# On this day: October 2

October 2 is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years), with 90 days left until the end of the year.

## October 2 in one line

Headline entries for October 2, from Wikipedia: in 2018, The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey; born 1869: Mahatma Gandhi, Indian freedom fighter, activist and philosopher (died 1948); died 1927: Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1859). In 2026 it is a Friday, in 2027 a Saturday.

## Events on October 2

- 48 BC Julius Caesar arrives in Ptolemaic Egypt in his pursuit of Pompey and learns of the latter's death. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar)
- 811 Michael I Rangabe is proclaimed as Byzantine Emperor, forcing the rival claimant Staurakios to abdicate his claim. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_I_Rangabe)
- 829 Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophilos_(emperor))
- 1187 Saladin wins Jerusalem after the city surrendered to his forces following a prolonged siege. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(1187))
- 1470 With King Edward IV of England forced to flee to the Burgundian Netherlands after a rebellion organised by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, Henry VI was restored to the throne. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Neville%2C_16th_Earl_of_Warwick)
- 1552 Russo-Kazan Wars: Russian troops enter Kazan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kazan)
- 1766 As part of wider food riots, citizens in Nottingham, England, looted large quantities of cheese; one man was killed during attempts to restore order. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham_cheese_riot)
- 1789 The United States Bill of Rights is sent to the various States for ratification. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights)
- 1835 Mexican dragoons dispatched to disarm settlers at Gonzales in Mexican Texas encountered stiff resistance from a Texian militia at the Battle of Gonzales, the first armed engagement of the Texas Revolution. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gonzales)
- 1870 By plebiscite, the citizens of the Papal States accept annexation by the Kingdom of Italy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Rome)
- 1879 Qing China signed the Treaty of Livadia with the Russian Empire, but the terms were so unfavorable that the Chinese government refused to ratify the treaty. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Livadia)
- 1913 The Shubert Theatre opened on Broadway with a production of Hamlet. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shubert_Theatre_(Broadway))
- 1920 Ukrainian War of Independence: Mikhail Frunze orders the Red Army to immediately cease hostilities with the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Insurgent_Army_of_Ukraine)
- 1928 The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Dei)
- 1937 Rafael Trujillo orders the execution of Haitians living in the border region of the Dominican Republic. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsley_massacre)
- 1942 Second World War: HMS Curacoa was accidentally rammed and sunk by RMS Queen Mary while escorting the liner to provide protection from submarine attacks. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Curacoa_(D41))
- 1944 World War II: German troops end the Warsaw Uprising. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Uprising)
- 1967 Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurgood_Marshall)
- 1968 Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz orders soldiers to suppress a demonstration of unarmed students, ten days before the start of the 1968 Summer Olympics. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlatelolco_massacre)
- 1971 Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was re-elected unopposed as President of South Vietnam. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_V%C4%83n_Thi%E1%BB%87u)
- 1990 A hijacked airliner collided with two other planes while attempting to land at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China, killing 128 and injuring 71. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Guangzhou_Baiyun_airport_collisions)
- 1996 Aeroperú Flight 603 crashes into the ocean near Peru, killing all 70 people on board. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroper%C3%BA_Flight_603)
- 2005 Typhoon Longwang made landfall in China as the deadliest tropical cyclone in that year to impact the country. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Longwang)
- 2006 A gunman killed five Amish girls before committing suicide in a one-room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Nickel_Mines_School_shooting)
- 2018 The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Jamal_Khashoggi)
- 2025 2 people are killed and at least 4 others injured in an attack on a synagogue in Manchester, UK, during Yom Kippur. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Manchester_synagogue_attack)

## Born on October 2

- 1452 Richard III of England (died 1485) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_of_England)
- 1538 Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal and saint (died 1584) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Borromeo)
- 1832 Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (died 1917) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Burnett_Tylor)
- 1847 Paul von Hindenburg, German field marshal and politician, 2nd President of Germany (died 1934) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_von_Hindenburg)
- 1851 Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (died 1929) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Foch)
- 1852 William Ramsay, Scottish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1916) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ramsay)
- 1869 Mahatma Gandhi, Indian freedom fighter, activist and philosopher (died 1948) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi)
- 1871 Cordell Hull, American politician, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1955) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordell_Hull)
- 1879 Wallace Stevens, American poet (died 1955) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Stevens)
- 1890 Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor (died 1977) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groucho_Marx)
- 1904 Graham Greene, English novelist, playwright, and critic (died 1991) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Greene)
- 1904 Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian and politician, Prime Minister of India (died 1966) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lal_Bahadur_Shastri)
- 1907 Alexander R. Todd, Scottish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1997) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Todd)
- 1917 Christian de Duve, Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_de_Duve)
- 1933 John Gurdon, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2025) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gurdon)
- 1935 Omar Sívori, Italian-Argentine footballer and manager (died 2005) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_S%C3%ADvori)
- 1951 Sting, English singer-songwriter and actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sting_(musician))
- 1963 Maria Ressa, Filipino-American journalist [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Ressa)
- 1978 Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer, songwriter, actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayumi_Hamasaki)
- 1984 Marion Bartoli, French tennis player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Bartoli)
- 1991 Roberto Firmino, Brazilian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Firmino)
- 1992 Alisson Becker, Brazilian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alisson_Becker)

## Died on October 2

- 829 Michael II, Byzantine emperor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_II)
- 1264 Pope Urban IV (born c. 1200) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Urban_IV)
- 1709 Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat (born 1639) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Mazepa)
- 1764 William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1720) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cavendish%2C_4th_Duke_of_Devonshire)
- 1803 Samuel Adams, American politician, Governor of Massachusetts (born 1722) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Adams)
- 1853 François Arago, French mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and politician (born 1786) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Arago)
- 1927 Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1859) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svante_Arrhenius)
- 1968 Marcel Duchamp, French painter and sculptor (born 1887) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Duchamp)
- 1973 Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner (born 1897) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paavo_Nurmi)
- 1974 Vasily Shukshin, Russian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1929) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Shukshin)
- 1985 Rock Hudson, American actor (born 1925) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Hudson)
- 1987 Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1915) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Medawar)
- 2017 Tom Petty, American musician (born 1950) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Petty)
- 2018 Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi journalist (born 1958) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi)

## Holidays and observances

- Batik Day (Indonesia) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batik_Day)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Antoine Chevrier [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Chevrier)
- Christian feast day: Denha I of Tikrit (Syriac Orthodox Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denha_I_of_Tikrit)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Jan Beyzym [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Beyzym)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Maria Antonina Kratochwil [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Antonina_Kratochwil)
- Christian feast day: Blessed María Francisca Ricart Olmos [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Francisca_Ricart_Olmos)
- Christian feast day: Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_of_the_Holy_Guardian_Angels)
- Christian feast day: Leodegar [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leodegar)
- Christian feast day: October 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Gandhi's birthday-related observances: Gandhi Jayanti (India) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhi_Jayanti)
- Gandhi's birthday-related observances: International Day of Non-Violence [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Non-Violence)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Guinea from France in 1958 [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea)
- National Grandparents Day (Italy) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandparents'_Day)
- International Day of Non-Violence [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Non-Violence)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “October 2”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/October 2”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/October_2) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“October 2”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for October 2 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## October 2 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Friday | 2026-W40 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2027 | Saturday | 2027-W39 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2028 | Monday | 2028-W40 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2029 | Tuesday | 2029-W40 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2030 | Wednesday | 2030-W40 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on October 2

- [🇮🇳 India](https://whathappen.today/holidays/india/): Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday (2026 and 2027)
- [🇨🇳 China](https://whathappen.today/holidays/china/): National Day (2026 and 2027)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← October 1](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/october-1/) · [October 3 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/october-3/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/october-2/