A Day in the Past

On this day: 2 September

138 things happened on 2 September, from 44 BC to 2023. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 7

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1967 59 years ago

UK story

Paddy Roy Bates proclaimed HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea Fort in the North Sea off the coast of Suffolk, England, as an independent sovereign state: the Principality of Sealand (pictured).

War & peace Find out more: Roy Bates (Wikipedia)

Around the world 32

44 BC 2,069 years ago

Cicero launches the first of his Philippicae (oratorical attacks) on Mark Antony. He will make 14 of them over the following months.

Find out more: Cicero (Wikipedia)
1862 164 years ago

American Civil War: United States President Abraham Lincoln reluctantly restores Union General George B. McClellan to full command after General John Pope's disastrous defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

War & peace Find out more: American Civil War (Wikipedia)
1970 56 years ago

NASA announces the cancellation of two Apollo missions to the Moon, Apollo 15 (the designation is re-used by a later mission), and Apollo 19.

Space Find out more: NASA (Wikipedia)
1985 41 years ago

Hurricane Elena, an unpredictable and damaging tropical cyclone that affected eastern and central portions of the United States Gulf Coast, made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, as a Category 3 major hurricane.

Nature & weather Find out more: Hurricane Elena (Wikipedia)
2018 8 years ago

National Museum of Brazil fire: A massive fire destroys most of the Paço de São Cristóvão, which houses the National Museum of Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro. The museum holds important archaeοlogical and anthropological objects, including the remains of the Luzia Woman, Marajoara vases and Egyptian mummies.

Art, books & music Find out more: National Museum of Brazil fire (Wikipedia)
2023 3 years ago

India's first solar observation mission: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launches Aditya-L1 from Satish Dhawan space centre.

Space Find out more: Aditya-L1 (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “A large fire began in London's Pudding Lane and burned for five days”?

    1. 1967
    2. 1752
    3. 1666
    Show the answer

    C: 1666. 1666 — that’s 360 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “Great Britain, along with its overseas possessions, adopts the Gregorian”?

    1. 1192
    2. 1752
    3. 1946
    Show the answer

    B: 1752. 1752 — that’s 274 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Paddy Roy Bates proclaimed HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea
    2. A large fire began in London's Pudding Lane and burned for five days
    3. Great Britain, along with its overseas possessions, adopts the Gregorian
    Show the answer

    B: A large fire began in London's Pudding Lane and burned for five days. 1967: Paddy Roy Bates proclaimed HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea · 1666: A large fire began in London's Pudding Lane and burned for five days · 1752: Great Britain, along with its overseas possessions, adopts the Gregorian Find it on the page

  4. “Paddy Roy Bates proclaimed HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea” happened in 1967. How many years ago was that?

    1. 49 years
    2. 59 years
    3. 69 years
    Show the answer

    B: 59 years. 2026 − 1967 = 59. Find it on the page

Born on this day 38

Famous people whose birthday is 2 September.

Remembering 17

Well-known people who died on 2 September.

Special days 18

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 2 September somewhere in the world.

For older readers 26 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “September 2” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.