1536 Buenos Aires was founded by a Spanish expedition led by Pedro de Mendoza as Puerto de Santa Mariá del Buen Aire on February 2, 1536. It was abandoned after attacks by American Indians (Querandi), and refounded by Juan de Garay in 1580. Buenos Aires became the capital of the viceroyalty of Rió de la Plata in 1776, and federal capital of Argentina in 1880.
1585 Hamnet, the only son of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and the fraternal twin of Judith Shakespeare was baptized on February 2, 1585. Hamnet died at the age of 11 possibly of bubonic plague. Hamnet's death is believed to have deeply affected William Shakespeare, who never mentioned him directly in his writings but may have alluded to him in some of his works.
1626 Charles I of England was crowned King of England and Scotland on February 2, 1626 at Westminster Abbey. Charles was called the “White King” as he wore white at his coronation instead of the usual purple. An inflexible idealist, Charles I believed the king rules by divine right, appointed by God, and rebellion against the monarchy is a sin.
1650 Nell Gwyn was said to have born at Hereford on February 2, 1650 at Gwynne Street. (London and Oxford also claim her as their own). Described by Samuel Pepys as "pretty, witty Nell", in 1665 Nell Gwyn soon achieved prominent recognition as a comic actress, appearing as Flydana in Dryden's Indian Emperor. While walking in St James’ Park, King Charles II spotted Nell and was immediately captivated. By now a single mother, her relationship with the English king provoked juicy gossip.
1653 In 1624 the Dutch established a settlement, New Amsterdam, at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, which served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. New Amsterdam received municipal rights on February 2, 1653, thus becoming a city. Eleven years later New Amsterdam was captured by the British. It was renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York, future King James II of England, who had organized the mission.
1659 Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first bottle of South African wine from French Muscadel grapes on January 2, 1659. He established the vineyard to combat scurvy amongst sailors on long voyages along the spice route. The South African wine industry grew over the centuries, and it has become known for its diverse range of wine varieties and styles.
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| Juan de Garay and the second founding of Buenos Aires, 1580. By José Moreno Carbonero |
1585 Hamnet, the only son of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, and the fraternal twin of Judith Shakespeare was baptized on February 2, 1585. Hamnet died at the age of 11 possibly of bubonic plague. Hamnet's death is believed to have deeply affected William Shakespeare, who never mentioned him directly in his writings but may have alluded to him in some of his works.
1626 Charles I of England was crowned King of England and Scotland on February 2, 1626 at Westminster Abbey. Charles was called the “White King” as he wore white at his coronation instead of the usual purple. An inflexible idealist, Charles I believed the king rules by divine right, appointed by God, and rebellion against the monarchy is a sin.
1650 Nell Gwyn was said to have born at Hereford on February 2, 1650 at Gwynne Street. (London and Oxford also claim her as their own). Described by Samuel Pepys as "pretty, witty Nell", in 1665 Nell Gwyn soon achieved prominent recognition as a comic actress, appearing as Flydana in Dryden's Indian Emperor. While walking in St James’ Park, King Charles II spotted Nell and was immediately captivated. By now a single mother, her relationship with the English king provoked juicy gossip.
1653 In 1624 the Dutch established a settlement, New Amsterdam, at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, which served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. New Amsterdam received municipal rights on February 2, 1653, thus becoming a city. Eleven years later New Amsterdam was captured by the British. It was renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York, future King James II of England, who had organized the mission.
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| New Amsterdam in 1664 (looking approximately due north) |
1659 Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first bottle of South African wine from French Muscadel grapes on January 2, 1659. He established the vineyard to combat scurvy amongst sailors on long voyages along the spice route. The South African wine industry grew over the centuries, and it has become known for its diverse range of wine varieties and styles.
1685 Charles II of England suffered from syphilis possibly caught from his mistress Nell Gwyn. He was treated with mercury, and on the morning of February 2, 1685, whilst shaving, he suddenly collapsed when the resulting kidney poisoning kicked in. Fourteen doctors attended the ailing monarch, they forced him to vomit violently and gave him a strong laxative. However, King Charles passed away four days later.
1709 Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, spent more than four years on a castaway island, 400 miles off Chile’s coast. Selkirk's long-awaited deliverance came on February 2, 1709 by way of the Duke, a privateering ship captained by Woodes Rogers. His story provided the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe.
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| The rescued Selkirk, seated at right, being taken aboard the Duke. |
1795 On the evening of February 2, 1795, the audience at the King's Theatre, London awaited with keen anticipation the first performance of Joseph Haydn's new work. his 102nd Symphony. As the concert advertised that Haydn would direct the new piece himself "from the Pianofort"', the audience pressed forward out of their seats to get a closer look. Moments later, a chandelier crashed to the floor where the seats had emptied, killing no one and giving this piece the name “The Miracle”.
1852 Britain’s first permanent flushing gentlemen's public toilet, opened at 95 Fleet Street in London on February 2, 1852. the two pence charge discouraged people from using them and the toilet closed a few weeks later,
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| The washbasins of a 19th-century facility, still in use. By Smuconlaw. Wikipedia |
1870 Mark Twain first met Olivia "Livy" Langdon in December 1867, through her brother Charles. Their first date was attending a reading by Charles Dickens, in New York City. They married on February 2, 1870 and the ceremony took place at Livy's father's house in Elmira, New York. Livy came from a wealthy liberal family and on marrying her, Twain inherited a great deal of money.
1876 Baseball's National League was founded on February 2, 1876. Eight competing baseball teams met in New York City's Grand Central Hotel. The first president of the new league was Morgan Gardner Bulkeley, who later became a US Senator. The eight original cities with teams were: Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Louisville and Hartford.
1882 The Irish author James Joyce was born on February 2, 1882 to John Stanislaus Joyce and Mary Jane "May" Murray, at 41 Brighton Square, in the Dublin suburb of Rathgar. Joyce's ineffectual father was the model for the character of Simon Dedalus in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses, as well as several characters in Dubliners.
1886 Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2 each year. According to tradition, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, and the groundhog sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter can be expected. The first official Groundhog Day was celebrated in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2, 1886. The groundhog, as reported by The Punxsutawney Spirit, did not see his shadow that year.
1888 During the late 1880s, American inventor Frank J. Sprague developed an improvement of an overhead trolley system on trams for collecting electricity from overhead. Sprague's first electric street railway system – the Richmond Union Passenger Railway in Richmond, Virginia, began passenger operation on February 2, 1888. By 1889 110 electric railways incorporating Sprague's equipment had been begun or planned on several continents.
1892 The stoppers that had been used in glass bottles in the 19th century were generally made of cork, metal or porcelain, which made the drink toxic if they made contact with the bottles' contents. A Baltimore machine shop operator, William Painter invented the crown cap on February 2, 1892. Tiny in design, the "Crown Cork Bottle Seal" completely revolutionized the soft drink industry by preventing the escape of carbon dioxide that creates the bubbles, from bottled beverages.
1907 African American businessman Alfred Cralle of Pittsburgh patented an ice cream scooper on February 2, 1907. He was the first person in Pittsburgh to receive a patent. The design of his invention, which featured a curved blade for cutting through ice cream and a lever mechanism for dishing it out, remains in use today and is widely recognized as one of the first tools specifically designed for scooping ice cream.
1913 New York City's Grand Central railway station officially opened at 12.01am on February 2, 1913 with the departure of a Boston Express train; the first arrival occurred a minute later. Even though construction was not entirely complete an estimated 150,000 people visited the new terminal on its opening day.
1914 While touring America with the Karno Troupe, Charlie Chaplin’s character of the English drunk caught the eye of Mack Sennett, the head of Keystone Studios. Chaplin took up the offer of a contract with the New York Motion Picture Co. at $150 per week to join the Keystone Studios in Los Angeles. The first film starring Charlie Chaplin, Making a Living, premiered on February 2, 1914. Chaplin played Edgar English, a lady-charming swindler who runs afoul of the Keystone Kops.
1922 James Joyce's modernist novel Ulysses was first published in its entirety in Paris on the author's 40th birthday on February 2, 1922, though the United States banned its publication for several decades. Joyce had began the work in June 1904 when he walked around Dublin for hours taking notes. In total Joyce spent 20,000 hours working on the book. Today, Ulysses sells 100,000 copies a year, many of them to academics who spend a whole lifetime analyzing it.
1932 Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got that Swing)," released on February 2, 1932, introduced the word "swing" into the popular lexicon. Ellington was not really trying to do that. He said that "swing" was simply "Harlem for rhythm."
1958 Jimi Hendrix's mother died on February 2, 1958, when her spleen ruptured. His father refused to go to the funeral with Jimi and his brothers. Instead he gave them shots of whisky and told them that was how men should deal with loss.
1963 The Beatles began their first British tour in Bradford, England on February 2, 1963. They performed at the Gaumont cinema, playing on a bill with 6 other acts, including 16-year-old Helen Shapiro as the headliner.
1970 English mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell died of influenza on February 2, 1970 at his home in Penrhyndeudraeth, Wales. He was cremated without ceremony at Colwyn Bay and his ashes were scattered over the Welsh mountains.
1973 The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Director of Research wrote in a private internal memo dated February 2, 1973 that the warning labels on cigarettes helped boost sales with young adults who love taking risks and believe they are "immortal."
1975 On 1976's Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder wrote "Isn't She Lovely" to celebrate the birth of their daughter Aisha on February 2, 1975. The splashing and protests are really her, recorded during a memorable moment between Stevie and his daughter. Now Aisha Morris is a backup singer, accompanying her father on tour.
1976 David Bowie introduced his Thin White Duke persona at a show in Vancouver on February 2, 1976. It was the first stop on his Isotar Tour. The Thin White Duke was a character Bowie portrayed in the mid-70s and was characterized by his white suit, slicked-back hair, and monochromatic appearance. This persona was associated with a shift in Bowie's music and image, as he moved away from his more eclectic and experimental period and embraced a more streamlined, theatrical approach.
1985 Football star OJ Simpson first met Nicole Brown in 1977, while she was working as a waitress at the nightclub, The Daisy. Although still married to his first wife, Marguerite, Simpson began dating Brown. Simpson and Marguerite divorced in March 1979. Simpson and Brown were married on February 2, 1985 and they had two children, Sydney and Justin. Brown filed for divorce in 1992, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason.
1975 On 1976's Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder wrote "Isn't She Lovely" to celebrate the birth of their daughter Aisha on February 2, 1975. The splashing and protests are really her, recorded during a memorable moment between Stevie and his daughter. Now Aisha Morris is a backup singer, accompanying her father on tour.
1976 David Bowie introduced his Thin White Duke persona at a show in Vancouver on February 2, 1976. It was the first stop on his Isotar Tour. The Thin White Duke was a character Bowie portrayed in the mid-70s and was characterized by his white suit, slicked-back hair, and monochromatic appearance. This persona was associated with a shift in Bowie's music and image, as he moved away from his more eclectic and experimental period and embraced a more streamlined, theatrical approach.
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| David Bowie as The Thin White Duke at the O'Keefe Center. By Jean-Luc Ourlin |
1985 Football star OJ Simpson first met Nicole Brown in 1977, while she was working as a waitress at the nightclub, The Daisy. Although still married to his first wife, Marguerite, Simpson began dating Brown. Simpson and Marguerite divorced in March 1979. Simpson and Brown were married on February 2, 1985 and they had two children, Sydney and Justin. Brown filed for divorce in 1992, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason.
1990 On February 2, 1990, after years of internal dissent and violence and the boycott of South Africa, including the imposition of international trade sanctions by the United Nation and other organizations, President F W de Klerk delivered a speech at the opening of the 1990 session of the Parliament of South Africa in Cape Town. He announced the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC) and other anti-apartheid organizations and he would begin negotiations to end the apartheid system.
2004 Roger Federer became the #1 ranked men's singles player on February 2, 2004, a position he would hold for a record 237 weeks. Federer also holds the record for the most weeks at number one, with 302 weeks spanning over three separate periods.
2009 The winter of 2008-2009 was notable for some significant snowfall events in the United Kingdom, including February 2, 2009. On that day, parts of the UK experienced heavy snowfall and widespread disruption due to the wintry weather. Snow events like these are relatively rare in the UK, and when they occur, they can have a notable impact on daily life due to the country's infrastructure being less equipped to handle heavy snow compared to colder climates.
2016 Abdullahi Abdisalam Borleh was a suicide bomber who boarded the Somali owned Daallo Airlines on February 2, 2016 with explosives in his laptop intending to blow the whole aircraft. Twenty minutes after the take-off, the bomb exploded, creating a hole in the plane, and Borleh was sucked out of the aircraft. He was the only fatality as the blast occurred before it reached cruising altitude.
2020 On February 2, 2020 (02-02-2020) the date was written the same backward and forward — for everyone in the world. The last time this occurred was on November 11th, 1111 (11-11-1111), a gap of 909 years.
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