What Happened on August 2

Historical Events

1578 – Battle of Rijmenam: Spanish Habsburg forces defeated by Dutch troops (Eighty Years’ War)
1953 – KCPQ TV channel 13 in Tacoma-Seattle, WA (IND) begins broadcasting
1964 – Race riot in Jersey City, New Jersey
1967 – “In the Heat of the Night” directed by Norman Jewison, based on John Ball’s novel of the same name, starring Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger premieres in New York (Academy Awards Best Picture 1968)
1969 – US President Richard Nixon visits Romania
1994 – Explosion in lead/zinc mine in Guangxi China, 120+ killed

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Famous Birthdays

1775 – Jose Angel Lamas, Venezuelan composer, born in Caracas, Venezuela (d. 1814)
1832 – Henry Steel Olcott, American military officer and co-founder of the Theosophical Society, born in Orange, New Jersey (d. 1907)
1878 – Aino Kallas, Finnish writer (White Ship, Estonian Tales), born in Kiiskilä, Viipuri Province, Grand Duchy of Finland (d. 1956)
1945 – Eric Simms, Australian rugby league fullback (8 Tests; NSWRL points record [1,841] stood until 1983; South Sydney), born in Karuah, Australia
1952 – Paul David Crews, American murderer (FBI Most Wanted List), born in South Carolina (d. 2022)
1972 – Mohamed Al-Deayea, Saudi Arabian footballer, born in Hail, Saudi Arabia

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Famous Deaths

1100 – William II [Rufus], king of England, shot hunting in the New Forest at 44
1600 – Arent van Dorp, Dutch governor of East-Zealand, dies at about 70
1979 – Victor Raúl Haya de la Torre, Peruvian politician and author (founder of Peruvian Aprista Party), dies at 84
1996 – Michel Debre, French politician, Prime Minister of France (1959-62), dies at 84
1997 – Fela Kuti, Nigerian Afrobeat musician and composer, dies of an illness, disputedly AIDS related, at 58
2020 – Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov, Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold, light-flyweight 1980; World C’ship gold 1981), dies at 69

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