On This Day · The 61st day of the year

March 2

March 2 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1484 and 2014. The College of Arms is formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on March 2?

March 2 is the 61st day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1484 and 2014. Famous people born on March 2 include Ricardo Lagos, Marcel Hirscher and Pope Pius XII.

The shape of the day

250 years on from American Revolutionary War, March 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.

Pisces is the sign for March 2 — read more on the Pisces page, or see March's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on March 2

Movies, games, albums & shows

2024

  • Movie Kung Fu Panda 4

2023

  • Game King of the Castle
  • Game Patch Quest

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1484

    College of Arms

    The College of Arms is formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.

  2. 1776

    American Revolutionary War

    American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in and around the Savannah River by a small fleet of the Royal Navy in the Battle of the Rice Boats.

  3. 1791

    Claude Chappe

    Claude Chappe demonstrates the first semaphore line near Paris.

  4. 1836

    Texas Revolution

    Texas Revolution: The Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico is adopted.

  5. 1859

    Great Slave Auction

    The two-day Great Slave Auction, once thought to be the largest such auction in United States history, begins.

  6. 1901

    U.S. Steel

    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.

  7. 1937

    Steel Workers Organizing Committee

    The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.

  8. 1941

    World War II

    World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joins the Axis Pact.

  9. 1995

    Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

    Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.

  10. 2014

    Oscar selfie

    The Oscar Selfie, regarded as one of the most influential and important images of all time, is taken at the 86th Academy Awards.

Famous birthday twins

Born on March 2

Ricardo Lagos

b. 1938

Chilean economist, lawyer, and politician, 33rd President of Chile

Marcel Hirscher

b. 1989

Austrian skier

Pope Pius XII

b. 1876

Head of the Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958

Daniel Craig

b. 1968

English actor and producer

Mikhail Gorbachev

b. 1931

Russian lawyer and politician, the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union, Nobel Prize laureate

Pope Leo XIII

b. 1810

Head of the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903

Benedict of Nursia

b. 480

Italian Christian saint (died 543 or 547)

Bedřich Smetana

b. 1824

Czech pianist and composer

Deaths

  • 2009João Bernardo Vieira
  • 1991Serge Gainsbourg
  • 1930D. H. Lawrence
  • 1895Berthe Morisot
  • 1840Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers
  • 1333Władysław I Łokietek

Holidays & observances

  • Air Force Day (Sri Lanka)
  • Baloch Culture Day (Balochistan)
  • Christian feast day: Agnes of Bohemia
  • Christian feast day: Angela of the Cross
  • Christian feast day: Blessed Charles the Good, Count of Flanders
  • Christian feast day: Chad of Mercia (Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church)
  • Christian feast day: John Maron
  • Christian feast day: March 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

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.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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