On This Day April 2nd

 OTD

April 2nd is the Ninety-second Day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 273 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1513 – 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.

1792 – The Coinage Act was passed by Congress, establishing the United States Mint.

1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.

1865 – American Civil War: Defeat at the Third Battle of Petersburg forces the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate government to abandon Richmond, Virginia.

1902—The Electric Theatre, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles.

1917 – American entry into World War I: President Wilson asked the U.S. Congress to declare war on Germany.

1956 – As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premieres on CBS. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute.

1982 – Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.

2015 – Four men steal items worth up to £200 million from an underground safe deposit facility in London's Hatton Garden area in what has been called the "largest burglary in English legal history.

 

Birthdays

747 – Charlemagne, Frankish king (d. 814)

1788 – Wilhelmine Reichard, German balloonist (d. 1848)

1805 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1875)

1875 – Walter Chrysler, the American businessman, founded Chrysler (d. 1940)

1907 – Luke Appling, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)

1914 – Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000)

1939 – Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)

1942 – Leon Russell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2016)

1947 – Emmylou Harris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1947 – Camille Paglia, American author and critic

1966 – Bill Romanowski, American football player and actor

 

Holidays And Observance

PASCUA FLORIDA DAY

In February 1512, King Ferdinand granted a royal contract to Juan Ponce de León, allowing him to search for the 'Islands of Benimy.' The contract gave him exclusive rights to the island and any neighboring islands he discovered for three years. He would also become the governor of these islands for life. However, he had to finance the journey himself. Setting out from Puerto Rico on March 4, 1513, with a fleet of three ships - the ‘Santiago,’ the ‘San Cristobal,’ and the ‘Santa Maria de la Consolacion’ and 200 men, de León arrived on an island he named ‘La Florida’ on April 2, 1513, after the Spanish Easter holiday called ‘Pascua Florida,’ which means ‘flowery festival’ or ‘feast of flowers’ in Spanish.

Florida's legislature adopted Pascua Florida Day as an official holiday on April 2, 1953, at the suggestion of Mary A. Harrell, a Social Studies teacher in Jacksonville. This day is only celebrated in Florida and serves as a time to reflect on the state's rich history. The Governor of Florida often designates March 27 to April 2 as Pascua Florida Week. If April 2 falls on a weekend, the commemorative holiday may be shifted to the preceding Friday or the following Monday.

 

Others Include.

International Children's Book Day

International Fact-Checking Day

National Ferret Day

National Love Your Produce Manager Day

National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

National Sexual Assault Awareness Month's Day of Action

Pascua Florida Day

Reconciliation Day

SAAM Day of Action

World Autism Awareness Day

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