On this day in History - Dec. 02
- 1348 - Emperor Hanazono of Japan dies (b. 1297).
- 1381 - John of Ruysbroeck dies. Flemish mystic.
- 1409 - The University of Leipzig opens.
- 1455 - D. Isabel de Aviz dies (b. 1432). Queen of Portugal, wife of de D. Afonso V de 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.
- 1615 - Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon dies. French general.
- 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.
- 1754 - William Cooper was born (d. 1809). American judge.
- 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.
- 1811 - Jean-Charles Chapais was born (d. 1885). French Canadian politician, Father of the Canadian Confederation.
- 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).
- 1844 - Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko dies (b. 1768). Polish general and politician.
- 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 - Princess Marie of Hanover was born (d. 1906).
- 1852 - Napoleon III becomes Emperor of France.
- 1859 - Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged in Charlestown, Virginia, for his October 16th raid on Harper's Ferry.
- 1859 - Georges Seurat was born (d. 1891). French painter and founder of Neoimpressionism.
- 1859 - John Brown dies hanged (b. 1800). American abolitionist.
- 1860 - Alfred Bunn dies (b. 1796). British theatrical manager.
- 1861 - The small Oregon town of Champoeg is flooded by the Willamette River. No deaths occurred.
- 1863 - Charles Ringling was born (d. 1926). American circus owner.
- 1867 - At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.
- 1877 - French physicist Louis Paul Cailletet liquefies oxygen; he later liquefies hydrogen, nitrogen, and air.
- 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.
- 1886 - Harry Burleigh was born (d. 1949). American composer.
- 1891 - Charles H. Wesley was born (d. 1987). Author writer and Brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc.
- 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.
- 1894 - Warren William was born (d. 1948). American Broadway and film actor.
- 1895 - Harriet Cohen was born (d. 1967). British pianist.
- 1897 - Hovhannes Bagramyan was born (d. 1982). Marshall of the Soviet Union.
- 1898 - Indra Lal Roy was born (d. 1918). Indian pilot.
- 1899 - Philippine-American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, termed "The Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.
- 1899 - John Barbirolli was born (d. 1970). British conductor.
- 1899 - John Cobb was born (d. 1952). British racing driver.
- 1899 - Ray Morehart was born (d. 1989). American baseball player.
- 1899 - Gregorio del Pilar dies (b. 1875). Filipino general (killed at Battle of Tirad Pass).
- 1901 - Raimundo Orsi was born (d. 1986). Argentinian/Italian international footballer and World Cup winner.
- 1902 - Howard Koch was born (d. 1995). American screenwriter.
- 1906 - Peter Goldmark was born (d. 1977). Hungarian-born American Columbia Records engineer.
- 1910 - Russell Lynes was born (d. 1991). American art historian, photographer, author and managing editor of Harper's Magazine.
- 1914 - Adolph Green was born (d. 2002). American composer.
- 1914 - Ray Walston was born (d. 2001). American actor.
- 1917 - Sylvia Syms was born (d. 1992). American jazz singer.
- 1918 - Edmond Rostand dies (b. 1868). French poet.
- 1920 - Following more than a month of Turkish-Armenian War, the Turkish dictated peace treaty is concluded -Treaty of Alexandropol.
- 1923 - Maria Callas was born (d. 1977). American soprano.
- 1924 - Alexander M. Haig, Jr. was born. American politician.
- 1924 - Vilgot Sjöman was born (d. 2006). Swedish writer and film director.
- 1924 - Kazimieras Būga dies (b. 1879). Lithuanian philologist.
- 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.
- 1927 - Ralph Beard was born (d. 2007). American basketball player.
- 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 - David Piper was born. British race car driver.
- 1931 - Edwin Meese was born. American politician.
- 1931 - Hatsumi Masaaki was born. Founder and head of the Bujinkan Dojo organization.
- 1931 - Wynton Kelly was born (d. 1971). American jazz pianist.
- 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.
- 1934 - Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone was born. Cardinal Secretary of State and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.
- 1935 - David Hackett Fischer was born. American historian.
- 1936 - John Ringling dies (b. 1866). American circus owner.
- 1938 - Aurelio Mosquera Narváez assumes the Presidency of Ecuador.
- 1939 - New York City's La Guardia Airport opens.
- 1939 - Harry Reid was born. American politician.
- 1939 - Francis Fox was born. Canadian politician, member of the Senate.
- 1939 - Yael Dayan was born. Israeli writer and politician.
- 1940 - Sanches Osório was born. Portuguese militar. Important revolutionary personality on 25 April 1974 movement.
- 1941 - Tom McGuinness was born. British musician (Manfred Mann).
- 1942 - Manhattan Project: A team led by Enrico Fermi initiate the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
- 1943 - A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks an American ship with a mustard gas stockpile. Numerous fatalities (though the exact death toll is unresolved as the bombing raid itself caused hundreds of deaths too).
- 1943 - Wayne Allard was born. American politician.
- 1943 - Nordahl Grieg dies (b. 1902). Norwegian author and journalist.
- 1944 - Botho Strauß was born. German author.
- 1944 - Ibrahim Rugova was born (d. 2006). First President of Kosovo.
- 1944 - Dionysis Savvopoulos was born. Greek musician and songwriter.
- 1944 - Inger Davidson was born. Swedish politician.
- 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 - British Government invites four Indian leaders, Nehru, Baldev Singh, Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan to obtain the participation of all parties in the Constituent Assembly.
- 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.
- 1947 - Isaac Bitton was born. French rock band drummer (Les Variations).
- 1947 - Ivan Atanassov Petrov was born. Bulgarian neurologist.
- 1947 - Tommy Jenkins was born. English football player.
- 1948 - T. Coraghessan Boyle was born. American writer.
- 1950 - Amin Saikal was born. Afghan-Australian academic.
- 1950 - Bob Kevoian was born. American radio personality.
- 1950 - Dinu Lipatti dies (b. 1917). Romanian pianist.
- 1951 - Adrian Devine was born. American baseball pitcher.
- 1952 - Carlos Ibañez do Campo is elected President of Chile.
- 1952 - Carol Shea-Porter was born. American Congresswoman.
- 1952 - Michael McDonald was born. American musician.
- 1953 - Reginald Baker dies (b. 1884). Australian athlete and 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."
- 1954 - The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and the Republic of China, is signed in Washington, DC.
- 1954 - Dan Butler was born. American actor.
- 1954 - Stone Phillips was born. American television journalist.
- 1956 - The Granma yacht reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente province and Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution.
- 1957 - Dagfinn Høybråten was born. Norwegian politician.
- 1957 - Harrison Ford dies (b. 1884). American actor.
- 1957 - Manfred Sakel dies (b. 1902). Polish psychiatrist.
- 1958 - Uladzimir Parfianovich was born. Belarusian canoer.
- 1958 - Eric L. Harry was born. American novelist.
- 1958 - George Saunders was born. American writer.
- 1960 - Nicholas Dingley alias Razzle was born. British Drummer (Hanoi Rocks).
- 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.
- 1962 - Kardam, Prince of Turnovo, was born. Titular Bulgarian royal family.
- 1963 - Ann Patchett was born. American novelist.
- 1963 - Ron Sutter was born. National Hockey League 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.
- 1966 - Jinsei Shinzaki was born. Japanese professional wrestler.
- 1968 - Massimiliano Lelli was born. Italian cyclist.
- 1968 - Lucy Liu was born. American actress.
- 1968 - Nate Mendel was born. American bassist (Foo Fighters).
- 1968 - Chris Wedge was born. American animator.
- 1968 - Rena Sofer was born. American actress.
- 1968 - Darryl Kile was born (d. 2002). American baseball player.
- 1968 - Adamson-Eric (Eric Adamson) dies (b. 1902). Estonian painter.
- 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.
- 1970 - Treach was born. American rapper (Naughty by Nature).
- 1971 - Francesco Toldo was born in Padova. Italian football player (goal-keeper) Internazionale.
- 1971 - Wilson Jermaine Heredia was born. American actor.
- 1972 - Gough Whitlam becomes the first Australian Labor Party Prime Minister of Australia for 23 years.
- 1972 - Sergei Zholtok was born (d. 2004). Latvian ice hockey player.
- 1972 - Edison Carneiro dies (b. 1912). Brazilian writer.
- 1973 - Graham Kavanagh was born. Irish footballer.
- 1973 - Jan Ullrich was born. German cyclist.
- 1973 - Monica Seles was born. Yugoslav-born American tennis player.
- 1973 - Virgínia Rau dies. Portuguese historian.
- 1974 - Max Weber dies (b. 1897). Swiss Federal Councilor.
- 1975 - Alfredo Guisado [Alfredo Pedro de Meneses Guisado] dies in Lisbon (b. 30 Oct. 1891 in Lisbon). Portuguese poetm journalist and politician.
- 1976 - Eddy Garabito was born. Professional baseball player.
- 1976 - Danny Murtaugh dies (b. 1917). American baseball player and manager.
- 1977 - The first World Series Cricket "supertest" match played between Australia and West Indies.
- 1977 - Siyabonga Nomvethe was born. South African footballer plays for Aalborg BK.
- 1978 - Chris Wolstenholme was born. British bassist (Muse).
- 1978 - David Rivas was born. Spanish Footballer plays for Real Betis.
- 1978 - Jason Collins was born. American basketball player.
- 1978 - Nelly Furtado was born. Portuguese-Canadian singer and songwriter.
- 1978 - Peter Moylan was born. Australian baseball player.
- 1979 - Michael McIndoe was born. Scottish professional footballer (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
- 1979 - Yvonne Catterfeld was born. German singer and actress.
- 1980 - Four U.S. nuns and churchwomen, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Jean Donovan, and Dorothy Kazel, are murdered by a death squad in El Salvador.
- 1980 - Romain Gary dies (b. 1914). Russian-born French writer.
- 1980 - Chaudhry Muhammad Ali dies (b. 1905). Prime Minister of Pakistan.
- 1981 - Andrea Lehotská was born. Slovakian supermodel.
- 1981 - Britney Spears was born. American singer.
- 1981 - Danijel Pranjić was born. Croatian footballer who currently plays for Bayern Munich.
- 1981 - Isabella Soprano was born. American pornographic actress.
- 1982 - At the University of Utah, Barney Clark, becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
- 1982 - Hristos Karipidis was born. Greek footballer.
- 1982 - Matt Ware was born. American football player.
- 1982 - Michelle Banzer was born. American model/beauty queen.
- 1982 - Pizon was born. American rapper/producer.
- 1982 - Marty Feldman dies (b. 1934). British comedian, writer and actor.
- 1983 - Aaron Rodgers was born. American football player.
- 1983 - Bibiana Candelas was born. Mexican volleyball player.
- 1983 - Chris Burke was born. Scottish footballer plays for Rangers F.C..
- 1983 - Fifi d'Orsay dies (b. 1904). Canadian actress.
- 1984 - Jess Cozzetta was born. Casting PA (Stickfigure Productions).
- 1984 - Péter Máté was born. Hungarian footballer.
- 1985 - Dorell Wright was born. American basketball player.
- 1985 - Aniello Dellacroce dies (b. 1914). American gangster.
- 1985 - Philip Larkin dies (b. 1922). English writer and jazz critic.
- 1986 - Claudiu Keserü was born. Romanian football player (FC Nantes Atlantique).
- 1986 - Desi Arnaz dies (b. 1917). Cuban-born actor, musician, band leader, and composer.
- 1986 - John Curtis Gowan dies (b. 1912). American psychologist.
- 1987 - Teairra Mari was born. American R&B singer.
- 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 - Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state.
- 1988 - Alfred Enoch was born. British actor.
- 1988 - Soniya Mehra was born. Indian actress.
- 1988 - Tata Giacobetti dies. Italian singer and lyricist (Quartetto Cetra).
- 1989 - Cassie Steele was born. Canadian actress.
- 1990 - A coalition led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl wins the first free all-German elections since 1932.
- 1990 - Hikaru Yaotome was born. Japanese actor and singer.
- 1990 - António Dacosta dies. Portuguese painter.
- 1990 - Aaron Copland dies (b. 1900). American composer.
- 1990 - Robert Cummings dies (b. 1908). American film and television actor.
- 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.
- 1995 - Roxie Roker dies (b. 1929). American actress/news personality.
- 1997 - Big Daddy (Shirley Crabtree) dies (b. 1930). British professional wrestler.
- 1997 - Michael Hedges dies (b. 1953). American guitarist known for originality.
- 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.
- 1999 – Glenbrook rail accident near Sydney, New South Wales.
- 2000 - The Smashing Pumpkins perform for the last time at The Metro in Chicago.
- 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.
- 2003 - Suzanne Cloutier dies (b. 1927). Canadian film actress.
- 2004 - Alicia Markova dies (b. 1910). British ballerina.
- 2004 - Mona Van Duyn dies (b. 1921). American poet.
- 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 - Kenneth Boyd (b. 1948) becomes the 1,000th person to be executed in the United States since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.
- 2005 - Malik Joyeux dies. Tahiti born surfer, tragically died at the world's most dangerous break, Pipeline, Hawaii.
- 2005 - Nat Mayer Shapiro dies (b. 1919). American painter.
- 2005 - Van Tuong Nguyen dies hanged (b. 1980). Australian drug smuggler.
- 2006 - Mariska Veres dies (b. 1947). Dutch singer.
- 2007 – Jennifer Alexander dies (b. 1972). Canadian ballet dancer.
- 2008 – Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat resigns after the 2008 Thailand political crisis.
- 2008 – Edward Samuel Rogers dies (b. 1933). Canadian entrepreneur.
- 2008 – Kathleen Baskin-Ball dies. American United Methodist Pastor.
- 2008 – Odetta dies (b. 1930). American singer.
- R.C. Saints – St Bibiana, Saint Chromatius.
- Feast Day – Channing Moore Williams.
- United Arab Emirates - National Day (independence from Britain, 1971).
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