October 2

Historic Events

2025

2 people are killed and at least 4 others injured in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester, UK, during Yom Kippur. ›

2019

A privately owned Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress conducting a living history exhibition flight crashes shortly after takeoff from Windsor Locks, Connecticut, killing seven. ›

2018

The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. ›

2016

Ethiopian protests break out during a festival in the Oromia region, killing dozens of people. ›

2007

President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea goes to North Korea for an Inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. ›

2006

Five Amish girls are murdered in a shooting at a school in Pennsylvania, United States. ›

2004

The first parkrun, then known as the Bushy Park Time Trial, takes place in Bushy Park, London, UK. ›

2002

The Beltway sniper attacks begin in Washington, D.C., extending over three weeks and killing 10 people. ›

1996

Aeroperú Flight 603 crashes into the ocean near Peru, killing all 70 people on board. ›

1996

The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton. ›

1992

Military police storm the Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil during a prison riot. The resulting massacre leaves 111 prisoners dead. ›

1990

Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 is hijacked and lands at Guangzhou, where it crashes into two other airliners on the ground, killing 132. ›

1980

Michael Myers becomes the first member of either chamber of Congress to be expelled since the Civil War. ›

1971

South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu is re-elected in a one-man election. ›

1971

British European Airways Flight 706 crashes near Aarsele, Belgium, killing 63. ›

1970

An aircraft carrying the Wichita State University football team, administrators, and supporters crashes in Colorado, killing 31 people. ›

1968

Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz orders soldiers to suppress a demonstration of unarmed students, ten days before the start of the 1968 Summer Olympics. ›

1967

Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of the United States Supreme Court. ›

1958

Guinea declares its independence from France. ›

1944

World War II: German troops end the Warsaw Uprising. ›

1937

Rafael Trujillo orders the execution of Haitians living in the border region of the Dominican Republic. ›

1928

The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded. ›

1920

Ukrainian War of Independence: Mikhail Frunze orders the Red Army to immediately cease hostilities with the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine. ›

1919

Seven days after suffering a "physical collapse" following a speech in Pueblo, Colorado, U.S. president Woodrow Wilson has a catastrophic stroke at the White House, leaving him physically and mentally incapacitated for the remainder of his presidency. ›

1870

By plebiscite, the citizens of the Papal States accept annexation by the Kingdom of Italy. ›

1864

American Civil War: Confederates defeat a Union attack on Saltville, Virginia. A massacre of wounded Union prisoners ensues. ›

1835

Texas Revolution: Mexican troops attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia. ›

1789

The United States Bill of Rights is sent to the various States for ratification. ›

1780

American Revolutionary War: John André, a British Army officer, is hanged as a spy by the Continental Army. ›

1766

The Nottingham Cheese Riot breaks out at the Goose Fair in Nottingham, UK, in response to the excessive cost of cheese. ›

1552

Russo-Kazan Wars: Russian troops enter Kazan. ›

1470

The Earl of Warwick's rebellion forces King Edward IV of England to flee to the Netherlands, restoring Henry VI to the throne. ›

1263

The Battle of Largs is fought between Norwegians and Scots. ›

1187

Saladin won Jerusalem after the city surrendered to his forces following a prolonged siege. ›

939

Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia and other Frankish dukes. ›

829

Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor. ›