July 2

This date marks the halfway point of the year. In common years, the midpoint of the year occurs at noon on this date, while in leap years, it occurs at midnight (start of the day).

Events Pre-1600 AD 311 – Beginning of the papacy of Pope Miltiades. 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. 866 – Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army. 1298 – Battle of Göllheim: Albert I of Habsburg defeats Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg. 1494 – Age of Discovery: The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain. 1582 – Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide.

1601–1900 1644 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor. 1645 – Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Alford. 1776 – American Revolution: The Continental Congress adopts the Lee Resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain. The wording of the formal Declaration of Independence was agreed upon and publicly released two days later, on July 4. 1823 – Bahia Independence Day: The Siege of Salvador ends Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia. 1840 – A 7.4 earthquake strikes present-day Turkey and Armenia; combined with the effects of an eruption on Mount Ararat, kills 10,000 people. 1863 – American Civil War: On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg - the Battle of Little Round Top takes place and results in a Union victory after the Confederate troops unsuccessfully try to assault the Union left flank.Clark, Champ, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. Gettysburg: The Confederate High Tide. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1985. , pp. 81-85Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. , pp. 527–530 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (who will die of complications from his wounds on September 19). 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act.

1901–present 1917 – In the leadup to the Battle of Aqaba, T. E. Lawrence and his Arab forces defeat a battalion of Ottomans at Abu al-Lissan. 1921 – World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox–Porter Resolution formally ending the war between the United States and Germany. 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends after three days of killings. 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean and disappear while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight. 1964 – Civil rights movement: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places. 1966 – France conducts its first nuclear weapon test in the Pacific, on Moruroa Atoll. 1976 – End of South Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam annexes the former South Vietnam to form the unified 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 in the Quemados case. 1986 – Aeroflot Flight 2306 crashes while attempting an emergency landing at Syktyvkar Airport in Syktyvkar, in present-day Komi Republic, Russia, killing 54 people. 1990 – In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca.; 1993 – A mob sets fire to the Hotel Madımak in Sivas, Turkey, where an Alevi cultural festival was taking place, killing 37 people. 1994 – USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board. 1997 – The Bank of Thailand floats the baht, triggering the Asian financial crisis. 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, in the 2000 Mexican general election. 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. 2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others. 2024 – A stampede during a religious event in Uttar Pradesh, India, leaves at least 121 people dead and 150 others injured.

Births Pre-1600 419 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (died 455) 1478 – Louis V, Elector Palatine (died 1544) 1486 – Jacopo Sansovino, Italian sculptor and architect (died 1570) 1489 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop, theologian, and Protestant martyr (died 1556) 1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, English daughter of Henry VII of England (died 1495) 1597 – Theodoor Rombouts, Flemish painter (died 1637)

1601–1900 1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English politician, Lord President of the Council (died 1730) 1648 – Arp Schnitger, German organ builder (died 1719) 1665 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American soldier and historian (died 1726) 1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and art collector (died 1740) 1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (died 1787) 1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet and author (died 1803) 1797 – Francisco Javier Echeverría, Mexican businessman and politician. President of Mexico (1841) (died 1852) 1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (died 1900) 1820 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician, 5th governor of the Oregon Territory (died 1878)Corning, Howard M. (1989) Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 68. 1820 – Juan N. Méndez, Mexican general and interim president, 1876-1877 (died 1894) 1821 – Charles Tupper, Canadian physician and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (died 1915) 1825 – Émile Ollivier, French statesman (died 1913) 1834 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch economist and historian (died 1917) 1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (died 1919) 1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1942) 1865 – Lily Braun, German author and publicist (died 1916) 1869 – Liane de Pougy, French-Swiss dancer and author (died 1950) 1876 – Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist and academic (died 1933) 1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, German businessman and politician, Chancellor of Germany (died 1933) 1877 – Hermann Hesse, German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1962) 1877 – Rinaldo Cuneo, American artist ("the painter of San Francisco") (died 1939) 1881 – Royal Hurlburt Weller, American lawyer and politician (died 1929) 1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and author (died 1931) 1893 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh gardener and author (died 1950) 1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, English actor and director (died 1971)

1901–present 1902 – K. Kanapathypillai, Sri Lankan author and academic (died 1968) 1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, English cricketer and politician, 66th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1995) 1903 – Olav V, Norwegian king, 1957–1991 (died 1991) 1904 – René Lacoste, French tennis player and businessman, created the polo shirt (died 1996) 1906 – Hans Bethe, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2005) 1906 – Károly Kárpáti, Hungarian Jewish wrestler (died 1996) 1906 – Séra Martin, French middle-distance runner (died 1993) 1908 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and civil rights activist, 32nd Solicitor General of the United States, and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (died 1993) 1911 – Reg Parnell, English race car driver and manager (died 1964) 1913 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, English historian and academic (died 1999) 1914 – Frederick Fennell, American conductor and educator (died 2004) 1914 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist and engineer (died 1990) 1914 – Erich Topp, German admiral (died 2005) 1915 – Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, British peer, politician and soldier (died 2014) 1916 – Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (died 1991) 1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German colonel and pilot (died 1982) 1916 – Reino Kangasmäki, Finnish wrestler (died 2010) 1916 – Zélia Gattai, Brazilian author and photographer (died 2008) 1917 – Leonard J. Arrington, American author and academic, founded the Mormon History Association (died 1999) 1918 – Athos Bulcão, Brazilian painter and sculptor (died 2008) 1919 – Jean Craighead George, American author (died 2012) 1920 – John Kneubuhl, Samoan-American historian, screenwriter, and playwright (died 1992) 1922 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer (died 2020) 1922 – Paula Valenska, Czech actress (died 1994) 1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (died 1958) 1923 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2012) 1924 – Chia-ying Yeh, Chinese-born Canadian poet and sinologist (died 2024) 1925 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and civil rights movement activist (died 1963) 1925 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (died 1961) 1925 – Marvin Rainwater, American singer-songwriter (died 2013) 1926 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (died 2007) 1927 – Lee Allen, American saxophone player (died 1994) 1927 – James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 1927 – Brock Peters, American actor (died 2005) 1929 – Imelda Marcos, Filipino politician; 10th First Lady of the Philippines 1930 – Ahmad Jamal, American jazz musician (died 2023) 1930 – Carlos Menem, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 50th President of Argentina (died 2021) 1932 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy's (died 2002) 1933 – Peter Desbarats, Canadian journalist, author, and playwright (died 2014) 1933 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2017) 1934 – Tom Springfield, English musician (died 2022) 1935 – Gilbert Kalish, American pianist and educator 1936 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (died 2012) 1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress (died 2025) 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 – Mike Castle, American politician, 69th Governor of Delaware (died 2025) 1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (died 1976) 1939 – John H. Sununu, American engineer and politician, 14th White House Chief of Staff 1939 – Paul Williams, American singer and choreographer (died 1973) 1940 – Kenneth Clarke, English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 1940 – Georgi Ivanov, Bulgarian military officer, cosmonaut and politician 1941 – William Guest, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2015) 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 – Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (died 2013) 1946 – Richard Axel, American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate 1946 – Ron Silver, American actor, director, and political activist (died 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 (died 2013) 1949 – Greg Brown, American musician"Greg Brown Biography" Retrieved 19 August 2015 1949 – Roy Bittan, American rock piano and accordion player (E Street Band)