On this day: July 2

July 2: Feast day of Martinian and Processus (Roman Catholic Church)

• 626 – During the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Prince Li Shimin led his forces to assassinate his rival brothers, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and Prince Li Yuanji, in a bloody palace coup for the imperial throne of the Tang dynasty.
• 1816 – The French frigate Méduse ran aground off the coast of today's Mauritania, with the survivors escaping on a makeshift raft, which was depicted in Théodore Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa.
• 1937 – Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (pictured) and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight.
• 1962 – The first Walmart store, now the largest retailer in the world, opened in Rogers, Arkansas, US.
• 1997 – The Thai baht rapidly lost half of its value, marking the beginning of the Asian financial crisis.

• More anniversaries:
  • July 1
  • July 2
  • July 3

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• Current date: July 2, 2015 (UTC)
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