May 2
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May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). There are 243 days remaining.
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Events
- 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
- 1335 - Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
- 1568 - Mary I of Scotland escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
- 1670 - King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
- 1672 - John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
- 1808 - Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation.
- 1816 - Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Charlotte Augusta are wed.
- 1829 - After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
- 1885 - Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
- 1885 - Cree and Assiniboine warriors won the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
- 1885 - The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium.
- 1889 - Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs a treaty of amity with Italy, which gives Ethiopia control over Eritrea.
- 1900 - Oscar II, King of Sweden, declares support for Britain at the time of the Boer War.
- 1918 - General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
- 1920 - The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.
- 1932 - Comedian Jack Benny's radio show airs for the first time.
- 1933 - The first modern sighting of the Loch Ness monster is reported.
- 1933 - Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.
- 1939 - Lou Gehrig's streak of 2130 consecutive Major League Baseball games played comes to an end. The record will stand for 56 years before Cal Ripken, Jr. breaks it.
- 1945 - World War II: Fall of Berlin – The Soviet Union announces the capture of Berlin and Soviet soldiers hoist their red flag over the Reichstag building. German forces surrender in Italy.
- 1945 - The last postage stamp utilized by Manzhouguo is issued.
- 1953 - Hussein is crowned King of Jordan.
- 1955 - Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
- 1963 - Berthold Seliger launches near Cuxhaven a rocket with three stages with a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
- 1964 - Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the USS Card while docked at Saigon. Viet Cong forces are suspected of placing a bomb on the ship.
- 1969 - The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
- 1972 - Buddy Baker became the first stock car driver to finish a 500-mile race in less than three hours en route to winning the Winston Select 500 at the Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.
- 1982 - Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
- 1986 - The 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, opens.
- 1988 - The last B-1 Lancer is delivered to the United States by Rockwell International.
- 1997 - The Labour Party's Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, ending 18 years of Conservative Party rule. At 44, he is the youngest prime minister for 185 years.
- 1998 - The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the EU's monetary policy.
- 1999 - Panamanian election: Mireya Moscoso became the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
- 2000 - Bill Clinton announces that GPS access equivalent to the U.S. military would be available for regular citizens.
Births
- 1551 - William Camden, English historian (d. 1623)
- 1601 - Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (d. 1680)
- 1660 - Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
- 1729 - Empress Catherine II of Russia (d. 1796)
- 1740 - Elias Boudinot, American President of the Continental Congress (d. 1821)
- 1772 - Novalis, German writer (d. 1801)
- 1860 - Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist, Zionist leader (d. 1904)
- 1881 - Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)
- 1884 - Elijah McCoy, Canadian-born inventor (d. 1929)
- 1885 - Hedda Hopper, American actress, gossip columnist (d. 1966)
- 1886 - Gottfried Benn, German author (d. 1956)
- 1887 - Vernon Castle, dancer (d. 1918)
- 1887 - Eddie Collins, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1951)
- 1890 - E. E. Smith, American science fiction writer (d. 1965)
- 1892 - Manfred von Richthofen, "The Red Baron" German World War I pilot (d. 1918)
- 1895 - Lorenz Hart, American lyricist (d. 1943)
- 1903 - Dr. Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician, Olympic Games gold medalist in rowing, author (d. 1998)
- 1907 - Pinky Lee, vaudeville performer, children's television host (d. 1993)
- 1912 - Axel Cäsar Springer, publisher (d. 1985)
- 1913 - Nigel Patrick, actor (d. 1981)
- 1915 - Doris Fisher, American singer, songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1920 - Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (d. 2004)
- 1921 - Satyajit Ray, Indian director (d. 1992)
- 1922 - A.M. Rosenthal, Canadian-American newspaper editor
- 1924 - Theodore Bikel, actor, singer
- 1925 - Roscoe Lee Browne, actor
- 1929 - Link Wray, guitarist
- 1935 - King Faisal II of Iraq (d. 1958)
- 1936 - Engelbert Humperdinck, singer
- 1936 - Michael Rabin, American violin virtuoso (d. 1972)
- 1937 - Lorenzo Music, writer, producer (d. 2001)
- 1938 - Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
- 1941 - Stephen J. Cannell, producer
- 1942 - Jacques Rogge, Belgian IOC president
- 1945 - Sarah Weddington, attorney in Roe v. Wade case
- 1945 - Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan political activist
- 1946 - David Suchet, actor
- 1946 - Lesley Gore, singer
- 1948 - Larry Gatlin, American country musician, songwriter
- 1949 - Alan Titchmarsh, gardener, TV presenter, writer
- 1950 - Lou Gramm, American musician (Foreigner)
- 1952 - Christine Baranski, American actress
- 1952 - Campbell McComas, Australian impersonator, broadcaster, chameleon
- 1954 - Angela Bofill, American singer
- 1955 - Donatella Versace, fashion designer
- 1961 - Steve James, English snooker player
- 1962 - Jimmy White, English snooker player
- 1969 - Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1972 - The Rock, professional wrestler and actor
- 1975 - David Beckham, English footballer
- 1985 - Sarah Hughes, figure skating champion
- 1990 - Kay Panabaker, American actress
Deaths
- 373 - Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria (b. 298)
- 1230 - William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny (b. c. 1197)
- 1300 - Blanche of Artois, regent of Navarre, Countess of Lancaster
- 1450 - William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (b. 1396)
- 1519 - Leonardo da Vinci, inventor, painter (b. 1452)
- 1802 - Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch statesman (b. 1762)
- 1819 - Mary Moser, painter (b. 1744)
- 1857 - Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (b. 1810)
- 1864 - Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (b. 1791)
- 1957 - Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator (b. 1908)
- 1964 - Nancy Astor, first woman elected to the British Parliament (b. 1879)
- 1972 - J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI (b. 1895)
- 1980 - George Pál, director, producer (b. 1908)
- 1982 - Hugh Marlowe, American actor
- 1989 - Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, a senior cardinal (b. 1906)
- 1983 - Norm Van Brocklin, American football star
- 1990 - David Rappaport, English actor (b. 1951)
- 1992 - Wilbur Mills, American politician
- 1995 - Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
- 1997 - John Carew Eccles, Nobel Prize winner (b. 1903)
- 1998 - Hideto "hide" Matsumoto, musician (b. 1964)
- 1998 - Gene Raymond, American actor
- 1999 - Oliver Reed, actor (b. 1938)
- 2001 - Ted Rogers, British comedian
- 2002 - John Nathan-Turner, English television producer (b. 1947)
- 2002 - W. T. Tutte, codebreaker and mathematician (b. 1917)
- 2005 - Kenneth B. Clark, Psychologist (b. 1914)
- 2005 - Wee Kim Wee, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
Holidays and observances
- Poland - Flag Day, an official holiday to honour the Flag of Poland
- Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
- Islam - Muhammad's Birthday (2004)
- Bahá'í Faith: Last day of the Festival of Ridván
- Madrid Region - Day of the Region.
- College Board's Advanced Placement Program Testing Begins
External links
- BBC: On This Day (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/2)
- Today in History: May 2 (http://www.tnl.net/when/5/2)
May 1 - May 3 - April 2 - June 2 – listing of all days
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