What are the important events that happened on August 2? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

August 2: Facts & Myths About This Day

August 2 is the 214^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 151 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is July 20, 2025 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,754,092,800 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectadecatetragon’ day.

Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 199 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,607 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

August 2 Historical Events

• 216 BC –
  Second Punic War: Battle of Cannae – The Carthaginian army led by Hannibal defeats a numerically superior Roman army under command of consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro.
• 1790 –
  The first US Census is conducted.
• 1798 –
  French Revolutionary Wars: the Battle of the Nile concludes in a British victory.
• 1918 –
  The first general strike in Canadian history takes place in Vancouver.
• 1932 –
  The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson.
• 1943 –
  World War II: the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 is rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri and sinks. Lt. John F. Kennedy, future U.S. President, saves all but two of his crew.
• 1964 –
  Vietnam War: Gulf of Tonkin incident – North Vietnamese gunboats allegedly fire on the U.S. destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy.
• 1968 –
  An earthquake hits Casiguran, Aurora, Philippines killing more than 270 people and wounding 261.
• 1989 –
  A massacre is carried out by an Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 64 ethnic Tamil civilians.
• 1989 –
  Pakistan is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations after having restoring democracy for the first time since 1972.

Who were born on August 2?

• 1858 –
  Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, Queen of the Netherlands (d. 1934)
• 1865 –
  John Radecki, Australian stained glass artist (d. 1955)
• 1871 –
  John French Sloan, American artist (d. 1951)
• 1890 –
  Marin Sais, American actress (d. 1971)
• 1912 –
  Ann Dvorak, American actress (d. 1979)
• 1914 –
  Beatrice Straight, American actress (d. 2001)
• 1926 –
  Betsy Bloomingdale, American socialite
• 1955 –
  Tim Dunigan, American actor
• 1961 –
  Graham Dye, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Scarlet Party, The Alan Parsons Project)
• 1970 –
  Philo Wallace, Barbiadian West Indies cricketer

Who died on August 2?

• 1316 –
  Louis of Burgundy, Prince of Achaea (b. 1297)
• 1876 –
  Wild Bill Hickok, American gunfighter (b. 1837)
• 1923 –
  Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States (b. 1865)
• 1939 –
  Harvey Spencer Lewis, American Rosicrucian mystic (b. 1883)
• 1955 –
  Alfred Lépine, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1901)
• 1974 –
  Douglas Hawkes, British racing driver (b. 1893)
• 1990 –
  Norman Maclean, American writer (b. 1902)
• 1997 –
  Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Nigerian musician (b. 1938)
• 2007 –
  Holden Roberto, Angolan politician (b. 1923)
• 2007 –
  Kay Dotrice, English repertory actress (b. 1929)