April 2 Events

69 - Galba, governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Roman emperors begun with Julius Caesar and Augustus.
1453 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (I¾stanbul), which would fall on May 29.
1513 - Juan Ponce de Leon sets foot on Florida becoming the first known European to do so.
1755 - Commodore William James captures pirate fortress of Severndroog on west coast of India.
1792 - The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.
1801 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen - The British destroy the Danish fleet.
1863 - Richmond Bread Riots: Food shortages incite hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond, Virginia and demand the Confederate government to release emergency supplies.
1865 - American Civil War: Siege of Petersburg broken - Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat.
1865 - American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
1900 - The Foraker Act passes through Congress, giving Puerto Ricans limited self-rule.
1902 - Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated by a terrorist in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg.
1902 - "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California.
1917 - World War I: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
1917 - The first woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin, takes her seat as a representative from Montana.
1930 - Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.
1956 - General Motors board member Alfred P. Sloan steps down after 19 years as chairman with Albert Bradley as his successor.
1956 - As the World Turns and The Edge of Night first aired on the CBS network in the United States, as the first half-hour serial dramas.
1972 - Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist in the early 1950s during the Red Scare.
1972 - Vietnam War: Easter Offensive begins - North Vietnamese soldiers of the 304th Division take the northern half of Quang Tri Province.
1973 - Launch of LexisNexis computerized legal research service.
1975 - Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.
1975 - CN Tower completed in Toronto Ontario Canada: reaches 555.35 metres in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure
1978 - The primetime soap opera Dallas premieres on CBS, beginning a 13-year run.
1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the U.S. economy rebound.
1982 - Falklands War: 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina. The disputed islands are later retaken by the United Kingdom.
1989 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
1992 - In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.
1992 - Pierre Bérégovoy becomes Prime Minister of France.
2002 - Israeli forces surrounded the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem which has around 200 Palestinians inside. A siege ensues.
2004 - Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt a thwarted bombing of the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid.
2005 - Pope John Paul II dies. Hundreds of millions of Catholics and non-Catholics mourn worldwide.
2005 - James Stewart Jr. becomes first African American to win a major motorsports event.
2006 - Shaw Clifton becomes the 18th General of the Salvation Army.
2006 - WWE's WrestleMania 22 takes place in Chicago, Illinois where Rey Mysterio wins the World Heavyweight Championship at 165 pounds and John Cena retains his WWE Championship.
2006 - Over 50 tornadoes breakout, hardest hit is Tennessee. 28 people were killed.

April 2 Births

1510 - Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (d. 1550)
1545 - Elizabeth of Valois, wife of Philip II of Spain (d. 1568)
1565 - Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599)
1618 - Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663)
1653 - Prince George of Denmark, prince consort of Anne of England (d. 1708)
1719 - Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803)
1725 - Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and writer (d. 1798)
1781 - Bhagwan Swaminarayan, The Supreme God (d. 1830)
1788 - Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet (d. 1862)
1798 - August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (d. 1874)
1805 - Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (d. 1875)
1827 - William Holman Hunt, English painter (d. 1910)
1838 - Léon Gambetta, French statesman (d. 1882)
1840 - Émile Zola, French novelist and critic (d. 1902)
1862 - Nicholas Murray Butler, former president of Columbia University, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d.1947
1867 - Eugen Sandow, German bodybuilder and circus performer (d. 1925)
1869 - Hughie Jennings, baseball player (d. 1928)
1875 - Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940)
1891 - Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976)
1900 - Roberto Arlt, Argentine writer (d. 1942)
1907 - Luke Appling, Major League Baseball Player (d. 1991)
1908 - Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)
1914 - Sir Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
1917 - Lou Monte, American singer (d. 1989)
1920 - Jack Webb, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1982)
1923 - G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician
1926 - George MacDonald Fraser, English author
1926 - Sir Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver
1927 - Carmen Basilio, American boxer
1927 - Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer
1927 - Kenneth Tynan, English critic and writer (d. 1980)
1928 - Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996)
1928 - Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (d. 1991)
1934 - Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician
1934 - Brian Glover, British actor and wrestler (d. 1997)
1937 - Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1938 - John Larsson, 17th General of The Salvation Army
1938 - Whirlaway, American racehorse, 1941 Triple Crown Winner (d. 1953)
1939 - Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984)
1940 - Penelope Keith, English actress
1941 - Dr. Demento, American radio personality
1941 - Leon Russell, American blues-rock pianist/guitarist session musician
1942 - Hiroyuki Sakai, Japanese chef
1945 - Linda Hunt, American actress
1945 - Don Sutton, Major League Baseball player
1945 - Reggie Smith, Major League Baseball player
1947 - Emmylou Harris, American singer
1947 - Camille Paglia, American feminist writer
1949 - Pamela Reed, American actress
1951 - Ayako Okamoto, Japanese professional golfer
1951 - Moriteru Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist
1952 - Leon Wilkeson, American rock bassist (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
1953 - Jim Allister, Northern Irish politician
1953 - David Robinson, American musician
1953 - Debralee Scott, American actress (d. 2005)
1954 - Ron Palillo, American actor
1959 - Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver
1960 - Linford Christie, British athlete
1961 - Christopher Meloni, American actor
1961 - Keren Woodward, British singer (Bananarama)
1962 - Pierre Carles, French documentarist
1962 - Clark Gregg, American actor
1962 - Mark Shulman, American children's author
1965 - Rodney King, American victim of police brutality
1966 - Bill Romanowski, American football player
1966 - Teddy Sheringham, English footballer
1967 - Greg Camp, American guitarist and songwriter (Smash Mouth)
1967 - Helen Chamberlain, British television presenter
1971 - Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player
1982 - Shandi Sullivan, American model
1984 - Ashley Peldon, American actress
1984 - Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress

April 2 Deaths

1118 - Baldwin I of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem
1272 - Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1209)
1335 - Duke Henry of Carinthia
1412 - Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, Spanish traveler and writer
1502 - Prince Arthur Tudor, son of Henry VII of England (b. 1486)
1507 - Francis of Paola, Italian founder of the Order of the Minims (b. 1416)
1657 - Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1608)
1720 - Joseph Dudley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1647)
1742 - James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (b. 1675)
1747 - Johann Jacob Dillenius, German botanist (b. 1684)
1754 - Thomas Carte, English historian (b. 1686)
1787 - Thomas Gage, British general (b. 1719)
1791 - Mirabeau, French statesman (b. 1749)
1801 - Thomas Dadford Junior, British canal engineer
1803 - Sir James Montgomery, 1st Baronet, Scottish politican and judge (b. 1721)
1817 - Johann Heinrich Jung, German author (b. 1740)
1827 - Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and naturalist (b. 1776)
1865 - General A. P. Hill, American Confederate general (b. 1825)
1872 - Samuel Morse, American inventor (b. 1791)
1902 - Esther Morris, suffragist and first female American judge (b. 1814)
1914 - Paul von Heyse, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1830)
1922 - Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist (b. 1884)
1928 - Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1868)
1930 - Empress Zauditu of Ethiopia (b. 1876)
1966 - C.S. Forester, British author (b. 1899)
1972 - Gil Hodges, American baseball player (b. 1924)
1974 - Georges Pompidou, President of France (b. 1911)
1987 - Buddy Rich, American drummer (b. 1917)
1994 - Betty Furness, American actress (b. 1916)
1995 - Harvey Penick, American golfer (b. 1904)
1995 - Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist (b. 1908)
2000 - Tommaso Buscetta, Italian gangster (b. 1928)
2001 - Charles Daudelin, Canadian artist (b. 1920)
2003 - Edwin Starr, American singer (b. 1942)
2005 - Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)
2006 - Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, German wife of freedom fighter Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (b. 1913)

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