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 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.
Events
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 .
963 – The imperial army proclaims Nicephorus Phocas 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 Massachusetts against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place.
1644 – English Civil War : Battle of Marston Moor .
1679 – Europeans first visit Minnesota and see headwaters of Mississippi in an expedition led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth .
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 .
1777 – Vermont becomes the first American territory to abolish slavery .
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 Anti-Trust Act .
1897 – Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London .
1900 – The first Zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen , Germany .
1917 – The East St. Louis Riots end.
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 .
1950 – The Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto , Japan burns down .
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 Mururoa , 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 were burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile .
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 performed and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto's fourth and fifth moons , Kerberos and Styx .
Births
419 – Valentinian III , Roman emperor (d. 455)
1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
1489 – Thomas Cranmer , English archbishop (d. 1556)
1492 – Elizabeth Tudor , English daughter of Henry VII of England (d. 1495)
1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham , English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1730)
1665 – Samuel Penhallow , English-American soldier and historian (d. 1726)
1667 – Pietro Ottoboni , Italian cardinal (d. 1740)
1698 – Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena (d. 1780)
1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck , German composer (d. 1787)
1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock , German poet (d. 1803)
1750 – Thomas Spence , English author (d. 1814)
1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon , French pianist and composer (d. 1900)
1820 – George Law Curry , American publisher and politician, and 5th Governor of the Oregon Territory (d. 1878)
1821 – Charles Tupper , Canadian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919)
1855 – Louis Maxson , American archer (d. 1916)
1862 – William Henry Bragg , English physicist, chemist, and mathematician Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
1865 – Lily Braun , German author (d. 1916)
1869 – Liane de Pougy , French dancer (d. 1950)
1876 – Harriet Brooks , Canadian physicist (d. 1933)
1876 – Wilhelm Cuno , German politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
1877 – Hermann Hesse , German-Swiss author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob , German neurologist (d. 1931)
1893 – Ralph Hancock , Welsh gardener and author (d. 1950)
1896 – Lydia Mei , Estonian painter (d. 1965)
1900 – Tyrone Guthrie , English actor and director (d. 1971)
1902 – K. Kanapathypillai , Ceylon academic and author (d. 1968)
1902 – Germaine Thyssens-Valentin , Dutch pianist (d. 1987)
1903 – Alec Douglas-Home , English 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)
1906 – Séra Martin , French runner (d. 1993)
1906 – Christos Tsaganeas , Romanian-Greek actor and cinematographer (d. 1976)
1908 – Thurgood Marshall , American jurist, 32nd United States Solicitor General (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 – Mário Schenberg , Brazilian physicist and engineer (d. 1990)
1914 – Erich Topp , German admiral (d. 2005)
1915 – Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington , Italian-English soldier and politician (d. 2014)
1916 – Ken Curtis , American actor and singer (d. 1991)
1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel , German colonel and pilot (d. 1982)
1918 – Wim Boost , Dutch cartoonist (d. 2005)
1920 – John Kneubuhl , Samoan-American historian, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 1992)
1920 – Annette Kerr , Scottish-English actress (d. 2013)
1922 – Pierre Cardin , Italian-French fashion designer
1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth , American author (d. 1958)
1923 – Wisława Szymborska , Polish poet, 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, singer, and producer (d. 2005)
1928 – Line Renaud , French actress and singer
1929 – Abraham Avigdorov , Israeli soldier (d. 2012)
1929 – John A. Cade , American politician (d. 1996)
1929 – Daphne Hasenjager , South African sprinter
1929 – Imelda Marcos , Filipino politician, 10th First Lady of the Philippines
1930 – Ahmad Jamal , American pianist, composer, and educator
1930 – Carlos Menem , Argentinian lawyer and politician, 50th President of Argentina
1933 – Peter Desbarats , Canadian journalist, author, and playwright
1936 – Omar Suleiman , Egyptian politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012)
1937 – Polly Holliday , American actress
1937 – Richard Petty , American race car driver
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 (The Temptations ) (d. 1973)
1940 – Kenneth Clarke , English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
1941 – Wendell Mottley , Trinidadian sprinter, economist, and politician
1941 – Stéphane Venne , Canadian songwriter and composer
1942 – John Eekelaar , South African-English lawyer and scholar
1942 – Vicente Fox , Mexican businessman and politician, 35th President of Mexico
1943 – Walter Godefroot , Belgian cyclist
1946 – Richard Axel , American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Ricky Bruch , Swedish discus thrower (d. 2011)
1947 – Larry David , American actor, screenwriter, and producer
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 (McFadden & Whitehead ) (d. 2006)
1948 – Saul Rubinek , Canadian actor and director
1949 – Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu , French actor (d. 2010)
1949 – Robert Paquette , Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1949 – Hanno Pöschl , Austrian actor
1949 – Nancy Stephens , American actress and producer
1950 – Lynne Brindley , English librarian and academic
1950 – Jon Trickett , English politician
1951 – Elisabeth Brooks , Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 1997)
1951 – Jack Gantos , American author
1951 – Michele Santoro , Italian journalist
1952 – Johnny Colla , American guitarist and songwriter (Huey Lewis and the News )
1952 – Anatoliy Solomin , Ukrainian race walker
1953 – Sharifah Aini , Malaysian singer (d. 2014)
1953 – Tony Armas , Venezuelan baseball player and coach
1953 – Jean-Claude Borelly , French trumpet player and composer
1954 – Pete Briquette , Irish bass player, songwriter, and producer (The Boomtown Rats )
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
1955 – Andrew Divoff , Venezuelan-American actor and producer
1956 – Jerry Hall , American model and actress
1957 – Bret Hart , Canadian wrestler and actor
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
1961 – Samy Naceri , French actor
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 – Hisakatsu Oya , Japanese wrestler
1964 – Charles Robinson , American wrestler and referee
1965 – Norbert Röttgen , German politician
1966 – Jean-François Richet , French director, producer, and screenwriter
1970 – Derrick Adkins , American hurdler
1970 – Yancy Butler , American actress
1970 – Colin Edwin , Australian bass player (Porcupine Tree and Henry Fool )
1970 – Scotty 2 Hotty , American wrestler and firefighter
1970 – Monie Love , English-American rapper (Native Tongues )
1970 – Steve Morrow , Irish footballer and manager
1971 – Evelyn Lau , Canadian poet and author
1972 – Darren Shan , English-Irish author
1973 – Peter Kay , English comedian, actor, director, and producer
1974 – Sean Casey , American baseball player and sportscaster
1974 – Tim Christensen , Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dizzy Mizz Lizzy )
1974 – Matthew Reilly , Australian author
1974 – Moon So-ri , South Korean actress
1975 – Éric Dazé , Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Kristen Michal , Estonian lawyer and politician
1975 – Erik Ohlsson , Swedish singer and guitarist (Millencolin )
1975 – Stefan Terblanche , South African rugby player
1976 – Krisztián Lisztes , Hungarian footballer
1976 – Mihkel Tüür , Estonian architect
1976 – Tomáš Vokoun , Czech-American ice hockey player
1978 – Diana Gurtskaya , Georgian singer-songwriter
1978 – Jüri Ratas , Estonian politician, 42nd Mayor of Tallinn
1979 – Walter Davis , American triple jumper
1979 – Sam Hornish, Jr. , American race car driver
1979 – Joe Thornton , Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Angel Pagán , Puerto Rican baseball player
1981 – Aaron Voros , Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Michelle Branch , American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (The Wreckers )
1983 – Sammy J , Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1984 – Vanessa Lee Chester , American actress
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 and singer
1986 – Brett Cecil , American baseball player
1986 – Lindsay Lohan , American actress and singer
1987 – Esteban Granero , Spanish footballer
1987 – Ruslana Korshunova , Kazakh model (d. 2008)
1988 – Porta , Spanish rapper
1988 – Lee Chung-Yong , South Korean footballer
1989 – Dev , American singer-songwriter
1989 – Ivan Dobronravov , Russian actor
1989 – Nadezhda Grishaeva , Russian basketball player
1989 – Alex Morgan , American soccer player
1990 – Roman Lob , German singer-songwriter
1990 – Margot Robbie , Australian actress
1990 – Danny Rose , English footballer
1996 – Julia Grabher , Austrian tennis player
Deaths
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 , Margrave of Neustria (b. 820)
943 – Henry the Fowler , King of Germany (b. 876)
1298 – Adolf, King 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 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)
1778 – Bathsheba Spooner , American murderer (b. 1746)
1822 – Denmark Vesey , American slave (b. 1767)
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)
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)
1916 – Louis Maxson , American archer (b. 1855)
1926 – Émile Coué , French psychologist and pharmacist (b. 1857)
1929 – Gladys Brockwell , American actress (b. 1893)
1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
1934 – Ernst Röhm , German SA officer (b. 1887)
1950 – Thomas William Burgess , English swimmer (b. 1872)
1961 – Ernest Hemingway , American journalist and author, 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)
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 – Ferdinand Schörner , German field marshal (b. 1892)
1975 – James Robertson Justice , English actor (b. 1907)
1977 – Vladimir Nabokov , Russian-Swiss author and academic (b. 1899)
1978 – Aris Alexandrou , Greek author and poet (b. 1922)
1984 – Paul Dozois , Canadian politician (b. 1908)
1988 – Vibert Douglas , Canadian astronomer (b. 1894)
1989 – Andrei Gromyko , Belarusian-Russian politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Soviet Union (b. 1909)
1989 – Franklin J. Schaffner , Japanese-American director and producer (b. 1920)
1991 – Lee Remick , American actress (b. 1935)
1992 – Camarón de la Isla , Spanish singer and guitarist (b. 1950)
1993 – Fred Gwynne , American actor and singer (b. 1926)
1994 – Andrés Escobar , Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
1995 – Lloyd MacPhail , Canadian politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1920)
1997 – James Stewart , American actor and singer (b. 1908)
1999 – Mario Puzo , American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2000 – Joey Dunlop , Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
2002 – Ray Brown , American bassist and composer (b. 1926)
2003 – Briggs Cunningham , American entrepreneur, racing car constructor, driver, and team owner (b. 1907)
2004 – Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen , Portuguese poet and author (b. 1919)
2004 – Mochtar Lubis , Indonesian journalist and author (b. 1922)
2005 – Ernest Lehman , American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
2007 – Beverly Sills , American soprano and actress (b. 1929)
2008 – Natasha Shneider , Russian-American singer, keyboard player, and actress (Eleven ) (b. 1956)
2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs , English actress and screenwriter (b. 1929)
2010 – Beryl Bainbridge , English actress, screenwriter, and author (b. 1932)
2011 – Itamar Franco , Brazilian politician, 33rd President of Brazil (b. 1930)
2011 – Chaturanan Mishra , Indian politician (b. 1925)
2012 – Maurice Chevit , French actor (b. 1923)
2012 – Tsutomu Koyama , Japanese volleyball player (b. 1936)
2012 – Angelo Mangiarotti , Italian architect and academic (b. 1921)
2013 – Douglas Engelbart , American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (b. 1925)
2013 – Fawzia Fuad of Egypt (b. 1921)
2013 – Anthony Llewellyn , Welsh-American chemist, academic, and astronaut (b. 1933)
2014 – Emilio Álvarez Montalván , Nicaraguan ophthalmologist and politician (b. 1919)
2014 – Chad Brown , American poker player and actor (b. 1961)
2014 – Manuel Cardona , Spanish physicist and academic (b. 1934)
2014 – Harold W. Kuhn , American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
2014 – Louis Zamperini , American distance runner and war hero (b. 1917)
Holidays and observances
External links
Months and days of the year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
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