Date·Lore

On This Day · The 245th day of the year

September 2

September 2 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1666 and 2008. The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings, including Old St Paul's Cathedral.

♍ZodiacVirgo ◈BirthstoneSapphire ❀Birth flowerAster

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on September 2?

September 2 is the 245th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1666 and 2008. Famous people born on September 2 include Kjetil André Aamodt, Louis Bonaparte and Wilhelm Ostwald.

The shape of the day

125 years on from Theodore Roosevelt, September 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.

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

Released on September 2

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Metal Eden
  • Game Otherskin

2024

  • Game Sumerian Six

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1666

    Great Fire of London

    The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days, destroying 10,000 buildings, including Old St Paul's Cathedral.

  2. 1789

    United States Department of the Treasury

    The United States Department of the Treasury is founded.

  3. 1870

    Franco-Prussian War

    Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan: Prussian forces take Napoleon III of France and 100,000 of his soldiers prisoner.

  4. 1901

    Theodore Roosevelt

    Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair.

  5. 1912

    Arthur Rose Eldred

    Arthur Rose Eldred is awarded the first Eagle Scout award of the Boy Scouts of America.

  6. 1939

    World War II

    World War II: Following the start of the invasion of Poland the previous day, the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) is annexed by Nazi Germany.

  7. 1944

    Finland

    The last execution of a Finn in Finland takes place when soldier Olavi Laiho is executed by shooting in Oulu.

  8. 1946

    Interim Government of India

    The Interim Government of India is formed, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru as vice president with the powers of a Prime Minister.

  9. 1992

    1992 Nicaragua earthquake

    The 7.7 Mw Nicaragua earthquake affected the west coast of Nicaragua. With a Ms–Mw disparity of half a unit, this tsunami earthquake triggered a tsunami that caused most of the damage and casualties, with at least 116 killed. Typical runup heights were 3–8 meters (9.8–26.2 ft).

  10. 2008

    Google

    Google launches its Google Chrome web browser.

Famous birthday twins

Born on September 2

Kjetil André Aamodt

b. 1971

Norwegian skier

Louis Bonaparte

b. 1778

French-Dutch king

Wilhelm Ostwald

b. 1853

Latvian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Zedd

b. 1989

Russian-German record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter

Jim DeMint

b. 1951

American politician

Keanu Reeves

b. 1964

Canadian actor, singer, and producer

Sam Rivers (bassist)

b. 1977

American musician

Jimmy Connors

b. 1952

American tennis player, coach, and sportscaster

Deaths

  • 2016Islam Karimov
  • 2006Bob Mathias
  • 1998Jackie Blanchflower
  • 1973J. R. R. Tolkien
  • 1969Ho Chi Minh
  • 1865William Rowan Hamilton

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Agricola of Avignon
  • —Christian feast day: Antoninus of Pamiers
  • —Christian feast day: Brocard
  • —Christian feast day: Castor of Apt
  • —Christian feast day: Diomedes
  • —Christian feast day: Eleazar
  • —Christian feast day: Hieu (abbess)

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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