Major Events
- 1513 Explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain as the first known European to reach Florida
- 1792 The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins & silver dollar, ½ dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime
- 1801 Napoleonic Wars: The British led by Horatio Nelson destroy the Danish fleet in the naval Battle of Copenhagen
- 1917 US President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany
- 1930 Ras Tafari Makonnen proclaimed Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
- 1982 Several thousand Argentine troops invade and seize the Falkland Islands from the United Kingdom
- 2020 Record 6.6 million Americans filed claims for unemployment in last week according to the US Department of Labor, 10 million over 2 weeks
- More April 2 Events
Apr 2 in Film & TV
- 1968 "2001 A Space Odyssey" directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, premieres at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.
Apr 2 in Music
- 1977 Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" album goes to No. 1 & stays atop charts for 31 weeks
Apr 2 in Sport
- 1995 Longest strike in American major league sports history (232 days) ends as MLB owners accept players’ offer to return to work without a contract; MLB is first major pro sports league to lose an entire postseason due to labor struggles
Did You Know?
"Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California
Charlemagne
Cornelis de Houtman
Giacomo Casanova
Hans Christian Andersen
Walter Mittelholzer
Rodney King
Alec Guinness
Linda Hunt
Christopher Meloni
Ajay Devgan
Pedro Pascal
Bethany Joy Lenz
Marvin Gaye
Emmylou Harris
Walter Chrysler
Don Sutton
Fun Fact About April 2
The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.
Famous Weddings
- 1836 English novelist and social critic Charles Dickens (24) marries Catherine Thomson Hogarth (20)
- 1925 Lawyer Hans Frank (24) weds secretary Brigitte Herbst (29) in Munich, Germany
- 1939 Author Jacqueline Susann (20) weds Irving Mansfield at Har Zion Temple in Philadelphia
Famous Divorces
- 1919 American world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey (23) divorces Maxine Gates after 2 years of marriage
- 1984 Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (64) divorces Margaret Sinclair (35) due to irreconcilable differences, after 13 years of marriage
- 2010 "Wayne's World" actress Tia Carrere (43) divorces British photojournalist Simon Wakelin due to irreconcilable differences after 7 years of marriage
More April 2 Weddings
Comte de Mirabeau
Samuel Morse
Georges Pompidou
Buddy Rich
John Paul II
Winnie MandelaArticles, Photos and Quiz
Battle of Copenhagen
Nelson’s line anchored and in action against the Danish line, which lies between him and Copenhagen
April 2, 1801
Flash! Bang! It's the Human Cannonball!
An excited crowd looked up in astonishment and wonder when, in 1877, the first human cannonball flew above their heads.
April 2, 1877
