April 2 in history — What Happened Today in History

Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid; the attack is thwarted.

Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, into which armed Palestinians had retreated.

In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.

Forty-two civilians are massacred in the town of Bijeljina in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba, to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.

Alabama governor George Wallace, a former segregationist, best known for the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door", announces that he will not seek a fifth four-year term and will retire from public life upon the end of his term in January 1987.

Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.

United States President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act.

A Soviet bio-warfare laboratory at Sverdlovsk accidentally releases airborne anthrax spores, killing 66 plus an unknown amount of livestock.

Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.

Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from Quảng Ngãi Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 crashes into the Polica mountain near Zawoja, Poland, killing 53.

After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.

The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established.

American entry into World War I: President Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.

The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country's first national census.

Canadian Cree warriors attack the village of Frog Lake, killing nine.

American Civil War: Defeat at the Third Battle of Petersburg forces the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate government to abandon Richmond, Virginia.

American Civil War: The largest in a series of Southern bread riots occurs in Richmond, Virginia.

French Revolutionary Wars: In the Battle of Copenhagen a British Royal Navy squadron defeats a hastily assembled, smaller, mostly-volunteer Dano-Norwegian Navy at high cost, forcing Denmark out of the Second League of Armed Neutrality.

Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.

The Coinage Act is passed by Congress, establishing the United States Mint.

Commodore William James captures the Maratha fortress of Suvarnadurg on the west coast of India.

J. S. Bach's cantata Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6, is first performed in Leipzig on Easter Monday.

Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Johns River.

Pascal Siakam, Cameroonian basketball player

Keshorn Walcott, Trinidadian javelin thrower

Bruno Zuculini, Argentine footballer

Quavo, American rapper

Yevgeniya Kanayeva, Russian gymnast

Miralem Pjanić, Bosnian footballer

Amr El Solia, Egyptian footballer

Ellen Adarna, Filipino actress, model and public figure

Renée Good, American writer, poet and shooting victim (died 2026)

Jesse Plemons, American actor

Pablo Aguilar, Paraguayan footballer

Shane Lowry, Irish Professional Golfer, winner of the 2019 Open Championship and European Team Member for the 2021 and 2023 Ryder Cups

Ibrahim Afellay, Dutch footballer

Robert Abajyan, Armenian sergeant (born 1996)

Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1908)

Robert H. Schuller, American pastor and author (born 1926)

Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician, Governor of Limburg (born 1954)

Urs Widmer, Swiss author and playwright (born 1938)

Fred, French author and illustrator (born 1931)

Jesús Franco, Spanish director, screenwriter, producer, and actor (born 1930)

Milo O'Shea, Irish-American actor (born 1926)

Jesús Aguilarte, Venezuelan captain and politician (born 1959)

Elizabeth Catlett, American-Mexican sculptor and illustrator (born 1915)

Mauricio Lasansky, American graphic designer and academic (born 1914)

John C. Haas, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1918)

Chris Kanyon, American wrestler (born 1970)