History for April 2

History for April 2 - On-This-Day.com:
Frederic Bartholdi 1834, Emile Zola 1840 - Novelist, Walter Chrysler 1875 - Auto manufacturer (Chrysler Corporation)


Buddy Ebsen 1908 - Actor ("The Beverly Hillbillies," "Barnaby Jones"), Sir Alec Guinness (Alec Guinness de Cuffe) 1914 - Actor ("Bridge Over River Kwai," "A Passage to India," "Star Wars"), Jack Webb (John Randolf) 1920 - Director, actor


1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida. The next day he went ashore.


1889 - Charles Hall patented aluminum.


1910 - Karl Harris perfected the process for the artificial synthesis of rubber.


1917 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson presented a declaration of war against Germany to the U.S. Congress.


1932 - A $50,000 ransom was paid for the infant son of Charles and Anna Lindbergh. He child was not returned and was found dead the next month.


1935 - Sir Watson-Watt was granted a patent for RADAR.


1951 - U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower assumed command of all allied forces in the Western Mediterranean area and Europe.


1982 - Argentina invaded the British-owned Falkland Islands. The following June Britain took the islands back.