July 2 July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. It is the middle day of a non-leap year, because there are 182 days before and 182 days after. It falls on the same day of the week as New Year's Day (of non-leap years) and New Year's Eve. Events 1500-1899 1578 - Martin Frobisher sights Baffin Island. 1613 - First English expedition from Massachusetts against Acadia - led by Samuel Argall. 1644 - Battle of Marston Moor in the English Civil War. 1679 - Europeans first visit Minnesota and see headwaters of Mississippi - led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth. 1776 - The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with Great Britain, though a formal Declaration of Independence is not adopted until July 4. 1777 - Vermont becomes the first state to abolish slavery. 1808 - Simon Fraser reaches Pacific near New Westminster. 1819 - The Factory Act is passed in Britain, creating restrictions on child labor. 1839 - Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves led by Joseph Cinque take over the slave ship Amistad. 1850 - The self-contained gas mask is patented by Benjamin J. Lane. 1853 - The Russian Army invades Turkey, beginning the Crimean War. 1863 - Second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. 1865 - The Salvation Army is founded in London, England. 1881 - Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield, who eventually dies from infection on September 19. 1890 - The United States Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. 1900-1999 1900 - First zeppelin flight on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany. 1917 - 48 die in rioting in East St. Louis, Illinois, as lower-paid black laborers clash with whites. 1937 - Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappear over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator. 1940 - The Battle of Britain begins. 1947 - An object speculated to be a UFO crashes near Roswell, New Mexico, though the United States Air Force claims it is a weather balloon. 1950 - Henri Queuille becomes Prime Minister of France. 1964 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act into law. 1973 - James R. Schlesinger is sworn in as the 12th United States Secretary of Defense. 1976 - North and South Vietnam, divided since 1954, reunite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 1978 - Charon, a satellite of the planet Pluto, is discovered. 1979 - The first U.S. coin to honor a woman, the Susan B. Anthony dollar, is introduced. 1982 - Larry Walters uses 45 helium balloons and a lawnchair to propel himself to 16,000 feet. 1985 - Andrei Gromyko is appointed President of the Soviet Union. 2000-2099 2002 - Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon. Births 400-1899 419 - Valentinian III, Roman Emperor (d. 455) 1644 - Abraham a Santa Clara, court vicar (d. 1709) 1714 - Christoph Willibald Gluck, composer (d. 1787) 1724 - Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, poet (d. 1803) 1821 - Sir Charles Tupper, Father of Canadian Confederation, sixth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915) 1862 - William Henry Bragg, physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics 1915 (d. 1942) 1865 - Lily Braun, writer (d. 1916) 1877 - Hermann Hesse, writer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature 1946 (d. 1962) 1884 - Alfons Maria Jakob, neurologist (d. 1931) 1900-1999 1900 - Tyrone Guthrie, actor, Artistic Director of Canada's Stratford Festival, (d. 1971) 1903 - Olav V, King of Norway (d. 1991) 1903 - Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Prime Minister of the UK (d. 1995) 1906 - Hans Bethe, Nobel-winning nuclear physicist 1908 - Thurgood Marshall, US Supreme Court Justice (d. 1993) 1925 - Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of Congo (Leopoldville) (d. 1961) 1925 - Medgar Evers, civil rights activist (d. 1963) 1927 - Ruth Berghaus, choreographer/film director (d. 1996) 1929 - Imelda Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines 1930 - Carlos Menem, former President of Argentina 1931 - Robert Ito, actor, ballet dancer 1932 - Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's International (d. 2002) 1937 - Richard Petty, NASCAR driver 1942 - Vicente Fox, president of Mexico 1946 - Richard Axel, Nobel prize winning scientist 1947 - Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld 1956 - Jerry Hall, actress/model, ex-wife of Mick Jagger 1959 - Mike Hallett, English snooker player 1964 - Jose Canseco, baseball player 1964 - Andrea Pia Yates, mother who drowned her five children 1970 - Yancy Butler, actress 1971 - Evelyn Lau, pop author 1974 - Matthew Reilly, Australian author 1976 - Tomas Vokoun, NHL hockey player 1981 - Alex Koroknay-Palicz, youth rights activist 1983 - Michelle Branch, popular musician 1986 - Lindsay Lohan, actress Deaths 1500-1899 1566 - Michel de Nostradame (AKA Nostradamus), seer 1778 - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, philosopher (b. 1712) 1833 - Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentine leader 1900-1999 1932 - King Manuel II of Portugal 1937 - Amelia Earhart, aviator, disappears 1961 - Ernest Hemingway, author, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature (1954) 1966 - Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet (b. 1900) 1972 - Joseph Fielding Smith, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876) 1973 - Betty Grable, actress 1977 - Vladimir Nabokov, writer 1989 - Andrei Gromyko, Soviet foreign minister 1991 - Lee Remick, actress 1997 - James Stewart, actor 1999 - Mario Puzo, author (b. 1920) 2000-2099 2004 - Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Portuguese writer and poet Holidays and observances July 1 - July 3 - June 2 - August 2 -- listing of all days Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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