1. In 1792, the Tennessee General Assembly created the town of Knoxville. At the time, Knoxville was the capital of the Southwest Territory, which was set up by the federal government to govern the area that would become Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi.

2. The Battle of Shiloh, one of the deadliest battles of the American Civil War, began on April 2, 1862. The battle took place near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, and lasted for two days. Approximately 23,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured during the battle.

3. The Great Train Robbery, a notorious 1901 heist that occurred near Memphis, Tennessee, took place on April 2. A group of robbers, led by Jesse James's former partner George "Bitter Creek" Newcomb, stole $65,000 in cash and bonds from a train traveling from Montgomery, Alabama, to Memphis.

4. On April 2, 1928, construction began on the world-famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Originally built as a church, the Ryman would later become the home of the Grand Ole Opry and a legendary music venue that has hosted countless famous performers over the years.

5. On April 2, 1968, just days after the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., sanitation workers in Memphis went on strike to protest low pay and poor working conditions. The strike, which lasted for over two months, drew national attention and led to King's famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, which he delivered in Memphis the day before he was assassinated.