What happened on February 2? There are more than 314 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About February 2
February 2 is the 33rd day of the year 2024. There are 333 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday. This day falls under the 5th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Euless, Texas 76039 sunrise occured at 07:21 AM and sunset occured at 06:02 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aquarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Amethyst while the mystical birthstone is Bloodstone.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 8 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 27 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For February 2
- 506Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates The Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum) a collection of Roman law.
- 962Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
- 1032Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes King of Burgundy.
- 1207Terra Mariana, comprising present-day Estonia and Latvia, is established.
- 1461Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer’s Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England.
- 1536Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 1542Portuguese under Christovão da Gama capture a Muslim-occupied hill fort in northern Ethiopia in the Battle of Baçente.
- 1653New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
- 1812Russia establishes a fur trading colony at Fort Ross, California.
- 1848California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese immigrants arrives in San Francisco, California.
- 1848Mexican-American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
- 1876The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
- 1887In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.
- 1899The Australian Premiers’ Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia’s capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.
- 1901Funeral of Queen Victoria.
- 1913Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.
- 1920France occupies Memel.
- 1920The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
- 1922Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
- 1925Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
- 1925The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
- 1927New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Fire Rabbit in Chinese astrology.
- 1934The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
- 1935Leonarde Keeler tests the first polygraph machine.
- 1943World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to conclusion as Soviet troops accept the surrender of 91,000 remnants of the Axis forces.
- 1946The Hungarian Republic is proclaimed.
- 1957Iskander Mirza of Pakistan lays the foundation-stone of the Guddu Barrage.
- 1966Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
- 1971Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
- 1972The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed in protest at Bloody Sunday.
- 1974The F-16 Fighting Falcon flies for the first time.
- 1976The Groundhog Day gale hits the north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada.
- 1980Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
- 1982Hama Massacre: Syria attacks the town of Hama.
- 1987After the 1986 People Power Revolution the Philippines enacts a new constitution.
- 1989Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.
- 1990Apartheid: F.W. de Klerk allows the African National Congress to function legally and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
- 2004Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men’s singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.
Who Were Born On February 2?
- 1208King James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
- 1455King John of Denmark (d. 1513)
- 1494Bona Sforza, queen of Poland (d. 1557)
- 1502Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher (d. 1574)
- 1506René de Birague, French cardinal and chancellor (d. 1583)
- 1522Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician (d. 1565)
- 1600Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)
- 1613Noël Chabanel, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1649)
- 1621Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian humanist (d. 1679)
- 1649Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730)
- 1650Nell Gwynne, English actress and royal mistress (d. 1687)
- 1669Louis Marchand, French organist and harpsichordist (d. 1732)
- 1695François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)
- 1695William Borlase, English naturalist (d. 1772)
- 1700Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (d. 1766)
- 1711Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, Austrian diplomat (d. 1794)
- 1714Gottfried August Homilius, German composer (d. 1785)
- 1717Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
- 1754Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French diplomat and statesman (d. 1838)
- 1786Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician (d. 1856)
- 1802Jean Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist (d. 1887)
- 1803Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (d. 1862)
- 1829Alfred Brehm, German zoologist (d. 1884)
- 1829William Stanley, inventor and engineer (d. 1909)
- 1841François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (d. 1912)
- 1842Yulian Vasilievich Sokhotski, Russian mathematician (d. 1927)
- 1849Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet (d. 1921)
- 1851José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican artist (d. 1913)
- 1860Curtis Guild, Jr., American politician (d. 1915)
- 1861Solomon R. Guggenheim, American art collector and philanthropist (d. 1949)
- 1873Konstantin von Neurath, German diplomat and statesman (d. 1956)
- 1873Leo Fall, Austrian operatta composer (d. 1925)
- 1875Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (d. 1962)
- 1878Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (d. 1955)
- 1881Orval Overall, American baseball player (d. 1947)
- 1882James Joyce, Irish author (d. 1941)
- 1887Ernst Hanfstängl, German pianist and politician (d. 1975)
- 1888Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)
- 1889Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general, posthumous Marshal of France (d. 1952)
- 1890Charles Correll, American actor (d. 1972)
- 1892Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (d. 1959)
- 1893Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1974)
- 1893Raoul Riganti, Argentine racing driver (d. 1970)
- 1895George Halas, American NFL co-founder (d. 1983)
- 1896Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
- 1897Aimé Avignon, France’s former oldest living man (d. 2007)
- 1897Howard Johnson, American hotelier (d. 1972)
- 1900Willie Kamm, American baseball player (d. 1988)
- 1901Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian violinist (d. 1987)
- 1902Jane Ising, German-born wife of Ernst Ising
- 1902Newbold Morris, American politician (d. 1966)
- 1905Ayn Rand, Russian-born American author and philosopher (d. 1982)
- 1908Wes Ferrell, American baseball player (d. 1976)
- 1909Frank Albertson, American actor (d. 1964)
- 1912Burton Lane, American composer and lyricist (d. 1997)
- 1912Millvina Dean, last living survivor of the RMS Titanic (d. 2009)
- 1913Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor (d. 1985)
- 1914Eric Kierans, Canadian politician and economist (d. 2004)
- 1915Abba Eban, Israeli diplomat (d. 2002)
- 1915Stan Leonard, Canadian professional golfer (d. 2005)
- 1916Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet (d. 1985)
- 1917Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese leader
- 1918Hella S. Haasse, Dutch writer
- 1919Georg Gawliczek, German football manager (d. 1999)
- 1923Bonita Granville, American actress (d. 1988)
- 1923James Dickey, American poet and author (d. 1997)
- 1923Liz Smith, American gossip columnist
- 1923Red Schoendienst, American baseball player and manager
- 1924Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-born American producer and musician (d. 2007)
- 1924Jack Clemmons, American law enforcement officer (d. 1998)
- 1925Elaine Stritch, American actress
- 1926Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French politician
- 1927Doris Sams, American baseball player
- 1927Stan Getz, American musician (d. 1991)
- 1928Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, Jr, American civil rights activist (d. 1998)
- 1929George Band, British mountaineer (d. 2011)
- 1929Věra Chytilová, Czech director
- 1931Dries van Agt, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1977 until 1982
- 1931Judith Viorst, American author
- 1931Les Dawson, British comedian (d. 1993)
- 1932Robert Mandan, American actor
- 1933Than Shwe, ruler of Myanmar
- 1933Tony Jay, English actor (d. 2006)
- 1936Duane Jones, American actor (d. 1988)
- 1937Anthony Haden-Guest British American writer
- 1937Don Buford, American baseball player
- 1937Remak Ramsay, American actor
- 1937Tom Smothers, American musician and comedian
- 1939Akbar Adibi, Iranian scientist (d. 2000)
- 1940David Jason, English actor
- 1940Thomas Disch, American science fiction author and poet (d. 2008)
- 1940Wayne Fontes, American football coach
- 1941Lee Redmond, owner of the longest fingernails until February 10, 2009
- 1941Terry Biddlecombe, English horse racing jockey
- 1942Graham Nash, British-born American musician
- 1943Susan Hanson, English actress
- 1944Andrew Davis, British conductor
- 1944Geoffrey Hughes, British actor
- 1944Karen Foss, American broadcaster
- 1946Alpha Oumar Konaré, Mali politician
- 1946Blake Clark, American actor
- 1946Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman (d. 2009)
- 1947Farrah Fawcett, American actress (d. 2009)
- 1948Al McKay, American guitarist and songwriter (Earth, Wind & Fire)
- 1948Ina Garten, American author and TV personality
- 1948Roger Williamson, English racecar driver (d. 1973)
- 1949Brent Spiner, American actor
- 1949Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish entrepreneur
- 1949Francisco Maturana, Colombian football manager
- 1949Ross Valory, American musician (Journey)
- 1950Barbara Sukowa, German actress
- 1950Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1950Osamu Kido, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1952John Cornyn, American politician, junior senator of Texas
- 1953Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
- 1954Christie Brinkley, American model
- 1954Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian singer and actor
- 1954John Tudor, American baseball player
- 1955Kim Zimmer, American actress
- 1955Leszek Engelking, Polish poet, writer and translator
- 1955Virginia Leng, British equestrian
- 1957Phil Barney, French singer
- 1958Michel Marc Bouchard, Canadian playwright
- 1960Jari Porttila, Finnish sports journalist
- 1961Lauren Lane, American actress
- 1961Steve Penney, National Hockey League goaltender
- 1962Andy Fordham, English darts player
- 1962Michael T. Weiss, American actor
- 1962Paul Kilgus, American baseball player
- 1963Eva Cassidy, American singer (d. 1996)
- 1963Philip Laats, Belgian judoka
- 1965Carl Airey, English footballer
- 1965Naoki Sano, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1966Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player
- 1966Robert DeLeo, American musician (Stone Temple Pilots)
- 1967Arturs Irbe, Latvian hockey player
- 1967Laurent Nkunda, Congolese military leader
- 1968Scott Erickson, American baseball player
- 1968Sean Elliott, American basketball player
- 1968Simon Wickham-Smith, British musician
- 1968Thomas Teige, German martial artist, actor and record holder
- 1969Valeri Karpin, Russian footballer
- 1970C. Ernst Harth, Canadian actor
- 1970Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress
- 1970Nikolaos Michopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1970Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer
- 1972Dana International, Israeli singer
- 1972Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1973Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
- 1973Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress
- 1975Donald Driver, American football player
- 1975Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer
- 1975Niclas Wallin, Swedish hockey player
- 1975Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian hockey player
- 1975Vaggelis Koutsoures, Greek footballer
- 1976James Hickman, British swimmer
- 1976Lori Beth Denberg, American actress
- 1977Libor Sionko, Czech football player
- 1977Shakira, Colombian singer
- 1978Barry Ferguson, Scottish football player
- 1978Eden Espinosa, American singer and actress
- 1978Rich Sommer, American actor
- 1979Fani Chalkia, Greek hurdler
- 1979Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter
- 1979Klaus Mainzer, German rugby player
- 1979Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
- 1979Urmo Aava, Estonian rally driver
- 1980Angela Finger-Erben, German television presenter
- 1980Oleguer Presas, Spanish football player
- 1980Radric Davis, American rapper
- 1980Teddy Hart, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1981Michelle Bass, English reality TV star and glamour model
- 1982Brandy Talore, American pornographic actress
- 1982Han Ga In, South Korean model/actress
- 1982Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
- 1982Sergio Castaño, Spanish footballer
- 1983Alex Westaway, British musician
- 1983Carolina Klüft, Swedish athlete
- 1983Jordin Tootoo, Canadian hockey player
- 1983Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1983Will South, British musician (Thirteen Senses)
- 1984Renn Kiriyama, Japanese actor
- 1984Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby player
- 1987Gerard Piqué, Spanish football player
- 1987Martin Spanjers, American actor
- 1990Dan Gosling, English footballer
- 1992Danielle White, American singer
- 1993Ravel Morrison, English footballer
- 1995Paul Digby, English footballer
Who Died On February 2?
- 1124Borivoj II, Duke of Bohemia
- 1218Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (b. 1186)
- 1250Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
- 1260Sadok and 48 Dominican martyrs from Sandomierz
- 1294Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1229)
- 1307Oljeitu Temur Khagan, Emperor of the Mongol Empire and the Yuan Dynasty (b. 1265)
- 1461Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty of England
- 1529Baldassare Castiglione, Italian writer (b. 1478)
- 1580Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese retainer (b. 1558)
- 1594Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer (b. 1525)
- 1648George Abbot, English writer
- 1660Gaston, Duke of Orléans, French politician (b. 1608)
- 1660Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615)
- 1661Lucas Holstenius, German humanist (b. 1596)
- 1675Ivan Belostenec, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (born ca.1594)
- 1688Abraham Duquesne, French naval officer (b. 1610)
- 1704Guillaume François Antoine, Marquis de l'Hôpital, French mathematician (b. 1661)
- 1712Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician
- 1714John Sharp, English Archbishop of York (b. 1643)
- 1723Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist (b. 1666)
- 1768Robert Smith, English mathematician (b. 1689)
- 1769Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693)
- 1802Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, British statesman (b. 1713)
- 1804George Walton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1749-50)
- 1895Archduke Albert, Austrian general (b. 1817)
- 1904William C. Whitney, American financier (b. 1841)
- 1907Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (b. 1834)
- 1909Carlo Acton, Italian composer and concert pianist (b. 1829)
- 1918John L. Sullivan, American heavyweight boxer (b. 1858)
- 1925Jaap Eden, Dutch skater and cyclist (b. 1873)
- 1926Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (b. 1848)
- 1932Agha Petros, Assyrian nationalist leader (b. 1880)
- 1942Daniil Kharms, Russian playwright (b. 1905)
- 1942Hugh D. McIntosh, Australian theatre entrepreneur (b. 1876)
- 1944Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (b. 1882)
- 1945Alfred Delp, German Jesuit priest, member of the German resistance (b. 1907)
- 1945Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German politician, member of the German resistance (b. 1884)
- 1945Johannes Popitz, Prussian finance minister, member of the German resistance (b. 1884)
- 1948Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (b. 1894)
- 1948Thomas W. Lamont, American banker; father or Corliss Lamont; great-grandfather of Ned Lamont (b. 1870)
- 1950Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (b. 1873)
- 1956Charles Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869)
- 1956Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
- 1957Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (b. 1890)
- 1959Buddy Holly, American rock and roll singer (b. 1936)
- 1961Anna May Wong, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1962Shlomo Hestrin, Canadian-born Israeli biochemist (b. 1914)
- 1969Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887)
- 1970Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, English mathematician, writer and philosopher, Nobel laureate (b. 1872)
- 1970Lawrence Gray, American actor (b. 1898)
- 1972Natalie Clifford Barney, American writer (b. 1876)
- 1973Hendrik Elias, Belgian politician (b. 1902)
- 1974Imre Lakatos, Hungarian philosopher (b. 1922)
- 1979Sid Vicious, English musician (Sex Pistols) (b. 1957)
- 1980Hanna Rovina, Israeli actress
- 1980William Howard Stein, Nobel laureate (b. 1911)
- 1982Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician (b. 1905)
- 1983Sam Chatmon, American blues musician (b. 1897)
- 1986Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
- 1987Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (b. 1922)
- 1987Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1927)
- 1988Marcel Bozzuffi, French film actor (b. 1929)
- 1988Panos Gavalas, Greek singer and musician (b. 1926)
- 1989Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand politician (b. 1901)
- 1989Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (b. 1951)
- 1990Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934)
- 1992Bert Parks, American television host (b. 1914)
- 1995Donald Pleasence, English actor (b. 1919)
- 1995Fred Perry, British tennis player (b. 1909)
- 1995Thomas Hayward, American tenor (b. 1917)
- 1996Gene Kelly, American dancer, actor, and director (b. 1912)
- 1997Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913)
- 1997Sanford Meisner, American actor (b. 1904)
- 1999David McComb, Australian musician (The Triffids) (b. 1962)
- 2002Claude Brown, American writer (b. 1937)
- 2002Paul Baloff, American singer (Exodus) (b. 1960)
- 2003Lou Harrison, American composer (b. 1917)
- 2004Bernard McEveety, American film director (b. 1924)
- 2005Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
- 2007Billy Henderson, American singer (The Spinners) (b. 1939)
- 2007Eric von Schmidt, American folk/blues singer-songwriter (b. 1931)
- 2007Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
- 2007Joe Hunter, American pianist and bandleader of The Funk Brothers (b. 1927)
- 2007Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)
- 2007Vijay Arora, Indian film and television actor (b. 1944)
- 2008Katoucha, Guinean model and activist (b. 1960)
- 2011Defne Joy Foster, Turkish actress, presenter and VJ. (b. 1975)
- 2011Margaret John, Welsh actress (b. 1926)
What no one tells you about your first name’s personality. Are there magical powers hidden in your given name? Check out Lewis’ personality and get smart about names today. (Sponsored links)