What are the important events that happened on August 2? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

August 2: Facts & Myths About This Day

August 2 is the 214^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 151 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is July 20, 2025 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,754,092,800 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectadecatetragon’ day.

Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 199 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,607 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

August 2 Historical Events

• 216 BC –
  Second Punic War: Battle of Cannae – The Carthaginian army led by Hannibal defeats a numerically superior Roman army under command of consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro.
• 1798 –
  French Revolutionary Wars: the Battle of the Nile concludes in a British victory.
• 1830 –
  Charles X of France abdicates the throne in favor of his grandson Henri.
• 1869 –
  Japan’s samurai, farmer, artisan, merchant class system (Shinōkōshō) is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese date: June 25, 1869).
• 1932 –
  The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson.
• 1934 –
  Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany.
• 1937 –
  The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, the effect of which is to render marijuana and all its by-products illegal.
• 1939 –
  Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan project to develop a nuclear weapon.
• 1943 –
  World War II: the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 is rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri and sinks. Lt. John F. Kennedy, future U.S. President, saves all but two of his crew.
• 1989 –
  A massacre is carried out by an Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 64 ethnic Tamil civilians.

Who were born on August 2?

• 1828 –
  Manuel Pavía y Rodríguez de Alburquerque, Spanish general (d. 1895)
• 1872 –
  George E. Stewart, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1946)
• 1920 –
  Louis Pauwels, French journalist and writer (d. 1997)
• 1938 –
  Dave Balon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
• 1940 –
  Will Tura, Belgian singer
• 1957 –
  Butch Vig, American record producer and drummer (Garbage)
• 1963 –
  Laura Bennett, American architect and designer
• 1980 –
  Dingdong Dantes, Filipino actor
• 1988 –
  Brittany Hargest, American singer
• 1988 –
  Rob Kwiet, Canadian ice hockey player

Who died on August 2?

• 686 –
  Pope John V (birth year unknown)
• 1222 –
  Count Raymond VI of Toulouse (b. 1156)
• 1859 –
  Horace Mann, American educator and abolitionist (b. 1796)
• 1972 –
  Brian Cole, American bass player (The Association) (b. 1942)
• 1973 –
  Jean-Pierre Melville, French film director (b. 1917)
• 1974 –
  Douglas Hawkes, British racing driver (b. 1893)
• 1988 –
  Joe Carcione, American consumer advocate (b. 1914)
• 2004 –
  Don Tosti, American violinist, composer and bandleader (b. 1923)
• 2004 –
  François Craenhals, Belgian comics artist (b. 1926)
• 2007 –
  Kay Dotrice, English repertory actress (b. 1929)