TODAY IN HISTORY - AUGUST 2ND

1754 – Pierre Charles L'Enfant, French-American architect and engineer, designed Washington, D.C. (d. 1825) is born.

1776 – The signing of the United States Declaration of Independence took place.

1790 – The first United States Census is conducted.

1834 – Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, French sculptor, designed the Statue of Liberty (d. 1904) is born.

1835 – Elisha Gray, American businessman, co-founded Western Electric (d. 1901) is born.

1870 – Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London, England, United Kingdom.

1873 – The Clay Street Hill Railroad begins operating the first cable car in San Francisco's famous cable car system.

1892 – Jack L. Warner, Canadian-born American production manager and producer, co-founded Warner Bros. (d. 1978) is born.

1918 – The first general strike in Canadian history takes place in Vancouver.

1922 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-Canadian engineer, invented the telephone (b. 1847) dies.

1923 – Warren G. Harding, American journalist and politician, 29th President of the United States (b. 1865) dies.

1923 – Vice President Calvin Coolidge becomes U.S. President upon the death of President Warren G. Harding.

1932 – Lamar Hunt, American businessman, co-founded the American Football League and World Championship Tennis (d. 2006) is born.

1937 – The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, the effect of which is to render marijuana and all its by-products illegal.

1939 – Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.

1943 – Jewish prisoners stage a revolt at Treblinka, one of the deadliest of Nazi death camps where approximately 900,000 persons were murdered in less than 18 months.

1968 – An earthquake hits Casiguran, Aurora, Philippines killing more than 270 people and wounding 261.

1978 – Antony Noghès, French businessman, founded the Monaco Grand Prix (b. 1890) dies.

1985 – Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, crashes at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport killing 137.