July 2

Historic Events

2024

A stampede during a religious event in Uttar Pradesh, India, leaves at least 121 people dead and 150 others injured. ›

2013

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others. ›

2005

The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians perform and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks. ›

2000

Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional, after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional, in the 2000 Mexican general election. ›

1997

The Bank of Thailand floats the baht, triggering the Asian financial crisis. ›

1994

USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board. ›

1993

A mob sets fire to the Hotel Madımak in Sivas, Turkey, where an Alevi cultural festival was taking place, killing 37 people. ›

1990

In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca. ›

1986

Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana are burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile in the Quemados case. ›

1986

Aeroflot Flight 2306 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Syktyvkar Airport in Syktyvkar, in present-day Komi Republic, Russia, killing 54 people. ›

1976

End of South Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam annexes the former South Vietnam to form the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam. ›

1966

France conducts its first nuclear weapon test in the Pacific, on Moruroa Atoll. ›

1964

Civil rights movement: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places. ›

1937

Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean and disappear while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight. ›

1934

The Night of the Long Knives ends after three days of killings. ›

1921

World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox–Porter Resolution formally ending the war between the United States and Germany. ›

1917

In the leadup to the Battle of Aqaba, T. E. Lawrence and his Arab forces defeat a battalion of Ottomans at Abu al-Lissan. ›

1890

The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act. ›

1881

Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (who will die of complications from his wounds on September 19). ›

1863

American Civil War: On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg - the Battle of Little Round Top takes place and results in a Union victory after the Confederate troops unsuccessfully try to assault the Union left flank. ›

1840

A Ms 7.4 earthquake strikes present-day Turkey and Armenia; combined with the effects of an eruption on Mount Ararat, kills 10,000 people. ›

1823

Bahia Independence Day: The Siege of Salvador ends Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia. ›

1776

American Revolution: The Continental Congress adopts the Lee Resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain. The wording of the formal Declaration of Independence was agreed upon and publicly released two days later, on July 4. ›

1645

Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Alford. ›

1644

English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor. ›

1582

Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide. ›

1494

Age of Discovery: The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain. ›

1298

Battle of Göllheim: Albert I of Habsburg defeats Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg. ›

866

Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army. ›

626

Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. ›

311

Beginning of the papacy of Pope Miltiades. ›