| 2 March 1352 | Byzantine Empire [wars] | The Ottoman Turks take Gallipoli from the Byzantine Empire. Originally involved only as allies of the Byzantine emperor John VI Cantacuzenus in his new war with John V of Byzantium, they now remain in Gallipoli (in modern Turkey), making it their base for conquests in Europe. |
| 2 March 1455 | Italy [treaties] | Pope Nicholas V proclaims and joins the ‘Italian League’ formed by Milan, Venice, and Florence following the Peace of Lodi of 1454, to which the kingdom of Naples soon adheres. The League, which is to last for 25 years, is a pact against internecine (mutually destructive) warfare and foreign invasion, with permanent diplomatic representation between its members. |
| 2 March 1458 | Holy Roman Empire, Bohemia [administration] | The Bohemian diet elects the regent (and leader of the Hussite Utraquists) George of Podebrady as king of Bohemia. He invades Habsburg Austria. |
| 2 March 1502 | Holy Roman Empire [administration] | The imperial arch-chancellor Berthold of Henneberg is forced to resign by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, ending the effective rule of the Reichsregiment (imperial council). |
| 2 March 1791 | England [births and deaths] | John Wesley, Anglican clergyman and evangelist who, with his brother Charles Wesley, founded the Methodist movement in the Church of England, dies in London, England (87). |
| 2 March 1835 | Austrian Empire [political events] | Emperor Francis I of Austria dies and is succeeded by his son Ferdinand I. |
| 2 March 1836 | USA, Mexico, Republic of Texas [administration] | Texas declares its independence from Mexico, but the USA does not recognize the Republic of Texas. |
| 2 March 1855 | Russian Empire [political events] | Following the death of the reactionary tsar Nicholas I of Russia, he is succeeded by the more moderate Alexander II. |
| 2 March 1877 | USA [elections] | On the basis of its committee's recommendation, the US Congress rewards all 20 disputed electoral votes in the previous December's presidential election to Republican Rutherford B Hayes. The decision furnishes Hayes with a 185–184 majority over Democrat Samuel J Tilden. |
| 2 March 1904 | [births and deaths] | Dr Seuss (pseudonym of Theodore Seuss Geisel), US writer of children's books, born in Springfield, Massachusetts (–1991). |
| 2 March 1919 | [political parties] | The Communist Third International (Comintern) is founded to encourage world revolution. The debate over affiliation to this body will mark the split between socialist and communist movements and parties. |
| 2 March 1930 | [births and deaths] | D(avid) H(erbert) Lawrence, English poet and novelist, author of the controversial Lady Chatterley's Lover, dies in Vence, near Antibes, France (45). |
| 2 March 1931 | [births and deaths] | Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian politician, president of USSR 1990–91 during the downfall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union, born in Stavropol Kray, Russia. |
| 2–14 March 1938 | USSR [political events] | The former leading communist Nikolai Bukharin and other political leaders are put on trial in the USSR. Bukharin is falsely accused of counterrevolutionary activities and espionage, found guilty, and shot on 14 March. |
| 2 March 1939 | VATICAN [Catholicism] | Following the death of Pope Pius XI on 10 February, Eugenio Pacelli is elected pope and takes the name Pius XII. |
| 2 March 1956 | Morocco, France, Spain [decolonization] | France recognizes the independence of its former colony of Morocco, and Spain grants recognition on 7 April. |
| 2 March 1962 | Burma [revolution] | A military coup in Burma (now Myanmar), led by General Ne Win, overthrows the government of Prime Minister U Nu. |
| 2–15 March 1969 | China, USSR [wars] | Soviet and Chinese forces clash on the Manchurian border, initiating an intensified period of violence along the disputed frontier. |
| 2 March 1969 | UK, France [aircraft] | The prototype of the French–British supersonic airliner Concorde makes its first test flight. Its first supersonic flight takes place on 1 October. |
| 2 March 1986 | Australia [political events] | Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain and Northern Ireland signs the Australia Bill in Canberra, severing Australia's last constitutional ties with Britain. |
| 2 March 2003 | New Zealand [sailing] | Sailing's prestigious America's Cup is won by a European nation for the first time, as the Swiss-owned boat, Team Alinghi, secures the trophy with the completion of a 5–0 victory over the holders, Team New Zealand, in Auckland. |
