On This Day in History for April 2
Events in History
- 999 Gerbert of Aurillac elected as 1st French Pope
- 1416 Alfonso V succeeds his father as King of Aragon
- 1453 Turkish forces under Sultan Mehmed II begin the siege of Constantinople (İstanbul), which falls May 29
- 1513 Explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain as the first known European to reach Florida
- 1550 Jewish physician Joseph Hacohen expelled from city of Genoa, all Jews soon after
- 1559 England & France sign 1st Treaty of Le Cateau-Cambrésis
- 1590 States-General appoints earl Mauritius, viceroy of Utrecht
- 1595 Cornelis de Houtman's ships depart Holland for Asia via the Cape of Good Hope on the 1st Dutch Expedition to the East Indies (Indonesia)
- More Events in History
Charlemagne
Cornelis de Houtman
Giacomo Casanova
Hans Christian Andersen
Walter Mittelholzer
Rodney KingWeddings in History
- 1836 English novelist and social critic Charles Dickens (24) marries Catherine Thomson Hogarth (20)
- 1925 Lawyer Hans Frank (24) weds secretary Brigitte Herbst (29) in Munich, Germany
- 1939 Author Jacqueline Susann (20) weds Irving Mansfield at Har Zion Temple in Philadelphia
Divorces in History
- 1984 Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (64) divorces Margaret Sinclair (35) due to irreconcilable differences, after 13 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces in History
Comte de Mirabeau
Samuel Morse
Georges Pompidou
John Paul II
Winnie Mandela
Arthur KopitApril in History
Flash! Bang! It's the Human Cannonball!
An excited crowd looked up in astonishment and wonder when, in 1877, the first human cannonball flew above their heads.
April 2, 1877
Battle of Copenhagen
Nelson’s line anchored and in action against the Danish line, which lies between him and Copenhagen
April 2, 1801
Battle of Navarrete
The Battle of Navarrete, fought near Nájera, with John of Gaunt, the Black Prince, and Pedro the Cruel allied (to the left of the image) against Henry II of Castile and the French
April 3, 1367
The Computer That Came By Truck
It didn't have the sleek lines that Steve Jobs would admire and it needed to be carried on a truck, but the computer age had finally arrived in rural England.
April 3, 1957