Major Events
- 626 Incident at Xuanwu Gate: Prince Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rivals, the brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng, sons of Emperor Gaozu; he then forces the emperor to name him as successor to the throne
- 1776 Continental Congress resolves "these United Colonies are and of right ought to be Free and Independent States"
- 1823 Bahia Independence Day: End of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia
- 1865 One-time Methodist Reform Church minister William Booth and his wife Catherine Booth found the East London Christian Mission, now known as the Salvation Army
- 1964 US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act into law
- 1990 1,426 pilgrims trampled to death after a panic in a tunnel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- More July 2 Events
Jul 2 in Film & TV
- 1928 The Jenkins Television Corporation (owned by Charles Jenkins) goes on air with W3XK, the first television broadcasting station in the USA
Jul 2 in Music
- 2005 10 Live 8 concerts held around the world organised by Bob Geldof to raise awareness of poverty
Jul 2 in Sport
- 1989 American jockey Steve Cauthen wins Irish Derby on Old Vic to become the first rider in history to sweep the world's 4 major Derbies (Kentucky, Epsom, French, Irish)
Did You Know?
Slaves aboard a Spanish schooner La Amistad revolt to secure their freedom while being transported from one Cuban port to another
Hermann Hesse
Alec Douglas-Home
Thurgood Marshall
Medgar Evers
Patrice Lumumba
Imelda Marcos
Larry David
Ashley Tisdale
Lindsay Lohan
Margot Robbie
Jenni Rivera
René Lacoste
Richard Petty
José Canseco
Joe Thornton
Alex Morgan
Fun Fact About July 2
An alligator falls from sky during a thunderstorm in Charleston, South Carolina
Famous Weddings
- 1918 American jazz orchestra bandleader Duke Ellington (19) weds high school sweetheart Edna Thompson in Washington, D.C.
- 1932 Platinum blonde screen goddess Jean Harlow (21) weds MGM producer Paul Bern (42)
- 1939 Syndicated columnist Ann Landers (21) weds business executive Julius Lederer
Famous Divorces
- 1959 MLB baseball player Ernie Banks (28) divorces Mollye Louise after 6 years of marriage
- 2007 Dancer Mandie Taketa divorces talk show host Wayne Brady (34) due to irreconcilable differences after 8 years of marriage
More July 2 Weddings
Robert Peel
Ernest Hemingway
Betty Grable
James Stewart
Douglas Engelbart
Elie WieselArticles, Photos and Quiz
The Day an Alligator Fell from the Sky
Newspaper cutting fom the Times-Picayune on the day an alligator fell from the sky
July 2, 1843
Final Hours of Ernest Hemingway
Why did Ernest Hemingway, with everything to live for, kill himself on this day? The one thing he did not write is a suicide note but scientists have some answers.
July 2, 1961
