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What happened in history on this day: July 2?
On July 2 in ...
- 1776 - Continental Congress resolves "these United Colonies are and of right ought to be Free and Independent States".
- 1777 - Vermont becomes the first American territory to abolish slavery.
- 1822 - Denmark Vesey and five aides hanged at Blake's Landing, Charleston, South Carolina. Vesey was a former slave who led a large group of slaves to attempt to gain freedom by force.
- 1839 - 53 African slaves led by Joseph Cinque take over the slave ship Amistad.
- 1843 - An alligator falls from the sky during a thunderstorm in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
- 1862 - US President Abraham Lincoln signs act granting land for state agricultural colleges.
- 1863 - Day two of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA: General James Longstreet leads the main Confederate attack, but USA forces retain control of their strategic positions. After three hours, the total number of dead at Gettysburg stand at 35,000.
- 1864 - Statuary Hall in US Capitol established.
- 1864 - US Congress repeals the act of June 20 forbidding gold trading.
- 1864 - General Early and Confederate forces reach Winchester.
- 1867 - First US elevated railroad begins service, New York City.
- 1881 - At a railroad station in Washington, D.C., US President James Garfield is shot twice from behind by Charles Guiteau.
- 1890 - Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits industrial monopolies in the USA.
- 1894 - US government obtains injunction against striking Pullman Workers.
- 1923 - (to August 6) The Monroe Doctrine Centennial Exposition is held in Los Angeles' Exposition Park.
- 1926 - US Army Air Corps created; Distinguish Flying Cross authorized.
- 1932 - Franklin Roosevelt makes first presidential nominating conventional acceptance speech.
- 1937 - Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappear over Pacific Ocean.
- 1940 - Lake Washington (Seattle, Washington) Floating Bridge dedicated.
- 1945 - The Okinawa campaign is declared over. Total US casualties are 80,000 (dead, wounded, missing, non-combat sickness). Total Japanese casualties are 120,000.
- 1957 - First submarine powered by liquid metal cooled reactor completed-the Seawolf.
- 1957 - First submarine designed to fire guided missiles launched, Grayback.
- 1962 - The first Wal-Mart opens in Rogers, Arkansas, USA.
- 1964 - U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signs into law the Civil Rights Act, in a televised ceremony in the White House. The Act prohibits racial discrimination in employment and education and outlaws racial segregation in public places such as schools, buses, parks and swimming pools.
- 1969 - The International resort/casino opens in Las Vegas Boulevard, Nevada. With 1500 rooms, it is the world's largest hotel, with the world's largest casino, at 29,000 square feet.
- 1976 - US Supreme Court rules death penalty not inherently cruel or unusual.
- 1979 - The US Mint releases the new Susan B. Anthony small diameter dollar coin to circulation.
- 1982 - Larry Walters, a.k.a. Lawn Chair Larry, flies 16,000 feet above Long Beach, California in lawn chair with weather balloons attached.
- 1984 - Standard Oil of California changes its company name to Chevron.
- 1986 - US Supreme Court upholds affirmative action in two rulings.
- 1992 - The one millionth Corvette car is built. It is an Arctic White LT1 convertible, with red interior and black top. Chevrolet donates the car to the National Corvette Museum.
- 1993 - Disney re-releases the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to theaters in the USA. The film had been painstakingly restored and flaws were fixed by Eastman Kodak's Cinesite division over 18 weeks.
- 1997 - Tom Walters of Meridian, Mississippi wins powerball of US$11 million.
- 1999 - Benjamin Nathaniel Smith begins a three-day killing spree targeting racial and ethnic minorities in Illinois and Indiana, USA.
- 2002 - Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon.
- 2007 - US President George Bush annuls the 30-month prison sentence given to Lewis Libby for perjury and obstruction of justice.
- 2009 - American forces led by 4000 Marines begin a large offensive in southern Afghanistan against Taliban forces.
- 2009 - California begins issuing billions of dollars in "IOUs" after failing to start the fiscal year with a balanced budget. With a US$26.3 billion deficit, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declares a fiscal emergency.
- 2015 - British Petroleum announces it had settled US federal, state, and local claims for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 for US$18.7 billion, to be paid over 18 years.
Births on July 2
- 1894 - Birth of Walter Brennan in Swampscott, Massachusetts, USA; actor (Real McCoys).
- 1908 - Birth of Thurgood Marshall in Maryland, USA; Supreme Court justice (1967-91).
- 1914 - Birth of Frederick Fennell in Cleveland, Ohio, USA; conductor (Time and the Winds).
- 1916 - Birth of Ken Curtis in Las Animas, Colorado, USA; singer (Shep Fields Orchestra, Tommy Dorsey, Roy Rogers, The Sons of the Pioneers), actor (Festus - Gunsmoke, Ripcord, The Yellow Rose).
- 1919 - Birth of Johnny Bradford in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA; actor (Ransom Sherman Show).
- 1922 - Birth of Dan Rowan in Beggs, Oklahoma, USA; comedian (Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in).
- 1925 - Birth of Medgar Wiley Evers near Decatur, Mississippi, USA; African-American civil rights leader (murdered 1963).
- 1925 - Birth of Marvin Rainwater in Wichita, Kansas, USA; country singer (Ozark Jubilee).
- 1926 - Birth of Lee Allen in Pittsburg, Kansas, USA; tenor sax ("Walkin' With Mr Lee").
- 1935 - Birth of Gilbert Kalish in Brooklyn, New York, USA; pianist/professor (SUNY Stony Brook).
- 1937 - Birth of Polly Holliday in Jasper, Alabama, USA; actress (Flo - Alice, Flo - Flo).
- 1939 - Birth of Paul Williams in Birmingham, Alabama, USA; singer (The Temptations - "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "My Girl", "Just My Imagination").
- 1946 - Birth of Ron Silver in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Gary - Rhoda, Dear Detective, Baker's Dozen, Entity, Silkwood, Best Friends).
- 1952 - Birth of Linda M Godwin in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA; PhD/astronaut (STS 37).
- 1954 - Birth of Wendy Schaal in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actress (It's a Living, Julie - Fantasy Island).
- 1956 - Birth of Julie Montgomery in Kansas City, Missouri; actress (Samantha - One Life to Live, Kindred).
- 1959 - Birth of Wendy B Lawrence in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; US Navy Lieutenant Commander/astronaut.
- 1961 - Birth of Jimmy McNichol in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (The Fitzpatricks, California Fever).
- 1974 - Birth of Allison McCurdy, in Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader (1996-97), actress (Fatal Kiss), pin-up calendar model (50+ appearances), executive (My Gig Productions).
- 1983 - Birth of Michelle Branch; American singer (The Wreckers).
Deaths on July 2
- 1822 - Denmark Vesey and five aides hanged at Blake's Landing, Charleston, South Carolina. Vesey was a former slave who led a large group of slaves to attempt to gain freedom by force.
- 1961 - Writer Ernest Hemingway shoots himself to death in Ketchum, Idaho, USA.
- 1993 - Death of Fred Gwynne at age 76 of pancreatic cancer; actor (The Munsters, Car 54 Where are You?).
- 2002 - Death of Hal Simms at age 83 in a nursing home in Massachusetts, USA; CBS television announcer (Beat the Clock, To Tell the Truth, The Guiding Light, The Frank Sinatra Show).
- 2013 - Death of Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist and inventor (born 1925).
- 2019 - Death of Lee Iacocca at age 94 (born 1924); American automobile executive (Chrysler).
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