Portal:United States/Anniversaries/July/July 2
- 1777 – Vermont becomes the first American territory to abolish slavery.
- 1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves led by Joseph Cinqué (pictured) take over the slave ship Amistad. After the ship was captured in American waters, the Supreme Court would rule that the Africans mutinied to regain their freedom after being kidnapped and sold illegally.
- 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds President James Garfield, who would eventually die from an infection on September 19.
- 1890 – Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
- 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
- 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
On this day for the United States
January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December
| << | July | >> | ||||
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 | ||||||
Events
- 1679 – Europeans first visit Minnesota and see headwaters of Mississippi – led by Daniel Greysolon de Du Luth.
- 1776 – The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with Great Britain; wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not approved until July 4.
- 1777 – Vermont becomes the first American territory to abolish slavery.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
- 1878 – The Brighton Beach Line (now the BMT Brighton Line) opens in the then–city of Brooklyn.
- 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield, who eventually dies from infection on September 19.
- 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
- 1917 – Forty–eight die in rioting in East St. Louis, Illinois, as lower–paid black laborers clash with whites.
- 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappear over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round–the–world flight.
- 1947 – An object speculated to be a UFO crashes near Roswell, New Mexico, though the United States Air Force claims it is a weather balloon.
- 1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
- 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits segregation in public places.
- 1979 – The first U.S. coin to honor a woman, the Susan B. Anthony dollar, is introduced.
- 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.