Bologna train station bombing of 1980 recalled on August 2

August 2 is marked by a series of historic events. In 1980 a bomb exploded in the waiting hall of Bologna Centrale railway station, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200. The date also commemorates the night of August 2‑3, 1944, when Nazi forces liquidated the Rom and Sinti prisoners at Auschwitz‑Birkenau, resulting in thousands of deaths. Other notable occurrences on this day include Adolf Hitler assuming the title of Führer in 1934, the birth of Israeli statesman Shimon Peres (1923) and American writer James Baldwin (1924), and the death of Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921.

These reminders are often featured in almanacs and cultural calendars that list births, deaths and significant historical milestones for each day of the year.