March 2nd in History

537 - Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under King Vitiges begin the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off.

871 - Æthelred of Wessex defeats a Danish invasion army at the Battle of Marton.

986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks.

1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders.

1498 - Vasco da Gama's fleet visits the island of Mozambique Island.


1797 - The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.

1807 - The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.


1836 - Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.

1855 - Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.

1882 - Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick McLean in Windsor.

1939 - Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.


1943 - World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea – United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.

1946 - Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.

1956 - Morocco gains its independence from France.

1970 - Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.

1990 - Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.

1992 - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.


2004 - War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.

2012 - March 2–3, 2012 tornado outbreak: A tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States and into the Ohio Valley region, resulting in 40 tornado-related fatalities.

Famous Birthdays

1316 - King Robert II of Scotland

1459 - Pope Adrian VI

1810 - Pope Leo XIII

1843 - Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy

1876 - Pope Pius XII

1904 - Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), author


1931 - Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union

1931 - Tom Wolfe, American author



1950 - Karen Carpenter, singer and drummer

1956 - Mark Evans, bassist

1962 - Jon Bon Jovi, musician

1968 - Daniel Craig, actor

1977 - Chris Martin, musician

1983 - Lisandro López, footballer

1989 - Alemão, footballer