Title: July 2 Content: In a Common year of the Gregorian calendar, this date marks the half-way point of the year. This would be at 12 noon (or 1 p.m. if Daylight Saving Time is used). In a Leap year, the half-way point is at midnight between the 1 and 2 July (or 1 a.m. on July 2 if Daylight Saving Time is used). Every year, this date falls on the same day of the week as New Year's Eve, and it also falls on the same day of the week as New Year's Day in Common years. == Events == === Up to 1900 === * 437 - Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. * 626 - China: Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident. * 706 - In China, Emperor Zhongzhong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang, outside Chang'an. * 1266 - The Treaty of Perth settles a territorial dispute between Scotland and Norway over the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. * 1494 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain. * 1555 - The Ottoman admiral Turgut Reis sacks the city of Paola. * 1561 - Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia defeats a revolt in Emfraz. * 1578 – Martin Frobisher becomes the first European to reach Baffin Island. * 1582 - Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomo Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide. * 1644 - English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor. * 1679 - Europeans visit present-day Minnesota for the first time. * 1698 - Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine. * 1767 - Philip Carteret's expedition discovers Pitcairn Island in the Southern Pacific Ocean, naming it after sea cadet Robert Pitcairn, who first sighted it. * 1776 – The Continental Congress adopts a resolution, severing ties with Great Britain. * 1777 – Vermont abolishes Slavery. * 1823 - Bahia Independence Day: End of Portuguese rule in Brazil. * 1839 – Near Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves take over the ship, Amistad. * 1853 - The Russian Army crosses the Pruth River into the Danubian Principalities - Moldavia and Wallachia - the final spark that set off the Crimean War. * 1860 – The Russian city of Vladivostok is founded as a naval post. * 1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome, having conquered it from the Papal States. * 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots US President James A. Garfield, who dies of an infection on September 19. * 1897 – Guglielmo Marconi gets a patent for the radio in London. * 1900 - The first Zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance, near Friedrichshafen, Southern Germany. === 1901 2000 === * 1921 - World War I: US President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox-Porter Resolution, formally ending the US' state of war with Imperial Germany. * 1928 – British women over the age of 21 are given the right to vote. * 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives, Adolf Hitler's purge of his political rivals, ends with the death of Ernst Roehm. * 1937 – Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan go missing while flying over the Pacific Ocean. No remains are ever found, and many conspiracy theories have come out of their disappearance. * 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. * 1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens in Rodgers, Arkansas. * 1964 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. * 1966 – France carries out its first nuclear test at Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific Ocean. * 1974 - A magnitude 7.4 earthquake strikes Iran, killing 1,200 people. * 1976 - Fall of the Republic of Vietnam. * 1990 - A mass panic in a pedestrian tunnel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, kills 1,427 people who were there for the Hajj pilgrimage. * 1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer, is shot dead. The killer's motive was his own goal in the FIFA World Cup. * 2000 – Vicente Fox is elected President of Mexico. * 2000 - The France national football team wins UEFA Euro 2000, defeating the Italy national football team 2-1 in extra time. === From 2001 === * 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to travel solo around the world in a hot-air balloon. * 2003 – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi insults German MEP Martin Schulz, comparing him to a Concentration camp guard. * 2005 – Live 8 concerts take place worldwide. * 2008 – After a captivity of more than six years, Ingrid Betancourt is released from FARC Guerrillas in Colombia. * 2010 – A tanker explosion in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo kills more than 230 people. * 2011 – Albert II, Prince of Monaco marries Charlene Wittstock. * 2011 – Petra Kvitova wins the Women's Singles tennis title at Wimbledon, defeating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4. * 2015 - A ferry capsizes in Ormoc, Leyte, Philippines, killing 62 people. * 2016 - A terrorist attack and hostage taking in Dhaka, Bangladesh, results in the deaths of 20 people, mainly non-Bangladeshi citizens. * 2016 - Tennis: In a shock result, multiple Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is knocked out in the third round at Wimbledon, losing to Sam Querrey in four sets. == Births == === Up to 1900 === * 419 – Valentinian III, Roman Emperor (d. 455) * 1262 - Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1312) * 1363 - Maria, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401) * 1486 - Jacopo Sansovino, Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1570) * 1489 – Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1556) * 1644 - Abraham a Santa Clara, German theologian and writer (d. 1709) * 1648 - Arp Schnitger, German organ builder (d. 1719) * 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) * 1790 - Leopold, Prince of Salerno (d. 1851) * 1807 - Arthur Conolly, British traveler, military and diplomat (d. 1842) * 1819 - Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (d. 1900) * 1819 - Thomas Anderson, Scottish chemist (d. 1874) * 1821 – Charles Tupper, shortest-serving Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915) * 1824 - Juan N. Méndez, President of Mexico (d. 1895) * 1841 - Alexander Mikhaylovich Zaitsev, Russian chemist (d. 1910) * 1843 - Antonio Labriola, Italian philosopher (d. 1904) * 1849 - Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919) * 1855 - Louis Maxson, American archer (d. 1916) * 1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist (d. 1942) * 1865 - Lily Braun, German author (d. 1916) * 1869 - Liane de Pougy, French dancer (d. 1950) * 1874 - Pedro Paulet, Peruvian scientist (d. 1945) * 1876 - Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist (d. 1933) * 1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933) * 1877 – Hermann Hesse, German writer (d. 1962) * 1881 - Royal Hurlburt Weller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1929) * 1882 – Marie Bonaparte, French psychoanalyst and writer (d. 1962) * 1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist (d. 1931) * 1896 - Lydia Mei, Estonian painter (d. 1965) === 1901 1950 === * 1902 - Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, Dutch pianist (d. 1987) * 1903 – King Olav V of Norway (d. 1991) * 1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995) * 1904 – René Lacoste, French tennis player and businessman (d. 1996) * 1906 – Hans Bethe, German physicist (d. 2005) * 1906 - Séra Martin, French runner (d. 1993) * 1908 – Thurgood Marshall, United States Supreme Court Justice (d. 1993) * 1911 - Reg Parnell, English racing driver (d. 1964) * 1914 - Frederick Fennell, American conductor (d. 2004) * 1914 - Mario Schenberg, Brazilian physicist (d. 1990) * 1914 - Alois Andritzki, German priest and martyr (d. 1943) * 1915 - Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, English nobleman (d. 2014) * 1916 - Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991) * 1916 - Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German colonel and pilot (d. 1982) * 1917 - André Lafargue, French journalist (d. 2017) * 1917 – Murry Wilson, American songwriter and record producer (d. 1973) * 1922 - Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer * 1923 – Wislawa Szymborska, Polish poet (d. 2012) * 1925 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician (d. 1961) * 1925 – Medgar Evans, American civil rights activist (d. 1963) * 1927 - Brock Peters, American actor (d. 2005) * 1928 - Line Renaud, French singer and actress * 1929 – Imelda Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines * 1930 – Carlos Menem, former President of Argentina (d. 2021) * 1930 - Ahmad Jamal, American jazz pianist * 1932 – Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's fast food chain (d. 2002) * 1935 - Alain Berbérian, Lebanese-born French film director and screenwriter (d. 2017) * 1936 - Omar Suleiman, Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012) * 1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress * 1937 - Richard Petty, American racing driver * 1938 - David Owen, British politician * 1939 - Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek politician and poet (d. 1976) * 1940 - Robert Broberg, Swedish singer and songwriter (d. 2015) * 1940 - Christopher Awdry, son of Wilbert Awdry * 1940 – Kenneth Clarke, British politician * 1942 – Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico * 1943 - Iva Eenmaa, Estonian politician * 1943 - Walter Godefroot, Belgian singer * 1946 – Richard Axel, American neuroscientist * 1946 – Ron Silver, American actor (d. 2009) * 1947 – Larry David, American television producer * 1947 - Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, English politician * 1949 – Roy Bittan, American musician (E Street Band) === 1951 1975 === * 1952 – Ahmed Ouyahia, former Prime Minister of Algeria * 1953 - Jean-Claude Borelly, French trumpeter and composer * 1953 - Mark Hart, American guitarist and keyboardist * 1954 - Pete Briquette, Irish bass player, songwriter and producer * 1954 – Chris Huhne, British politician * 1954 - Wendy Schaal, American actress * 1957 - Bret Hart, Canadian professional wrestler * 1959 - Mirandinha, Brazilian footballer * 1960 - Maria Lourdes Sereno, Filipina lawyer * 1961 - Samy Naceri, French actor * 1963 - Mark Kermode, English movie critic * 1964 – José Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player * 1964 – Ozzie Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player * 1964 - Doug Benson, American stand-up comedian and actor * 1964 - Alan Tait, Scottish rugby player and coach * 1966 - Jean-François Richet, French director, producer and screenwriter * 1967 - Claudio Biaggio, Argentine footballer * 1969 - Jenni Rivera, American singer-songwriter, producer and actress (d. 2012) * 1971 - Bryan Redpath, Scottish rugby player and coach * 1971 - Samantha Giles, English actress * 1972 - Darren Shan, Irish author * 1973 – Peter Kay, English comedian * 1974 - Rocky Gray, American drummer, guitarist and songwriter === From 1976 === * 1977 - Carl Froch, English boxer * 1978 - Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician, Prime Minister of Estonia * 1978 - Owain Yeoman, Welsh actor * 1979 - Walter Davis, American triple jumper * 1979 – Joe Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player * 1980 – Alexander Petersson, Latvian-Icelandic handball player * 1980 - Rachel Brown, English footballer * 1983 - Michelle Branch, American singer, songwriter and guitarist * 1984 - Ryan Keely, American pornographic actress, columnist and model * 1984 - Maarten Martens, Belgian footballer * 1984 – Johnny Weir, American figure skater * 1985 - Corey Bringas, American actor * 1985 - Vlatko Ilievski, Macedonian singer (d. 2018) * 1985 – Ashley Tisdale, American actress and singer * 1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress * 1987 – Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakhstani model (d. 2008) * 1988 – Lee Chung-Yong, South Korean footballer * 1988 - Porta, Spanish rapper * 1989 - Dev, American singer-songwriter and rapper * 1989 - Alex Morgan, American soccer player * 1990 – Roman Lob, German singer * 1990 - Margot Robbie, Australian actress * 1990 - Danny Rose, English footballer * 1992 - Madison Chock, American ice dancer * 1993 - Deysi Cori, Peruvian chess player == Deaths == === Up to 1900 === * 626 - Li Jiancheng, Chinese prince (b. 589) * 626 - Li Yuanji, Chinese prince (b. 603) * 649 - Li Jing, Chinese general (b. 571) * 862 – Swithun, Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester (b. 789) * 1298 - Adolf, King of Germany (b. 1220) * 1504 - Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1434) * 1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer (b. 1503) * 1591 - Vincenzo Galilei, Italian lute player and composer (b. 1520) * 1621 - Thomas Harriot, English astronomer and mathematician (b. 1560) * 1743 - Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, Prime Minister of Great Britain (b. 1673) * 1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French philosopher (b. 1712) * 1822 – Denmark Vesey, freed slave (b. 1767) (hanged) * 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 and philosopher (b. 1818) === 1901 2000 === * 1903 – Ed Delahanty, American baseball player (b. 1867) * 1914 - Joseph Chamberlain, English businessman and politician (b. 1836) * 1915 – Porfirio Díaz, President of Mexico (b. 1830) * 1916 - Louis Maxson, American archer (b. 1855) * 1929 - Gladys Brockwell, American actress (b. 1893) * 1931 - Peter Kürten, German serial killer (b. 1883) * 1932 – King Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889) * 1934 – Ernst Roehm, Nazi politician (b. 1887) * 1934 - Henry Hollis Horton, American politician, 40th Governor of Tennessee (b. 1866) * 1937 – Amelia Earhart, American pilot (b. 1897) * 1937 – Fred Noonan, American aviator (b. 1893) * 1946 - Mary Alden, American actress (b. 1883) * 1949 - Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian politician (b. 1882) * 1950 - Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer (b. 1872) * 1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American writer (b. 1899) * 1966 - Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet and author (b. 1900) * 1969 - Michael DiBiase, Italian-American professional wrestler (b. 1923) * 1972 - Joseph Fielding Smith, American Mormon Church leader (b. 1876) * 1973 – Betty Grable, American actress (b. 1916) * 1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian writer (b. 1899) * 1986 - Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917) * 1989 – Andrei Gromyko, Soviet politician (b. 1909) * 1991 - Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935) * 1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967) * 1997 – James Stewart, American actor (b. 1908) * 1999 – Mario Puzo, American writer (b. 1920) === From 2001 === * 2007 – Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano (b. 1929) * 2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, British writer (b. 1932) * 2010 – Laurent Terzieff, French actor (b. 1935) * 2011 – Itamar Franco, 33rd President of Brazil (b. 1930) * 2013 - Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist (b. 1925) * 2013 - Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt (b. 1921) * 2013 - Anthony Llywellyn, Welsh-American astronaut (b. 1933) * 2014 - Errie Ball, Welsh-American golfer (b. 1910) * 2014 - Chad Brown, American poker player and actor (b. 1961) * 2014 - Louis Zamperini, American athlete and writer (b. 1917) * 2015 - Jacobo Zabludovsky, Mexican journalist (b. 1928) * 2015 - Charlie Sanders, American football player (b. 1946) * 2015 - James C. Weaver, American football player (b. 1945) * 2015 - Slavko Avsenik, Slovenian composer and musician (b. 1929) * 2016 - Caroline Aherne, English actress, comedienne and writer (b. 1963) * 2016 - Roscoe Brown, American World War II veteran (b. 1922) * 2016 - Michael Cimino, American screenwriter and director (b. 1939) * 2016 - Roger Dumas, French comedian and actor (b. 1932) * 2016 - Patrick Manning, 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1946) * 2016 - Robert Nye, British poet (b. 1939) * 2016 - Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France (b. 1930) * 2016 - Jack C. Taylor, American businessman (b. 1922) * 2016 - Elie Wiesel, Romanian-American activist and writer (b. 1928) * 2017 - Smith Hart, American-Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1948) * 2017 - Jack Collom, American poet (b. 1931) * 2017 - Vladimir Malaniuk, Ukrainian chess player (b. 1957) * 2017 - Chris Roberts, German singer (b. 1944) * 2017 - Tatiana Zatulovskaya, Soviet-born Israeli chess player (b. 1935) * 2017 - Ataullah Behmanesh, Iranian wrestler and sports journalist (b. 1923) * 2017 - Minos Kyriakou, Greek businessman (b. 1942) * 2017 - Bert Rossi, English gangster (b. 1922) * 2018 - Henry Butler, American jazz musician (b. 1949) * 2018 - Bill Watrous, American jazz trombonist (b. 1939) == Observances == * Canada Day (observed on this date if July 1 is a Sunday) * Bahia Independence Day (Brazil) July 02