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

October 2: Facts & Myths About This Day

October 2 is the 276^th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 90 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is September 19, 2024 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 28,797,120 minutes 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 ‘dihectaheptacontahexagon’ day.

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

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 119 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 4,303 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

October 2 Historical Events

• 1552 –
  Conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible.
• 1814 –
  Battle of Rancagua: Spanish Royalists troops under Mariano Osorio defeated rebel Chilean forces of Bernardo O'Higgins and Jose Miguel Carrera.
• 1864 –
  American Civil War: Battle of Saltville – Union forces attack Saltville, Virginia, but are defeated by Confederate troops.
• 1919 –
  U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed.
• 1958 –
  Guinea declares its independence from France.
• 1959 –
  The anthology series The Twilight Zone premieres on CBS television.
• 1990 –
  Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 is hijacked; after landing at Guangzhou, it crashes into two airliners on the ground, killing 132 people.
• 2002 –
  The Beltway sniper attacks begin, extending over three weeks.
• 2005 –
  Ethan Allen Boating Accident: The Ethan Allen tour boat capsizes on Lake George in Upstate New York, killing twenty people.
• 2007 –
  President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea walks across the Military Demarcation Line into North Korea on his way to the second Inter-Korean Summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Who were born on October 2?

• 1452 –
  King Richard III of England (d. 1485)
• 1871 –
  Martha Brookes Hutcheson, American landscape architect (d. 1959)
• 1933 –
  Dave Somerville, co-founder and original lead singer of vocal group The Diamonds
• 1938 –
  Rex Reed, American movie critic and actor
• 1949 –
  Richard Hell, American musician
• 1967 –
  Thomas Muster, Austrian tennis player
• 1968 –
  Jeff Martin, Canadian singer/songwriter (The Tea Party)
• 1969 –
  Jun Akiyama, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1975 –
  Hrysopiyi Devetzi, Greek triple jump athlete
• 1978 –
  Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer

Who died on October 2?

• 1629 –
  Antonio Cifra, Italian composer (b. 1584)
• 1629 –
  Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and statesman (b. 1575)
• 1709 –
  Ivan Mazepa, Hetman of Ukraine (b. 1639)
• 1775 –
  Chiyo-ni, Japanese poet (b. 1703)
• 1938 –
  Alexandru Averescu, Romanian soldier and politician (b. 1859)
• 1987 –
  Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1915)
• 1999 –
  Heinz G. Konsalik, German novelist (b. 1921)
• 2002 –
  Heinz von Foerster, Austrian-born physicist and philosopher (b. 1911)
• 2006 –
  Tamara Dobson, American actress (b. 1947)
• 2007 –
  Dan Keating, Irish politician (b. 1902)