2 April in World History

Today the world celebrates International Children's Book Day. The date was chosen in honour of the universally beloved Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, who was born on 2 April 1805.

On 2 April 1902, the first cinema in the United States was opened in Los Angeles. At the time it was called the Electric Theatre.

On 2 April 1725, the Italian adventurer and author Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt was born into a family of Venetian actors. He studied at the University of Padua and wished to become a clergyman, but was prevented from doing so due to scandalous love affairs. He wrote plays, poetry and pamphlets; his most famous work is the autobiography "The Story of My Life."