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, 29,234,880 minutes 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.
• 1873 –
  The Clay Street Hill Railroad begins operating the first cable car in San Francisco’s famous cable car system.
• 1916 –
  World War I: Austrian sabotage causes the sinking of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto.
• 1923 –
  As vice president, Calvin Coolidge becomes the 30th President of the United States after the death of Warren G. Harding
• 1932 –
  The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson.
• 1939 –
  Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan project to develop a nuclear weapon.
• 1943 –
  Rebellion in the Nazi death camp of Treblinka.
• 1945 –
  World War II: the Potsdam Conference, at which the Allied Powers discuss the future of defeated Germany, is concluded.
• 1985 –
  Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar crashes at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport killing 137.
• 2005 –
  Air France Flight 358, lands at Toronto Pearson International Airport, and runs off the runway causing the plane to burst into flames leaving 12 injuries and no fatalities.

Who were born on August 2?

• 1891 –
  Arthur Bliss, British composer and Master of the Queen’s Music (d. 1975)
• 1902 –
  Helen Morgan, American actress (d. 1941)
• 1932 –
  Lamar Hunt, American sports executive (d. 2006)
• 1935 –
  Hank Cochran, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1951 –
  Andrew Gold, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
• 1955 –
  Tony Godden, English footballer
• 1964 –
  Frank Biela, German racing driver
• 1973 –
  Susie O'Neill, Australian swimmer
• 1978 –
  Goran Gavrančić, Serbian footballer
• 1980 –
  Ivica Banović, Croatian footballer

Who died on August 2?

• 1589 –
  King Henry III of France (b. 1551)
• 1788 –
  Thomas Gainsborough, English painter (b. 1727)
• 1823 –
  Lazare Carnot, French general, politician and mathematician (b. 1753)
• 1913 –
  Ferenc Pfaff, Hungarian architect (b. 1851)
• 1920 –
  Ormer Locklear, American stunt pilot (b. 1891)
• 1973 –
  Jean-Pierre Melville, French film director (b. 1917)
• 1978 –
  Carlos Chávez, Mexican composer (b. 1899)
• 1988 –
  Joe Carcione, American consumer advocate (b. 1914)
• 2005 –
  Steven Vincent, American journalist and writer (b. 1955)
• 2007 –
  Holden Roberto, Angolan politician (b. 1923)