# What happened on April 2 in history?

**Date:** April 2  
**Events recorded:** 41  
**Years spanned:** 1107 – 2025  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/april/2/

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## Featured Event

**2025** — Liberation Day tariffs: U.S. President Donald Trump announces sweeping worldwide tariffs.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Day_tariffs)

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## Events on this date

- **1107** — Seljuq sultan Muhammad I Tapar begins the siege of Shahdiz, a fortress of the Nizari Ismailis. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seljuk_Empire))
- **1285** — Election of Pope Honorius IV following the death of Pope Martin IV. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Honorius_IV))
- **1513** — Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Johns River. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Ponce_de_Le%C3%B3n))
- **1725** — J. S. Bach's cantata Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6, is first performed in Leipzig on Easter Monday. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach))
- **1755** — Commodore William James captures the Maratha fortress of Suvarnadurg on the west coast of India. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_(Royal_Navy)))
- **1792** — The Coinage Act is passed by Congress, establishing the United States Mint. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinage_Act_of_1792))
- **1800** — Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven))
- **1801** — French Revolutionary Wars: In the Battle of Copenhagen a British Royal Navy squadron defeats a hastily assembled, smaller, mostly-volunteer Dano-Norwegian Navy at high cost, forcing Denmark out of the Second League of Armed Neutrality. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolutionary_Wars))
- **1863** — American Civil War: The largest in a series of Southern bread riots occurs in Richmond, Virginia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War))
- **1865** — American Civil War: Defeat at the Third Battle of Petersburg forces the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate government to abandon Richmond, Virginia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Petersburg))
- **1885** — Canadian Cree warriors attack the village of Frog Lake, killing nine. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cree))
- **1911** — The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country's first national census. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Bureau_of_Statistics))
- **1912** — The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic))
- **1917** — American entry into World War I: President Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_entry_into_World_War_I))
- **1921** — The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_Government_of_Khorasan))
- **1930** — After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zewditu))
- **1969** — LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 crashes into the Polica mountain near Zawoja, Poland, killing 53. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOT_Polish_Airlines_Flight_165_(1969)))
- **1975** — Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from Quảng Ngãi Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War))
- **1976** — Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norodom_Sihanouk))
- **1979** — A Soviet bio-warfare laboratory at Sverdlovsk accidentally releases airborne anthrax spores, killing 66 plus an unknown amount of livestock. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverdlovsk_anthrax_leak))
- **1980** — United States President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter))
- **1982** — Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War))
- **1986** — Alabama governor George Wallace, a former segregationist, best known for the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door", announces that he will not seek a fifth four-year term and will retire from public life upon the end of his term in January 1987. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama))
- **1989** — Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba, to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union))
- **1991** — Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Johnston))
- **1992** — In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_(state)))
- **1992** — Forty-two civilians are massacred in the town of Bijeljina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijeljina_massacre))
- **2002** — Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, into which armed Palestinians had retreated. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel))
- **2004** — Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid; the attack is thwarted. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamism))
- **2006** — Over 60 tornadoes break out in the United States; Tennessee is hardest hit with 29 people killed. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado))
- **2011** — India wins the Cricket World Cup for the second time in history under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_national_cricket_team))
- **2012** — A mass shooting at Oikos University in California leaves seven people dead and three injured. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Oikos_University_shooting))
- **2012** — UTair Flight 120 crashes after takeoff from Roshchino International Airport in Tyumen, Russia, killing 33 and injuring 10. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTair_Flight_120))
- **2014** — A spree shooting occurs at the Fort Hood army base in Texas, with four dead, including the gunman, and 16 others injured. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Fort_Hood_shootings))
- **2015** — Gunmen attack Garissa University College in Kenya, killing at least 148 people and wounding 79 others. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garissa_University_College_attack))
- **2015** — Four men steal items worth up to £200 million from an underground safe deposit facility in London's Hatton Garden area in what has been called the "largest burglary in English legal history." ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatton_Garden_safe_deposit_burglary))
- **2020** — COVID-19 pandemic: The total number of confirmed cases reach one million. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic))
- **2021** — At least 49 people are killed in a train derailment in Taiwan after a truck accidentally rolls onto the track. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Hualien_train_derailment))
- **2021** — A Capitol Police officer is killed and another injured when an attacker rams his car into a barricade outside the United States Capitol. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Capitol_Police))
- **2024** — Viertola school shooting: A 12-year-old pupil is killed and two others injured by a shooter of the same age in Vantaa, Finland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viertola_school_shooting))
- **2025** — Liberation Day tariffs: U.S. President Donald Trump announces sweeping worldwide tariffs. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Day_tariffs))

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## Notable births on April 2

- **2007** — **Brenda Fruhvirtová** — Czech tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Fruhvirtov%C3%A1))
- **2005** — **Adrián Liso** — Spanish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adri%C3%A1n_Liso))
- **2004** — **Diana Shnaider** — Russian tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Shnaider))
- **2002** — **Emma Myers** — American actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Myers))
- **2000** — **Rodrigo Riquelme** — Spanish footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Riquelme_(footballer%2C_born_2000)))
- **2000** — **Josip Stanišić** — Croatian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josip_Stani%C5%A1i%C4%87))
- **1997** — **Dillon Bassett** — American race car driver ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dillon_Bassett))
- **1997** — **Abdelhak Nouri** — Dutch footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdelhak_Nouri))
- **1997** — **Austin Riley** — American baseball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Riley))
- **1996** — **Zach Bryan** — American singer-songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Bryan))

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## Notable deaths on April 2

- **2025** — **Khamtai Siphandone** — Laotian politician, 4th President of Laos (born 1924) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamtai_Siphandone))
- **2024** — **Jerry Abbott** — American country music songwriter and record producer (born 1942) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Abbott))
- **2024** — **John Barth** — American writer (born 1930) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barth))
- **2024** — **Maryse Condé** — Guadeloupean novelist, critic, and playwright (born 1934) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryse_Cond%C3%A9))
- **2024** — **Christopher Durang** — American playwright (born 1949) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Durang))
- **2024** — **Larry Lucchino** — American attorney and baseball executive (born 1945) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Lucchino))
- **2024** — **John Sinclair** — American poet (born 1941) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sinclair_(poet)))
- **2024** — **Juan Vicente Pérez** — Venezuelan supercentenarian (born 1909) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Vicente_P%C3%A9rez))
- **2022** — **Estelle Harris** — American actress and comedian (born 1928) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estelle_Harris))
- **2021** — **Simon Bainbridge** — British composer (born 1952) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Bainbridge))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/april/2/](https://thisday.info/events/april/2/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.