On This Day — April 2

Famous events, births, and deaths from April 2 in history, plus the public holidays, religious observances, sports, and national days happening on this date today.

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36 events · 208 births · 85 deaths recorded for April 2.

🕰️ Notable Events on April 2

2015 — Gunmen attack Garissa University College in Kenya, killing at least 148 people and wounding 79 others. Wikipedia ↗
2014 — A spree shooting occurs at the Fort Hood army base in Texas, with four dead, including the gunman, and 16 others injured. Wikipedia ↗
2012 — A mass shooting at Oikos University in California leaves seven people dead and three injured. Wikipedia ↗
2006 — Over 60 tornadoes break out in the United States; Tennessee is hardest hit with 29 people killed. Wikipedia ↗
2004 — Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid; the attack is thwarted. Wikipedia ↗
2002 — Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated. Wikipedia ↗
1992 — In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison. Wikipedia ↗
1992 — Forty-two civilians were massacred in the town of Bijeljina. Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia. Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba, to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations. Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Alabama governor George Wallace, a former segregationist, best known for the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door", announces that he will not seek a fifth four-year term and will retire from public life upon the end of his term in January 1987. Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands. Wikipedia ↗
1980 — United States President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act. Wikipedia ↗
1979 — A Soviet bio-warfare laboratory at Sverdlovsk accidentally releases airborne anthrax spores, killing 66 plus an unknown amount of livestock. Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from Quảng Ngãi Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops. Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service. Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s. Wikipedia ↗
1956 — As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS-TV. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format. Wikipedia ↗
1930 — After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia. Wikipedia ↗
1921 — The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established. Wikipedia ↗
1917 — World War I: United States President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. Wikipedia ↗
1912 — The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials. Wikipedia ↗
1911 — The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country's first national census. Wikipedia ↗
1902 — Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg. Wikipedia ↗
1902 — "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles. Wikipedia ↗
1900 — The United States Congress passes the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule. Wikipedia ↗
1885 — Canadian Cree warriors attack the village of Frog Lake, killing nine. Wikipedia ↗
1865 — American Civil War: Defeat at the Third Battle of Petersburg forces the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate government to abandon Richmond, Virginia. Wikipedia ↗
1863 — American Civil War: The largest in a series of Southern bread riots occurs in Richmond, Virginia. Wikipedia ↗
1851 — Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand. Wikipedia ↗
1801 — French Revolutionary Wars: The British capture the Danish fleet. Wikipedia ↗
1800 — Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna. Wikipedia ↗
1792 — The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint. Wikipedia ↗
1755 — Commodore William James captures the Maratha fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India. Wikipedia ↗
1513 — Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León first sights land in what is now the United States state of Florida. Wikipedia ↗
670 — The second Shia Imam Hassan ibn Ali passes away after being poisoned Wikipedia ↗

🎂 Notable Births on April 2

1997 — Abdelhak Nouri, Dutch footballer Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Quavo, American rapper Wikipedia ↗
1990 — Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Russian gymnast Wikipedia ↗
1990 — Miralem Pjanić, Bosnian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Pablo Aguilar, Paraguayan footballer Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Marc Pugh, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Andris Biedriņš, Latvian basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Lee DeWyze, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Thom Evans, Zimbabwean-Scottish rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Stéphane Lambiel, Swiss figure skater Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Engin Atsür, Turkish basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Nóra Barta, Hungarian diver Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Jérémy Morel, French footballer Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Yung Joc, American rapper Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Maksym Mazuryk, Ukrainian pole vaulter Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Marco Amelia, Italian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Jeremy Bloom, American football player and skier Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Jack Evans, American wrestler Wikipedia ↗
1982 — David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Kapil Sharma, Indian stand-up comedian, television presenter and actor Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Adam Fleming, Scottish journalist Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Gavin Heffernan, Canadian director and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Ricky Hendrick, American race car driver (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Wairangi Koopu, New Zealand rugby league player Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Carlos Salcido, Mexican footballer Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Jesse Carmichael, American keyboard player Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Scott Lynch, American author Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Ethan Smith, American actor, director, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Per Elofsson, Swedish skier Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Michael Fassbender, German-Irish actor and producer Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Hanno Pevkur, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Andreas Anastasopoulos, Greek shot putter Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Rory Sabbatini, South African golfer Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Randy Livingston, American basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski, German rower Wikipedia ↗
1974 — Tayfun Korkut, Turkish football manager and former player Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Dmitry Lipartov, Russian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Roselyn Sánchez, Puerto Rican-American actress Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Aleksejs Semjonovs, Latvian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Remo D'Souza, Indian choreographer and dancer Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Calvin Davis, American sprinter and hurdler Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Zane Lamprey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto, Brazilian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Jason Lewry, English cricketer Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Ajay Devgan, Indian actor, director, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Greg Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Phil Demmel, American guitarist and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Bill Romanowski, American football player and actor Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Teddy Sheringham, English footballer and coach Wikipedia ↗
1965 — Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1964 — Pete Incaviglia, American baseball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1964 — Jonathon Sharkey, American wrestler Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Karl Beattie, English director and producer Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Mike Gascoyne, English engineer Wikipedia ↗
1962 — Pierre Carles, French director and producer Wikipedia ↗
1962 — Billy Dean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1962 — Clark Gregg, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Buddy Jewell, American singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Christopher Meloni, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Keren Woodward, English singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Linford Christie, Jamaican-English sprinter Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Brad Jones, Australian race car driver Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Pascale Nadeau, Canadian journalist Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Gelindo Bordin, Italian runner Wikipedia ↗
1959 — David Frankel, American director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Yves Lavandier, French director and producer Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Badou Ezzaki, Moroccan footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Stefano Bettarello, Italian rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Larry Drew, American basketball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Caroline Dean, English biologist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Hank Steinbrenner, American businessman, co-owner of the New York Yankees Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Michael Stone, Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary Wikipedia ↗
1954 — Gregory Abbott, American singer-songwriter and producer Wikipedia ↗
1954 — Donald Petrie, American actor and director Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Jim Allister, Northern Irish lawyer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1953 — James Vance, American author and playwright Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Lennart Fagerlund, Swedish cyclist Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Will Hoy, English race car driver (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2001) Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Lynn Westmoreland, American politician Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Paul Gambaccini, American-English radio and television host Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Bernd Müller, German footballer Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Pamela Reed, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1949 — David Robinson, American drummer Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Daniel Okrent, American journalist and author Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Joan D. Vinge, American author Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Roald Als, Danish author and illustrator Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Paquita la del Barrio, Mexican singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Tua Forsström, Finnish writer Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Emmylou Harris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Camille Paglia, American author and critic Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Richard Collinge, New Zealand cricketer Wikipedia ↗
1946 — David Heyes, English politician Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Sue Townsend, English author and playwright (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist and songwriter (d. 1997) Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Jürgen Drews, German singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Guy Fréquelin, French race car driver Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Linda Hunt, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Reggie Smith, American baseball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Don Sutton, American baseball player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Anne Waldman, American poet Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Bill Malinchak, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Michael Boyce, Baron Boyce, South African-English admiral and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Caterina Bueno, Italian singer (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Antonio Sabàto, Sr., Italian actor Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Leon Russell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Roshan Seth, Indian-English actor Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Dr. Demento, American radio host Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Sonny Throckmorton, American country singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Donald Jackson, Canadian figure skater and coach Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Mike Hailwood, English motorcycle racer (d. 1981) Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Penelope Keith, English actress Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984) Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Anthony Lake, American academic and diplomat, 18th United States National Security Advisor Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Lise Thibault, Canadian journalist and politician, 27th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Wikipedia ↗
1938 — John Larsson, Swedish 17th General of The Salvation Army Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Booker Little, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1961) Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Al Weis, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d. 2005) Wikipedia ↗
1936 — Shaul Ladany, Serbian-Israeli race walker and engineer Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Paul Cohen, American mathematician and theorist (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Brian Glover, English wrestler and actor (d. 1997) Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Carl Kasell, American journalist and game show host Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Richard Portman, American sound engineer (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — György Konrád, Hungarian sociologist and author Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Edward Egan, American cardinal (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Vladimir Kuznetsov, Russian javelin thrower (d. 1986) Wikipedia ↗
1930 — Roddy Maude-Roxby, English actor Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Ed Dorn, American poet and educator (d. 1999) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Joseph Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor, and director (d. 1991) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Roy Masters, English-American radio host Wikipedia ↗
1928 — David Robinson, Northern Irish horticulturist and academic (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Carmen Basilio, American boxer and soldier (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Howard Callaway, American soldier and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Army (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Rita Gam, American actress (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Kenneth Tynan, English author and critic (d. 1980) Wikipedia ↗
1926 — Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1926 — Rudra Rajasingham, Sri Lankan police officer and diplomat (d. 2006) Wikipedia ↗
1925 — George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish author and screenwriter (d. 2008) Wikipedia ↗
1925 — Hans Rosenthal, German radio and television host (d. 1987) Wikipedia ↗
1924 — Bobby Ávila, Mexican baseball player (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Gloria Henry, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Johnny Paton, Scottish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician, psychologist, and author (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1922 — John C. Whitehead, American banker and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of State (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Gerald Bouey, Canadian lieutenant and civil servant (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Jack Stokes, English animator and director (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Jack Webb, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982) Wikipedia ↗
1919 — Delfo Cabrera, Argentinian runner and soldier (d. 1981) Wikipedia ↗
1914 — Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000) Wikipedia ↗
1910 — Paul Triquet, Canadian general, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1980) Wikipedia ↗
1910 — Chico Xavier, Brazilian spiritual medium (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1908 — Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003) Wikipedia ↗
1907 — Harald Andersson, American-Swedish discus thrower (d. 1985) Wikipedia ↗
1907 — Luke Appling, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991) Wikipedia ↗