On This Day in History – October 2

Major Events

• 1187 – Saladin captured Jerusalem after a siege, marking a turning point in the Crusades.
• 1835 – The Texas Revolution began with the Battle of Gonzales, the first military engagement of the conflict with Mexico.
• 1870 – Rome was annexed by Italy, completing the unification of the Italian peninsula.
• 1925 – Scottish inventor John Logie Baird performed the first test of a working television system.
• 1937 – Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo ordered the Parsley Massacre, killing thousands of Haitians near the border.
• 1941 – During World War II, Operation Typhoon began as Nazi Germany launched an offensive against Moscow.
• 1950 – The comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz was first published in newspapers.
• 1958 – Guinea declared independence from France, becoming the first French African colony to do so.
• 1967 – Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
• 1985 – Rock band Dire Straits released their groundbreaking album “Brothers in Arms.”
• 2001 – NATO invoked Article 5 of its charter for the first time in history, following the September 11 attacks.
• 2016 – The Colombian peace deal between the government and FARC was narrowly rejected in a referendum.

Famous Birthdays

• Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) – Indian lawyer, activist, and leader of India’s independence movement.
• Groucho Marx (1890–1977) – American comedian and actor, member of the Marx Brothers.
• Budd Schulberg (1914–2009) – American screenwriter and novelist, known for “On the Waterfront.”
• Christian de Duve (1917–2013) – Belgian biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine.
• Moses Gunn (1929–1993) – American actor known for film and stage performances.
• Annie Leibovitz (born 1949) – American portrait photographer.
• Sting (born 1951) – English musician, singer-songwriter, and actor.
• Lorraine Bracco (born 1954) – American actress, known for “Goodfellas” and “The Sopranos.”
• Kelly Ripa (born 1970) – American actress and television host.
• Efren Reyes (born 1954) – Filipino professional pool player.
• Camilla Belle (born 1986) – American actress.

Notable Deaths

• William Ramsay (1852–1916) – Scottish chemist, Nobel laureate in Chemistry.
• Rocky Marciano (1923–1969) – American professional boxer, world heavyweight champion.
• Robert H. Jackson (1892–1954) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice and chief prosecutor at Nuremberg Trials.
• Benjamin F. Isherwood (1822–1915) – U.S. Navy engineer.
• Gilbert Ryle (1900–1976) – English philosopher.
• Jean Rostand (1894–1977) – French biologist and philosopher.
• Patrick White (1912–1990) – Australian novelist and Nobel Prize laureate in Literature.
• Bernard Lovell (1913–2012) – English physicist and radio astronomer.
• Tom Clancy (1947–2013) – American novelist known for military thrillers.
• Eric Hobsbawm (1917–2012) – British historian, specializing in social and economic history.

Holidays

• Gandhi Jayanti (India) – A national holiday celebrating the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
• International Day of Non-Violence (United Nations) – Observed worldwide on Gandhi’s birthday to promote peace.
• Independence Day (Guinea) – Celebrates Guinea’s independence from France in 1958.

Fun Facts

• The first “Peanuts” comic strip appeared on October 2, 1950, introducing the world to Charlie Brown.
• The United Nations declared October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence in 2007.
• Sting, one of the world’s most famous musicians, shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi.
• Television history began to take shape on this day in 1925, when John Logie Baird tested his experimental system.