2 September 1859

Bad weather caused a Chilean Air Force aircraft to crash into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 21 people on board.

American animated edutainment show Liberty's Kids aired its first episode.

Hurricane Elena, an unpredictable and damaging tropical cyclone that affected eastern and central portions of the United States Gulf Coast, made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, as a Category 3 major hurricane.

Paddy Roy Bates proclaimed HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea Fort in the North Sea off the coast of Suffolk, England, as an independent sovereign state: the Principality of Sealand (pictured).

South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm began an official visit to Australia, the first by a foreign incumbent head of state to the country.

The interim government of India, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, was formed to assist the transition of India from British rule to independence.

On the deck of the U.S. Navy battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, representatives from the Empire of Japan and the Allied powers signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender , formally ending World War II.

Arthur Rose Eldred became the first person to attain the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.

U.S. vice president Theodore Roosevelt first publicly used the phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick" (cartoon pictured) at the Minnesota State Fair, describing his philosophy of negotiating peacefully while simultaneously threatening to use military force.

White miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, attacked Chinese-American immigrants, killing at least 28 Chinese miners and causing approximately $150,000 in property damage.

Franco-Prussian War: Prussian forces captured Napoleon III at the Battle of Sedan, which led to the collapse of the Second French Empire within days.

French Revolution: Due to an overwhelming fear that foreign armies would attack Paris and prisoners would revolt, revolutionaries began the summary execution of more than a thousand prisoners.

The United States Department of the Treasury was founded following financial concerns in the new nation.

A large fire began in London's Pudding Lane and burned for five days, destroying St Paul's Cathedral and the homes of 70,000 of the city's 80,000 inhabitants.

Four people are killed in a mass shooting targeting homeless people on a Chicago Transit Authority train in Forest Park, Illinois, United States.

India's first solar observation mission: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launches Aditya-L1 from Satish Dhawan space centre.

Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane, devastates the Bahamas, killing at least five.

The dive boat MV Conception catches fire and sinks near Santa Cruz Island, killing 34.

National Museum of Brazil fire, A massive fire destroys most of the Paço de São Cristóvão, which houses the National Museum of Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro. The museum holds important archaeοlogical and anthropological objects, including the remains of the Luzia Woman, Marajoara vases and Egyptian mummies.

The Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opens at 10:15 pm at a cost of $6.4 billion, after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the old span.

Israel-Palestinian conflict: the 2010 Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are launched by the United States.

The Andhra Pradesh, India helicopter crash occurred near Rudrakonda Hill, 40 nautical miles (74 km) from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India. Fatalities included Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Google launches its Google Chrome web browser.

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