125 things happened on 2 December, from AD 537 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1697 · 329 years ago
The new St Paul's Cathedral in London was consecrated, which means it was officially blessed for worship. The old cathedral had been destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The architect Sir Christopher Wren designed the new one, with its famous high d…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
The new St Paul's Cathedral in London was consecrated, which means it was officially blessed for worship. The old cathedral had been destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The architect Sir Christopher Wren designed the new one, with its famous high dome, though the building was not finished until 1710. Wren was in charge of rebuilding 52 churches in the City of London after the fire. St Paul's is seen as his masterpiece.
UK story
The English writer Charles Dickens gave his first public reading in the United States, at Tremont Temple in Boston. Dickens created some of the best-known characters in all of literature. Many people think of him as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His books were hugely popular in his lifetime, and his novels and stories are still widely read.
UK story
The UK government handed some of its powers in Northern Ireland to a new Northern Ireland Executive. Passing powers to a local government like this is called devolution. It followed the Good Friday Agreement and a law called the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Executive is a power-sharing government, and it answers to the Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast.
Sweden's parliament approved the Freedom of the Press Act. It is thought to be the world's first law to support freedom of the press. This means the freedom to print and publish news and views. It also supported freedom of information, which includes the public's right to see official records. A version of the law is still part of Sweden's constitution.
At Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of the French. He had first become famous as a general during the French Revolution. As emperor, he led wars across Europe and also made many changes to France's laws. He ruled until 1814 and returned briefly in 1815.
Puyi became Emperor of China when he was only two years old. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor of the Qing dynasty until 1912. He turned out to be the last emperor of China. Throughout Chinese history, the emperor was known as the 'Son of Heaven' and held complete power.
The Ford Motor Company introduced its new Model A car. It replaced the famous Model T, which Ford had been making for 18 years. The Model A was sold as a 1928 model and came in four standard colours. Ford had been founded by Henry Ford in 1903.
Scientists led by Enrico Fermi started the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, in a reactor called Chicago Pile-1. It was the world's first artificial nuclear reactor. The work was part of the Manhattan Project, a wartime project to build the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States, working with the United Kingdom and Canada.
Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai and Umm al-Quwain joined together to form a new country, the United Arab Emirates. An emirate is a state ruled by an emir. The country is now made up of seven emirates. Abu Dhabi is the largest, covering 87% of the country's land.
At the University of Utah in the United States, doctors gave Barney Clark the first permanent artificial heart. An artificial heart is a machine that does the job of a real heart. His was called the Jarvik-7. Clark, a dentist, lived with it for 112 days.
NASA launched the Space Shuttle Endeavour from Florida on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble had been launched in 1990. The astronauts restored its vision by fitting a new main camera and special equipment to correct its view. They also gave it new solar panels and other upgrades. It was one of the most complicated missions in the Space Shuttle's history.
Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon.
The University of Leipzig opens.
Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what will become the United States.
War of the Third Coalition: Battle of Austerlitz: French troops under Napoleon decisively defeat a joint Russo-Austrian force.
U.S. president James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine, a proclamation of opposition to European colonialism in the New World.
Manifest Destiny: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James K. Polk proposes that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.
Franz Joseph I becomes Emperor of Austria.
French President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic.
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of the French as Napoleon III.
Alabama ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, followed by North Carolina, then Georgia; U.S. slaves were legally free within two weeks.
Philippine–American War: A 60-man Filipino rearguard was defeated at the Battle of Tirad Pass, but delayed the American advance long enough to ensure President Emilio Aguinaldo's escape.
World War I: Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice at Brest-Litovsk, and peace talks leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk begin.
Great Depression: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposes a $150 million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy.
New York City's LaGuardia Airport opens.
Korean War: UN forces began a retreat from North Korea following defeat at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River.
The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Taiwan, is signed in Washington, D.C.
Cuban Revolution: The yacht Granma, carrying Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement, reached the shores of Cuba.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 126 relating to the Kashmir conflict is adopted.
In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba will adopt Communism.
Returning from a fact-finding mission, U.S. senator Mike Mansfield became the first American official to comment adversely on the progress of the Vietnam War.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations.
Gough Whitlam is elected the 21st Prime Minister of Australia in the 1972 Australian federal election, defeating William McMahon and leading the Australian Labor Party back into office after 23 years in Opposition.
Laotian Civil War: The Pathet Lao seizes the Laotian capital of Vientiane, forces the abdication of King Sisavang Vatthana, and proclaims the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.
Benazir Bhutto (pictured) took office as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state.
Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-27, a classified mission for the United States Department of Defense.
Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-35, carrying the ASTRO-1 spacelab observatory.
Canada and Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.
Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-53 for the United States Department of Defense.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Northern Ireland gets its own power-sharing government”?
C: 1999. 1999 — that’s 27 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Christopher Wren's new St Paul's Cathedral is consecrated”?
A: 1697. 1697 — that’s 329 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
B: Christopher Wren's new St Paul's Cathedral is consecrated. 1867: Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in America · 1697: Christopher Wren's new St Paul's Cathedral is consecrated · 1999: Northern Ireland gets its own power-sharing government Find it on the page
“Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in America” happened in 1867. How many years ago was that?
A: 159 years. 2026 − 1867 = 159. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 2 December.
UK story
Sir James Edward Smith was an English botanist, a scientist who studies plants. He also studied fungi. He founded the Linnean Society of London, which is dedicated to natural history, evolution and the naming and sorting of living things. The society still looks after important collections of specimens and books. He died in 1828.
Well-known people who died on 2 December.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 2 December somewhere in the world.
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 “December 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.