It happened one 02 December

1804 : Bonaparte crowned emperor


On December 2, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned emperor in Notre Dame de Paris by the Pope. Since 1800, Bonaparte had been First Consul in a France in war against much of Europe. French victories continued until 1807 when the Emperor controled much of Europe. In 1812 the first defeats came, many French soldiers were killed and Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815.

1805 : Battle of Austerlitz


On December 2, 1805, French forces won an important victory against the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz near Brno (Czech Republic today).

1851 : Coup of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte


On December 2, 1851, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, then President of the French Republic, seeing the end of his term arriving and knowing that he could not be elected a second time according to the Constitution, fomented a coup with the money of his mistress Harriet Howard in order to keep his place. He was crowned emperor a year later.

1942 : First nuclear chain reaction


On December 2, 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi demonstrated the first nuclear chain reaction in the first reactor in the world, Chicago Pile-1, under a former football stadium of the University of Chicago.

1959 : Collapse of the Malpasset Dam


On December 2, 1959, the Malpasset dam in the Var collapsed and water rushed down the town of Frejus. 412 people were killed. Some people were buried in their home in the mud while others finished their lives in the sea.

Latest news : 02 December

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
December 2 is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, on the anniversary of the Convention for the Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings adopted by the United Nations on December 2, 1949.Slavery of all kinds (debt bondage, exploitation of prostitution, sexual slavery, sale of children and women ...) are still burning issues today.
National Day in United Arab Emirates
December 2nd is National Day in UAE which celebrate their independence gained from the United Kingdom on December 2nd, 1971.

Quote of the day : 02 December

Enrico Fermi
There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.

Birthdays : 02 December

Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, French politician (1846)
George Minot, American researcher, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1885)
Harriet Cohen, English pianist (1895)
Léon Schwartzenberg, French oncologist (1923)
Maria Callas, Greek soprano (1923)
Alexander Haig, American general and politician (1924)
Julie Harris, American actress (1925)
Mike Larrabee, American athlete (1933)
Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (1946)
Rick Savage, English musician (Def Leppard) (1960)
Dan Gauthier, American actor (1963)
Brendan Coyle, British actor (1963)
Nate Mendel, American musician (Foo Fighters) (1968)
Lucy Liu, American actress (1968)
Graham Kavanagh, Irish footballer (1973)
Michaël Youn, French actor and TV presenter (1973)
Jan Ullrich, German cyclist (1973)
Monica Seles, American tennis player (1973)
Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer (1978)
Christopher Wolstenholme, English musician (Muse) (1978)
Britney Spears, American singer (1981)
Chris Burke, Scottish football player (1983)
Amaury Leveaux, French swimmer (1985)

They left us one 02 December

Hanazono, Emperor of Japan (1348)
Hernán Cortés, Spanish explorer (1547)
Marquis de Sade, French writer (1814)
John Brown, American abolitionist (1859)
Edmond Rostand, French poet (1918)
Yip Man, Chinese martial artist (1972)
Romain Gary, French writer and pilot (1980)
Luis Federico Leloir, Argentine chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (1987)
Robert Cummings, American actor (1990)
Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord (1993)
Other dates
Vue mer : crédit photo Aseed