114 things happened on 2 October, from AD 811 to 2023. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1470 · 556 years ago
King Edward IV of England was forced to flee to the Burgundian Netherlands after a rebellion led by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. Warwick, nicknamed 'the Kingmaker', had once been on Edward's side. With Edward gone, the former king, Henry VI, was put back…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
The armies of Scotland and Norway fought the Battle of Largs, on the Firth of Clyde. King Haakon of Norway had sailed with a fleet to win back control of Scotland's western coast. The young Scottish king, Alexander III, used slow talks to delay him until the stormy season. A fierce storm wrecked many Norwegian ships, and the Scots won.
UK story
King Edward IV of England was forced to flee to the Burgundian Netherlands after a rebellion led by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. Warwick, nicknamed 'the Kingmaker', had once been on Edward's side. With Edward gone, the former king, Henry VI, was put back on the throne. It was all part of the Wars of the Roses, between the Houses of York and Lancaster.
UK story
In his laboratory, the Scottish inventor John Logie Baird sent the first television picture with shades of grey. The picture showed the head of a ventriloquist's dummy that was nicknamed "Stooky Bill". A few months later, in January 1926, Baird showed his television to members of the Royal Institution and a reporter from The Times.
UK story
The very first parkrun took place in Bushy Park, a royal park beside Hampton Court Palace in London. At the time it was called the Bushy Park Time Trial. Parkrun events are 5-kilometre runs for runners, walkers and volunteers, held every Saturday morning. They now take place at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries.
After a siege of nearly two weeks, the city of Jerusalem surrendered to the army of Saladin, the sultan of Egypt and Syria. The city's defender, Balian of Ibelin, bargained with Saladin so that many people could leave safely. Jerusalem was then handed over peacefully. Saladin went on to become an important figure in the Third Crusade.
The United States Bill of Rights was sent to the individual states so that they could approve it. It is made up of the first ten changes, called amendments, to the US Constitution. They promise people personal freedoms, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. They also set clear limits on the power of the government.
People in the Papal States, which had been ruled by the Pope, voted to become part of the Kingdom of Italy. A public vote like this is called a plebiscite or a referendum. Italian forces had taken control of Rome less than two weeks earlier. Rome became Italy's capital the following February, completing the unification of Italy.
Guinea, a country on the Atlantic coast of West Africa, declared its independence from France. Its capital is Conakry, so it is sometimes called Guinea-Conakry. This helps to tell it apart from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau and from Equatorial Guinea. The country celebrates the date every year as Independence Day.
Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African-American justice, or judge, of the Supreme Court of the United States. Before this, he was a lawyer who fought for civil rights. He worked to end racial segregation in American schools, where Black and white children were kept apart. He won the famous 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education.
Michael I Rangabe is proclaimed as Byzantine Emperor, forcing the rival claimant Staurakios to abdicate his claim.
Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor.
Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia and other Frankish dukes.
Russo-Kazan Wars: Russian troops enter Kazan.
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.
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.
The Shubert Theatre (pictured) opened on Broadway with a production of Hamlet.
The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded.
World War II: German troops end the Warsaw Uprising.
Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz orders soldiers to suppress a demonstration of unarmed students, ten days before the start of the 1968 Summer Olympics.
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was re-elected unopposed as President of South Vietnam.
The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Typhoon Longwang made landfall in China as the deadliest tropical cyclone in that year to impact the country.
President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea goes to North Korea for an Inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Edward IV flees England and Henry VI returns to the throne”?
C: 1470. 1470 — that’s 556 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year was Richard III of England born?
B: 1452. 1452 — that’s 574 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
B: Scotland and Norway clash at the Battle of Largs. 2004: The first parkrun takes place in Bushy Park, London · 1263: Scotland and Norway clash at the Battle of Largs · 1470: Edward IV flees England and Henry VI returns to the throne Find it on the page
“William Ramsay” happened in 1852. How many years ago was that?
B: 174 years. 2026 − 1852 = 174. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 2 October.
UK story
Sir William Ramsay was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases. Working with Lord Rayleigh, he identified argon, a gas found in the air. He went on to isolate helium, neon, krypton and xenon too, which led to a whole new section of the periodic table. In 1904 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
UK story
Richard III was King of England from 1483 to 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet family, which had ruled England since 1154, and belonged to its branch called the House of York. He died fighting at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. His defeat is often seen as the end of the Middle Ages in England.
Well-known people who died on 2 October.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 2 October somewhere in the world.
This United Nations day is held on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was one of the key leaders of India's campaign for independence, and he led the way in using non-violence. The day was set up in 2007 to spread the message of peace and non-violence through education. In India, Gandhi's birthday is a national holiday called Gandhi Jayanti.
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.
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 “October 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.