This Day In History : September 2

2023 India

India successfully launches its first spacecraft, Aditya-L1, to study the sun

India successfully launched its maiden space-based observatory to study the Sun from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota today (2 September 2023). ISRO confirmed the launch of Aditya-L1 by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C57. “India’s first solar observatory has begun its 125-day journey to the destination of Sun-Earth L1 point,” ISRO chairman S Somnath said.

Also on This Day in History September 2

Discover what happened on September 2 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, September 2
  • 1908 Nikolay Aleksandrovich Kozyrev

    Russian astronomer who claimed to have discovered volcano-like activity on the Moon.

  • 1877 Frederick Soddy

    English chemist and physicist who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1921 for investigating radioactive substances.

  • 1869 Hiram Percy Maxim

    American inventor and manufacturer whose name is remembered with the "Maxim silencer" gun attachment.

  • 1878 Maurice René Fréchet

    French mathematician who is known chiefly for his contribution to real analysis.

  • 1923 René Frédéric Thom

    French mathematician who was awarded the Fields Medal in 1958 for his work in topology, in particular on characteristic classes, cobordism theory and the Thom transversality theorem.

Deaths on This Day, September 2
  • 2001 Christiaan Barnard

    Christiaan Neethling Barnard was a South African surgeon who performed the world’s first human heart transplant operation.

  • 2022 Frank Drake

    Frank Donald Drake was an American astrophysicist and astrobiologist. He began his career as a radio astronomer, studying the planets of the Solar System and later pulsars.

  • 1865 William Rowan Hamilton

    Irish mathematician in the fields of optics, geometrics, and classical mechanics.

  • 1764 Nathaniel Bliss

    English mathematician and astronomer who was Britain's fourth Astronomer Royal, though only for the two years before his death.

  • 1834 Thomas Telford

    Scottish engineer who was a road, bridge and canal builder.

1945

Vietnam declares its independence

Vietnam declared its independence and formed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. This historic event took place in Hanoi, with Ho Chi Minh proclaiming independence from French colonial rule. The declaration marked the beginning of Vietnam's struggle for independence and sovereignty, leading to decades of conflict, including the First Indochina War and later the Vietnam War, before the reunification of Vietnam in 1975.
1789

The United States Department of the Treasury is founded

The United States Department of the Treasury was founded on September 2, 1789. This occurred shortly after the establishment of the federal government under the Constitution. The Department of the Treasury plays a crucial role in managing the government's finances, including revenue collection, borrowing, spending, and economic policy formulation. It oversees agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, responsible for printing currency.
1867

1st girls School opens in Haarlem, The Netherlands

The first girls' school opened in Haarlem, Netherlands, on September 2nd,1867. This establishment marked a progressive step in education, providing formal schooling specifically for girls in the region during a time when educational opportunities for women were limited across much of Europe.    
1859

Gas lighting introduced to Hawaii

Gas lighting was introduced to Hawaii in 1857. This advancement brought modern lighting technology to the islands, replacing earlier methods such as oil lamps and candles. Gas lighting significantly improved visibility and safety during nighttime hours, contributing to the urban development and infrastructure of Hawaii during that period.
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