Calendar date · August

What happened on August 2

On August 2, -338: A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean.

Events

49

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Leo

Featured moment · -338

A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean.

The Kingdom of Macedon possessed one of the greatest armies in the ancient world. It is reputed for the speed and efficiency with which it emerged from Greece to conquer large swathes of territory stretching from Egypt in the west to India in the east. Initially of little account in the Greek world, it was widely regarded as a second-rate power before being made formidable by Philip II, whose son and successor Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Empire in just over a decade's time.

People

Born on August 2

Héctor Fort 2006– Spanish footballer, born 2006
Varvara Gracheva 2000– French tennis player (born 2000)
Mohammed Kudus 2000– Ghanaian footballer (born 2000)
Mark Lee 1999– Canadian rapper (born 1999)
Austin Theory 1997– American professional wrestler (born 1997)
Keston Hiura 1996– American baseball player (born 1996)
Simone Manuel 1996– American swimmer (born 1996)
Kristaps Porziņģis 1995– Latvian basketball player (born 1995)
Vikkstar123 1995– English influencer and DJ (born 1995)
Show 9 more — notable births on August 2
Cr1TiKaL 1994– American YouTuber and streamer (born 1994)
Laura Pigossi 1994– Brazilian tennis player (born 1994)
Laremy Tunsil 1994– American football player (born 1994)
Gael Bussa 1993– Congolese politician
Joey Florez 1993– American scholar
Charli XCX 1992– British singer (born 1992)
Evander Kane 1991– Canadian ice hockey player (born 1991)
Ima Bohush 1990– Belarusian tennis player (born 1990)
Vitalia Diatchenko 1990– Russian professional tennis player (born 1990)

People

Died on August 2

Nitin Chandrakant Desai Indian art director (1965–2023)
Vin Scully American sportscaster (1927–2022)
Suzanne Perlman Dutch Hungarian painter (1922–2020)
Judith Jones American book editor (1924–2017)
Terence Bayler New Zealand actor (1930–2016)
David Huddleston American actor (1930–2016)
Franciszek Macharski Polish cardinal (1927–2016)
Ahmed Zewail Egyptian and American chemist (1946–2016)
Forrest Bird American physician
Show 9 more — notable deaths on August 2
Giovanni Conso Italian politician (1922–2015)
Piet Fransen Dutch footballer
Jack Spring American baseball player (1933–2015)
Ed Joyce American television executive (1932–2014)
Billie Letts American novelist and educator
Barbara Prammer Austrian politician (1954–2014)
James Thompson American-Finnish crime writer (1964–2014)
Julius L. Chambers American lawyer, civil rights leader and educator
Richard E. Dauch American businessman

Timeline

Every August 2 on record

  1. -338 A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean.

    Army of Philip II and Alexander the Great

    The Kingdom of Macedon possessed one of the greatest armies in the ancient world. It is reputed for the speed and efficiency with which it emerged from Greece to conquer large swathes of territory stretching from Egypt in the west to India in the east. Initially of little account in the Greek world, it was widely regarded as a second-rate power before being made formidable by Philip II, whose son and successor Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Empire in just over a decade's time.

  2. -216 The Carthaginian army led by Hannibal defeats a numerically superior Roman army at the Battle of Cannae.

    Archaeological site in Tunisia

    Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa founded by the legendary queen Dido on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classical world. It became the capital city of the civilization of Ancient Carthage and later Roman Carthage.

  3. -49 Caesar, who marched to Spain earlier in the year, leaving Marcus Antonius in charge of Italy, defeats Pompey's general Afranius and Petreius in Ilerda (Lerida) north of the Ebro river.

    Roman general and dictator (100–44 BC)

    Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, and author who was the dictator of the Roman Republic almost continuously from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. A member of the First Triumvirate, he led the Roman armies through the Gallic Wars and defeated his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil war. He consolidated power and proclaimed himself dictator for life in 44 BC, helping create the political conditions that led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the emergence of the Roman Empire.

  4. 461 Majorian is arrested near Tortona (northern Italy) and deposed by the Suebian general Ricimer as puppet emperor.

    Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461

    Majorian was Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer at the Battle of Placentia. Possessing little more than Italy and Dalmatia, as well as some territory in Hispania and northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned vigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies.

  5. 932 After a two-year siege, the city of Toledo, in Spain, surrenders to the forces of the Caliph of Córdoba Abd al-Rahman III, assuming an important victory in his campaign to subjugate the Central March.

    City in Castilla–La Mancha, Spain

    Toledo is a city and municipality in Spain. It is the capital of the province of Toledo and the de jure seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha.

  6. 1274 Edward I of England returns from the Ninth Crusade and is crowned King seventeen days later.
  7. 1343 After the execution of her husband, Jeanne de Clisson sells her estates and raises a force of men with which to attack French shipping and ports.
  8. 1377 Russian troops are defeated by forces of the Blue Horde Khan Arapsha in the Battle on Pyana River.
  9. 1415 Thomas Grey is executed for participating in the Southampton Plot.
  10. 1492 The Jews are expelled from Spain: 40,000–200,000 leave. Sultan Bayezid II of the Ottoman Empire, learning of this, dispatches the Ottoman Navy to bring the Jews safely to Ottoman lands, mainly to the cities of Thessaloniki (in modern-day Greece) and İzmir (in modern-day Turkey).
  11. 1610 During Henry Hudson's search for the Northwest Passage, he sails into what is now known as Hudson Bay.
  12. 1776 The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence takes place.
  13. 1784 The first British mail coach service runs from Bristol to London.
  14. 1790 The first United States Census is conducted.
  15. 1798 French Revolutionary Wars: The Battle of the Nile concludes in a British victory.
Show 15 earlier entries from August 2
  1. 1830 July Revolution: Charles X of France abdicates the throne in favor of his grandson Henri.
  2. 1858 The Government of India Act 1858 replaces Company rule in India with that of the British Raj.
  3. 1869 Japan's Edo society class system is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms.
  4. 1870 Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London, England, United Kingdom.
  5. 1873 The Clay Street Hill Railroad begins operating the first cable car in San Francisco's famous cable car system.
  6. 1897 Anglo-Afghan War: The Siege of Malakand ends when a relief column is able to reach the British garrison in the Malakand states.
  7. 1903 The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottoman Empire begins.
  8. 1914 World War I: The German occupation of Luxembourg begins.
  9. 1916 World War I: Austrian sabotage causes the sinking of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto.
  10. 1918 The first general strike in Canadian history takes place in Vancouver.
  11. 1922 A typhoon hits Shantou, Republic of China, killing more than 50,000 people.
  12. 1923 U.S. Vice President Calvin Coolidge becomes president upon the death of President Warren G. Harding.
  13. 1932 The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson.
  14. 1934 Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg.
  15. 1937 The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, the effect of which is to render marijuana and all its by-products illegal.

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