July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 182 days remaining until the end of the year.
It is the midpoint of a common year. This is because there are 182 days before and 182 days after (median of the year) in common years, and 183 before and 182 after in leap years. The exact time in the middle of the year is at noon, or 12:00 pm. It falls on the same day of the week as New Year's Day in common years.
Today in history
626 – In fear of assassination, Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Incident at Xuanwu Gate. On September 4, Shimin's father abdicates in his favour and Shimin becomes Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor of China.
706 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang has the remains of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, his wife and recently-deceased ruling empress Wu Zetian, her son Li Xian, her grandson Li Chongrun, and granddaughter Li Xianhui all interred in a new tomb complex outside Chang'an known as the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang.
963 – The imperial army proclaims Nicephorus Phocas to be Emperor of the Romans on the plains outside Cappadocian Caesarea.
1298 – The Battle of Göllheim is fought between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg.
1494 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is signed by Portugal and Spain.
1555 – Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola.
1561 – Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz.
1578 – Martin Frobisher sights Baffin Island.[citation needed]
1582 – Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide.
1613 – The first English expedition from Massachusetts against Acadia led by Samuel Argall.
1644 – English Civil War: the Battle of Marston Moor.
1679 – Europeans first visit Minnesota and see headwaters of Mississippi in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth.
1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.
1776 – The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not approved until July 4.
1777 – Vermont becomes the first American territory to abolish slavery.
1808 – Simon Fraser reaches the Pacific Ocean near New Westminster.
1823 – Bahia Independence Day: the end of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia.
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 – American Civil War: second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
1870 – Jules Joseph d'Anethan is elected the tenth Prime Minister of Belgium.
1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after its conquest from the Papal States.
1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield, who eventually dies from infection on September 19.
1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
1897 – Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi obtains patent for radio in London.
1900 – First zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
1917 – The East St. Louis Riots end.
1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends with the death of Ernst Röhm.
1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta.
1950 – The Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto, Japan burns down.
1950 – Henri Queuille is elected the seventh Prime Minister of the Fourth French Republic.
1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
1966 – The French military explodes a nuclear test bomb codenamed Aldébaran in Mururoa, their first nuclear test in the Pacific.
1976 – North and South Vietnam, divided since 1954, reunite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
1979 – The first U.S. coin to honor a woman, the Susan B. Anthony dollar, is introduced.
1985 – Andrei Gromyko is appointed the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.
1987 – Nilde Iotti is named as the first female President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
1990 – A stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel leads to the deaths of 1,426 pilgrims in Mecca during hajj.
2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
2001 – AbioCor self contained artificial heart created.
2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
2003 – Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy, insults German MP Martin Schulz by calling him a "kapo" during a session of the European Parliament.
2004 – ASEAN Regional Forum accepts Pakistan as its 24th member.¨
2008 – Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other FARC hostages are rescued by the Colombian armed forces.
Births
419 – Valentinian III, Roman Emperor (d. 455)
1029 – Caliph Al-Mustansir of Cairo (d. 1094)
1262 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1312)
1363 – Mary, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
1489 – Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1556)
1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, English princess (d. 1495)
1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English privy councilor (d. 1730)
1665 – Samuel Penhallow, English-born American colonist and historian (d. 1726)
1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal (d. 1740)
1698 – Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena (d. 1780)
1714 – Christoph Willibald von Gluck, German composer (d. 1787)
1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet (d. 1803)
1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French composer (d. 1900)
1820 – George Law Curry, Newspaper publisher and Governor of Oregon (d. 1878)
1821 – Charles Tupper, sixth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
1849 – Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, queen of Bavaria (d. 1919)
1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1942)
1865 – Lily Braun, German writer (d. 1916)
1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
1877 – Hermann Hesse, German-born writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1962)
1881 – Royal H. Weller, American politician (d. 1929)
1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist (d. 1931)
1893 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh garden designer (Rockefeller Center) (d. 1950)
1896 – Lydia Mei, Estonian artist (d. 1965)
1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, English actor (d. 1971)
1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
1903 – King Olav V of Norway (d. 1991)
1904 – René Lacoste, French tennis player (d. 1996)
1906 – Hans Bethe, German-born nuclear physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2005)
1908 – Thurgood Marshall, American Supreme Court Justice (d. 1993)
1914 – Frederick Fennell, American conductor (d. 2004)
1914 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist (d. 1990)
1916 – Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Combat pilot and highest-decorated German soldier of WWII (d. 1982)
1917 – Murry Wilson, American musician and producer (The Beach Boys) (d. 1973)
1918 – Wibo, Dutch cartoonist (d. 2005)
1919 – Jean Craighead George, American writer
1923 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish writer, Nobel laureate
1925 – Medgar Evers, American civil rights activist (d. 1963)
1925 – Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1961)
1926 – Octavian Paler, Romanian writer, journalist, (d. 2007)
1927 – Brock Peters, American actor (d. 2005)
1927 – Gene Ray, Founder of the Time Cube website and proponent of Time Cube philosophy
1929 – Imelda Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines
1929 – John A. Cade, American politician
1930 – Carlos Menem, President of Argentina
1932 – Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (d. 2002)
1933 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian hockey player
1934 – Tom Springfield, British singer and songwriter (The Springfields)
1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress
1937 – Richard Petty, American race car driver
1939 – John H. Sununu, White House Chief of Staff under George HW Bush
1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek politician and poet
1939 – Paul Williams, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1973)
1940 – Kenneth Harry Clarke, British politician
1941 – Stéphane Venne, French Canadian songwriter
1942 – Vicente Fox, Former Mexican president
1943 – Walter Godefroot, Belgian cyclist
1946 – Richard Axel, American scientist, Nobel laureate
1946 – Ron Silver, American actor (d. 2009)
1947 – Larry David, American television producer
1948 – Saul Rubinek, Canadian film actor
1948 – Gene McFadden, American songwriter (d. 2006)
1949 – Roy Bittan, American musician (E Street Band)
1949 – Hanno Pöschl, Austrian actor
1949 – Robert Paquette, French Canadian singer and songwriter
1951 – Michele Santoro, Italian TV journalist
1952 – Johnny Colla, American musician (Huey Lewis and the News)
1953 – Mark Hart, British musician (Crowded House and Supertramp)
1953 – Tony Armas, Venezuelan baseball player
1954 – Pete Briquette, Irish musician (Boomtown Rats)
1955 – Andrew Divoff, Venezuelan actor
1955 – Kevin Michael Grace, Canadian journalist
1956 – Jerry Hall, American actress
1957 – Bret "Hitman" Hart, Canadian wrestler
1958 – Thomas Bickerton, American Methodist bishop
1959 – Mike Hallett, English snooker player
1960 – Terry Rossio, American screenwriter
1961 – Michael Lindsay, Voice actor
1963 – Mark Kermode, British film critic
1964 – José Canseco, Cuban-born American baseball player
1964 – Ozzie Canseco, Cuban-born American baseball player
1964 – Joe Magrane, American baseball player
1964 – Charles Robinson, American wrestling referee
1964 – Alan Tait, Scotland rugby player
1969 – Matthew Cox, American convicted felon
1969 – Tim Rodber, England rugby player
1970 – Yancy Butler, American actress
1970 – Colin Edwin, Australian musician (Porcupine Tree)
1970 – Scotty 2 Hotty, American professional wrestler
1970 – Monie Love, English rapper
1970 – Steve Morrow, Irish footballer
1971 – Evelyn Lau, Canadian author
1971 – Troy Brown, American football player
1971 – Bryan Redpath, Scotland rugby player
1972 – Darren Shan, Irish children's author
1973 – Peter Kay, British comedian
1974 – Sean Casey, American baseball player
1974 – Moon So-ri, South Korean actress
1974 – Matthew Reilly, Australian author
1974 – Rocky Gray, American musician
1974 – Tim Christensen, Danish singer
1975 – Erik Ohlsson, Swedish guitarist (Millencolin)
1975 – Éric Dazé, French Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Stefan Terblanche, South African rugby player
1976 – Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
1976 – Tomáš Vokoun, Czech hockey player
1978 – Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician
1979 – Diana Gurtskaya, Georgian singer
1979 – Sam Hornish, Jr., American race car driver
1979 – Joe Thornton, Canadian hockey player
1980 – Nicole Manske, American beauty queen and motorsports television commentator
1981 – Nathan Ellington, English footballer
1981 – Alex Koroknay-Palicz, American youth rights activist
1981 – Angel Pagán, Puerto Rican baseball player
1981 – Aaron Voros, Canadian hockey player
1982 – Olivia Munn, American television hostess
1983 – Michelle Branch, American singer (The Wreckers)
1983 – Sammy J, Australian comedian
1984 – Vanessa Lee Chester, American actress
1984 – Thomas Kortegaard, Danish footballer
1984 – Maarten Martens, Belgian footballer
1984 – Johnny Weir, American figure skater
1985 – Rhett Bomar, American football player
1985 – Chad Henne, American football player
1985 – Ashley Tisdale, American actress and singer
1986 – Brett Cecil, American baseball player
1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer
1987 – Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakhstani model (d. 2008)
1991 – Cory Spedding, Participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 for the UK Finishing 2nd
1992 – Madison Chock, American ice dancer
Deaths
862 – St. Swithun, Bishop of Winchester(b. 789)
1298 – Adolf of Nassau, King of Germany (b. 1220)
1504 – Ştefan cel Mare, Prince of Moldova (b. 1434)
1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer (b. 1503)
1582 – Akechi Mitsuhide, Japanese samurai (b. 1528)
1591 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian composer (b. 1520)
1621 – Thomas Harriot, English astronomer
1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-born French commander (b. 1611)
1674 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1614)
1684 – John Rogers, president of Harvard University (b. 1630)
1743 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, second Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1746 – Thomas Baker, English antiquarian (b. 1656)
1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher (b. 1712)
1778 – Bathsheba Spooner, American murderer
1822 – Denmark Vesey, American who planned slave revolt, hanged (b. ca. 1767)
1833 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentine politician (b. 1757)
1843 – Samuel Hahnemann, German physician (b. 1755)
1850 – Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
1857 – Carlo Pisacane, Italian patriot (b. 1818)
1903 – Ed Delahanty, American Hall of Fame baseball player (b. 1867)
1912 – Tom Richardson, English cricketer (b. 1870)
1914 – Joseph Chamberlain, Mayor of Birmingham and Father of Neville (b. 1836)
1915 – Porfirio Díaz, President of Mexico (b. 1830)
1920 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (b. 1846)
1926 – Émile Coué, French psychologist (b. 1857)
1929 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (b. 1893)
1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
1934 – Ernst Röhm, Nazi official (b. 1887)
1955 – Edward Lawson, Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1873)
1961 – Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
1964 – Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1929)
1966 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet (b. 1900)
1969 – Michael DiBiase, wrestler (b. 1923)
1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith, tenth president of The Church of of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)
1973 – Betty Grable, American actress (b. 1916)
1973 – Chick Hafey, baseball player (b. 1903)
1973 – George McBride, baseball player (b. 1880)
1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b. 1892)
1975 – James Robertson Justice, British actor (b. 1907)
1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born writer (b. 1899)
1978 – Aris Alexandrou, Greek novelist, poet and translator (b. 1922)
1984 – Paul Dozois, Quebec politician (b. 1908)
1985 – David Purley, British Formula 1 driver (b. 1945)
1986 – Peanuts Lowrey, baseball player (b. 1917)
1989 – Franklin Schaffner, American film director (b. 1920)
1989 – Andrei Gromyko, Soviet politician (b. 1909)
1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
1992 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish flamenco singer (b. 1950)
1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (b. 1926)
1993 – Sir Edward Dunlop, Australian war hero (b. 1907)
1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
1995 – Krissy Taylor, American model (b. 1978)
1997 – James Stewart, American actor (b. 1908)
1999 – Mario Puzo, American author (b. 1920)
2000 – Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
2002 – Ray Brown, American jazz bassist (b. 1926)
2004 – Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Portuguese writer (b. 1919)
2004 – John Cullen Murphy, American comic strip artist (b. 1919)
2005 – Ernest Lehman, American screenwriter (b. 1915)
2005 – Norm Prescott, American animation producer (b. 1927)
2006 – Jan Murray, American comedian (b. 1916)
2007 – Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano (b. 1929)
2008 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-born musician (b. 1956)
2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs, English-Born Actress (b. 1929)
Holidays and observances
Bahia: Independence Day
Canada: Canada Day (if July 1 falls on a Sunday)
Curaçao: Flag Day
Palio di Provenzano in Siena, Italy
Annual pilgrimage at Mariánska hora
