What Happened On
Gulf War
August 2, 1990
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein orders the invasion of Kuwait, claiming that Kuwait was threatening Iraq's economy by overproducing oil, and that Kuwait was historically part of Iraq. These actions were immediately condemned by the United Nations who demanded Iraq's immediate withdrawal from Kuwait.
These actions led to Desert Storm when Iraq didn't withdraw from Kuwait.
PT-109 - John F. Kennedy
August 2, 1943
The PT boat, commanded by LTJG John F. Kennedy, is rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer during World War II. It is unclear whether the captain of the enemy destroyer ran over over the PT boat by accident or had purposely run over it. In any case, PT 109 was cut in half, killing two crew members. The eleven survivors clung to the hull of the ship until it began to sink. They then began swimming to shore, clinging to wreck debris. Kennedy, who had been on the Harvard University swim team, used a life jacket to tow one of the wounded to shore. After 4½ hours they made it to a small deserted island. Kennedy, in search of food and water, then swam to neighboring islands and found Olasana Island which had coconuts and drinkable water. The survivors relocated to Olasana Island for six days until they were found by islanders who were sent to search for them. Kennedy inscribed a message on a coconut for the islanders to bring back to the Australian coastwatchers to effect their rescue.
Kennedy, despite having a bad back, had used his father's influence to get into the war.
When Kennedy became President of the United States in 1961, the commander of the Japanese ship Lieutenant Commander Kohei Hanami attended his inauguration by invitation of Kennedy himself.
Atomic Bomb
August 2, 1939
Leó Szilárd writes a letter, later signed by Albert Einstein, for U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt describing the possibility of making an incredibly powerful bomb using nuclear chain reactions and warning that the Germans may already be working on one. This prompted Roosevelt to take actions that led to the Manhattan Project developing the first atomic bombs.
Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
August 2, 1937
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed by the U.S. Congress. Hemp products were gaining popularity as a replacement for wood pulp. The act imposed taxes on hemp, making hemp products less viable. The act was passed largely due to the efforts of Andrew Mellon, Randolph Hearst, and the Du Pont family. Newspaper magnate Hearst saw that cheap and sustainable hemp threatened his extensive timber holdings. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury and the wealthiest man in the U.S., was heavily invested in the Du Pont family's new synthetic fiber, nylon, which also competed with hemp.
The act went into effect October 1. On October 3, Moses Baca became the first person arrested for possession (1/4 ounce and served 18 months in Leavenworth) and two days later Samuel R. Caldwell became the first person arrested for distribution (four pounds and served four years in Leavenworth Penitentiary).
In 1969 in Leary v. United States, part of the Act was ruled to be unconstitutional as a violation of the Fifth Amendment, since a person seeking the tax stamp would have to incriminate him/herself. Congress then passed the Controlled Substances Act, which repealed the 1937 Act.
Note: "Marihuana" was the spelling used in Federal documents for "marijuana" at the time.
Lincoln Head Penny
August 2, 1909
The penny depicting former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is first issued. This was the first U.S. coin to depict an actual person. The initial demand for the penny by the public was so high that they were being resold for up to 25¢ each. Complaints about the coin were that it included the designer's initials on the back (VDB for Victor David Brenner, which were later removed) and that it was too thick to work in current vending machines (this was not changed and the vending machines had to be adjusted).
The Wright Military Flyer arriving at Fort Myer, Virginia
The Wright Military Flyer arriving at Fort Myer, Virginia
First Airplane Purchased by the U.S. Government
August 2, 1909
The Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps takes delivery of a Wright Military Flyer, purchased at a cost of $30,000. It was a one-of-a-kind built by Wilbur and Orville Wright. The Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps was the first air force, and had offered a contract for an aircraft capable of flying at 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) with two people for a distance of 125 miles (201 km).
Dead Man's Hand
August 2, 1876
Wild Bill Hickok is shot in the back of the head and killed during a poker game while reportedly holding two pair (black aces and black eights), since known as a "dead man's hand." The man who shot him had lost heavily while playing poker with Hickok and others the previous day.
Hickok usually sat with his back to a wall so he could see the entrance, but when he joined the game the only seat available was facing away from the door. He had asked another man to change seats with him, but was refused.
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
August 2, 1776
The members of the Continental Congress begin signing their names on the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The last signer, Thomas McKean, didn't add his name until 1781.
Rocket explosion
August 2, 1993
A Titan IV rocket explodes two minutes after liftoff from a California Air Force base. The cost of the rocket and the satellites it was carrying was $2 billion.
First U.S. Census
August 2, 1790
The first counting of U.S. inhabitants begins, showing a population of 3.9 million. It took two months to complete and recorded the population as it existed on August 2, 1790, which was known as Census Day.
Birthdays
Carroll O'Connor
Born August 2, 1924 d. 2001
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: All in the Family (1971-79, Archie Bunker), Archie Bunker's Place (1979-83), and In the Heat of the Night (1988-95, Police Chief Bill Gillespie).
After O'Connor's adopted son Hugh O'Connor committed suicide in 1995 after battling drug addiction, O'Connor became an advocate to raise awareness of drug addition and lobbied to get the Drug Dealer Civil Liability Act in California (also known as the Hugh O'Connor Memorial Law). It allowed people to sue drug dealers for reimbursement for losses due to drug use.
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi
Born August 2, 1834 d. 1904
French sculptor, designed the Statue of Liberty, using his mother as the model. The statue marked the Franco-American alliance of 1778.
Cynthia Stevenson
Born August 2, 1962
American actress. TV: Cheers (Norm's secretary) and Bob (Bob's daughter).
Victoria Jackson
Born August 2, 1959
American comic, regular on Saturday Night Live.
Kathy Lennon
Born August 2, 1943
American singer, one of the Lennon Sisters. She and her sisters were a mainstay of The Lawrence Welk Show during the 50's and 60's.
Peter O'Toole
Born August 2, 1932 d. 2013
Irish actor. Film: Lawrence of Arabia (1962, title role).
Myrna Loy (Myrna Williams)
Born August 2, 1905 d. 1993
American actress. Film: The Jazz Singer (1927, as a chorus girl) and The Thin Man (1934, Nora Charles).
Jack Leonard Warner
Born August 2, 1892 d. 1978
Canadian-American film executive. He and his brothers Harry, Sam, and Albert founded Warner Bros. Pictures (1923).
Elisha Gray
Born August 2, 1835 d. 1901
American inventor. He filed a patent for the telephone the same day as Alexander Graham Bell (1876). A long legal battle ensued which Bell ultimately won (1888). He also invented a teleautograph for transmitting handwriting.
Designer of Washington D.C.
Pierre Charles L'Enfant
Born August 2, 1754 d. 1825
French-born American Revolutionary War officer, engineer. He designed the city of Washington D.C.
Deaths
Shari Lewis (Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz)
Died August 2, 1998 b. 1933
American ventriloquist, with puppets Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse. In 1952, Lewis and her puppets won first prize on the CBS television series Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. Lamb Chop's first television appearance was in 1956 with Lewis as a guest on Captain Kangaroo.
She and her husband wrote the 1969 Star Trek episode The Lights of Zetar.
TV: The Shari Lewis Show (1960-63, 68-75) and Lamb Chop's Play-Along (1992-97).
Warren G. Harding (Warren Gamaliel Harding)
Died August 2, 1923 b. 1865
American politician. 29th U.S. President (1921-23). He died while in office, making Vice-President Calvin Coolidge president. At the time of his death, he was one of the most popular presidents; however, subsequent exposure of scandals that took place under his administration, such as Teapot Dome Scandal and revelations of an affair, reduced his historical rankings and he is often rated among the worst presidents.
Inventor of the Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell
Died August 2, 1922 b. 1847
Scottish-born American inventor. He invented the telephone (1876) and the first successful phonograph record.
First Black Member of House of Representatives
Joseph Hayne Rainey
Died August 2, 1887 b. 1832
American politician. First black member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1870-79). He was the second black to serve in the U.S. Congress, and the first black presiding officer of the House of Representatives. Born into slavery, he was freed when his father purchased the freedom of his entire family and himself.
Wild Bill Hickok (James Butler Hickok)
Died August 2, 1876 b. 1837
American frontiersman, U.S. marshal, and famous citizen of Deadwood, South Dakota. He was shot in the back of the head during a poker game while reportedly holding two pair (black aces and black eights), since known as a "dead man's hand." The man who shot him had lost heavily while playing poker with Hickok and others the previous day.
Hickok usually sat with his back to a wall so he could see the entrance, but when he joined the game the only seat available was facing away from the door. He had asked another man to change seats with him, but was refused.
First public demonstration
First public demonstration
Co-inventor of the Hot-Air Balloon
Jacques Étienne Montgolfier
Died August 2, 1799 b. 1745
French inventor. He and his brother Joseph Montgolfier invented the hot-air balloon (1782). They made the first sustained flight of a hot-air balloon the following year.
The Blue Boy
The Blue Boy
Thomas Gainsborough
Died August 2, 1788 b. 1727
English artist. He was the leading British portraitist of the second half of the 18th century. Paintings: Blue Boy (c. 1770).
Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times
Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times
Vin Scully (Vincent Edward Scully)
Died August 2, 2022 b. 1927
American sportscaster, game-show host. His 67 seasons with the Dodgers (1950-2016), is the longest of any broadcaster with a single team in professional sports history. TV: Challenge of the Sexes (1977) and The Vin Scully Show (1973).
William S. Burroughs
Died August 2, 1997 b. 1914
American author. He is credited with being the first to use "heavy metal" to describe something hip. Writings: Naked Lunch (1959).
Donald Ogden Stewart
Died August 2, 1980 b. 1894
American Oscar-winning screenwriter. Film: Laughter (1930), The Prison of Zenda (1937), and The Philadelphia Story (1940, Oscar).
Fritz Lang
Died August 2, 1976 b. 1890
Austrian-born film director. Film: Metropolis (1927), M (1931), and Fury (1936).
Last Surviving Union Soldier
Albert Woolson
Died August 2, 1956 b. 1850
American Civil War soldier. He was last surviving member of the Union Army. He served as a drummer (1864-65); however, his company never saw action. His father had been killed in the Civil War prior to his enlisting.
Harvey Spencer Lewis
Died August 2, 1939 b. 1883
American spiritualist. Founder of the Rosicrucian order Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (1915).
Louis Blériot
Died August 2, 1936 b. 1872
French aviator, inventor. He was the first person to fly an airplane across the English Channel (1909).
Margaret Sidney (Harriet Lothrop)
Died August 2, 1924 b. 1844
American children's author. Writings: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1881).
Enrico Caruso
Died August 2, 1921 b. 1873
Italian tenor. Known for his power and control in performances such as Rigoletto and Pagliacci.
Father of Public Education
Horace Mann
Died August 2, 1859 b. 1796
American educator. "Father of Public Education" in the U.S. He was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans (1900).
William Williams
Died August 2, 1811 b. 1731
American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence. He died on the 35th anniversary of his signing the Declaration of Independence on August 2, 1776.
John V
Died August 2, 686 b. ????
religious leader, 82nd Pope (685-686).
Severinus
Died August 2, 640 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 71st Pope (May - Aug. 640).
Saint Stephen I
Died August 2, 257 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 23rd Pope (254-257).