On This Day for July 2 - Civil Rights Act signed, Thurgood Marshall is featured, and more

Created: 2020-07-02 10:03 Updated: 2020-07-02 10:03 Notebook: On this Day in History

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July 02

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

Thurgood Marshall

FEATURED EVENT

1964

Civil Rights Act signed

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MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2016: Romanian-born Jewish writer Elie Wiesel, who won the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize largely for his works that provide a sober yet passionate testament of the destruction of European Jewry during World War II, died at age 87. [ Test your knowledge of the Nobel Prize.]

2008: More than six years after being taken hostage by FARC guerrillas, Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt was freed during a rescue mission in which army soldiers posed as international aid workers. [ Take our quiz about Latin American history.]

2002: American adventurer Steve Fossett became the first balloonist to circumnavigate the world alone. [Test your knowledge of aircraft and aviation.]

1997: American actor Jimmy Stewart —who came to personify a decent everyman struggling to overcome difficult circumstances while rising to heroic stature in the process—died in California. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about A-list actors.]

1979: The United States first issued the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, making Anthony the first woman to be depicted on U.S. currency. [ Take our quiz about famous firsts for women.]

1937: The airplane piloted by American aviator Amelia Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean during her attempt to fly around the world. [Test your knowledge of early aviation.]

SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1947

Larry David
American comedian and writer

1898

Anthony C. McAuliffe
United States general

1925

Patrice Lumumba
Congolese politician

1908

Thurgood Marshall
United States jurist

1929

Imelda Marcos
Filipino public figure