October 2: On This Day
Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for October 2.
Events 39
- 48 BC – Julius Caesar arrives in Ptolemaic Egypt in his pursuit of Pompey and learns of the latter's death.
- 811 – Michael I Rangabe is proclaimed as Byzantine Emperor, forcing the rival claimant Staurakios to abdicate his claim.
- 829 – Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor.
- 939 – Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia and other Frankish dukes.
- 1187– Saladin wins Jerusalem after the city surrendered to his forces following a prolonged siege.
- 1263 – The Battle of Largs is fought between Norwegians and Scots.
- 1470 – The Earl of Warwick's rebellion forces King Edward IV of England to flee to the Netherlands, restoring Henry VI to the throne.
- 1552 – Russo-Kazan Wars: Russian troops enter Kazan.
- 1766 - The Nottingham Cheese Riot breaks out at the Goose Fair in Nottingham, UK, in response to the excessive cost of cheese.
- 1780 – American Revolutionary War: John André, a British Army officer, is hanged as a spy by the Continental Army.
- 1789 – The United States Bill of Rights is sent to the various States for ratification.
- 1835 – Texas Revolution: Mexican troops attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Confederates defeat a Union attack on Saltville, Virginia. A massacre of wounded Union prisoners ensues.
- 1870 – By plebiscite, the citizens of the Papal States accept annexation by the Kingdom of Italy.
- 1919 – Seven days after suffering a "physical collapse" following a speech in Pueblo, Colorado, U.S. president Woodrow Wilson has a catastrophic stroke at the White House, leaving him physically and mentally incapacitated for the remainder of his presidency.
- 1920 – Ukrainian War of Independence: Mikhail Frunze orders the Red Army to immediately cease hostilities with the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine.
- 1928 – The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded.
- 1937 – Rafael Trujillo orders the execution of Haitians living in the border region of the Dominican Republic.
- 1942 – World War II: Ocean Liner RMS Queen Mary accidentally rams and sinks HMS Curacoa, killing over 300 crewmen aboard Curacoa.
- 1944 – World War II: German troops end the Warsaw Uprising.
- 1958 – Guinea declares its independence from France.
- 1967 – Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of the United States Supreme Court.
- 1968 – Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz orders soldiers to suppress a demonstration of unarmed students, ten days before the start of the 1968 Summer Olympics.
- 1970 – An aircraft carrying the Wichita State University football team, administrators, and supporters crashes in Colorado, killing 31 people.
- 1971 – South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu is re-elected in a one-man election.
- 1971 – British European Airways Flight 706 crashes near Aarsele, Belgium, killing 63.
- 1980 – Michael Myers becomes the first member of either chamber of Congress to be expelled since the Civil War.
- 1990 – Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 is hijacked and lands at Guangzhou, where it crashes into two other airliners on the ground, killing 132.
- 1992 – Military police storm the Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil during a prison riot. The resulting massacre leaves 111 prisoners dead.
- 1996 – Aeroperú Flight 603 crashes into the ocean near Peru, killing all 70 people on board.
- 1996 – The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
- 2002 – The Beltway sniper attacks begin in Washington, D.C., extending over three weeks and killing 10 people.
- 2004 – The first parkrun, then known as the Bushy Park Time Trial, takes place in Bushy Park, London, UK.
- 2006 – Five Amish girls are murdered in a shooting at a school in Pennsylvania, United States.
- 2007 – President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea goes to North Korea for an Inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
- 2016 – Ethiopian protests break out during a festival in the Oromia region, killing dozens of people.
- 2018 – The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
- 2019 – A privately owned Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress conducting a living history exhibition flight crashes shortly after takeoff from Windsor Locks, Connecticut, killing seven.
- 2025 – 2 people are killed and at least 4 others injured in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester, UK, during Yom Kippur.
Births 163
- 1452 – Richard III of England (died 1485)
- 1470 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of Portugal, Daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (died 1498)
- 1527 – William Drury, English politician (died 1579)
- 1538 – Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal and saint (died 1584)
- 1718 – Elizabeth Montagu, English author and critic (died 1800)
- 1768 – William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, English general and politician (died 1854)
- 1798 – Charles Albert, King of Sardinia (1831–49) (died 1849)
- 1800 – Nat Turner, American slave and uprising leader (died 1831)
- 1815 – James Agnew, Irish-Australian politician, Premier of Tasmania (died 1901)
- 1821 – Alexander P. Stewart, American general (died 1908)
- 1828 – Charles Floquet, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1896)
- 1832 – Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (died 1917)
- 1847 – Paul von Hindenburg, German field marshal and politician, 2nd President of Germany (died 1934)
- 1851 – Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (died 1929)
- 1852 – William Ramsay, Scottish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1916)
- 1854 – Patrick Geddes, Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer, and philanthropist (died 1932)
- 1866 – Swami Abhedananda, Indian mystic and philosopher (died 1939)
- 1869 – Mahatma Gandhi, Indian freedom fighter, activist and philosopher (died 1948)
- 1871 – Cordell Hull, American politician, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1955)
- 1871 – Martha Brookes Hutcheson, American landscaper and author (died 1959)
- 1873 – Stephen Warfield Gambrill, American lawyer and politician (died 1924)
- 1873 – Pelham Warner, English cricketer and manager (died 1963)
- 1875 – Pattie Ruffner Jacobs, American suffragist (died 1935)
- 1879 – Wallace Stevens, American poet (died 1955)
- 1882 – Boris Shaposhnikov, Russian colonel (died 1945)
- 1883 – Karl von Terzaghi, Austrian geologist and engineer (died 1963)
- 1890 – Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor (died 1977)
- 1893 – Leroy Shield, American composer and conductor (died 1962)
- 1895 – Ruth Cheney Streeter, American colonel (died 1990)
- 1897 – Bud Abbott, American comedian, actor, and producer. (died 1974)
- 1900 – Leela Roy Nag, Indian freedom fighter, social reformer and politician (died 1970)
- 1902 – Leopold Figl, Austrian politician, Chancellor of Austria (died 1965)
- 1904 – Graham Greene, English novelist, playwright, and critic (died 1991)
- 1904 – Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian and politician, Prime Minister of India (died 1966)
- 1905 – Franjo Šeper, Croatian cardinal (died 1981)
- 1906 – Thomas Hollway, Australian politician, Premier of Victoria (died 1971)
- 1907 – Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Bolivian politician, President of Bolivia (died 2001)
- 1907 – Alexander R. Todd, Scottish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1997)
- 1909 – Alex Raymond, American cartoonist, creator of Flash Gordon (died 1956)
- 1912 – Frank Malina, American engineer and painter (died 1981)
- 1914 – Jack Parsons, American chemist, occultist, and engineer (died 1952)
- 1914 – Bernarr Rainbow, English organist, conductor, and historian (died 1998)
- 1915 – Chuck Williams, American author and businessman, founded Williams Sonoma (died 2015)
- 1917 – Christian de Duve, Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)
- 1917 – Charles Drake, American actor (died 1994)
- 1919 – John W. Duarte, English guitarist and composer (died 2004)
- 1921 – Edmund Crispin, English writer and composer (died 1978)
- 1921 – Albert Scott Crossfield, American pilot and engineer (died 2006)
- 1921 – Robert Runcie, English archbishop (died 2000)
- 1925 – Wren Blair, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (died 2013)
- 1926 – Jan Morris, Welsh historian and author (died 2020)
- 1928 – George McFarland, American actor (died 1993)
- 1928 – Wolfhart Pannenberg, Polish-German theologian and academic (died 2014)
- 1929 – Peter Bronfman, Canadian businessman (died 1996)
- 1929 – Moses Gunn, American actor (died 1993)
- 1930 – Dave Barrett, Canadian social worker and politician, 26th Premier of British Columbia (died 2018)
- 1932 – Maury Wills, American baseball player and manager (died 2022)
- 1933 – John Gurdon, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2025)
- 1933 – Dave Somerville, Canadian singer (died 2015)
- 1934 – Richard Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote, English lawyer and judge
- 1934 – Earl Wilson, American baseball player (died 2005)
- 1935 – Omar Sívori, Italian-Argentine footballer and manager (died 2005)
- 1936 – Dick Barnett, American basketball player (died 2025)
- 1936 – Connie Dierking, American basketball player (died 2013)
- 1936 – Gwen Marston, American quilter and writer (died 2019)
- 1937 – Johnnie Cochran, American lawyer (died 2005)
- 1938 – Nick Gravenites, American singer-songwriter (died 2024)
- 1938 – Waheed Murad, Pakistani actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 1983)
- 1938 – Rex Reed, American film critic (died 2026)
- 1939 – Budhi Kunderan, Indian cricketer (died 2006)
- 1941 – Diana Hendry, English poet and author
- 1941 – Ron Meagher, American rock bass player
- 1942 – Steve Sabol, American director and producer, co-founded NFL Films (died 2012)
- 1943 – Anna Ford, English journalist
- 1943 – Henri Szeps, Australian actor (died 2025)
- 1944 – Vernor Vinge, American author (died 2024)
- 1945 – Martin Hellman, American cryptographer and academic
- 1945 – Don McLean, American singer-songwriter
- 1946 – Sonthi Boonyaratglin, Thai general and politician
- 1947 – Ward Churchill, American author and activist (died 2026)
- 1948 – Trevor Brooking, English footballer and manager
- 1948 – Avery Brooks, American actor
- 1948 – Donna Karan, American fashion designer, founded DKNY
- 1948 – Siim Kallas, Estonian politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (died 2026)
- 1948 – Persis Khambatta, Indian model and actress, (died 1998)
- 1949 – Richard Hell, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1949 – Annie Leibovitz, American photographer
- 1950 – Mike Rutherford, English guitarist
- 1951 – Sting, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1952 – Janusz Olejniczak, Polish classical pianist and actor (died 2024)
- 1952 – Robin Riker, American actress
- 1953 – Vanessa Bell Armstrong, American singer
- 1953 – Tom Boswell, American basketball player
- 1954 – Lorraine Bracco, American actress
- 1955 – Philip Oakey, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1956 – Freddie Jackson, American soul singer (died 2026)
- 1957 – John Cook, American golfer
- 1957 – Wade Dooley, English rugby player
- 1958 – Robbie Nevil, American singer-songwriter
- 1960 – Glenn Anderson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 – Django Bates, English musician and composer
- 1960 – Joe Sacco, Maltese-American journalist and cartoonist
- 1960 – Dereck Whittenburg, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Mark Rypien, Canadian-American football player
- 1963 – Keith Bradshaw, Australian cricketer
- 1963 – Maria Ressa, Filipino-American journalist
- 1964 – Dirk Brinkmann, German field hockey player
- 1965 – Darren Cahill, Australian tennis player
- 1965 – Tom Moody, Australian cricketer
- 1965 – Ferhan and Ferzan Önder, Turkish-Austrian pianists
- 1966 – Yokozuna, American wrestler (died 2000)
- 1967 – Frankie Fredericks, Namibian sprinter
- 1967 – Alex Karp, American businessman
- 1967 – Thomas Muster, Austrian tennis player
- 1967 – Gillian Welch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1968 – Jana Novotná, Czech tennis player and sportscaster (died 2017)
- 1968 – Joey Slotnick, American actor
- 1968 – Glen Wesley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Kelly Willis, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Badly Drawn Boy, English musician
- 1970 – Eddie Guardado, American baseball player
- 1970 – Patricia O'Callaghan, Canadian soprano
- 1970 – Kelly Ripa, American actress and talk show host
- 1970 – Maribel Verdú, Spanish actress
- 1971 – Tiffany Darwish, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 – Jim Root, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1971 – Chris Savino, American comic book artist, writer, animator and creator of The Loud House
- 1972 – Aaron McKie, American basketball player
- 1973 – Melissa Harris-Perry, American journalist, author, and educator
- 1973 – Lene Nystrøm, Norwegian singer, songwriter, and musician
- 1973 – Efren Ramirez, American actor
- 1973 – Scott Schoeneweis, American baseball player
- 1974 – Bjarke Ingels, Danish architect
- 1974 – Sam Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
- 1974 – Paul Teutul Jr., American motorcycle designer, co-founded Orange County Choppers
- 1976 – Mark Chilton, English cricketer
- 1977 – Didier Défago, Swiss skier
- 1978 – Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer, songwriter, actress
- 1981 – Luke Wilkshire, Australian footballer
- 1982 – Tyson Chandler, American basketball player
- 1982 – Esra Gümüş, Turkish volleyball player
- 1984 – Marion Bartoli, French tennis player
- 1985 – Çağlar Birinci, Turkish footballer
- 1986 – Camilla Belle, American actress
- 1987 – Joe Ingles, Australian basketball player
- 1987 – Phil Kessel, American ice hockey player
- 1987 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., American race car driver
- 1988 – Brittany Howard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1989 – Frederik Andersen, Danish ice hockey player
- 1989 – Josh Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Aaron Hicks, American baseball player
- 1989 – George Nash, English rower
- 1990 – Samantha Barks, Manx actress and singer
- 1991 – Roberto Firmino, Brazilian footballer
- 1992 – Alisson Becker, Brazilian footballer
- 1992 – Shane Larkin, American-Turkish basketball player
- 1992 – Nicol Ruprecht, Austrian rhythmic gymnast
- 1993 – Lance McCullers Jr., American baseball player
- 1995 – Tepai Moeroa, Cook Islands rugby league player
- 1996 – Tom Trbojevic, Australian rugby league player
- 2000 – Quadeca, American singer-songwriter and YouTuber
- 2002 – Jacob Sartorius, American social media personality and singer
- 2005 – Sam Konstas, Australian cricketer
Deaths 79
- 534 – Athalaric, king of the Ostrogoths in Italy
- 829 – Michael II, Byzantine emperor
- 939 – Eberhard of Franconia
- 939 – Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine
- 1264 – Pope Urban IV (born c. 1200)
- 1559 – Jacquet of Mantua, French-Italian composer (born 1483)
- 1626 – Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, 1st Count of Gondomar, Spanish academic and diplomat (born 1567)
- 1629 – Antonio Cifra, Italian composer (born 1584)
- 1629 – Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and theologian (born 1575)
- 1674 – George Frederick of Nassau-Siegen, officer in the Dutch Army (born 1606)
- 1678 – Wu Sangui, Qing Chinese general (born 1612)
- 1708 – Anne Jules de Noailles, French general (born 1650)
- 1709 – Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat (born 1639)
- 1724 – François-Timoléon de Choisy, French historian and author (born 1644)
- 1746 – Josiah Burchett, English admiral and politician (born 1666)
- 1764 – William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1720)
- 1780 – John André, English soldier (born 1750)
- 1782 – Charles Lee, English-born American general (born 1732)
- 1786 – Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, English admiral and politician (born 1725)
- 1803 – Samuel Adams, American politician, Governor of Massachusetts (born 1722)
- 1804 – Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, French engineer (born 1725)
- 1847 – Vasil Aprilov, Bulgarian educator, merchant and writer (born 1789)
- 1850 – Sarah Biffen, English painter (born 1784)
- 1853 – François Arago, French mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and politician (born 1786)
- 1920 – Max Bruch, German composer and conductor (born 1838)
- 1927 – Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1859)
- 1938 – Alexandru Averescu, Romanian military leader and politician, 24th Prime Minister of Romania (born 1859)
- 1943 – John Evans, English-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Tasmania (born 1855)
- 1953 – John Marin, American painter (born 1870)
- 1953 – Émilie Busquant, French anarcho-syndicalist, sewed the first Flag of Algeria (born 1901)
- 1955 – William R. Orthwein, American swimmer and water polo player (born 1881)
- 1968 – Marcel Duchamp, French painter and sculptor (born 1887)
- 1971 – Jessie Arms Botke, American painter (born 1883)
- 1973 – Paul Hartman, American actor and dancer (born 1904)
- 1973 – Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner (born 1897)
- 1974 – Vasily Shukshin, Russian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1929)
- 1975 – K. Kamaraj, Indian lawyer and politician (born 1903)
- 1981 – Harry Golden, American journalist and author (born 1902)
- 1981 – Hazel Scott, Trinidadian-American activist, actress, and musician (born 1920)
- 1985 – Rock Hudson, American actor (born 1925)
- 1987 – Madeleine Carroll, English actress (born 1906)
- 1987 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1915)
- 1988 – Alec Issigonis, English car designer, designed the Mini (born 1906)
- 1988 – Hamengkubuwono IX, Indonesian politician, 2nd vice president of Indonesia (born 1912)
- 1991 – Hazen Argue, Canadian politician (born 1921)
- 1991 – Demetrios I of Constantinople (born 1914)
- 1996 – Robert Bourassa, Canadian lawyer and politician, Premier of Quebec (born 1933)
- 1996 – Andrey Lukanov, Bulgarian politician, 40th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (born 1938)
- 1998 – Gene Autry, American actor, singer, and guitarist (born 1907)
- 1999 – Heinz G. Konsalik, German journalist and author (born 1921)
- 2000 – David Tonkin, Australian politician, Premier of South Australia (born 1929)
- 2001 – Franz Biebl, German composer and academic (born 1906)
- 2002 – Heinz von Foerster, Austrian-American physicist and philosopher (born 1911)
- 2003 – John Thomas Dunlop, American scholar and politician, United States Secretary of Labor (born 1914)
- 2005 – Nipsey Russell, American comedian and actor (born 1918)
- 2005 – August Wilson, American author and playwright (born 1945)
- 2006 – Helen Chenoweth-Hage, American politician (born 1938)
- 2006 – Paul Halmos, Hungarian-American mathematician (born 1916)
- 2007 – Tex Coulter, American football player (born 1924)
- 2007 – George Grizzard, American actor (born 1928)
- 2007 – Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (born 1902)
- 2010 – Kwa Geok Choo, Singaporean lawyer and scholar (born 1920)
- 2012 – Nguyễn Chí Thiện, Vietnamese-American poet and activist (born 1939)
- 2012 – Charles Roach, Trinidadian-Canadian lawyer and activist (born 1933)
- 2012 – J. Philippe Rushton, English-Canadian psychologist, theorist, academic (born 1943)
- 2013 – Abraham Nemeth, American mathematician and academic (born 1918)
- 2014 – Robert Flower, Australian footballer (born 1955)
- 2015 – Brian Friel, Irish author, playwright, and director (born 1929)
- 2015 – Coleridge Goode, Jamaican-English bassist and composer (born 1914)
- 2015 – Johnny Paton, Scottish footballer and coach (born 1923)
- 2016 – Neville Marriner, British conductor (born 1924)
- 2017 – Tom Petty, American musician (born 1950)
- 2018 – Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi journalist (born 1958)
- 2020 – Anne-Marie Hutchinson, British lawyer (born 1957)
- 2021 – Jack Biondolillo, American bowler (born 1940)
- 2022 – Sacheen Littlefeather, American actress, model and activist for Native American civil rights (born 1946)
- 2023 – Francis Lee, English footballer (born 1944)
- 2024 – Susie Berning, American professional golfer (born 1941)
- 2024 – Marissa Haque, Indonesian politician (born 1962)
Holidays and observances 15
- Batik Day (Indonesia)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Antoine Chevrier Denha I of Tikrit (Syriac Orthodox Church) Blessed Jan Beyzym Blessed Maria Antonina Kratochwil Blessed María Francisca Ricart Olmos Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels Leodegar October 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Blessed Antoine Chevrier
- Denha I of Tikrit (Syriac Orthodox Church)
- Blessed Jan Beyzym
- Blessed Maria Antonina Kratochwil
- Blessed María Francisca Ricart Olmos
- Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
- Leodegar
- October 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Gandhi's birthday-related observances: Gandhi Jayanti (India) International Day of Non-Violence
- Gandhi Jayanti (India)
- International Day of Non-Violence
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Guinea from France in 1958
- National Grandparents Day (Italy)