August 2nd Historical Moments
August 2nd in History: From the First U.S. Census to Al-Zawahri's Death
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August 2 marks the anniversary of one of baseball's most infamous moments: the acquittal of seven Chicago White Sox players in the "Black Sox" scandal. On this day in 1921, a Chicago jury found the players not guilty of conspiring to defraud the public — even though many had admitted to throwing the 1919 World Series, according to Erie News Now.
The date also carries weight across centuries of American history, from the nation's very first census in 1790 to a drone strike that killed al-Qaida's top leader in 2022, according to Lima Ohio.
Black Sox Players Walk Free Despite Admitted Wrongdoing
In 1919, eight Chicago White Sox players agreed to lose the World Series on purpose. Gamblers paid them to do it. The scandal shocked the country and became known as the "Black Sox" affair. Yet when the trial finally came, the jury acquitted seven of the players on August 2, 1921, according to Journal Gazette.
The acquittal did not end the players' troubles. Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned all eight men from professional baseball for life — even those found not guilty in court. The ban stood forever. None of the "Black Sox" players ever played in the major leagues again, according to WDRB.
America's First Census Counted Nearly 4 Million People
On August 2, 1790, the United States held its very first census. Thomas Jefferson supervised the count. When the numbers were tallied, the total came to 3,929,214 people. Of those, nearly 700,000 were enslaved, according to Lima Ohio.
The same day in 1873 brought a lighter milestone. Inventor Andrew S. Hallidie successfully tested a cable car he built for the steep hills of San Francisco. His design worked. Cable cars became a lasting symbol of the city and still run today.
Watergate Sentencing and a Deadly Plane Crash on August 2
August 2 also saw major moments in more recent American history. In 1974, former White House counsel John W. Dean III was sentenced to one to four years in prison. His crime: obstructing justice during the Watergate cover-up. Dean had agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against President Richard Nixon, according to Post Register.
Eleven years later, on August 2, 1985, tragedy struck at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed on approach, killing 137 people. The disaster was caused by a weather phenomenon called a microburst — a sudden, violent downward rush of wind that pilots could not overcome, according to Herald Bulletin.
Biden Announces Death of al-Qaida Leader al-Zawahri in 2022
On August 2, 2022, President Joe Biden announced that Ayman al-Zawahri was dead. Al-Zawahri had led al-Qaida since the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011. A U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan killed him. He was one of the planners of the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to Journal Gazette.
Biden called the strike a major blow to terrorism. Al-Zawahri had been on the run for more than two decades. His death marked the end of a long manhunt. U.S. officials said no civilians were killed in the strike, according to Lima Ohio.
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