On This Day in History — August 2

• 2014 — At least 146 people were killed and more than 114 injured in a factory explosion in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China.
• 2005 — Air France Flight 358 lands at Toronto Pearson International Airport and runs off the runway, causing the plane to burst into flames leaving 12 injuries and no fatalities.
• 1999 — The Gaisal train disaster claims 285 lives in Assam, India.
• 1990 — Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War.
• 1989 — Pakistan is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations after having restored democracy for the first time since 1972.
• 1989 — A massacre is carried out by an Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 64 ethnic Tamil civilians.

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Notable Births on August 2

• 1995 — Kristaps Porziņģis, Latvian basketball player
• 1994 — Laura Pigossi, Brazilian tennis player
• 1994 — Laremy Tunsil, American football player
• 1992 — Hallie Eisenberg, American actress
• 1992 — Charli XCX, English singer and songwriter
• 1990 — Ima Bohush, Belarusian tennis player

Notable Deaths on August 2

• 2016 — Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (b. 1930)
• 2016 — David Huddleston, American actor (b. 1930)
• 2016 — Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (b. 1927)
• 2016 — Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1946)
• 2015 — Forrest Bird, American pilot and engineer (b. 1921)
• 2015 — Giovanni Conso, Italian jurist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (b. 1922)

Public Holidays on August 3

• 🌍 August Bank Holiday (Ireland)
• 🌍 August Holiday (Ireland)
• 🌍 British Columbia Day (Canada)
• 🌍 Civic Holiday (Canada)
• 🌍 Flag Day (Venezuela)
• 🌍 Heritage Day (Canada)
• 🌍 Natal Day (Canada)
• 🌍 New Brunswick Day (Canada)
• 🌍 Picnic Day (Australia)
• 🌍 Saskatchewan Day (Canada)
• 🌍 Summer Bank Holiday (United Kingdom)

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On This Day in History — August 3

• 2014 — A 6.1 magnitude earthquake kills at least 617 people and injures more than 2,400 in Yunnan, China.
• 2010 — Widespread rioting erupts in Karachi, Pakistan, after the assassination of a local politician, leaving at least 85 dead and at least 17 billion Pakistani rupees (US$200 million) in damage.
• 2007 — Former Deputy Director of the Chilean secret police Raúl Iturriaga is captured after having been on the run following a conviction for kidnapping.
• 2005 — President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya is overthrown in a military coup while attending the funeral of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia.
• 2004 — The pedestal of the Statue of Liberty reopens after being closed since the September 11 attacks.
• 1997 — Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre in Algeria: A total of 116 villagers killed, 40 in Oued El-Had and 76 in Mezouara.

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Notable Births on August 3

• 1995 — Victoria Kan, Russian tennis player
• 1994 — Manaia Cherrington, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1994 — Todd Gurley, American football player
• 1993 — Ola Abidogun, English sprinter
• 1993 — Yurina Kumai, Japanese singer
• 1992 — Gamze Bulut, Turkish runner

Notable Deaths on August 3

• 2015 — Jef Murray, Australian artist and author (b. 1960)
• 2015 — Robert Conquest, English-American historian, poet, and academic (b. 1917)
• 2015 — Mel Farr, American football player and businessman (b. 1944)
• 2015 — Coleen Gray, American actress (b. 1922)
• 2015 — Margot Loyola, Chilean singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
• 2015 — Johanna Quandt, German businesswoman (b. 1926)