August 02
1790
The first U.S. census was completed, showing a population of 3,929,214 people.
1876
Wild Bill Hickok was murdered in Deadwood, S.D.
1909
The first Lincoln penny was issued.
1923
Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States, died in San Francisco.
1943
PT-109, a torpedo boat commanded by Lt. John F. Kennedy, was sunk off the Solomon Islands by a Japanese destroyer.
1945
The Potsdam Conference, in which Allied leaders planned the postwar governance of Germany, ended.
1990
The Persian Gulf War broke out when Iraq invaded Kuwait.
Birthdays
Isabel Allende
1942–Chilean novelist
Pierre Charles L’Enfant
soldier, engineer, and architect (1754)
Elisha Gray
inventor (1835)
John Sloan
artist (1871)
Myrna Loy
actress (1905)
Carroll O’Connor
actor (1922)
James Baldwin
novelist (1924)
Peter O’Toole
actor (1932)