September 2 in history — What Happened Today in History

Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia; all 229 people on board are killed.

The UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finds Jean-Paul Akayesu, the former mayor of a small town in Rwanda, guilty of nine counts of genocide.

The 7.7 Mw Nicaragua earthquake affects the west coast of Nicaragua. With a Ms–Mw disparity of half a unit, this tsunami earthquake triggers a tsunami that causes most of the damage and casualties, with at least 116 killed. Typical runup heights were 3–8 meters (9.8–26.2 ft).

Transnistria is unilaterally proclaimed a Soviet republic; the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev declares the decision null and void.

In Moscow, the trial begins for 19-year-old pilot Mathias Rust, who flew his Cessna airplane into Red Square in May.

Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politicians and former MPs M. Alalasundaram and V. Dharmalingam are shot dead.

Seven people are shot and killed and 12 wounded in the Milperra massacre, a shootout between the rival motorcycle gangs Bandidos and Comancheros in Sydney, Australia.

NASA announces the cancellation of two Apollo missions to the Moon, Apollo 15 (the designation is re-used by a later mission), and Apollo 19.

Aeroflot Flight 3630, a Tupolev Tu-124 en route from southern Russia to Lithuania, crashes after the pilots lost control of the aircraft at cruise altitude between Rostov-on-Don Airport and Vilnius Airport, on the second leg of the flight; all 37 passengers and crew are killed.

Operation OAU begins during the Nigerian Civil War.

CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.

The first election of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. The Tibetan community observes this date as Democracy Day.

A USAF RC-130 is shot down by fighters over Armenia when it strays into Soviet airspace while conducting a sigint mission. All crew members are killed.

President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam becomes the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to Australia.

The Interim Government of India is formed, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru as vice president with the powers of a Prime Minister.

World War II: The Japanese Instrument of Surrender is signed by Japan and the major warring powers aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, thus marking the official end to the war.

Communist leader Ho Chi Minh proclaims the Democratic Republic of Vietnam after the end of the Nguyễn dynasty.

The last execution of a Finn in Finland takes place when soldier Olavi Laiho is executed by shooting in Oulu.

World War II: Following the start of the invasion of Poland the previous day, the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) is annexed by Nazi Germany.

The Labor Day Hurricane, the most intense hurricane to strike the United States, makes landfall at Long Key, Florida, killing at least 400.

Kantō Massacre: Amid rumors that Koreans had been conducting acts of sabotage in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, lynch mobs of Japanese begin massacring thousands of civilians over the course of several weeks, mainly ethnic minorities such as Koreans and Chinese.

Arthur Rose Eldred is awarded the first Eagle Scout award of the Boy Scouts of America.

Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair.

Battle of Omdurman: British and Egyptian troops defeat Sudanese tribesmen and establish British dominance in Sudan.

Rock Springs massacre: In Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 white miners, who are struggling to unionize so they could strike for better wages and work conditions, attack their Chinese fellow workers, killing 28, wounding 15 and forcing several hundred more out of town.

Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan: Prussian forces take Napoleon III of France and 100,000 of his soldiers prisoner.

Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Japan, marries Masako Ichijō, thereafter known as Empress Shōken.

American Civil War: Union forces enter Atlanta as the city surrenders, ending the Atlanta campaign as a victory for General William T. Sherman.

Tom Anderson, English footballer

Zaza Nadiradze, Georgian sprint canoeist

Robert Rooba, Estonian ice hockey player

Xenia Knoll, Swiss tennis player

Nenad Lukić, Serbian footballer

Alberto Masi, Italian footballer

Emiliano Martínez, Argentine footballer

Ella Toone, English footballer

Christian Bethancourt, Panamanian baseball player

Mareks Mejeris, Latvian basketball player

Gyasi Zardes, American footballer

Marcus Ericsson, Swedish race car driver

Shayla Worley, American gymnast

Helena Rakoczy, Polish gymnast (born 1921)

Goolam Essaji Vahanvati, Indian lawyer and politician, 13th Attorney General of India (born 1949)

Valérie Benguigui, French actress and director (born 1965)

Terry Clawson, English rugby player and coach (born 1940)

Ronald Coase, English-American economist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1910)

David Jacobs, English radio and television host (born 1926)

Frederik Pohl, American author and publisher (born 1919)

Paul Scoon, Grenadian politician, 2nd Governor-General of Grenada (born 1935)

Mark Abrahamian, American guitarist (born 1966)

Jack Boucher, American photographer and director (born 1931)

John C. Marshall, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1941)

Emmanuel Nunes, Portuguese-French composer and educator (born 1941)

Roberto Bruce, Chilean journalist (born 1979)