On this day in History - Dec. 2

• 1348 - Emperor Hanazono of Japan dies (b. 1297)
• 1381 - John of Ruysbroeck dies. Flemish mystic
• 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens.
• 1455 - D. Isabel dies. Queen of Portugal.
• 1463 - Archduke Albert VI of Austria dies (b. 1418)
• 1469 - Piero di Cosimo de' Medici dies (b. 1416). Ruler of Florence.
• 1515 - Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba dies (b. 1453). Spanish general and statesman.
• 1547 - Hernán Cortés dies (b. 1485). Spanish explorer and conqueror.
• 1552 - Francis Xavier dies (b. 1506). Spanish Catholic missionary.
• 1578- Agostino Agazzari was born (d. 1640). Italian composer and music theorist.
• 1594 - Gerardus Mercator dies (b. 1512). Flemish cartographer.
• 1665 - Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet dies (b. 1588). French socialite.
• 1694 - William Shirley was born (d. 1771). Colonial Governor of Massachusetts
• 1694 - Pierre Paul Puget dies (b. 1622). French artist.
• 1703 - Ferdinand Konscak was born (d. 1759). Croatian explorer
• 1710 - Bertinazzi was born (d. 1783). Italian actor and writer.
• 1719 - Pasquier Quesnel dies (b. 1634). French Jansenist theologian.
• 1723 - Philip II, Duke of Orléans dies (b. 1674). Regent of France.
• 1726 - Samuel Penhallow dies (b. 1665). English-born American colonist and historian.
• 1738 - Richard Montgomery was born (d. 1775). Irish-born American soldier.
• 1747 - Vincent Bourne dies (b. 1695). English classical scholar.
• 1748- Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset dies (b. 1662). English politician.
• 1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire.
• 1760 - John Breckinridge was born (d. 1806). American politician.
• 1774 - Johann Friedrich Agricola dies (b. 1720). German composer and organist.
• 1804 - At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned as the first Emperor of France in a thousand years by Pope Pius VII.
• 1805 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Austerlitz - French troops under Napoleon defeat a joint Russo-Austrian force.
• 1814 - Marquis de Sade dies (b. 1740). French writer.
• 1817 - Heinrich von Sybel was born (d. 1895). German historian.
• 1823 - Monroe Doctrine: US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts.
• 1825 - Emperor Pedro II of Brazil was born (d. 1891)
• 1845 - Manifest Destiny: US President James K. Polk announces to Congress that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.
• 1846 - Pierre Marie René Ernest Waldeck-Rousseau was born (d. 1904). French statesman
• 1848 - Franz Josef I becomes Emperor of Austria.
• 1849 - Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen dies (b. 1792). Queen of William IV of the United Kingdom
• 1851 - Newly-elected French President Charles Louis Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic.
• 1852 - Napoleon III becomes Emperor of France.
• 1859 - Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October 16th raid on Harper's Ferry.
• 1859 - John Brown dies (hanged) (b. 1800). American abolitionist.
• 1859 - Georges Seurat was born (d. 1891). French painter and founder of Neoimpressionism
• 1863 - Charles Ringling was born (d. 1926). American circus owner.
• 1867 - In a New York City theater, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.
• 1884 - Ruth Draper was born in New York City. American monologuist and monodramatist
• 1885 - George Richards Minot was born (d. 1950). American physician and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1891 - Otto Dix was born (d. 1969). German painter and graphic artist.
• 1892 - Leo Ornstein was born (d. 2002). Russian-born American composer and pianist.
• 1892 - Jay Gould dies (b. 1836). American entrepreneur.
• 1895 - Harriet Cohen was born (d. 1967). British pianist.
• 1898 - Indra Lal Roy was born (d. 1918). Indian pilot.
• 1899 - John Barbirolli was born (d. 1970). British conductor.
• 1899 - Philippine-American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, termed "The Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.
• 1901 - Raimundo Orsi was born (d. 1986). Argentinian/Italian international footballer and World Cup winner.
• 1906 - Peter Goldmark was born (d. 1977). Hungarian-born American Columbia Records engineer.
• 1914 - Adolph Green was born (d. 2002). American composer.
• 1914 - Ray Walston was born (d. 2001). American actor.
• 1918 - Edmond Rostand dies (b. 1868). French poet.
• 1923 - Maria Callas was born (d. 1977). American soprano.
• 1924 - Alexander M. Haig, Jr. was born. American politician.
• 1925 - Julie Harris was born. American actress.
• 1927 - Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile.
• 1930 - Great Depression: US President Herbert Hoover goes before Congress and asks for a US$150 million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy.
• 1930 - Gary Becker was born. American economist and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1931 - Edwin Meese was born. American politician.
• 1931 - Vincent d'Indy dies (b. 1851). French composer.
• 1932 - Vítor Crespo was born. Portuguese politician.
• 1933 - Michael Larrabee was born (d. 2003).American athlete.
• 1933 - K.Veeramani was born. Indian leader of Dravidar Kazhagam.
• 1934 - Andre Rodgers was born (d. 2004). American baseball player.
• 1935 - David Hackett Fischer was born. American historian.
• 1938 - Aurelio Mosquera Narváez assumes the Presidency of Ecuador.
• 1939 - Yael Dayan was born. Palestinian-born Israeli writer and politician.
• 1939 - Harry Reid was born. American politician.
• 1939 - New York City's La Guardia Airport opens.
• 1940 - Sanches Osório was born. Portuguese militar. Important revolutionary personality on 25 April 1974 movement.
• 1942 - Manhattan Project: A team led by Enrico Fermi initiate the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
• 1943 - Wayne Allard was born. American politician.
• 1944 - Botho Strauß was born. German author.
• 1944 - Josef Lhévinne dies (b. 1874). Russian pianist.
• 1944 - Filippo Tommaso Marinetti dies (b. 1876). Italian fascist.
• 1945 - Pedras Rubras Airport (Portugal) is inaugurated.
• 1945 - Penelope Spheeris was born. American film director
• 1946 - Gianni Versace was born (d. 1997). Italian fashion designer.
• 1946 - John Banks was born. New Zealand politician
• 1947 - Jerusalem Riots of 1947: Riots break out in Jerusalem in response to the approval of the 1947 UN Partition Plan.
• 1950 - Dinu Lipatti dies (b. 1917). Romanian pianist.
• 1952 - Michael McDonald was born. American musician.
• 1954 - Dan Butler was born. American actor.
• 1954 - Red Scare: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
• 1957 - Dagfinn Høybråten was born. Norwegian politician.
• 1957 - Manfred Sakel dies (b. 1902). Polish psychiatrist.
• 1960 - Rick Savage was born. British bassist (Def Leppard) .
• 1961 - In a nationally-broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.
• 1962 - Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of US President John F. Kennedy, US Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to not make an optimistic public comment on the war's progress.
• 1962 - Tracy Austin was born. American tennis player.
• 1963 - Thomas J. Hicks dies (b. 1875). British-born American marathon runner and Olympic gold medalist.
• 1963 - Sabu Dastagir dies (b. 1924). Indian-born American actor.
• 1968 - Lucy Liu was born. American actress.
• 1968 - Nate Mendel was born. American bassist (Foo Fighters).
• 1968 - Chris Wedge was born. American animator.
• 1969 - Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov dies (b. 1881). Russian politician.
• 1970 - The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations.
• 1970 - Sarah Silverman was born.American comedian.
• 1971 - Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm Al Quwain form the United Arab Emirates.
• 1971 - Francesco Toldo was born in Padova. Italian football player (goal-keeper) Internazionale
• 1972 - Gough Whitlam becomes the first Australian Labor Party Prime Minister of Australia for 23 years.
• 1972 - Edson Carneiro dies (b. 1912). Brazilian writer.
• 1973 - Monica Seles was born. Yugoslav-born American tennis player.
• 1973 - Jan Ullrich was born. German cyclist.
• 1973 - Virgínia Rau dies. Portuguese historian.
• 1974 - Max Weber dies (b. 1897). Swiss Federal Councilor.
• 1975 - Pathet Lao seizes power in Laos, and establishes the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
• 1976 - Danny Murtaugh dies (b. 1917). American baseball player and manager.
• 1978 - Nelly Furtado was born. Canadian singer and songwriter.
• 1979 - Yvonne Catterfeld was born. German singer and actress.
• 1980 - Romain Gary dies (b. 1914). Russian-born French writer.
• 1981 - Britney Spears was born. American singer.
• 1982 - Marty Feldman dies (b. 1933). British comedian.
• 1982 - At the University of Utah, Barney Clark, becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
• 1983 - Fifi d'Orsay dies (b. 1904). Canadian actress.
• 1985 - Aniello Dellacroce dies (b. 1914). American gangster.
• 1986 - Desi Arnaz dies (b. 1917). Cuban-born actor, musician, band leader, and composer.
• 1987 - Luis Federico Leloir dies (b. 1906). French-born chemist and Nobel Prize laureate in 1970.
• 1987 - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich dies (b. 1914). Russian physicist.
• 1987 - Juan Alberto Melgar Castro dies. President of Honduras (1975-1978) .
• 1988 - Tata Giacobetti dies. Italian singer and lyricist (Quartetto Cetra) .
• 1988 - Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state.
• 1990 - A coalition led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl wins the first free all-German elections since 1932.
• 1990 - António Dacosta dies. Portuguese painter.
• 1990 - Aaron Copland dies (b. 1900). American composer.
• 1991 - Apple release the first version of QuickTime.
• 1993 - Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is shot and killed in Medellín.
• 1993 - Space Shuttle program: STS-61 - NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
• 1993 - Pablo Escobar dies (b. 1949). Colombian drug dealer.
• 1995 - Robertson Davies dies (b. 1913). Canadian novelist.
• 1997 - Big Daddy (Shirley Crabtree) dies (b. 1930). British professional wrestler.
• 1998 - D. Américo do Couto Oliveira dies. Portuguese bishop (Bishop of Lamego).
• 1999 - The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive.
• 2000 - The Smashing Pumpkins play their final gig.
• 2001 - Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• 2002 - Ivan Illich dies (b. 1926). Austrian priest and philosopher.
• 2002 - Arno Peters dies (b. 1916). German historian.
• 2003 - Alan Davidson dies (b. 1924). British author.
• 2004 - Brian Williams succeeds Tom Brokaw as host of NBC Nightly News.
• 2004 - Mona Van Duyn dies (b. 1921). American poet.
• 2004 - Alicia Markova dies (b. 1910). British ballerina.
• 2005 - New German Chancellor Angela Merkel makes her first official visit to Poland on Friday against the backdrop of simmering resentment about a controversial World War II memorial project.
• 2005 - Microsoft's Xbox 360 is launched in Europe.
• 2005 - Nguyen Truong Van's execution date (b. 1980) .
• Feast day of St Bibiana.