Today In History. What Happened This Day In History
A Timeline Of Events That Occurred On This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
April 2
| 1792 | The United States authorizes the minting of the $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins as well as the silver dollar, dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime. | |
| 1796 | Haitian revolt leader Toussaint L'Ouverture takes command of French forces at Santo Domingo. | |
| 1801 | The British navy defeats the Danish at the Battle of Copenhagen. | |
| 1865 | Confederate President Jefferson Davis flees Richmond, Virginia as Grant breaks Lee's line at Petersburg. | |
| 1910 | Karl Harris perfects the process for the artificial synthesis of rubber. | |
| 1914 | The U.S. Federal Reserve Board announces plans to divide the country into 12 districts. | |
| 1917 | President Woodrow Wilson presents a declaration of war against Germany to Congress. | |
| 1917 | Jeannette Pickering Rankin is sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. | |
| 1931 | Virne "Jackie" Mitchell becomes the first woman to play for an all-male pro baseball team. In an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, she strikes out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. | |
| 1932 | Charles Lindbergh pays over $50,000 ransom for his kidnapped son. | |
| 1944 | Soviet forces enter Romania, one of Germany's allied countries. | |
| 1958 | The National Advisory Council on Aeronautics is renamed NASA. | |
| 1963 | Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King begins the first non-violent campaign in Birmingham, Alabama. | |
| 1982 | Argentina invades the British-owned Falkland Islands. | |
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Born on April 2 |
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| 742 | Charlemagne, first Holy Roman Emperor. | |
| 1725 | Giovanni Casanova, Italian adventurer. | |
| 1805 | Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author of fairy tales. | |
| 1834 | Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, sculptor. | |
| 1840 | Emile Zola, French novelist and activist. | |
| 1875 | Walter P. Chrysler, founder of Chrysler Automobile Company. | |
| 1891 | Max Ernst, German painter, sculptor and founder of surrealism. | |
| 1905 | Kurt Adler, American conductor. | |
| 1905 | Serge Lifar, dancer and opera director. | |
| 1914 | Alec Guinness, British actor. | |
| 1948 | Emmylou Harris, American singer. | |
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