December 2

December 2 is the 336th day (337th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 29 days remaining.

Events:

• 1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte crowned Emperor of France
• 1805 - Battle of Austerlitz
• 1823 - James Monroe delivers speech to congress that would later be dubbed the Monroe Doctrine
• 1848 - Franz Josef I becomes Emperor of Austria
• 1852 - Napoleon III becomes Emperor of France
• 1942 - First demonstration of a self-sustaining nuclear reaction[?], at the University of Chicago.
• 1954 - United States Senate condemns Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
• 1958 - Benelux Economic Union formed
• 1971 - United Arab Emirates formed
• 1982 - First successful artificial heart transplant

Births:

• 1694 - William Shirley, Colonial Governor of Massachusetts (+ 1771)
• 1738 - Richard Montgomery, Irish-American soldier
• 1817 - Heinrich von Sybel, historian (+ 1895)
• 1859 - Georges Seurat, painter (+ 1891)
• 1891 - Otto Dix, painter and graphic artist (+ 1969)
• 1899 - John Barbirolli, conductor (+ 1970)
• 1899 - John R. Cobb[?], automobile racer (+ 1952)
• 1906 - Peter Goldmark[?], inventor, engineer (+ 1977)
• 1909 - Marion Gräfin Dönhoff[?], publisher (+ 2002)
• 1914 - Ray Walston, actor (+ 2001)
• 1914 - Adolph Green, composer (+ 2002)
• 1923 - Maria Callas, opera singer (+ 1977)
• 1924 - Alexander M. Haig, Jr., US politician
• 1925 - Julie Harris, actress
• 1930 - Gary Becker, economist
• 1931 - Edwin Meese, American politician
• 1944 - Botho Strauß[?], author
• 1945 - Penelope Spheeris, director
• 1946 - Gianni Versace[?], designer (+ 1997)
• 1952 - Michael McDonald, musician
• 1962 - Tracy Austin[?], tennis player
• 1968 - Lucy Liu, actress
• 1973 - Jan Ullrich[?], cyclist and winner of the 1997 Tour de France
• 1973 - Monica Seles[?], tennis player
• 1981 - Britney Spears, singer

Deaths:

• 1547 - Hernán Fernando Cortés, Spanish explorer and conqueror
• 1552 - Francis Xavier, Catholic missionary
• 1594 - Gerardus Mercator, cartographer
• 1814 - Marquis de Sade, writer
• 1859 - John Brown, militant abolitionist (hanged)
• 1892 - Jay Gould, entrepreneur
• 1969 - Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov, Russian politician
• 1980 - Romain Gary, writer
• 1982 - Marty Feldman, comedian
• 1983 - Fifi D'Orsay, actress
• 1986 - Desi Arnaz, actor, musician, band leader, composer
• 1990 - Aaron Copland, composer
• 1995 - Robertson Davies, Canadian novelist

Holidays and Observances:

December 1 - December 3 - November 2 - January 2 -- listing of all days

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December