March 2
Events
Pre-1600
1601–1900
1901–present
- 1901 - United States Steel Corporation is founded as a result of a merger between Carnegie Steel Company and Federal Steel Company which became the first corporation in the world with a market capital over $1 billion.
- 1901 - The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment limiting the autonomy of Cuba, as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
- 1903 - In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
- 1917 - The enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
- 1919 - The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
- 1932 - Finnish president P. E. Svinhufvud gives a radio speech, which four days later finally ends the Mäntsälä Rebellion and the far-right Lapua Movement that started it.
- 1933 - The film King Kong premieres in Radio City Music Hall and RKO Roxy in New York City
- 1937 - The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
- 1939 - Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
- 1941 - World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joins the Axis Pact.
- 1943 - World War II: During the Battle of the Bismarck Sea Allied aircraft defeated a Japanese attempt to ship troops to New Guinea.
- 1949 - Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
- 1955 - Norodom Sihanouk, king of Cambodia, abdicates the throne in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit.
- 1962 - In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup d'état.
- 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
- 1965 - The US and Republic of Vietnam Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
- 1968 - Baggeridge Colliery closes marking the end of over 300 years of coal mining in the Black Country.
- 1969 - In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
- 1970 - Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
- 1972 - The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
- 1977 - Libya becomes the History of [Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya] as the General People's Congress adopted the "Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People".
- 1978 - Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
- 1978 - The late iconic actor Charlie Chaplin's coffin is stolen from his grave in Switzerland.
- 1983 - Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.
- 1986 - Aeroflot Flight F-77 crashes near Bugulma Airport, killing all 38 people aboard.
- 1989 - Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons by the end of the century.
- 1990 - Nelson Mandela is elected deputy president of the African National Congress.
- 1991 - Establishment of Kuwait Democratic Forum, center-left political organization in Kuwait.
- 1991 - Battle at Rumaila oil field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
- 1992 - Start of the war in Transnistria.
- 1992 - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, all of which were former Soviet republics, join the United Nations.
- 1995 - Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
- 1995 - Space Shuttle Endeavour launches from the Kennedy Space Center on STS-67, carrying the ASTRO-2 spacelab observatory.
- 1998 - Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
- 2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins,.
- 2004 - War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
- 2006 - In Monterrey, Mexico, a man identified as Diego Santoy Riveroll committed a double murder against two children, followed by an attempted murder of his ex-partner, Erika. The incident is popularly known as the Cumbres case.
- 2012 - A tornado outbreak occurs over a large section of the Southern United States and into the Ohio Valley region, resulting in 40 tornado-related fatalities.
- 2014 - The Oscar Selfie, regarded as one of the most influential and important images of all time, is taken at the 86th Academy Awards.
- 2017 - The elements Moscovium, Tennessine, and Oganesson are officially added to the periodic table at a conference in Moscow, Russia.
- 2022 - Russian forces capture the city of Kherson during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which subsequently began the start of the Russian occupation of [Kherson Oblast|Russian occupation and military-civilian administration] in Kherson. Kherson is the only regional capital in Ukraine that Russia captured.
Births
Pre-1600
- 480 - Benedict of Nursia, Italian Christian saint
- 1316 - Robert II of Scotland
- 1409 - Jean II, Duke of Alençon
- 1432 - Countess Palatine Margaret of Mosbach, countess consort of Hanau
- 1453 - Johannes Engel, German doctor, astronomer and astrologer
- 1459 - Pope Adrian VI
- 1481 - Franz von Sickingen, German knight
- 1545 - Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library
- 1577 - George Sandys, English traveller, colonist and poet
1601–1900
- 1628 - Cornelis Speelman, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
- 1651 - Carlo Gimach, Maltese architect, engineer and poet
- 1705 - William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- 1740 - Nicholas Pocock, English naval painter
- 1760 - Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician
- 1769 - DeWitt Clinton, American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of New York
- 1770 - Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general
- 1779 - Joel Roberts Poinsett, American physician and politician, 15th United States Secretary of War
- 1793 - Sam Houston, American soldier and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Texas
- 1800 - Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian-Italian poet and philosopher
- 1810 - Pope Leo XIII
- 1816 - Alexander Bullock, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Massachusetts
- 1817 - János Arany, Hungarian journalist and poet
- 1820 - Multatuli, Dutch writer
- 1824 - Bedřich Smetana, Czech pianist and composer
- 1829 - Carl Schurz, German-American general, lawyer, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior
- 1836 - Henry Billings Brown, American lawyer and judge
- 1842 - Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer, art collector, and philanthropist
- 1846 - Marie Roze, French soprano
- 1849 - Robert Means Thompson, American commander, lawyer, and businessman
- 1859 - Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright
- 1860 - Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician
- 1862 - John Jay Chapman, American lawyer, author, and poet
- 1866 - Margaret Sibella Brown, Canadian bryologist
- 1869 - Julien Félix, French military officer and aviator
- 1876 - James A. Gilmore, American businessman and baseball executive
- 1876 - Pope Pius XII
- 1880 - René Vallon, French aviator
- 1886 - Willis H. O'Brien, American animator and director
- 1886 - Kurt Grelling, German logician and philosopher
- 1900 - Kurt Weill, German-American pianist and composer
1901–present
- 1901 - Grete Hermann, German mathematician and philosopher
- 1902 - Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy
- 1902 - Edward Condon, American physicist and academic
- 1904 - Dr. Seuss, American children's book writer, poet, and illustrator
- 1905 - Marc Blitzstein, American composer and songwriter
- 1905 - Geoffrey Grigson, English poet and critic
- 1908 - Walter Bruch, German engineer
- 1909 - Mel Ott, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
- 1912 - Henry Katzman, American pianist, composer, and painter
- 1913 - Godfried Bomans, Dutch television host and author
- 1913 - Mort Cooper, American baseball player
- 1914 - Martin Ritt, American actor and film director
- 1915 - John Burton, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to Ceylon
- 1917 - Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, and producer
- 1917 - David Goodis, American author and screenwriter
- 1917 - Jim Konstanty, American baseball player and coach
- 1919 - Jennifer Jones, American actress
- 1919 - Eddie Lawrence, American actor, singer, and playwright
- 1919 - Tamara Toumanova, Russian-American ballerina and actress
- 1921 - Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and coach
- 1921 - Ernst Haas, Austrian-American photographer and journalist
- 1922 - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, American saxophonist
- 1922 - Bill Quackenbush, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1922 - Frances Spence, American computer programmer
- 1923 - Basil Hume, English cardinal
- 1923 - Robert H. Michel, American soldier and politician
- 1923 - Dave Strack, American basketball player and coach
- 1924 - Cal Abrams, American baseball player
- 1924 - Renos Apostolidis, Greek philologist, author, and critic
- 1926 - Bernard Agré, Ivorian cardinal
- 1926 - Murray Rothbard, American economist and historian
- 1927 - Roger Walkowiak, French cyclist and economist
- 1930 - John Cullum, American actor and singer
- 1930 - Emma Penella, Spanish actress
- 1930 - Tom Wolfe, American journalist and author
- 1931 - Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian lawyer and politician, the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 - Gun Hägglund, Swedish journalist and translator
- 1933 - Leo Dillon, American illustrator
- 1934 - Howard Cassady, American football player
- 1934 - Dottie Rambo, American singer-songwriter
- 1935 - Gene Stallings, American football player and coach
- 1936 - Haroon Ahmed, Pakistani-English engineer and academic
- 1936 - John Tusa, Czech-English journalist and academic
- 1937 - Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algerian soldier and politician, 5th President of Algeria
- 1938 - Clark Gesner, American author and composer
- 1938 - Ricardo Lagos, Chilean economist, lawyer, and politician, 33rd President of Chile
- 1938 - Lawrence Payton, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1939 - Jan Howard Finder, American author and academic
- 1940 - Billy McNeill, Scottish footballer
- 1941 - John Cornell, Australian actor, director, and producer
- 1941 - David Satcher, American admiral and physician, 16th Surgeon General of the United States
- 1942 - John Irving, American novelist and screenwriter
- 1942 - Claude Larose, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1942 - Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Iranian architect and politician, 79th Prime Minister of Iran
- 1942 - Lou Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1942 - Derek Woodley, English footballer
- 1943 - George Layton, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1943 - Peter Straub, American author and poet
- 1943 - Robert Williams, American painter and cartoonist
- 1944 – Leif Segerstam, Finnish conductor and composer
- 1945 - Derek Watkins, English trumpet player and composer
- 1947 - John Dawkins, Australian politician
- 1947 - Nelson Ned, Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 1947 - Harry Redknapp, English footballer and manager
- 1948 - Larry Carlton, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1948 - Rory Gallagher, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1948 - Jeff Kennett, Australian journalist and politician, 43rd Premier of Victoria
- 1948 - Carmen Lawrence, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Western Australia
- 1950 - Karen Carpenter, American singer
- 1952 - Mark Evanier, American author and screenwriter
- 1952 - Laraine Newman, American actress and comedian
- 1953 - Russ Feingold, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 - Kazuo Kitagawa, Japanese politician
- 1954 - Ed Johnstone, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1955 - Dale Bozzio, American pop-rock singer-songwriter
- 1955 - Jay Osmond, American singer, drummer, actor, and TV/film producer
- 1955 - Ken Salazar, American lawyer and politician, 50th United States Secretary of the Interior
- 1955 - Steve Small, Australian cricketer
- 1956 - John Cowsill, American musician, songwriter, and producer
- 1956 - Mark Evans, Australian rock bass player
- 1957 - Mark Dean, American inventor and computer engineer
- 1957 - Hossein Dehghan, Iranian general and politician, Iranian Minister of Defense
- 1957 - Dito Tsintsadze, Georgian film director and screenwriter
- 1958 - Kevin Curren, South African-American tennis player
- 1958 - Ian Woosnam, English-Welsh golfer
- 1959 - Larry Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1961 - Simone Young, Australian conductor, director, and composer
- 1962 - Jon Bon Jovi, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1962 - Paul Farrelly, English journalist and politician
- 1962 - Tom Nordlie, Norwegian footballer and coach
- 1962 - Brendan O'Connor, Australian politician, Australian Minister for Employment
- 1962 - Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
- 1962 - Gabriele Tarquini, Italian race car driver
- 1963 - Anthony Albanese, Australian politician, 31st Prime Minister of Australia
- 1963 - Alvin Youngblood Hart, American singer and guitarist
- 1964 - Laird Hamilton, American surfer and actor
- 1964 - Mike Von Erich, American wrestler
- 1965 - Ron Gant, American baseball player and journalist
- 1965 - Lembit Öpik, Northern Irish politician
- 1966 - Ann Leckie, American author
- 1966 - Simon Reevell, English lawyer and politician
- 1968 - Daniel Craig, English actor and producer
- 1970 - James Purnell, English politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
- 1970 - Ciriaco Sforza, Swiss footballer and manager
- 1970 - Wibi Soerjadi, Dutch pianist and composer
- 1971 - Roman Čechmánek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1971 - Dave Gorman, English comedian, author and television presenter
- 1971 - Method Man, American rapper, record producer and actor
- 1972 - Mauricio Pochettino, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1973 - Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player
- 1973 - Trevor Sinclair, English footballer and manager
- 1974 - Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer and television host
- 1975 - Daryl Gibson, New Zealand rugby player
- 1977 - Dominique Canty, American basketball player and coach
- 1977 - Chris Martin, English singer-songwriter
- 1977 - Heather McComb, American actress
- 1977 - Stephen Parry, English swimmer and sportscaster
- 1977 - Andrew Strauss, South African-English cricketer
- 1978 - Jim Chalmers, Australian politician
- 1978 - Gabby Eigenmann, Filipino actor and singer
- 1978 - Lee Hodges, English footballer and manager
- 1978 - Sebastian Janikowski, Polish gridiron football player
- 1978 - Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey player
- 1979 - Damien Duff, Irish footballer
- 1979 - Jim Troughton, English cricketer
- 1979 - Nicky Weaver, English footballer
- 1980 - Chris Barker, English footballer and manager
- 1980 - Rebel Wilson, Australian actress and screenwriter
- 1981 - Lance Cade, American wrestler
- 1981 - Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
- 1982 - Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
- 1982 - Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1982 - Joel Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1982 - Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
- 1982 - Corey Webster, American football player
- 1983 - Deuce, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1983 - Lisandro López, Argentine footballer
- 1983 - Jay McClement, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 - Glen Perkins, American baseball player
- 1983 - Ryan Shannon, American ice hockey player
- 1984 - Jonathan Ericsson, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1985 - Reggie Bush, American football player
- 1985 - Robert Iler, American actor
- 1985 - Suso Santana, Spanish footballer
- 1986 - Jonathan D'Aversa, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 - Jason Smith, American basketball player
- 1987 - Jonas Jerebko, Swedish basketball player
- 1988 - Édgar Andrade, Mexican footballer
- 1988 - James Arthur, English singer-songwriter
- 1988 - Laura Kaeppeler, American beauty queen, Miss America 2012
- 1988 - Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver
- 1988 - Dexter Pittman, American basketball player
- 1988 - Geert Arend Roorda, Dutch footballer
- 1989 - Toby Alderweireld, Belgian footballer
- 1989 - Alemão, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 - Nathalie Emmanuel, English actress
- 1989 - Marcel Hirscher, Austrian skier
- 1989 - André Bernardes Santos, Portuguese footballer
- 1989 - Shane Vereen, American football player
- 1989 - Chris Woakes, English cricketer
- 1990 - Rauno Alliku, Estonian footballer
- 1990 - Malcolm Butler, American football player
- 1990 - Luke Combs, American singer-songwriter
- 1990 - Tiger Shroff, Indian actor
- 1991 - Nick Franklin, American baseball player
- 1992 - Charlie Coyle, American ice hockey player
- 1993 - Nicolás Brussino, Argentine-Italian basketball player
- 1993 - Adolis García, Cuban baseball player
- 1995 - Miguel Andújar, Dominican baseball player
- 1995 - Max Domi, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1995 - Ange-Freddy Plumain, French footballer
- 1997 - Becky G, American singer and actress
- 1996 - Jin Longguo, Chinese singer based in South Korea
- 1997 - Arike Ogunbowale, American basketball player
- 1998 - Tua Tagovailoa, American football player
- 1999 - Isiah Pacheco, American football player
- 2006 - Windy Zhan, Hong Kong singer and actress
- 2016 - Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne
Deaths
Pre-1600
- 274 - Mani, Persian prophet and founder of Manichaeism
- 672 - Chad of Mercia, English bishop and saint
- 968 - William, archbishop of Mainz
- 986 - Lothair, king of West Francia
- 1009 - Mokjong, king of Goryeo
- 1127 - Charles I, [Count of Flanders|Charles the Good], Count of Flanders
- 1316 - Marjorie Bruce, Scottish daughter of Robert the Bruce
- 1333 - Wladyslaw I, king of Poland
- 1589 - Alessandro Farnese, Italian cardinal and diplomat
1601–1900
- 1619 - Anne of Denmark, queen of Scotland
- 1729 - Francesco Bianchini, Italian astronomer and philosopher
- 1755 - Louis de Rouvroy, French duke and diplomat
- 1791 - John Wesley, English cleric and theologian
- 1793 - Carl Gustaf Pilo, Swedish-Danish painter and academic
- 1797 - Horace Walpole, English historian and politician
- 1829 - Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, Mexican revolutionary
- 1830 - Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, German physician, anatomist, and anthropologist
- 1835 - Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1840 - Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, German physician and astronomer
- 1855 - Nicholas I, Russian emperor
- 1864 - Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel
- 1865 - Carl Sylvius Völkner, German-New Zealand priest and missionary
- 1880 - John Benjamin Macneill, Irish engineer
- 1895 - Berthe Morisot, French painter
- 1895 - Isma'il Pasha, Egyptian politician
- 1896 - Jubal Early, American general
1901–present
- 1921 - Champ Clark, American lawyer and politician, 41st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1930 - D. H. Lawrence, English novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
- 1938 - Ben Harney, American pianist and composer
- 1939 - Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian
- 1943 - Gisela Januszewska, Austrian physician
- 1944 - Ida Maclean, British biochemist, the first woman admitted to the London Chemical Society
- 1945 - Emily Carr, Canadian painter and author
- 1946 - Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture
- 1946 - George E. Stewart, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient
- 1947 - Frans Johan Louwrens Ghijsels, Dutch architect and urban planner
- 1949 - Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet and activist
- 1953 - James Lightbody, American runner
- 1957 - Selim Sırrı Tarcan, Turkish educator and politician
- 1958 - Fred Merkle, American baseball player and manager
- 1962 - Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician and academic
- 1967 - José Martínez Ruiz, Spanish author and critic
- 1972 - Léo-Ernest Ouimet, Canadian director and producer
- 1977 - Eugénie Brazier, French chef
- 1979 - Christy Ring, Irish hurler
- 1982 - Philip K. Dick, American philosopher and author
- 1987 - Randolph Scott, American actor and director
- 1987 - Lolo Soetoro, Indonesian geographer and academic
- 1991 - Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor, and director
- 1992 - Sandy Dennis, American actress
- 1994 - Anita Morris, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1999 - Dusty Springfield, English singer
- 2000 - Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler
- 2003 - Hank Ballard, American singer-songwriter
- 2003 - Malcolm Williamson, Australian pianist and composer
- 2004 - Cormac McAnallen, Irish footballer
- 2004 - Mercedes McCambridge, American actress
- 2004 - Marge Schott, American businesswoman
- 2005 - Martin Denny, American pianist and composer
- 2007 - Thomas S. Kleppe, American soldier and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Interior
- 2007 - Clem Labine, American baseball player
- 2007 - Ivan Safronov, Russian colonel and journalist
- 2007 - Henri Troyat, Russian-French historian and author
- 2008 - Jeff Healey, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 2009 - João Bernardo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau
- 2010 - Winston Churchill, English journalist and politician
- 2012 - Lawrence Anthony, South African environmentalist, explorer, and author
- 2012 - Van T. Barfoot, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient
- 2012 - Norman St John-Stevas, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- 2012 - James Q. Wilson, American political scientist and academic
- 2013 - Peter Harvey, Australian journalist
- 2013 - Giorgos Kolokithas, Greek basketball player
- 2013 - Shabnam Shakeel, Pakistani poet and author
- 2014 - Ryhor Baradulin, Belarusian poet and translator
- 2015 - Dean Hess, American minister and colonel
- 2015 - Dave Mackay, Scottish-English footballer and manager
- 2015 - Mal Peet, English author and illustrator
- 2016 - Benoît Lacroix, Canadian priest, historian, and philosopher
- 2016 - Aubrey McClendon, American businessman
- 2018 - Billy Herrington, American actor
- 2018 - Lin Hu, Chinese lieutenant general
- 2019 - Mike Oliver, British sociologist, disability rights activist
- 2024 - Janice Burgess, American television executive, screenwriter, and producer
- 2024 - Jaclyn Jose, Filipino actress
Holidays and observances