A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on August 2nd. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On August 2, 216 BC, the Carthaginian army of Hannibal defeated the larger Roman Army at Cannae, a major battle during the Second Punic War.
On August 2, 1343, Olivier Clisson, a French nobleman from Brittany, was convicted of treason in Paris and beheaded.
On August 2, 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, the French fleet supporting then General Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Egypt was defeated soundly by the British at the Battle of the Nile.
On August 2, 1870, the Tower Subway opened for passenger traffic in London, England, the first ever underground tube type railway commonly called a “subway” in the US and “the tube” in the UK.
On August 2, 1916, the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci was sunk in its own harbor at Taranto courtesy of Austrian sabotage.
On August 2, 1916, Austrian saboteurs managed to sink the Italian battleship, Leonardo da Vinci as the great ship lay in Taranto harbor.
On August 2, 1916, Austrian saboteurs managed to sink the Italian battleship, Leonardo da Vinci as the great ship lay in Taranto harbor. (NOTE: The link in the date for this entry leads to a different article than the other mention to this same event above.)
On August 2, 1943, the US Navy patrol torpedo boat, PT-109, commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer in the Solomon Islands.
On August 2, 1943, US Navy torpedo boat PT-109 commanded by a young John F. Kennedy was rammed by a Japanese destroyer, cutting the boat in half and sinking it.
On August 2, 1990, led by dictator Saddam Hussein, the military forces of Iraq invaded and annexed their smaller neighbor, the oil rich constitutional monarchy of Kuwait.
On Wednesday, August 2nd, 2017 at 7:00 PM, fantasy fans had their chance to be among the first in Cleveland to see The Dark Tower before it opened in theaters.
On August 2, 2019, word of a decision by a New York City police judge to ask the Police commissioner to fire Officer Daniel Pantaleo was made public.
On August 2, 2022, US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, was on a trip to Asian countries, one of which may have been Taiwan, an island that officially considers itself to be the true and legitimate government of China.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.