July 2

• 

  1613: Mathematician, astronomer, and theologian Bartholomaeus Pitiscus dies. Pitiscus coined the word "trigonometry".

• 

  1698: Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine. Savery's patent will force Thomas Newcomen into partnership with him.

• 

  1778: Philosopher and author Jean-Jacques Rousseau dies. His political philosophy influenced the Enlightenment in France and across Europe.

• 

  1850: Stokes' theorem appeared for the first time as a postscript to a letter from Sir William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) to Stokes. By the time Stokes died, the theorem was universally known as "Stokes' theorem."

• 

  1897: British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London.

• 

  1937: Pilot and author Amelia Earhart disappears. She set many records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.