July 2 is:
I Forgot Day
World UFO Day
National Anisette Day
1776 – The Continental Congress adopted a resolution which severed ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence was not approved until July 4.
Publication of Federalist Paper #82: The Judiciary written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788.
July 2, 1881: Charles J. Guiteau shot and fatally wounded U.S. President James Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. Garfield eventually died from an infection on September 19.
Guiteau had written a speech in support of Ulysses S Grant prior to the election of 1880. He changed “Grant” to “Garfield” after Garfield secured the nomination. For this speech, which he believed had helped Garfield’s election, he believed he was entitled to a consulship to Vienna but was willing to settle for Paris. He warned several Washington officials that they would come to grief if his demands were not met.
Guiteau’s family had judged him to be insane and had attempted to have him committed but Gaiteau had escaped. He purchased a .442 Webley caliber British Bulldog revolver for $15.00 (which he had borrowed). He followed Garfield around Washington for a whole month before shooting the President. While awaiting trial, Guiteau began making plans for a lecture tour and considered running for president in 1884. He was found guilty in January of 1882 and was hanged June 30, 1882.
In 1922, the first modern U.S. carillon, (a series of chromatic bells) installed in the Church of Our Lady of Good Voyage, Gloucester, Mass., was blessed by Cardinal O’Connell. Our Lady of Good Voyage Church, with its brilliant blue domes, was modeled after the Santa Maria Madelena church, Pico, Azores. Inside, there are more than twenty-five ship models and stained glass and statuary depictions of Our Lady. The church includes one of the oldest sets of full carillon bells in the United States.
July 2, 1937: American aviation pioneer, Amelia Earhart, disappeared in the Central Pacific during an attempt to fly around the world at the equator.
1956 – Elvis Presley recorded “Hound Dog” & “Don’t Be Cruel”.
1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opened for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
1964 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, meant to prohibit segregation in public places.