October 2
Events
Pre-1600
- 829 - Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor.
- 939 - Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia and other Frankish dukes.
- 1187- Saladin won Jerusalem after the city surrendered to his forces following a prolonged siege.
- 1263 - The Battle of Largs is fought between Norwegians and Scots.
- 1470 - The Earl of Warwick's rebellion forces King Edward IV of England to flee to the Netherlands, restoring Henry VI to the throne.
- 1552 - Russo-Kazan Wars: Russian troops enter Kazan.
1601–1900
- 1766 - The Nottingham Cheese Riot breaks out at the Goose Fair in Nottingham, UK, in response to the excessive cost of cheese.
- 1780 - American Revolutionary War: John André, a British Army officer, is hanged as a spy by the Continental Army.
- 1789 - The United States Bill of Rights is sent to the various States for ratification.
- 1835 - Texas Revolution: Mexican troops attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Confederates defeat a Union attack on Saltville, Virginia. A massacre of wounded Union prisoners ensues.
- 1870 - By plebiscite, the citizens of the Papal States accept annexation by the Kingdom of Italy.
1901–present
- 1919 - Seven days after suffering a "physical collapse" following a speech in Pueblo, Colorado, U.S. president Woodrow Wilson has a catastrophic stroke at the White House, leaving him physically and mentally incapacitated for the remainder of his presidency.
- 1920 - Ukrainian War of Independence: Mikhail Frunze orders the Red Army to immediately cease hostilities with the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine.
- 1928 - The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded.
- 1937 - Rafael Trujillo orders the execution of Haitians living in the border region of the Dominican Republic.
- 1942 - World War II: Ocean Liner accidentally rams and sinks, killing over 300 crewmen aboard Curacoa.
- 1944 - World War II: German troops end the Warsaw Uprising.
- 1958 - Guinea declares its independence from France.
- 1967 - Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of the United States Supreme Court.
- 1968 - Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz orders soldiers to suppress a demonstration of unarmed students, ten days before the start of the 1968 Summer Olympics.
- 1970 - An aircraft carrying the Wichita State University football team, administrators, and supporters crashes in Colorado, killing 31 people.
- 1971 - South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu is re-elected in a one-man election.
- 1971 - British European Airways Flight 706 crashes near Aarsele, Belgium, killing 63.
- 1980 - Michael Myers becomes the first member of either chamber of Congress to be expelled since the Civil War.
- 1990 - Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 is hijacked and lands at Guangzhou, where it crashes into two other airliners on the ground, killing 132.
- 1992 - Military police storm the Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil during a prison riot. The resulting massacre leaves 111 prisoners dead.
- 1996 - Aeroperú Flight 603 crashes into the ocean near Peru, killing all 70 people on board.
- 1996 - The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
- 2002 - The Beltway sniper attacks begin in Washington, D.C., extending over three weeks and killing 10 people.
- 2004 - The first parkrun, then known as the Bushy Park Time Trial, takes place in Bushy Park, London, UK.
- 2006 - Five Amish girls are murdered in a shooting at a school in Pennsylvania, United States.
- 2007 - President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea goes to North Korea for an Inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
- 2016 - Ethiopian protests break out during a festival in the Oromia region, killing dozens of people.
- 2018 - The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
- 2019 - A privately owned Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress conducting a living history exhibition flight crashes shortly after takeoff from Windsor Locks, Connecticut, killing seven.
- 2025 – 2 people are killed and at least 4 others injured in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester, UK, during Yom Kippur.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1452 - Richard III of England
- 1470 - Isabella of Aragon, Queen of Portugal, Daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon
- 1527 - William Drury, English politician
- 1538 - Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal and saint
1601–1900
- 1718 - Elizabeth Montagu, English author and critic
- 1768 - William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, English general and politician
- 1798 - Charles Albert, King of Sardinia
- 1800 - Nat Turner, American slave and uprising leader
- 1815 - James Agnew, Irish-Australian politician, Premier of Tasmania
- 1821 - Alexander P. Stewart, American general
- 1828 - Charles Floquet, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France
- 1832 - Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist
- 1847 - Paul von Hindenburg, German field marshal and politician, 2nd President of Germany
- 1851 - Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal
- 1852 - William Ramsay, Scottish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1854 - Patrick Geddes, Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer, and philanthropist
- 1866 - Swami Abhedananda, Indian mystic and philosopher
- 1869 - Mahatma Gandhi, Indian freedom fighter, activist and philosopher
- 1871 - Cordell Hull, American politician, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1871 - Martha Brookes Hutcheson, American landscaper and author
- 1873 - Stephen Warfield Gambrill, American lawyer and politician
- 1873 - Pelham Warner, English cricketer and manager
- 1875 - Pattie Ruffner Jacobs, American suffragist
- 1879 - Wallace Stevens, American poet
- 1882 - Boris Shaposhnikov, Russian colonel
- 1883 - Karl von Terzaghi, Austrian geologist and engineer
- 1890 - Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor
- 1893 - Leroy Shield, American composer and conductor
- 1895 - Ruth Cheney Streeter, American colonel
- 1900 - Leela Roy Nag, Indian freedom fighter, social reformer and politician
1901–present
- 1902 - Leopold Figl, Austrian politician, Chancellor of Austria
- 1904 - Graham Greene, English novelist, playwright, and critic
- 1904 - Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian and politician, Prime Minister of India
- 1905 - Franjo Šeper, Croatian cardinal
- 1906 - Thomas Hollway, Australian politician, Premier of Victoria
- 1907 - Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Bolivian politician, President of Bolivia
- 1907 - Alexander R. Todd, Scottish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1909 - Alex Raymond, American cartoonist, creator of Flash Gordon
- 1912 - Frank Malina, American engineer and painter
- 1914 - Jack Parsons, American chemist, occultist, and engineer
- 1914 - Bernarr Rainbow, English organist, conductor, and historian
- 1915 - Chuck Williams, American author and businessman, founded Williams Sonoma
- 1917 - Christian de Duve, Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1917 - Charles Drake, American actor
- 1919 - John W. Duarte, English guitarist and composer
- 1921 - Edmund Crispin, English writer and composer
- 1921 - Albert Scott Crossfield, American pilot and engineer
- 1921 - Robert Runcie, English archbishop
- 1925 - Wren Blair, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1926 - Jan Morris, Welsh historian and author
- 1928 - George McFarland, American actor
- 1928 - Wolfhart Pannenberg, Polish-German theologian and academic
- 1929 - Peter Bronfman, Canadian businessman
- 1929 - Moses Gunn, American actor
- 1930 - Dave Barrett, Canadian social worker and politician, 26th Premier of British Columbia
- 1932 - Maury Wills, American baseball player and manager
- 1933 - John Gurdon, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1933 - Dave Somerville, Canadian singer
- 1934 - Richard Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote, English lawyer and judge
- 1934 - Earl Wilson, American baseball player
- 1935 - Omar Sívori, Italian-Argentine footballer and manager
- 1936 - Dick Barnett, American basketball player
- 1936 - Connie Dierking, American basketball player
- 1936 – Gwen Marston, American quilter and writer
- 1937 - Johnnie Cochran, American lawyer
- 1938 - Nick Gravenites, American singer-songwriter
- 1938 - Waheed Murad, Pakistani actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1938 - Rex Reed, American film critic
- 1939 - Budhi Kunderan, Indian cricketer
- 1941 - Diana Hendry, English poet and author
- 1941 - Ron Meagher, American rock bass player
- 1942 - Steve Sabol, American director and producer, co-founded NFL Films
- 1943 - Anna Ford, English journalist
- 1943 - Henri Szeps, Australian actor
- 1944 - Vernor Vinge, American author
- 1945 - Martin Hellman, American cryptographer and academic
- 1945 - Don McLean, American singer-songwriter
- 1946 - Sonthi Boonyaratglin, Thai general and politician
- 1947 - Ward Churchill, American author and activist
- 1948 - Trevor Brooking, English footballer and manager
- 1948 - Avery Brooks, American actor
- 1948 - Donna Karan, American fashion designer, founded DKNY
- 1948 - Siim Kallas, Estonian politician, Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1948 - Persis Khambatta, Indian model and actress,
- 1949 - Richard Hell, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1949 - Annie Leibovitz, American photographer
- 1950 - Mike Rutherford, English guitarist
- 1951 - Sting, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1952 - Janusz Olejniczak, Polish classical pianist and actor
- 1952 - Robin Riker, American actress
- 1953 - Vanessa Bell Armstrong, American singer
- 1953 - Tom Boswell, American basketball player
- 1954 - Lorraine Bracco, American actress
- 1955 - Philip Oakey, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1956 - Freddie Jackson, American soul singer
- 1957 - John Cook, American golfer
- 1957 - Wade Dooley, English rugby player
- 1958 - Robbie Nevil, American singer-songwriter
- 1960 - Glenn Anderson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 - Django Bates, English musician and composer
- 1960 - Joe Sacco, Maltese-American journalist and cartoonist
- 1960 - Dereck Whittenburg, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 - Mark Rypien, Canadian-American football player
- 1963 - Keith Bradshaw, Australian cricketer
- 1963 - Maria Ressa, Filipino-American journalist
- 1964 - Dirk Brinkmann, German field hockey player
- 1965 - Darren Cahill, Australian tennis player
- 1965 - Tom Moody, Australian cricketer
- 1965 - Ferhan and Ferzan Önder, Turkish-Austrian pianists
- 1966 - Yokozuna, American wrestler
- 1967 - Frankie Fredericks, Namibian sprinter
- 1967 - Alex Karp, American businessman
- 1967 - Thomas Muster, Austrian tennis player
- 1967 - Gillian Welch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1968 - Jana Novotná, Czech tennis player and sportscaster
- 1968 - Joey Slotnick, American actor
- 1968 - Glen Wesley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 - Kelly Willis, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1969 - Badly Drawn Boy, English musician
- 1970 - Eddie Guardado, American baseball player
- 1970 - Patricia O'Callaghan, Canadian soprano
- 1970 - Kelly Ripa, American actress and talk show host
- 1970 - Maribel Verdú, Spanish actress
- 1971 - Tiffany Darwish, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 - Jim Root, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1971 - Chris Savino, American comic book artist, writer, animator and creator of The Loud House
- 1972 - Aaron McKie, American basketball player
- 1973 - Melissa Harris-Perry, American journalist, author, and educator
- 1973 - Lene Nystrøm, Norwegian singer, songwriter, and musician
- 1973 - Efren Ramirez, American actor
- 1973 - Scott Schoeneweis, American baseball player
- 1974 - Bjarke Ingels, Danish architect
- 1974 - Sam Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
- 1974 - Paul Teutul Jr., American motorcycle designer, co-founded Orange County Choppers
- 1976 - Mark Chilton, English cricketer
- 1977 - Didier Défago, Swiss skier
- 1978 - Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer, songwriter, actress
- 1981 - Luke Wilkshire, Australian footballer
- 1982 - Tyson Chandler, American basketball player
- 1982 - Esra Gümüş, Turkish volleyball player
- 1984 - Marion Bartoli, French tennis player
- 1985 - Çağlar Birinci, Turkish footballer
- 1986 - Camilla Belle, American actress
- 1987 - Joe Ingles, Australian basketball player
- 1987 - Phil Kessel, American ice hockey player
- 1987 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., American race car driver
- 1988 - Brittany Howard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1989 - Frederik Andersen, Danish ice hockey player
- 1989 - Josh Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 - Aaron Hicks, American baseball player
- 1989 - George Nash, English rower
- 1990 - Samantha Barks, Manx actress and singer
- 1991 - Roberto Firmino, Brazilian footballer
- 1992 - Alisson Becker, Brazilian footballer
- 1992 - Shane Larkin, American-Turkish basketball player
- 1992 - Nicol Ruprecht, Austrian rhythmic gymnast
- 1993 - Lance McCullers Jr., American baseball player
- 1995 - Tepai Moeroa, Cook Islands rugby league player
- 1996 - Tom Trbojevic, Australian rugby league player
- 2000 - Quadeca, American singer-songwriter and YouTuber
- 2002 - Jacob Sartorius, American social media personality and singer
- 2005 - Sam Konstas, Australian cricketer