Happy Birthday October 2

Richard III of England was born on October 2, 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle, the twelfth of thirteen children of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville.  Young Richard was a sickly, stunted baby. He was bought up at Fotheringhay Castle and saw his parents only rarely. He grew up pious and cultured and received instruction in Chivalry, Etiquette, Law, Latin, Mathematics, Music and Religion. Richard III reigned from 1483 until 1485, as the last king from the House of Plantagenet.

Late 16th-century portrait of Richard III

Born in a remote country town on October 2, 1755, Hannah Adams lived at a time when a learned woman in New England was a rarity. One day she was encouraged by a boarder in her family home to research comparative religions. The results of her research An Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects was published in 1784. It was well received and the emolument she derived from this enabled Adams to become the first American woman to support herself by writing.

Mohandas Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, a town  near Mumbai on India's North West coast. His mother, Putlibai, gave birth to him in a dark, windowless ground-floor room of the Gandhi family residence. Mohandas' family was descendants of traders (the word "Gandhi" means grocer).

For more October 2nd anniversaries, including the marriage of English artist John Constable to Maria Bicknell, the transmission of the first television picture and the publication of the first Peanuts comic strip, check out OnThatDay.