August 2

August 2 is the 214th day of the year, 151 days remaining

1776 - Delegates to the Continental Congress begin signing the United States Declaration of Independence.

1790 - The first US Census is conducted.

1916 - World War I: Austrian sabotage causes the sinking of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto.

1931 - Einstein urges all scientists to refuse military work.

1934 - Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany. One goal of this policy was to eliminate individualism by forcing everybody to adhere to a specific doctrine and way of thinking and to control as many aspects of life as possible using an invasive police force.

1939 - Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt urging him to begin the Manhattan project to develop a nuclear weapon.

2004 - Monday demonstrations against social cutbacks began in Germany.

Birthday

1834 - Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Bartholdi