History of the Day for:
April 2
- 1513: Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida.
- 1792: Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint.
- 1865: Confederate President Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va.
- 1872: George B. Brayton patented the gasoline-powered car.
- 1877: The first Easter Egg Roll was held on the White House lawn.
- 1917: President Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy."
- 1932: Aviator Charles A. Lindbergh paid $50,000 in ransom to an unidentified man for his kidnapped son. The infant was found dead the following month.
- 1930: Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.
- 1945: Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Brazil are established.
- 1972: Actor Burt Reynolds was featured naked in "Cosmopolitan" magazine.
- 1978: "Dallas" debuted on CBS.
- 1982: Several thousand Argentine troops seized the Falkland Islands from Britain.
- 1984: Georgetown Hoyas basketball coach John Thompson became the first black to lead a basketball team to the NCAA college basketball championship.
- 1987: States began raising the speed limit on interstate highways to 65 mph.
- 1992: Mob boss John Gotti was convicted of murder and racketeering; he was later sentenced to life in prison.
- 2002: Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated. A siege ensues.
- 2004: Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid. Their attack is thwarted.
- 2006: Over 60 tornadoes break out, hardest hit is Tennessee with 29 people killed.