Did you know
William Seward Burroughs II was an American writer and visual artist.
Notable Deaths on August 2
1997 — William S. Burroughs
American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (born 1914)
August 2 has 119 recorded notable deaths across history, from 216 BC to 2023. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
119 source records
216 BC – 2023
Today in history
Major events on August 2
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1869 Japan's Edo society class system is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. Source
- 1776 American Revolution: The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress takes place. Source
- 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait: Iraq invades Kuwait and temporarily establishes the Republic of Kuwait puppet state on the orders of Saddam Hussein, eventually leading to the Gulf War. Source
- 1989 A massacre is carried out by an Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 64 ethnic Tamil civilians. Source
Did you know
"Wild Bill" Hickok earned a great deal of fame in his own time, much of it bolstered by the many outlandish and often fabricated tales told and printed about him, occasionally by himself.
Did you know
Raymond Carver published his first collection of stories, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?
Did you know
Ahmad ibn Hanbal was an Arab jurist and founder of the Hanbali school who is widely recognized as the scholar who memorized the most Hadiths in Islamic history.
Did you know
Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he was one of the most important British artists of the 18th century.
More major people who died on August 2
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1876
"Wild Bill" Hickok
American sheriff (born 1837)
James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman, and actor,…
1988
Raymond Carver
American short story writer and poet (born 1938)
Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. He published his first collection of stories, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, in 1976.
855
Ahmad ibn Hanbal
Arab theologian and jurist (born 780)
Ahmad ibn Hanbal was an Arab jurist and founder of the Hanbali school who is widely recognized as the scholar who memorized the most Hadiths in Islamic history.
1788
Thomas Gainsborough
English painter (born 1727)
Thomas Gainsborough was an English painter, draughtsman and printmaker who specialised in portrait and landscape painting.
1996
Obdulio Varela
Uruguayan footballer and manager (born 1917)
Obdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela was a Uruguayan football player.
2016
Ahmed Zewail
Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1946)
Ahmed Hassan Zewail was an Egyptian-American chemist, known as the "father of femtochemistry".
1972
Paul Goodman
American psychotherapist and author (born 1911)
Paul Goodman was an American writer and public intellectual best known for his 1960s works of social criticism.
2023
Nitin Chandrakant Desai
Indian art director, production designer, and film and television producer (born 1965)
Nitin Chandrakant Desai was an Indian art director, production designer, and film and television producer.
2020
Suzanne Perlman
Hungarian-Dutch visual artist (born 1922)
Suzanne Perlman was a Hungarian-Dutch visual artist known for her expressionist portraits and landscape paintings.
1967
Walter Terence Stace
English-American epistemologist, philosopher, and academic (born 1886)
Walter Terence Stace was a British civil servant, educator, public philosopher and epistemologist, who wrote on Hegel, mysticism, and moral relativism.
1923
Joseph Whitty
Irish Republican died on hunger strike during the 1923 Irish Hunger Strikes (born 1904)
Michael Joseph Whitty was an Irish militant and Republican activist who was the youngest of the 22 Irish republicans who died while on hunger strike in the 20th century.
1986
Roy Cohn
American lawyer and politician (born 1927)
Roy Marcus Cohn was an American lawyer and prosecutor. He first gained fame as a prosecutor of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in their trials (1952–1953) and as Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the…
1999
Willie Morris
American writer (born 1934)
William Weaks Morris was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi.
1983
James Jamerson
American bass player (born 1936)
James Lee Jamerson was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s, and is now regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bass players in…
1834
Harriet Arbuthnot
English diarist (born 1793)
Harriet Arbuthnot was an early 19th-century English diarist, social observer and political hostess on behalf of the Tory party.
1945
Pietro Mascagni
Italian composer and educator (born 1863)
Pietro Mascagni was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas.
1973
Jean-Pierre Melville
French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1917)
Jean-Pierre Grumbach, known professionally as Jean-Pierre Melville, was a French filmmaker.
2016
David Huddleston
American actor (born 1930)
David William Huddleston was an American actor. He had a prolific career as a character actor between 1960 and 2014, appearing in over 140 film and television productions, as well as playing the title character in both…
2017
Judith Jones
American literary and cookbook editor (born 1924)
Judith Jones was an American writer and editor, initially known for having rescued The Diary of Anne Frank from the reject pile.