Summary of the Day ✨ 2 August (02/08)
On this day, Iraq invaded Kuwait on Saddam Hussein’s orders, establishing a puppet state that would lead to the Gulf War, while a devastating factory explosion in China killed at least 146 people and India’s Gaisal train disaster claimed 285 lives. Elsewhere, Air France Flight 358 crashed and burst into flames upon landing in Toronto with 12 injuries, and Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully launched on STS-43 to deploy the TDRS-5 satellite.
Historical Events 📜
- 2014: At least 146 people were killed and more than 114 injured in a factory explosion in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China.
- 2005: Air France Flight 358 lands at Toronto Pearson International Airport and runs off the runway, causing the plane to burst into flames, leaving 12 injuries and no fatalities.
- 1999: The Gaisal train disaster claims 285 lives in Assam, India.
- 1991: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-43 to deploy the TDRS-5 satellite.
- 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.
- 1989: Pakistan is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations after having restored democracy for the first time since 1972.
- 1989: A massacre is carried out by an Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 64 ethnic Tamil civilians.
- 1985: Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, crashes at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport killing 137.
- 1982: The Helsinki Metro, the first rapid transit system of Finland, is opened to the general public.
- 1980: A bomb explodes at the railway station in Bologna, Italy, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200.
- 1973: A flash fire kills 50 people at the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man.
- 1968: An earthquake hits Casiguran, Aurora, Philippines killing more than 270 people and wounding 261.
- 1947: A British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian airliner crashes into a mountain during a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile. The wreckage would not be found until 1998.
- 1945: World War II: The Potsdam Conference ends.
- 1944: ASNOM: Birth of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, celebrated as Day of the Republic in North Macedonia.
Famous Births 👶
- 2006: Héctor Fort, Spanish footballer
- 2000: Varvara Gracheva, Russian tennis player
- 2000: Mohammed Kudus, Ghanaian footballer
- 1999: Mark Lee, Korean-Canadian singer
- 1997: Austin Theory, American wrestler
- 1996: Keston Hiura, American baseball player
- 1996: Simone Manuel, American swimmer
- 1995: Kristaps Porziņģis, Latvian basketball player
- 1995: Vikkstar123, English internet personality
- 1994: Cr1TiKaL, American YouTuber and streamer
- 1994: Laura Pigossi, Brazilian tennis player
- 1994: Laremy Tunsil, American football player
- 1993: Gael Bussa, Congolese politician
- 1993: Joey Florez, American scholar and cultural critic
- 1992: Charli XCX, English singer-songwriter
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2023: Nitin Chandrakant Desai, Indian art director, production designer, and film and television producer (born 1965)
- 2022: Vin Scully, American sportscaster and game show host (born 1927)
- 2020: Suzanne Perlman, Hungarian-Dutch visual artist (born 1922)
- 2017: Judith Jones, American literary and cookbook editor (born 1924)
- 2016: Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (born 1930)
- 2016: David Huddleston, American actor (born 1930)
- 2016: Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (born 1927)
- 2016: Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1946)
- 2015: Forrest Bird, American pilot and engineer (born 1921)
- 2015: Giovanni Conso, Italian jurist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (born 1922)
- 2015: Piet Fransen, Dutch footballer (born 1936)
- 2015: Jack Spring, American baseball player (born 1933)
- 2014: Ed Joyce, American journalist (born 1932)
- 2014: Billie Letts, American author and educator (born 1938)
- 2014: Barbara Prammer, Austrian social worker and politician (born 1954)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church). - Christian feast day:
Basil Fool for Christ (Russian Orthodox Church) - Christian feast day:
Justin Russolillo - Christian feast day:
Eusebius of Vercelli - Christian feast day:
Peter Faber - Christian feast day:
Peter Julian Eymard - Christian feast day:
Plegmund - Christian feast day:
Pope Stephen I - Christian feast day:
Portiuncola Indulgence (“Pardon of Assisi”), the plenary indulgence related to St. Francis of Assisi (Catholic Church). - Christian feast day:
Samuel David Ferguson (Episcopal Church)[citation needed] - Christian feast day:
August 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Day of Azerbaijani cinema (Azerbaijan)
- Our Lady of the Angels Day (Costa Rica)
- Paratroopers Day (Russia)
- Republic Day (North Macedonia)