September 2

2024 Calendar

September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 120 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

44 BC – Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co–ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion.
31 BC – Roman Civil War: Battle of Actium – Off the western coast of Greece, forces of Octavian defeat troops under Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
1192 – The Third Crusade ends, after a peace agreement Sultan Saladin and Richard I of England.
1649 – The Italian city of Castro is completely destroyed by the forces of Pope Innocent X, ending the Wars of Castro.
1666 – The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral.
1667 – Street lighting is introduced in Paris.
1752 – The United Kingdom adopts the Gregorian calendar, nearly two centuries later than most of Western Europe.
1789 – United States Department of the Treasury was founded.
1792 – During what became known as the September Massacres of the French Revolution, rampaging mobs slaughtered three Roman Catholic Church bishops and more than two hundred priests.
1806 – A massive landslide destroys the town of Goldau, Switzerland, killing 457 people.
1807 – British Navy bombards Copenhagen with fire bombs and phosphorus rockets to stop Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon. 70% of the city was destroyed and 2000 citizens were killed.
1811 – The University of Oslo is founded as The Royal Fredericks University, named after King Frederick VI of Denmark and Norway.
1859 – A solar super storm affects the electrical telegraph service.
1862 – American Civil War: President Abraham Lincoln reluctantly restores Union General George McClellan to full command after General John Pope's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Second Bull Run.
1864 – American Civil War: Union forces under General William T. Sherman enter Atlanta, Georgia a day after the Confederate defenders fled the city.
1867 – Mutsuhito, the Meiji Emperor of Japan marries Ichijo Masako. The Empress consort is thereafter known as Lady Haruko.
1870 – Franco–Prussian War: Battle of Sedan – Prussian forces defeat the French armies and take emperor Napoleon III and 100,000 of his soldiers prisoner at Sedan.
1885 – In Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 white miners attack their Chinese coworkers, killing 28, wounding 15, and forcing several hundred more out of town.
1898 – Battle of Omdurman – British and Egyptian troops led by Horatio Kitchener defeat Sudanese tribesmen led by Khalifa Abdullah al–Taashi, thus establishing British dominance in the Sudan.

1901 – 2000

1901 – Vice President Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair.
1935 – Labor Day Hurricane of 1935: A large hurricane hit the Florida Keys killing 423.
1939 – Following the invasion of Poland, Freie Stadt Danzig Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) ruled by Nazi leader Forster is annexed to Nazi Germany.
1944 – Holocaust: Diarist Anne Frank and her family are placed on the last transport train from Westerbork to Auschwitz. They arrive three days later.
1945 – World War II ends: The final official surrender of Japan was accepted by General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
1945 – Vietnam declares its independence forming the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).
1946 – A caretaker government is formed in India, with Jawaharlal Nehru taking Prime Ministerial powers.
1957 – South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem makes the first–ever state visit to Australia.
1958 – United States Air Force C–130 A–II is shot down by fighters over Yerevan, Armenia, when it strays into Soviet airspace while conducting a mission, killing all crew members.
1960 – First election to Parliament of Central Tibetan Administration.
1963 – CBS Evening News becomes network television's first half–hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.
1967 – The microstate Principality of Sealand unilaterally declared its independence.
1969 – The first automatic teller machine in the United States is installed in Rockville Centre, New York.
1970 – NASA cancels two planned Moon missions, Apollo 15 and Apollo 19.
1973 – France pulls its last troops out of Madagascar.
1984 – Typhoon Ike kills over 1,400 people.
1987 – In Moscow, the trial of 19–year–old pilot Mathias Rust, who flew his Cessna airplane into Red Square in May 1987, begins.
1990 – Transnistria is declared a Soviet republic on its own right. Mikhail Gorbachev declares the move illegal.
1991 – The United States recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
1992 – An earthquake in Nicaragua kills 116 people.
1995 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opens in Cleveland, Ohio. The building was designed by I. M. Pei.
1995 – Frank Bruno becomes Boxing Heavyweight Champion, defeating Oliver McCall in London.
1998 – In Canada, pilots for Air Canada launch the first strike in company's history.
1998 – A McDonnell Douglas MD–11 airliner carrying Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia after taking off from New York City en route to Geneva. All 229 people on board are killed.
1998 – A United Nations court finds Jean–Paul Akayesu, the former mayor of a small town in Rwanda, guilty of nine counts of genocide, marking the first time that the 1948 law banning genocide is enforced.

From 2001

2001 – Cartoon Network begins its adult–orientated block, Adult Swim.
2004 – Resolution 1559: The United Nations Security Council calls for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon.
2013 – The new eastern part of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic.
2016 – President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov dies aged 78, after several days of speculation over his ill health.
2018 – National Museum of Brazil fire: The National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro is heavily damaged by fire. Many cultural treasures are lost in the blaze.
2019 – Sinking of MV Conception: 34 people are killed when the boat "MV Conception" goes on fire and sinks near Santa Cruz, California.

Births

Up to 1900

1661 – Georg Böhm, German organist and composer (d. 1733)
1675 – William Somerville, English poet (d. 1742)
1753 – Marie Josephine of Savoy, Italian–born Queen Consort of France (d. 1810)
1763 – Caroline Schelling, German writer and translator (d. 1809)
1778 – Louis Bonaparte, King of the Netherlands (d. 1846)
1798 – Thomas Holliday Higgins, Governor of Maryland (d. 1865)
1805 – Esteban Echeverria, Argentine writer (d. 1851)
1810 – Lysander Button, American engineer (d. 1898)
1810 – William Seymour Tyler, American historian and educator (d. 1897)
1811 – J. C. Jacobsen, Danish industrialist and philanthropist, founder of the Carlsberg brewery (d. 1887)
1812 – William Fox, 2nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1893)
1814 – Ernst Curtius, German archaeologist and philologist (d. 1896)
1820 – Lucretia Hale, American journalist and author (d. 1900)
1830 – William P. Frye, American politician (d. 1911)
1838 – Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii (d. 1917)
1838 – Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Indian/Bengali writer and religious figure (d. 1914)
1839 – Henry George, American economist (d. 1897)
1840 – Giovanni Verga, Italian writer (d. 1922)
1850 – Albert Spalding, American baseball player and sporting goods manufacturer (d. 1915)
1850 – Alfred Pringsheim, German mathematician and art collector (d. 1941)
1850 – Woldemar Voigt, German physicist (d. 1919)
1853 – Wilhelm Ostwald, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
1866 – Hiram Johnson, Governor of California (d. 1945)
1877 – Frederick Soddy, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1956)
1878 – Ion Dragoumis, Greek diplomat, writer and revolutionary (d. 1920)
1879 – An Jung–geun, Korean assassin of Ito Hirobumi (d. 1910)
1883 – Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria, Austrian archduchess (d. 1963)
1883 – Rudolf Weigl, Polish biologist (d. 1957)
1884 – Frank Laubach, American Christian missionary (d. 1970)
1886 – Warren Brittingham, American soccer player (d. 1962)
1894 – Joseph Roth, Austrian novelist (d. 1939)
1898 – Pietro Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur (d. 1949)
1898 – Alfons Gorbach, Chancellor of Austria (d. 1972)

1901 – 1950

1901 – Adolph Rupp, American College basketball coach (d. 1977)
1904 – Set Svanholm, Swedish tenor (d. 1964)
1912 – Ingeborg Rapoport, German paediatrician (d. 2017)
1913 – Israel Gelfand, Russian mathematician (d. 2009)
1913 – Bill Shankly, Scottish football manager (d. 1981)
1915 – Meinhardt Raabe, American actor (d. 2010)
1917 – Cleveland Amory, writer (d. 1998)
1918 – Allen Drury, American writer (d. 1998)
1919 – Marge Champion, American actress, dancer and choreographer
1922 – Arthur Ashkin, American physicist
1923 – René Thom, French mathematician (d. 2002)
1924 – Daniel arap Moi, former President of Kenya
1925 – Hugo Montenegro, American composer and bandleader (d. 1981)
1925 – Russ Conway, British pianist, composer and singer (d. 2000)
1926 – Stanley Cavell, American philosopher (d. 2018)
1926 – Ibrahim Nasir, President of the Maldives (d. 2008)
1927 – Milo Hamilton, American sportscaster (d. 2015)
1927 – Francis Matthews, English actor (d. 2014)
1928 – Horace Silver, American jazz pianist (d. 2014)
1928 – Mel Stuart, American director and producer (d. 2012)
1929 – Hal Ashby, American movie director (d. 1988)
1929 – Victor Spinetti, Welsh actor and director (d. 2012)
1930 – Andrey Petrov, Russian composer (d. 2006)
1931 – Clifford Jordan, American jazz musician (d. 1993)
1933 – Mathieu Kérékou, former President of Benin (d. 2015)
1934 – Chuck McCann, American actor and comedian (d. 2018)
1936 – Andrew Grove, American computer chip manufacturer (d. 2016)
1937 – Len Carlson, Canadian voice actor (d. 2006)
1938 – Giuliano Gemma, Italian actor (d. 2013)
1941 – David Bale, South African activist
1942 – Andrew Kohut, American political scientist (d. 2015)
1943 – Rosalind Ashford, American singer (Martha and the Vandellas)
1944 – Al Matthews, American actor (d. 2002)
1946 – Billy Preston, American musician (d. 2006)
1947 – Louis Michel, Belgian educator and politician
1948 – Terry Bradshaw, American football player
1948 – Christa McAuliffe, American schoolteacher and astronaut (d. 1986)
1949 – Moira Stuart, British broadcast journalist
1950 – Michael Rother, German guitarist and keyboardist
1950 – Yuen Wah, Chinese actor, martial artist and stuntman

1951 – 1975

1951 – Mark Harmon, American actor
1952 – Jimmy Connors, American tennis player
1953 – Keith Allen, British actor
1953 – John Zorn, American musician
1954 – Andrej Babis, Czech businessman and politician, Prime minister of the Czech Republic
1956 – Doria Ragland, mother of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
1956 – Mario Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player
1957 – Steve Porcaro, American musician (Toto)
1958 – Lynne Kosky, Australian politician (d. 2014)
1958 – Olivier Grouillard, French racing driver
1959 – Guy Laliberté, Canadian poker player and entrepreneur, founder of the Cirque du Soleil
1960 – Kristin Halvorsen, Norwegian politician
1961 – Eric Dickerson, American football player
1961 – Claude Puel, French footballer and manager
1961 – Carlos Valderrama, Colombian footballer
1962 – Eugenio Derbez, Mexican actor, director, producer and screenwriter
1962 – Keir Starmer, English lawyer and politician
1963 – Prachya Pinkaew, Thai movie director, producer and screenwriter
1963 – Stanislav Cherchesov, Russian footballer and manager
1964 – Keanu Reeves, Canadian actor
1965 – Lennox Lewis, Canadian–British boxer
1966 – Salma Hayek, Mexican actress
1967 – Andreas Moeller, German footballer
1969 – Cedric "K–Ci" Hailey, singer
1969 – Stephane Matteau, Canadian ice hockey player
1971 – Kjetil André Aamodt, Norwegian alpine skier
1971 – Tommy Maddox, American football player
1972 – Sergei Zholtok, ice hockey player
1973 – Mark Shield, Australian football referee
1974 – Sami Salo, Finnish ice hockey player

From 1976

1976 – Momodu Mutairu, Nigerian footballer
1977 – Frédéric Kanouté, Malian footballer
1979 – Tomer Ben Yosef, Israeli footballer
1980 – Danny Shittu, Nigerian footballer
1981 – Chris Tremlett, English cricketer
1982 – Joey Barton, English footballer
1983 – José Alfredo Castillo, Bolivian footballer
1983 – Aimee Osbourne, American model and actress
1986 – Gelson Fernandes, Swiss footballer
1986 – Rafik Halliche, Algerian footballer
1986 – Kyle Hines, American basketball player
1987 – Spencer Smith, American drummer (Panic! at the Disco)
1987 – Jevan Snead, American football player (d. 2019)
1988 – Javi Martínez, Spanish footballer
1988 – Dimitrij Ovtcharov, German table tennis player
1989 – Alexandre Pato, Brazilian footballer
1989 – Marcus Morris, American basketball player
1989 – Markieff Morris, American basketball player
1990 – Marcus Ericsson, Swedish racing driver
1992 – Alberto Masi, Italian footballer
1993 – Montana Cox, Australian model
1996 – Sungha Jung, South Korean musician
1997 – Brandon Ingram, American basketball player

Deaths

Up to 1900

490 BC – Pheidippides, Greek hero (b. around 530 BC)
421 – Constantius III, Roman Emperor (b. late 300s)
459 – Simeon Stylites, Byzantine saint (b. 390)
595 – Patriarch John IV of Constantinople
1031 – Saint Emeric of Hungary
1274 – Prince Munetaka, 6th Kamakura shogun in Japan (b. 1242)
1397 – Francesco Landini, Italian composer (b. between 1325 and 1335)
1540 – Lebna Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1501)
1680 – Per Brahe, Swedish soldier and statesman (b. 1602)
1690 – Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine (b. 1615)
1721 – Kwon Sang–ha, politician and Neo Confucian scholar of Korea (b. 1641)
1764 – Revd Nathaniel Bliss, British astronomer Royal (b. 1700)
1768 – Antoine Deparcieux, French mathematician (b. 1703)
1813 – Jean–Victor Moreau, French general (b. 1763)
1820 – Jiaqing Emperor, Emperor of China (b. 1760)
1832 – Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach, Austrian scientific editor, astronomer (b. 1754)
1834 – Thomas Telford, British civil engineer (b. 1757)
1845 – Bernardino Rivadavia, Argentine statesman (b. 1780)
1865 – William Rowan Hamilton, Irish mathematician (b. 1805)
1872 – Nicolai Grundtvig, Danish writer and philosopher (b. 1783)
1877 – Constantine Kanaris, Greek admiral, freedom fighter and politician (b. 1793)
1884 – Henry B. Anthony, Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1815)
1895 – Charles Anderson, 27th Governor of Ohio (b. 1814)
1898 – Wilford Woodruff, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints (b. 1807)

1901 – 2000

1910 – Henri Rousseau, French painter (b. 1844)
1921 – Anthony Francis Lucas, Croatian–American oil exploration pioneer (b. 1855)
1921 – Henry Austin Dobson, poet (b. 1840)
1927 – Umegatani Totaro II, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1878)
1934 – Alcide Nunez, jazz musician (b. 1884)
1934 – James Allan, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1860)
1937 – Pierre de Coubertin, French founder of the modern Olympic Games (b. 1863)
1948 – Sylvanus Morley, American archaeologist and spy (b. 1883)
1964 – Francisco Craveiro Lopes, Portuguese President (b. 1894)
1964 – Alvin York, most decorated American soldier of World War I (b. 1887)
1969 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese political leader (b. 1890)
1971 – Robert Mensah, Ghanaian footballer (b. 1939)
1973 – J. R. R. Tolkien, British writer (b. 1892)
1973 – Carl Dudley, American movie director (b. 1910)
1976 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (b. 1934)
1981 – Andrija Maurovic, Croatian illustrator (b. 1901)
1985 – Abe Lenstra, Dutch footballer (b. 1920)
1991 – Alfonso García Robles, Mexican politician (b. 1911)
1992 – Barbara McClintock, American geneticist (b. 1902)
1994 – Roy Castle, English actor, singer and dancer (b. 1932)
1997 – Rudolf Bing, Austrian–born British opera singer (b. 1902)
1997 – Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (b. 1905)
1998 – Jackie Blanchflower, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1933)
1998 – Allen Drury, American writer (b. 1918)
2000 – Elvera Sanchez, Puerto Rican dancer (b. 1905)
2000 – Curt Siodmak, science fiction writer (b. 1907)

From 2001

2001 – Christiaan Barnard, South African heart surgeon (b. 1922)
2001 – Troy Donahue, American actor (b. 1936)
2008 – Bill Melendez, Mexican–American animator, director, producer and voice actor (b. 1916)
2009 – Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian politician (b. 1949)
2010 – Shmuel Eisenstadt, Israeli sociologist (b. 1923)
2013 – Frederik Pohl, American science fiction writer (b. 1919)
2013 – Ronald Coase, British economist (b. 1910)
2013 – Valérie Benguigui, French actress (b. 1965)
2013 – David Jacobs, English radio and television host (b. 1926)
2013 – Paul Scoon, 2nd Governor–General of Grenada (b. 1935)
2014 – Steven Sotloff, American journalist (b. 1983)
2014 – Norman Gordon, South African cricketer (b. 1911)
2014 – Helena Rakoczy, Polish gymnast (b. 1921)
2014 – J. LaMoine Jenson, American religious leader (b. 1935)
2014 – Peter Carter, British diplomat (b. 1956)
2014 – Antonis Vardis, Greek composer and singer (b. 1948)
2015 – Charles Gyamfi, Ghanaian footballer (b. 1929)
2015 – Aleksander Mandziara, Polish footballer and coach (b. 1940)
2015 – Simo Salminen, Finnish comic actor (b. 1932)
2015 – Brianna Lea Pruett, American singer–songwriter, musician, poet and moviemaker (b. 1983)
2016 – Islam Karimov, President of Uzbekistan (b. 1938)
2017 – Viktor Cherepkov, Russian politician (b. 1942)
2017 – Halim El–Dabh, Egyptian composer (b. 1921)
2017 – Xiang Shouzhi, Chinese general (b. 1917)
2018 – Conway Savage, Australian rock singer–songwriter and pianist (b. 1960)
2018 – Claire Wineland, American entrepreneur and health activist (b. 1997)
2019 – Ryszard Czerniawski, Polish lawyer and economist (b. 1952)
2019 – Carlo Fonseka, Sri Lankan physician (b. 1933)
2019 – Joan Antoni Solans Huguet, Spanish urban planner (b. 1941)
2019 – Gyoji Matsumoto, Japanese footballer (b. 1934)

Observances

National Day (Vietnam)
Democracy Day (Tibet)
Independence Day (Transnistria and Nagorno–Karabakh)