Bertalan Farkas
b. 1949
Hungarian general and cosmonaut
On This Day · The 214th day of the year
August 2
August 2 carries 10 recorded events spanning between -49 and 1989. Caesar, who marched to Spain earlier in the year, leaving Marcus Antonius in charge of Italy, defeats Pompey's general Afranius and Petreius in Ilerda (Lerida) north of the Ebro river.
Compiled & reviewed by Roman Tailor · Last reviewed July 13, 2026
What happened on August 2?
August 2 is the 214th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between -49 and 1989. Famous people born on August 2 include Bertalan Farkas, Stefan Effenberg and Susie O'Neill.
The shape of the day
2075 years on from Julius Caesar, August 2 is a date with an anniversary worth pausing on. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.
Leo is the sign for August 2 — read more on the Leo page, or see August's birthstone & birth flower.
Released on August 2
Movies, games, albums & shows2024
- Game Closer the Distance
- Game World of Goo 2
- Game UBoat
2022
- TV Jade Dynasty
2021
- Game Grime
Release data from TMDB & IGDB.
Events
10 notable moments- -49
Julius Caesar
Caesar, who marched to Spain earlier in the year, leaving Marcus Antonius in charge of Italy, defeats Pompey's general Afranius and Petreius in Ilerda (Lerida) north of the Ebro river.
- 1790
1790 United States census
The first United States Census is conducted.
- 1870
Tower Subway
Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London, England, United Kingdom.
- 1914
World War I
World War I: The German occupation of Luxembourg begins.
- 1916
Austria-Hungary
World War I: Austrian sabotage causes the sinking of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto.
- 1923
Calvin Coolidge
U.S. Vice President Calvin Coolidge becomes president upon the death of President Warren G. Harding.
- 1939
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.
- 1943
World War II
World War II: After the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 is rammed and sunk by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri, Lt. John F. Kennedy, future U.S. president, saves all but two of his crew.
- 1973
Summerland disaster
A flash fire kills 50 people at the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man.
- 1989
Pakistan
Pakistan is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations after having restored democracy for the first time since 1972.
Famous birthday twins
Born on August 2Stefan Effenberg
b. 1968
German footballer and sportscaster
Susie O'Neill
b. 1973
Australian swimmer
Victoria Jackson
b. 1959
American actress and singer
Shimon Peres
b. 1923
Polish-Israeli lawyer and politician, 9th President of Israel
Karl-Otto Koch
b. 1897
German SS officer
Leopold Gmelin
b. 1788
German chemist and academic
Frank Biela
b. 1964
German race car driver
Deaths
- 1976Fritz Lang
- 1934Paul von Hindenburg
- 1923Warren G. Harding
- 1922Alexander Graham Bell
- 1876Wild Bill Hickok
- 1445Oswald von Wolkenstein
Holidays & observances
- —Christian feast day: Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).
- —Christian feast day: Basil Fool for Christ (Russian Orthodox Church)
- —Christian feast day: Justin Russolillo
- —Christian feast day: Eusebius of Vercelli
- —Christian feast day: Peter Faber
- —Christian feast day: Peter Julian Eymard
- —Christian feast day: Plegmund
- —Christian feast day: Pope Stephen I
Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.
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