Year 1402
The University of Leipzig was established.
DECEMBER 2
Daily Historical Chronicle
UPSC CSE • State PSC • SSC CGL Matrix
2 December: What Happened On This Day in History
Curated historical timeline of momentous political pacts, freedom struggle uprisings, constitutional developments, scientific breakthroughs, and prominent birthdays recorded on 2 December.
Observances & Special Days
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
Year 1804
Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned as Emperor of France.
Year 1911
George V and Queen Mary became the first King-Queen of Britain to visit India.
Year 1942
Sri Aurobindo Ashram School established in Pondicherry.
Year 1942
Enrico Fermi succeeded in controlling the chain reaction at the Chicago nuclear power plant for the first time. This led to the discovery of nuclear energy.
Year 1971
UAE declared independence from Britain.
Year 1971
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was formed by Abu Dhabi, Ajman, and, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Quwain.
Year 1976
Fidel Castro became President of Cuba.
Year 1989
Vishwanath Pratap Singh became the seventh Prime Minister of the country.
Year 1999
Private sector investment in the insurance sector in India was approved.
Year 1999
Lok Sabha approves two bills, the FEMA, which prohibited the introduction of black money into official transactions.
Year 2003
United Nations War Criminal Court convicted former military commander of Bosnian Serb Momir Nikolic in the Serbica massacre of 1995 and sentenced him to 27 years in prison.
Year 2005
The government of Pakistan enacted a law to prohibit the publication of education and literature by madrassas to spread religious hatred and to inspire terrorism.
Year 2007
President Pervez Musharraf banned protests and rallies in Pakistan.
Born 1764
Pratap Singh, the maharaja of Jaipur, India.
Born 1885
George Richard, a scientist who studies the liver and liver secretions.
Born 1898
Inder Lal Roy, an Indian pilot in World War I.
Born 1937
Manohar Joshi, an Indian politician, and 15th Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Born 1942
Dr. Anita Avchat, an Indian social worker, Founder of Muktangan.
Born 1947
K. V. Kamath, the former chief of the New Development Bank of BRICS countries.
Born 1948
Rajat Kumar Gupta, an Indian-American businessman.
Born 1959
Boman Irani, an Indian theatre, and film actor.
Born 1960
J. P. Nadda, an Indian politician serving as the president of the Bharatiya Janta Party.
Born 1963
Shiva Ayyadurai, an Indian-American scientist.
Born 1981
Britney Spears, an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress.
Died 1547
Hernán Cortés, a Spanish Conquistador.
Died 1594
Gerhard Mercator, cartographer, mathematician, and philosopher.
Died 1814
Marquis de Sade, a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer.
Died 1919
Henry Clay Frick, an American industrialist, financier, union-buster, and art patron.
Died 1980
Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, the 4th Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Died 1985
Philip Larkin, an English poet, and writer.
Died 1996
M. Chenna Reddy, an Indian politician, 11th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Died 2014
A. R. Antulay, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1929)