On This Day — February 2

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

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39 events · 207 births · 0 deaths recorded for February 2.

🕰️ Notable Events on February 2

2012 — The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146-165 dead. Wikipedia ↗
2005 — The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage. Wikipedia ↗
2004 — Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men's singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks. Wikipedia ↗
2000 — First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments. Wikipedia ↗
1990 — Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela. Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul. Wikipedia ↗
1987 — After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution. Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama. Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation. Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda. Wikipedia ↗
1971 — The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran. Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Wikipedia ↗
1943 — World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last German troops in the city. Wikipedia ↗
1942 — The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling. Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts. Wikipedia ↗
1934 — The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated. Wikipedia ↗
1925 — Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race. Wikipedia ↗
1922 — Ulysses by James Joyce is published. Wikipedia ↗
1920 — The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia. Wikipedia ↗
1920 — France occupies Memel. Wikipedia ↗
1913 — Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City. Wikipedia ↗
1901 — Funeral of Queen Victoria. Wikipedia ↗
1899 — The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne. Wikipedia ↗
1887 — In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed. Wikipedia ↗
1876 — The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed. Wikipedia ↗
1868 — Pro-Imperial forces captured Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burned it to the ground. Wikipedia ↗
1850 — Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah. Wikipedia ↗
1848 — Mexican-American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed. Wikipedia ↗
1709 — Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe's adventure book Robinson Crusoe. Wikipedia ↗
1653 — New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated. Wikipedia ↗
1536 — Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina. Wikipedia ↗
1461 — Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer's Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England. Wikipedia ↗
1438 — Nine leaders of the Transylvanian peasant revolt are executed at Torda. Wikipedia ↗
1207 — Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established. Wikipedia ↗
1141 — The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda. Wikipedia ↗
1032 — Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy. Wikipedia ↗
962 — Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years. Wikipedia ↗
880 — Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony. Wikipedia ↗
506 — Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of "Roman law". Wikipedia ↗

🎂 Notable Births on February 2

1995 — Paul Digby, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1995 — Aleksander Jagiełło, Polish footballer Wikipedia ↗
1993 — Ravel Morrison, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Nathan Delfouneso, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Harrison Smith, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Anthony Fainga'a, Australian rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Saia Fainga'a, Australian rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Mimi Page, American singer-songwriter and composer Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Gerard Piqué, Spanish footballer Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Javon Ringer, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Gemma Arterton, English actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Silvestre Varela, Portuguese footballer Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete and jumper Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Jordin Tootoo, Canadian ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Estonian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Sergio Castaño Ortega, Spanish footballer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Kan Mi-youn, South Korean singer, model, and host Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Angela Finger-Erben, German journalist Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Urmo Aava, Estonian race car driver Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Klaus Mainzer, German rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Eden Espinosa, American actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Annabel Ellwood, Australian tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Libor Sionko, Czech footballer Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Ryan Farquhar, Northern Irish motorcycle racer Wikipedia ↗
1976 — James Hickman, English swimmer Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Ana Roces, Filipino actress Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Donald Driver, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Andrei Luzgin, Estonian tennis player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer and sportscaster (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Jason Taylor, Australian rugby league player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Hwang Seok-jeong, South Korean actress Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Valeri Karpin, Estonian-Russian footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Sean Elliott, American basketball player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Scott Erickson, American baseball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Artūrs Irbe, Latvian ice hockey player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Robert DeLeo, American bass player, songwriter, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Michael Misick, Caicos Islander politician, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands Wikipedia ↗
1965 — Carl Airey, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (d. 1996) Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Kjell Dahlin, Swedish ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Andrej Kiska, Slovak entrepreneur and philanthropist, President of Slovakia Wikipedia ↗
1962 — Philippe Claudel, French author, director, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Leszek Engelking, Polish poet and author Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Kim Zimmer, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1954 — Christie Brinkley, American actress, model, and businesswoman Wikipedia ↗
1954 — John Tudor, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Jerry Sisk, Jr., American gemologist, co-founded Jewelry Television (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1952 — John Cornyn, American lawyer and politician, 49th Attorney General of Texas Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Rick Dufay, French-American guitarist and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Park Geun-hye, South Korean politician, 11th President of South Korea Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Ralph Merkle, American computer scientist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Vangelis Alexandris, Greek basketball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Libby Purves, British journalist and author Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese wrestler Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish businessman and philanthropist Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (d. 1996) Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Brent Spiner, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Ross Valory, American rock bass player and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Ina Garten, American chef and author Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Al McKay, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Roger Williamson, English race car driver (d. 1973) Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (d. 2009) Wikipedia ↗
1946 — John Armitt, English engineer and businessman Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Alpha Oumar Konaré, Malian academic and politician, 3rd President of Mali Wikipedia ↗
1945 — John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, English economist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Andrew Davis, English organist and conductor Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Ursula Oppens, American pianist and educator Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Alan Caddy, English guitarist and producer (d. 2000) Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (d. 2008) Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Wayne Fontes, American football player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1940 — David Jason, English actor, director, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Mary-Dell Chilton, American chemist and inventor and one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Norman Fowler, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1995) Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Don Buford, American baseball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Anthony Haden-Guest, British journalist, poet, and critic Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Tom Smothers, American comedian, actor, and activist Wikipedia ↗
1936 — Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 1991) Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Pete Brown, American golfer (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Evgeny Velikhov, Russian physicist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2003) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — M'el Dowd, American actress and singer (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Tony Jay, English-American actor (d. 2006) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Cuban bassist and composer (d. 2009) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Than Shwe, Burmese general and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Robert Mandan, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Dries van Agt, Dutch lawyer, jurist, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Les Dawson, English comedian and author (d. 1993) Wikipedia ↗
1931 — John Paul Harney, Canadian educator and politician Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Judith Viorst, American journalist and author Wikipedia ↗
1929 — George Band, English engineer and mountaineer (d. 2011) Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1929 — John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Jay Handlan, American basketball player and engineer (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American judge, author, and activist (d. 1998) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Stan Getz, American saxophonist (d. 1991) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Doris Sams, American baseball player (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1926 — Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France Wikipedia ↗
1925 — Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1924 — Sonny Stitt, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1982) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Jean Babilée, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — James Dickey, American poet and novelist (d. 1997) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (d. 1988) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Red Schoendienst, American baseball player, coach, and manager Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Liz Smith, American journalist and author Wikipedia ↗
1922 — James L. Usry, American politician, first African-American mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1922 — Stoyanka Mutafova, Bulgarian actress Wikipedia ↗
1920 — George Hardwick, English footballer and coach (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1919 — Georg Gawliczek, German footballer and manager (d. 1999) Wikipedia ↗
1917 — Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam Wikipedia ↗
1915 — Abba Eban, South African-Israeli politician and diplomat, 1st Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1915 — Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (d. 2005) Wikipedia ↗
1915 — Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1914 — Eric Kierans, Canadian economist and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1912 — Burton Lane, American songwriter and composer (d. 1997) Wikipedia ↗
1908 — Wes Ferrell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976) Wikipedia ↗
1905 — Ayn Rand, Russian-born American novelist and philosopher (d. 1982) Wikipedia ↗
1902 — Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (d. 1966) Wikipedia ↗
1901 — Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born American violinist and educator (d. 1987) Wikipedia ↗
1900 — Anni Frind, German lyric soprano (d. 1987) [1] Wikipedia ↗
1900 — Willie Kamm, American baseball player and manager (d. 1988) Wikipedia ↗
1900 — Elena Sánchez Valenzuela, Mexican silent film star, journalist, and suffragette (d. 1950) Wikipedia ↗
1897 — Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson's (d. 1972) Wikipedia ↗
1897 — Gertrude Blanch, Russian-American mathematician (d. 1996) Wikipedia ↗
1896 — Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980) Wikipedia ↗
1895 — George Halas, American football player and coach (d. 1983) Wikipedia ↗
1895 — Robert Philipp, American painter (d. 1981) Wikipedia ↗
1893 — Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1974) Wikipedia ↗
1893 — Damdin Sükhbaatar, Mongolian soldier and politician (d. 1924) Wikipedia ↗
1892 — Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (d. 1959) Wikipedia ↗
1890 — Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1972) Wikipedia ↗
1889 — Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (d. 1952) Wikipedia ↗
1887 — Ernst Hanfstaengl, German businessman (d. 1975) Wikipedia ↗
1887 — Pat Sullivan, Australian-American animator and producer (d. 1933) Wikipedia ↗
1886 — William Rose Benét, American poet and author (d. 1950) Wikipedia ↗
1883 — Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro (d. 1958) Wikipedia ↗
1882 — James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1941) Wikipedia ↗
1881 — Orval Overall, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947) Wikipedia ↗
1875 — Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (d. 1962) Wikipedia ↗
1873 — Leo Fall, Austrian composer (d. 1925) Wikipedia ↗
1873 — Konstantin von Neurath, German politician and diplomat, 13th German Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1956) Wikipedia ↗
1866 — Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and academic (d. 1927) Wikipedia ↗
1861 — Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (d. 1949) Wikipedia ↗