
1898 - Harindranath Chatoopadhyay, Indian poet, actor and politician (d. 1990)
1899 - Heinrich Rau, German politician (d. 1961)
1900 - Robert Arlt, Argentine writer (d. 1942)

1901 – 1950 Edit

1906 - Dan K. Moore, Governor of North Carolina (d. 1986)
1907 - Luke Appling, American baseball player (d. 1991)
1912 – Herbert Mills, American singer (d. 1989)
1914 – Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
1916 - Oleg Lundstrem, Russian jazz composer and conductor (d. 2005)
1917 - Dabbs Greer, American actor (d. 2007)
1919 - Delfo Cabrera, Argentine long-distance runner (d. 1981)
1920 – Jack Webb, American actor, director and producer (d. 1982)
1922 - John C. Whitehead, American banker and politician (d. 2015)
1923 - Gloria Henry, American actress
1923 - G. Spencer-Brown, English polymath (d. 2016)
1925 – George MacDonald Fraser, British writer (d. 2008)
1925 - Hans Rosenthal, German radio and television presenter (d. 1987)
1926 - Jack Brabham, Australian racing driver (d. 2014)
1927 – Carmen Basilio, American boxer (d. 2012)
1927 – Ferenc Puskas, Hungarian footballer (d. 2006)
1927 - Rembert Weakland, former Archbishop of Milwaukee
1927 - Howard H. Callaway, American politician (d. 2014)
1927 - Ken Sansom, American actor (d. 2012)
1927 - Billy Pierce, American baseball player (d. 2015)
1927 - Rita Gam, American actress (d. 2016)
1928 - Joseph Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996)
1928 - Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Senegalese writer
1928 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer, songwriter, actor and director (d. 1991)
1929 - Hans Koschnick, German politician (d. 2016)
1932 – Edward Egan, American Roman Catholic cardinal and former Archbishop of New York City (d. 2015)
1933 - György Konrád, Hungarian writer (d. 2019)
1934 - Richard Portman, American sound engineer (d. 2017)
1934 - Carl Kasell, American radio journalist and quiz show judge (d. 2018)
1936 - Shaul Ladany, Israeli Olympic race walker
1936 - Cynthia Lynn, American actress (d. 2014)
1938 - John Larsson, Swedish 17th General of the Salvation Army
1938 - Booker Little, American trumpeter and composer (d. 1961)
1939 – Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984)
1939 - Lise Thibault, Quebec politician
1940 – Penelope Keith, British actress
1940 - Donald Jackson, Canadian figure skater
1940 - Mike Hailwood, English motorcycle racer and racing driver (d. 1981)
1941 – Dr. Demento, American radio presenter
1942 – Leon Russell, American pianist and conductor (d. 2016)
1942 - Roshan Seth, Indian-English actor
1943 - Tom Polanic, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2019)
1944 - Francisco Massiani, Venezuelan writer and painter (d. 2019)
1945 - Don Sutton, American baseball player
1945 - Linda Hunt, American actress
1946 - Sue Townsend, English novelist (d. 2014)
1946 - Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist (d. 1997)
1947 - Emmylou Harris, American singer
1947 - Camille Paglia, American author
1947 - Tua Forsström, Finnish writer
1947 - Paquita la del Barrio, Mexican singer
1948 - Bob Lienhard, American basketball player (d. 2018)
1949 - Paul Gambaccini, American-British radio and television presenter

1951 – 1975 Edit

1952 – Leon Wilkeson, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2001)
1953 - Krzysztof Krauze, Polish movie director, cinematographer and actor (d. 2014)
1954 - Gregory Abbott, American singer-songwriter and producer
1954 - Donald Petrie, American director
1957 - Barbara Jordan, American tennis player
1959 - David Frankel, American director, screenwriter and producer
1959 - Badou Ezzaki, Moroccan footballer and coach
1959 – Juha Kankkunen, Finnish rally driver
1960 – Linford Christie, British athlete
1961 – Christopher Meloni, American actor
1961 – Keren Woodward, British singer (Bananarama)
1962 - Pierre Carles, French director and producer
1962 - Clark Gregg, American actor, director and screenwriter
1963 - Shane Barbi and Sia Barbi, American models, writers and animal rights activists
1963 - Mike Gascoyne, British engineer
1965 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (d. 2012)
1965 - David Gamkrelidze, Georgian politician
1966 – Teddy Sheringham, English footballer
1967 - Greg Camp, American musician
1967 - Renée Estevez, American actress
1969 - Ajay Devgan, Indian actor, director and producer
1971 - Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player
1971 – Edmundo, Brazilian footballer
1971 – Zeebra, Japanese rapper
1973 – Tine Wittler, German actress and writer
1975 – Adam Rodriguez, American actor

From 1976 Edit

1977 – Michael Fassbender, German-Irish actor
1977 - Annett Louisan, German singer
1977 - Aiden Turner, British actor
1977 - Nicki Pedersen, Danish speedway rider
1978 - Grisella Siciliani, Argentine actress and singer
1979 - Lindy Booth, Canadian actress
1979 – Jesse Carmichael, American musician (Maroon 5)
1980 – Carlos Salcido, Mexican footballer
1980 – Adam Fleming, Scottish journalist
1981 – Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer
1981 - Kapil Sharma, Indian comedian
1981 - Bethany Joy Lenz, American actress, singer and filmmaker
1982 – Marco Amelia, Italian footballer
1982 – David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player
1982 - Jack Evans, American professional wrestler
1983 - Felix Borja, Ecuadorean footballer
1983 - Arthur Boka, Ivory Coast footballer
1983 - Laura Carmine Puerto, Puerto Rican-Mexican actress
1983 – Paul Capdeville, Chilean tennis player
1984 - Meryl Cassie, South African-New Zealand actress
1985 - Gordon Aikman, Scottish ALS campaigner (d. 2017)
1985 - Thom Evans, Scottish rugby player
1985 – Stéphane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater
1986 – Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer
1986 – Lee DeWyze, American singer
1986 - Drew Van Acker, American actor
1986 - R3hab, Dutch DJ and record producer
1987 - Molly Smitten-Downes, English singer
1987 - Dalma Maradona, Argentine actress
1988 - Francesca Catalano, American actress
1990 - Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Russian gymnast
1990 - Miralem Pjanic, footballer from Bosnia and Herzegovina
1993 - Aaron Kelly, American singer
1993 - Bruno Zuculini, Argentine footballer

Deaths Edit

Up to 1900 Edit

1118 – Baldwin I of Jerusalem (b. 1058)
1305 - Joan I of Navarre (b. 1273)
1506 – Prince Arthur Tudor of England (b. 1486)
1507 - Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint (b. 1416)
1640 - Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish writer and poet (b. 1595)
1657 – Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1608)
1709 - Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Italian painter (b. 1639)
1720 - Joseph Dudley, English Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1647)
1742 - James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (b. 1675)
1791 - Henri Gabriel Riqueti, French statesman (b. 1749)
1803 – Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish politician and judge (b. 1721)
1817 – Johann Heinrich Jung, German writer (b. 1740)
1827 – Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and naturalist (b. 1776)
1872 – Samuel F. B. Morse, American inventor (b. 1791)
1894 - Achille Vianelli, Italian painter (b. 1803)

1901 – 2000 Edit

1914 – Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse, German writer (b. 1830)
1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist (b. 1884)
1928 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist (b. 1868)
1930 – Empress Zauditu of Ethiopia (b. 1876)
1933 - Ranjitsinhji, Indian cricketer (b. 1872)
1948 - Sabahattin Ali, Turkish novelist, writer, poet and journalist (b. 1907)
1951 – Simon Barere, Russian pianist (b. 1896)
1958 – Tudor Davies, Welsh operatic tenor (b. 1892)
1972 - Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (b. 1924)
1972 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese martial arts grandmaster (b. 1887)
1974 – Georges Pompidou, President of France (b. 1911)
1987 – Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer and bandleader (b. 1917)
1992 – Juan Gomez Gonzalez, Spanish footballer (b. 1954)
1994 – Betty Furness, American actress (b. 1916)
1995 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist (b. 1908)
1998 – Rob Pilatus, American model, dancer and singer (b. 1965)

From 2001 Edit

2001 – Jennifer Syme, American actress (b. 1972)
2005 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)
2006 – Nina von Stauffenberg, widow of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (b. 1914)
2007 – Paul Reed, American actor (b. 1909)
2012 - Elizabeth Catlett, American-Mexican artist and sculptor (b. 1915)
2013 - Jesus Franco, Spanish movie director, writer, cinematographer and actor (b. 1930)
2013 - Jane Henson, American puppeteer and voice actress (b. 1934)
2013 - Milo O'Shea, Irish-American actor (b. 1926)
2013 - Maria Redaelli, Italian supercentenarian (b. 1899)
2014 - Urs Widmer, Swiss writer (b. 1938)
2014 - Carl Epting Mundy, Jr., American military officer (b. 1935)
2014 - Richard Brick, American movie producer (b. 1945)
2014 - Glyn Jones, South African actor, writer and director (b. 1931)
2014 - Lucy Hood, American television executive (b. 1958)
2014 - Consuelo Moure, Colombian actress (b. 1947)
2014 - Joseph Willaert, Belgian painter (b. 1936)
2015 - Luis Delgado Aparicio, Peruvian politician (b. 1940)
2015 - Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese movie director and screenwriter (b. 1908)
2015 - Rudolph R. Perz, American advertising executive (b. 1925)
2015 - Olga Sawicka, Polish dancer and choreographer (b. 1932)
2015 - Robert H. Schuller, American televangelist (b. 1926)
2015 - Steve Stevaert, Belgian politician (b. 1954)
2015 - Doug Sax, American audio engineer (b. 1936)
2015 - Abdelhadi Tazi, Moroccan scholar and diplomat (b. 1921)
2016 - Gato Barbieri, Argentine musician and bandleader (b. 1932)
2016 - Gallieno Ferri, Italian comic book artist (b. 1929)
2016 - Boris Hybner, Czech actor and mime artist (b. 1941)
2016 - Amber Rayne, American pornographic actress (b. 1984)
2017 - Kenneth J. Donnelly, American politician (b. 1950)
2017 - Leonard Litwin, American real estate developer (b. 1914)
2018 - Susan Anspach, American actress (b. 1942)
2018 - Morris Halle, Latvian-American linguist (b. 1923)
2018 - Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, South African activist (b. 1936)
2019 - Jamshid Mashayekhi, Iranian actor (b. 1934)
2019 - J. Mahendran, Indian film director, screenwriter and actor (b. 1939)
2019 - Don Williamson, American businessman and politician (b. 1934)

Observances Edit

International Children's Book Day - Birthday of Hans Christian Andersen
Thai Heritage Conservation Day
World Autism Awareness Day
Malvinas Day (Argentina)