April 2

April 2

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April 2

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Events

68 - 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 (?stanbul), which would fall on May 29.
1513 - Juan Ponce de Leon sets foot on Florida becoming the first European known to do so.
1755 - Commodore William James captures the pirate fortress of Suvarnadurg 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.
1804 - Forty merchantmen are wrecked when a convoy led by HMS Apollo runs aground off Portugal.
1810 - Napoleon Bonaparte marries Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria.
1863 - Richmond Bread Riot: 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: The Siege of Petersburg is 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.
1945 - Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Brazil are established.
1956 - As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS-TV. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format. Prior to this, soap operas were 15 minutes each weekday. The Edge of Night switched to ABC-TV on December 1,1975. As The World Turns expanded to 60 minutes on that same day on CBS.
1962 - The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.
1972 - Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s .
1972 - Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins - North Vietnamese soldiers of the 304th Division take the northern half of Quang Tri Province.
1973 - Launch of the 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 - Construction of the CN Tower is completed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It reaches in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure.
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: The Falkland Islands are invaded by Argentina.
1984 - Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma is launched aboard Soyuz T-11, and becomes the first Indian in space.
1989 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
1991 - The first female Premier of a Canadian province takes office. Rita Johnston succeeds William Vander Zalm, who resigned, as Premier of British Columbia.
1992 - In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.
2002 - Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated. A siege ensues.
2004 - Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid. Their attack is thwarted.
2005 - James Stewart Jr. becomes first African American to win a major motor sports event.
2006 - Over 60 tornadoes break out, hardest hit is Tennessee with 29 people killed.

Births

742 - Charlemagne (d. 814)
1348 - Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385)
1527 - Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (d. 1598)
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)
1743 - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (Old style date) (d. 1826)
1781 - Bhagwan Swaminarayan, religious leader (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)
1812 - Louise-Marie of France, queen of Belgium (d. 1850)
1814 - Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (d. 1879)
1827 - William Holman Hunt, English painter (d. 1910)
1838 - L�on Gambetta, French statesman (d. 1882)
1840 - �mile Zola, French novelist and critic (d. 1902)
1862 - Nicholas Murray Butler, 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, American baseball player and manager (d. 1928)
1875 - Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940)
1884 - Sir John Squire, British poet, writer, and historian (d. 1958))
1891 - Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976)
1900 - Roberto Arlt, Argentine writer (d. 1942)
1902 - Jan Tschichold, German typographer (d. 1974)
1903 - Lionel Chevrier, Canadian politician (d. 1987)
1907 - Luke Appling, American baseball player (d. 1991)
1908 - Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)
1910 - Paul Triquet, Canadian military officer (d. 1980)
1912 - Herbert Mills, American singer (The Mills Brothers) (d. 1989)
1914 - Sir Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)
1917 - Dabbs Greer, American actor (d. 2007)
1917 - Lou Monte, American singer (d. 1989)
1920 - Jack Webb, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1982)
1923 - G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician
1923 - Clifford Scott Green, American Federal Judge (d. 2007)
1923 - Gloria Henry, American actress
1926 - George MacDonald Fraser, English author (d. 2008)
1926 - Sir Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver, three-time F1 world champion and co-founder of eponymous race team
1927 - Carmen Basilio, American boxer
1927 - Ferenc Pusk�s, Hungarian footballer (d. 2006)
1927 - Kenneth Tynan, English critic and writer (d. 1980)
1928 - Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996)
1928 - Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (d. 1991)
1928 - Prof David Robinson, Irish Horticulturist (d. 2004)
1934 - Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician (d. 2007)
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 thoroughbred racehorse, 1941 Triple Crown Winner (d. 1953)
1938 - Booker Little, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1961)
1939 - Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984)
1939 - Lise Thibault, Lieutenant-governor of Quebec
1940 - Penelope Keith, English actress
1941 - Dr. Demento, American radio personality
1942 - Leon Russell, American blues-rock pianist/guitarist session musician
1942 - Hiroyuki Sakai, Japanese chef
1942 - Roshan Seth, Indian actor
1945 - Linda Hunt, American actress
1945 - Reggie Smith, American baseball player
1945 - Don Sutton, American baseball player
1945 - Anne Waldman, American poet
1946 - Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist (The Guess Who) (d. 1997)
1947 - Emmylou Harris, American singer
1947 - Camille Paglia, American feminist writer
1948 - Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer
1948 - Joan D. Vinge, American author
1949 - Paul Gambaccini, British television presenter
1949 - Pamela Reed, American actress
1949 - Ron Palillo, American actor
1951 - Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer
1951 - Moriteru Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist
1952 - Pat Drummond, Australian singer-songwriter
1952 - Thierry Le Luron, French humorist (d. 1986)
1952 - Leon Wilkeson, American rock bassist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2001)
1953 - Jim Allister, Northern Irish politician
1953 - David Robinson, American musician
1953 - Debralee Scott, American actress (d. 2005)
1954 - Allan Davis, Australian diplomat
1954 - Susumu Hirasawa, Japanese electropop musician
1955 - Michael Stone, British terrorist
1959 - Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver
1959 - Yves Lavandier, French film director
1959 - Badou Zaki, Morrocan footballer and manager
1960 - Linford Christie, English athlete
1960 - Brad Jones, Australian racing driver
1961 - Christopher Meloni, American actor
1961 - Keren Woodward, English singer (Bananarama)
1962 - Pierre Carles, French documentarist
1962 - Clark Gregg, American actor
1962 - Mark Shulman, American children's author
1963 - Mike Gascoyne, British engineer
1963 - Karl Beattie, English television director and producer
1964 - Pete Incaviglia, American baseball player
1965 - Rodney King, American victim of police brutality
1966 - Bill Romanowski, American football player
1966 - Teddy Sheringham, English footballer
1966 - Garnet Silk, Jamaican singer (d. 1994)
1967 - Greg Camp, American musician (Smash Mouth)
1967 - Helen Chamberlain, British television presenter
1970 - Roselyn Sanchez, Puerto Rican actress
1971 - Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player
1971 - ZEEBRA, Japanese hip hop artist
1972 - Chico Slimani, Moroccoan-British singer
1974 - H�kan Hellstr�m, Swedish musician
1975 - Adam Rodriguez, American actor
1976 - Rory Sabbatini, South African golfer
1977 - Jelena Abbou, Serbian fitness model
1977 - Michael Fassbender, Actor
1977 - Aiden Turner, British actor
1976 - Andreas Anastasopoulos, Greek shot putter
1978 - John Gall, American baseball player
1979 - Jesse Carmichael, American musician (Maroon 5)
1980 - Carlos Salcido, Mexican footballer
1980 - Adam Fleming, English news reporter
1980 - Ricky Hendrick, NASCAR driver and owner (d. 2004)
1981 - Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer
1981 - Bethany Joy Lenz-Galeotti, American actress
1982 - Marco Amelia, Italian World Cup-winning footballer
1982 - Jeremy Bloom, American skier and football player
1982 - Bianca Chatfield, Australian netballer
1982 - Jack Evans, American professional wrestler
1982 - Leyla Milani, Canadian actress and model
1983 - Felix Borja, Ecuadorian footballer
1983 - Yung Joc, American rapper
1983 - Paul Capdeville, Chilean tennis player
1984 - Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress