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. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Thursday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Tuesday or Wednesday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Friday or Sunday (56).
This day is the midpoint of a common year because there are 182 days before and 182 days after it in common years, and 183 before and 182 after in leap years. The exact time of the middle of the year is at noon . In countries that use summer time the actual exact time of the midpoint in a common year is at 1:00 p.m, or 11:00 a.m for countries in the southern hemisphere; this is when 182 days and 12 hours have elapsed and there are 182 days and 12 hours remaining. In a leap year in those countries, the midpoint occurs at 1:00 a.m. on July 2, or 11:00pm on July 1 in the southern hemisphere. This is due to summer time having advanced the time by one hour. It falls on the same day of the week as New Year's Day in common years.
437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire . His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency , but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
626 – 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 Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum , located on Mount Liang outside Chang'an .
866 – Battle of Brissarthe : The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton -Viking army.
963 – The imperial army proclaims Nikephoros II Phokas 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 ratified by Spain.
1504 – Bogdan III the One-Eyed becomes Voivode of Moldavia .
1555 – The Ottoman Admiral Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola .
1561 – Menas, emperor of Ethiopia , defeats a revolt in Emfraz .
1582 – Battle of Yamazaki : Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide .
1613 – The first English expedition (from Virginia ) against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place.
1644 – English Civil War : Battle of Marston Moor .
1645 – Battle of Alford : Wars of the Three Kingdoms .
1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine .
1776 – The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not approved until July 4 .
1816 – The French frigate Méduse struck the Bank of Arguin and 151 people on board had to be evacuated on an improvised raft, a case immortalised by Géricault 's painting The Raft of the Medusa .
1822 – Thirty-five slaves are hanged in South Carolina , including Denmark Vesey , after being accused of organizing a slave rebellion .
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 Cinqué take over the slave ship Amistad .
1839 – Abdülmecid I became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam .
1853 – The Russian Army crossed the Pruth river into the Danubian Principalities , Moldavia and Wallachia—providing the spark that set off the Crimean War .
1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after having conquered it from the Papal States .
1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield , who eventually dies from an infection on September 19 .
1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act .
1897 – British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London.
1900 – The first Zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen , Germany.
1900 – Jean Sibelius ' Finlandia receives its première performance in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus .
1921 – World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox–Porter Resolution formally ending the war between the United States and Imperial Germany .
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 .
1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas .
1964 – U.S. 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 Moruroa , their first nuclear test in the Pacific.
1976 – Fall of the Republic of Vietnam ; Communist North Vietnam declares their union to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam .
1986 – Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana are burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile .
1993 – 35 people are burnt alive during the Sivas massacre
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 – The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart is first implanted.
2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians perform and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
2010 – The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people.
2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto's fourth and fifth moons , Kerberos and Styx .
2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh , Indonesia , killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others.
2015 – A bridge collapses under a Pakistan Army train at Gujranwala , killing nineteen and injuring over 100
2015 – A ferry capsizes in Ormoc , Leyte , Philippines , killing 62 of 220 passengers.
2016 – An Australian federal election results in a one-seat majority for the incumbent government led by Malcolm Turnbull . Turnbull claimed victory on July 9, a week after the election.
419 – Valentinian III , Roman emperor (d. 455)
1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
1478 – Louis V, Elector Palatine (d. 1544)
1486 – Jacopo Sansovino , Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1570)
1489 – Thomas Cranmer , English archbishop, theologian, and saint (d. 1556)
1492 – Elizabeth Tudor , English daughter of Henry VII of England (d. 1495)
1500 – Federico Cesi (cardinal) , Italian cardinal (d. 1565)
1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham , English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1730)
1648 – Arp Schnitger , German organ builder (d. 1719)
1665 – Samuel Penhallow , English-American soldier and historian (d. 1726)
1667 – Pietro Ottoboni , Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1740)
1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck , German composer (d. 1787)
1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock , German poet and author (d. 1803)
1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon , French pianist and composer (d. 1900)
1820 – George Law Curry , American publisher and politician, 5th Governor of the Oregon Territory (d. 1878)
1821 – Charles Tupper , Canadian physician and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
1834 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack , Dutch economist and historian (d. 1917)
1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919)
1862 – William Henry Bragg , English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
1865 – Lily Braun , German author and publicist (d. 1916)
1869 – Liane de Pougy , French-Swiss dancer and author (d. 1950)
1876 – Harriet Brooks , Canadian physicist and academic (d. 1933)
1876 – Wilhelm Cuno , German businessman and politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
1877 – Hermann Hesse , German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
1877 – Rinaldo Cuneo , American artist ("the painter of San Francisco") (d. 1939)
1881 – Royal Hurlburt Weller , American lawyer and politician (d. 1929)
1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob , German neurologist and author (d. 1931)
1893 – Ralph Hancock , Welsh gardener and author (d. 1950)
1900 – Tyrone Guthrie , English actor and director (d. 1971)
1902 – K. Kanapathypillai , Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 1968)
1902 – Germaine Thyssens-Valentin , Dutch-French pianist (d. 1987)
1903 – Alec Douglas-Home , English cricketer and politician, 66th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
1903 – Olav V of Norway (d. 1991)
1904 – René Lacoste , French tennis player and businessman, created the polo shirt (d. 1996)
1906 – Hans Bethe , German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
1908 – Thurgood Marshall , American lawyer and jurist, 32nd Solicitor General of the United States (d. 1993)
1911 – Reg Parnell , English race car driver and manager (d. 1964)
1913 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff , English historian and academic (d. 1999)
1914 – Frederick Fennell , American conductor and educator (d. 2004)
1914 – Ethelreda Leopold , American actress (d. 1988)
1914 – Mário Schenberg , Brazilian physicist and engineer (d. 1990)
1914 – Erich Topp , German admiral (d. 2005)
1915 – Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington , British peer, politician and soldier (d. 2014)
1916 – Ken Curtis , American actor and singer (d. 1991)
1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel , German colonel and pilot (d. 1982)
1917 – Leonard J. Arrington , American author and academic, founded the Mormon History Association (d. 1999)
1919 – Jean Craighead George , American author (d. 2012)
1920 – John Kneubuhl , Samoan-American historian, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 1992)
1922 – Pierre Cardin , Italian-French fashion designer
1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth , American soldier and author (d. 1958)
1923 – Wisława Szymborska , Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
1925 – Medgar Evers , American soldier and activist (d. 1963)
1925 – Patrice Lumumba , Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1961)
1925 – Marvin Rainwater , American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
1926 – Octavian Paler , Romanian journalist and politician (d. 2007)
1927 – James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern , Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
1927 – Brock Peters , American actor (d. 2005)
1929 – Avraham Avigdorov , Israeli soldier (d. 2012)
1929 – Imelda Marcos , widow of Ferdinand Marcos , the 10th president of the Philippines
1930 – Ahmad Jamal , American pianist, composer, and educator
1930 – Carlos Menem , Argentinian lawyer and politician, 50th President of Argentina
1932 – Dave Thomas , American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy's (d. 2002)
1933 – Peter Desbarats , Canadian journalist, author, and playwright
1933 – Kenny Wharram , Canadian ice hockey player
1934 – Tom Springfield , English singer-songwriter and producer
1935 – Gilbert Kalish , American pianist and educator
1936 – Omar Suleiman , Egyptian general and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012)
1937 – Polly Holliday , American actress
1937 – Richard Petty , American race car driver and sportscaster
1938 – David Owen , English physician and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
1939 – Ferdinand Mount , English journalist and author
1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis , Greek poet and politician (d. 1976)
1939 – John H. Sununu , American engineer and politician, 14th White House Chief of Staff
1939 – Paul Williams , American singer and choreographer (d. 1973)
1940 – Kenneth Clarke , English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
1941 – Wendell Mottley , Trinidadian sprinter, economist, and politician
1942 – John Eekelaar , South African-English lawyer and scholar
1942 – Vicente Fox , Mexican businessman and politician, 35th President of Mexico
1943 – Ivi Eenmaa , Estonian politician, 36th Mayor of Tallinn
1943 – Larry Lake , American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
1946 – Richard Axel , American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Ron Silver , American actor, director, and political activist (d. 2009)
1947 – Larry David , American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
1947 – Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton , English politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
1948 – Mutula Kilonzo , Kenyan lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
1948 – Gene McFadden , American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2006)
1949 – Roy Bittan , American keyboard player and songwriter
1949 – Greg Brown , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1949 – Robert Paquette , Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1950 – Lynne Brindley , English librarian and academic
1950 – Jon Trickett , English politician
1952 – Johnny Colla , American guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
1952 – Anatoliy Solomin , Ukrainian race walker and coach
1953 – Jean-Claude Borelly , French trumpet player and composer
1953 – Mark Hart , American guitarist and keyboard player
1954 – Pete Briquette , Irish bass player, songwriter, and producer
1954 – Chris Huhne , English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
1955 – Kim Carr , Australian educator and politician, 31st Australian Minister for Human Services
1956 – Jerry Hall , American model and actress
1957 – Bret Hart , Canadian wrestler
1957 – Jüri Raidla , Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
1957 – Purvis Short , American basketball player
1958 – Đặng Thái Sơn , Vietnamese-Canadian pianist
1960 – Terry Rossio , American screenwriter and producer
1960 – Maria Lourdes Sereno , Filipino lawyer and jurist, 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
1961 – Clark Kellogg , American basketball player and sportscaster
1962 – Neil Williams , English cricketer (d. 2006)
1963 – Mark Kermode , English bassist and critic
1964 – Doug Benson , American comedian, actor, and producer
1964 – Stéphan Bureau , Canadian journalist and producer
1964 – Jose Canseco , Cuban-American baseball player and mixed martial artist
1964 – Ozzie Canseco , Cuban-American baseball player, coach, and manager
1964 – Joe Magrane , American baseball player and sportscaster
1964 – Alan Tait , English-Scottish rugby player and coach
1965 – Norbert Röttgen , German lawyer and politician
1966 – Jean-François Richet , French director, producer, and screenwriter
1969 – Tim Rodber , English rugby player
1970 – Derrick Adkins , American hurdler
1970 – Colin Edwin , Australian bass player
1970 – Steve Morrow , Northern Irish footballer and manager
1971 – Troy Brown , American football player and actor
1971 – Evelyn Lau , Canadian poet and author
1971 – Bryan Redpath , Scottish rugby player and coach
1972 – Darren Shan , English author
1973 – Peter Kay , English comedian, actor, director, and producer
1974 – Sean Casey , American baseball player and sportscaster
1975 – Éric Dazé , Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Kristen Michal , Estonian lawyer and politician
1975 – Erik Ohlsson , Swedish singer and guitarist
1975 – Stefan Terblanche , South African rugby player
1976 – Kon Arimura , Japanese radio personality and critic
1976 – Krisztián Lisztes , Hungarian footballer
1976 – Tomáš Vokoun , Czech-American ice hockey player
1977 – Deniz Barış , Turkish footballer
1978 – Diana Gurtskaya , Georgian-Russian singer-songwriter
1978 – Jüri Ratas , Estonian politician, 42nd Mayor of Tallinn
1978 – Owain Yeoman , Welsh actor
1979 – Walter Davis , American triple jumper
1979 – Sam Hornish Jr. , American race car driver
1979 – Joe Thornton , Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Nicole Briscoe , American model and journalist
1980 – Nyjer Morgan , American baseball player
1981 – Nathan Ellington , English footballer
1981 – Ángel Pagán , Puerto Rican-American baseball player
1981 – Carlos Rogers , American football player
1981 – Aaron Voros , Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Michelle Branch , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1984 – Thomas Kortegaard , Danish footballer
1984 – Johnny Weir , American figure skater
1985 – Rhett Bomar , American football player
1985 – Chad Henne , American football player
1985 – Jürgen Roelandts , Belgian cyclist
1985 – Ashley Tisdale , American actress
1986 – Brett Cecil , American baseball player
1986 – Lindsay Lohan , American actress and singer
1987 – Esteban Granero , Spanish footballer
1988 – Lee Chung-yong , South Korean footballer
1989 – Nadezhda Grishaeva , Russian basketball player
1989 – Alex Morgan , American soccer player
1990 – Margot Robbie , Australian actress and producer
1990 – Danny Rose , English footballer
1992 – Madison Chock , American ice dancer
1995 – Ryan Murphy , American swimmer
1996 – Julia Grabher , Austrian tennis player
626 – Li Jiancheng , Chinese prince (b. 589)
626 – Li Yuanji , Chinese prince (b. 603)
649 – Li Jing , Chinese general (b. 571)
862 – Swithun , English bishop and saint (b. 789)
866 – Robert the Strong , Frankish nobleman
943 – Henry the Fowler , German king (b. 876)
1215 – Eisai , Japanese Buddhist priest (b. 1141)
1298 – Adolf of Germany (b. 1220)
1504 – Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1434)
1566 – Nostradamus , French astrologer and author (b. 1503)
1591 – Vincenzo Galilei , Italian lute player and composer (b. 1520)
1621 – Thomas Harriot , English astronomer, mathematician, and ethnographer (b. 1560)
1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie , Italian-French general (b. 1611)
1674 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1614)
1743 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington , English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1673)
1746 – Thomas Baker , English antiquarian and author (b. 1656)
1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau , Swiss philosopher and composer (b. 1712)
1833 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas , Argentinian lawyer and politician, 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (b. 1757)
1843 – Samuel Hahnemann , German physician and academic (b. 1755)
1850 – Robert Peel , English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
1857 – Carlo Pisacane , Italian soldier and philosopher (b. 1818)
1903 – Ed Delahanty , American baseball player (b. 1867)
1912 – Tom Richardson , English cricketer (b. 1870)
1914 – Joseph Chamberlain , English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1836)
1915 – Porfirio Díaz , Mexican general and politician, 29th President of Mexico (b. 1830)
1920 – William Louis Marshall , American general and engineer (b. 1846)
1926 – Émile Coué , French psychologist and pharmacist (b. 1857)
1929 – Gladys Brockwell , American actress (b. 1894)
1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
1950 – Thomas William Burgess , English swimmer and water polo player (b. 1872)
1955 – Edward Lawson , English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1873)
1961 – Ernest Hemingway , American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
1963 – Alicia Patterson , American publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1906)
1964 – Fireball Roberts , American race car driver (b. 1929)
1966 – Jan Brzechwa , Polish poet and author (b. 1900)
1969 – Michael DiBiase , American wrestler (b. 1923)
1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith , American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)
1973 – Betty Grable , American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1916)
1973 – Chick Hafey , American baseball player (b. 1903)
1973 – George McBride , American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
1973 – Ferdinand Schörner , German field marshal (b. 1892)
1975 – James Robertson Justice , English actor (b. 1907)
1977 – Vladimir Nabokov , Russian-born novelist and critic (b. 1899)
1978 – Aris Alexandrou , Greek author and poet (b. 1922)
1986 – Peanuts Lowrey , American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
1988 – Vibert Douglas , Canadian astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1894)
1989 – Andrei Gromyko , Soviet economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1909)
1990 – Snooky Lanson , American singer (b. 1914)
1991 – Lee Remick , American actress (b. 1935)
1993 – Fred Gwynne , American actor (b. 1926)
1994 – Andrés Escobar , Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
1995 – Lloyd MacPhail , Canadian businessman and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1920)
1997 – James Stewart , American actor (b. 1908)
1999 – Mario Puzo , American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2000 – Joey Dunlop , Northern Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
2002 – Ray Brown , American bassist and composer (b. 1926)
2003 – Briggs Cunningham , American race car driver and businessman (b. 1907)
2004 – Mochtar Lubis , Indonesian journalist and author (b. 1922)
2005 – Ernest Lehman , American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
2005 – Norm Prescott , American actor, composer, and producer, co-founded Filmation Studios (b. 1927)
2006 – Jan Murray , American comedian, actor, and game show host (b. 1916)
2007 – Beverly Sills , American operatic soprano and television personality (b. 1929)
2008 – Natasha Shneider , Russian-American singer, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1956)
2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs , English actress and screenwriter (b. 1929)
2010 – Beryl Bainbridge , English screenwriter and author (b. 1932)
2011 – Itamar Franco , Brazilian engineer and politician, 33rd President of Brazil (b. 1930)
2012 – Maurice Chevit , French actor and screenwriter (b. 1923)
2012 – Ben Davidson , American football player and actor (b. 1940)
2012 – Julian Goodman , American journalist (b. 1922)
2012 – Angelo Mangiarotti , Italian architect and academic (b. 1921)
2012 – Betty Meggers , American archaeologist and academic (b. 1921)
2012 – Ed Stroud , American baseball player (b. 1939)
2013 – Anthony G. Bosco , American bishop (b. 1927)
2013 – Douglas Engelbart , American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (b. 1925)
2013 – Armand Gaudreault , Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
2013 – Anthony Llewellyn , Welsh-American chemist, academic, and astronaut (b. 1933)
2014 – Emilio Álvarez Montalván , Nicaraguan ophthalmologist and politician (b. 1919)
2014 – Manuel Cardona , Spanish physicist and academic (b. 1934)
2014 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (b. 1915)
2014 – Harold W. Kuhn , American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
2014 – Louis Zamperini , American runner and captain (b. 1917)
2015 – Slavko Avsenik , Slovenian singer-songwriter and accordion player (b. 1929)
2015 – Ronald Davison , New Zealand lawyer and judge, 10th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1920)
2015 – Charlie Sanders , American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
2015 – Jim Weaver , American football player and coach (b. 1945)
2015 – Jacobo Zabludovsky , Mexican journalist (b. 1928)
2016 – Caroline Aherne , English actress and comedian (b. 1963)
2016 – Michael Cimino , American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
2016 – Patrick Manning , 4th & 6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1946)
2016 – Elie Wiesel , Holocaust survivor, activist, and author (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]
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