What happened on May 2? There are more than 286 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About May 2
May 2 is the 123rd day of the year 2024. There are 243 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday. This day falls under the 18th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Willard, Kentucky 41181 sunrise occured at 06:31 AM and sunset occured at 08:25 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Taurus. The modern birthstone for this month is Emerald while the mystical birthstone is Sapphire.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 272 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For May 2
- 1194King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
- 1230William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
- 1335Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
- 1536Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
- 1559John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the beginning Scottish Reformation.
- 1568Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
- 1611King James Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
- 1670King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
- 1672John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
- 1757End of Konbaung-Hanthawaddy War, and end of Burmese Civil War (1740–1757)
- 1808Outbreak of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorializes this event in his painting The Second of May 1808.
- 1816Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Charlotte Augusta.
- 1829After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of the HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
- 1863American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia eight days later.
- 1866Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
- 1876The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria.
- 1879The Spanish Socialist Worker‘s Party is founded in Casa Labra Pub (city of Madrid) by the historical Spanish workers’leader Pablo Iglesias.
- 1885Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
- 1885Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
- 1885The Congo Free State is established by King Léopold II of Belgium.
- 1889Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs a treaty of amity with Italy, which gives Italy control over Eritrea.
- 1906Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
- 1918General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
- 1920The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- 1932Comedian Jack Benny’s radio show airs for the first time.
- 1933Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.
- 1941Following the coup d'état against Iraq Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom launches the Anglo-Iraqi War to restore him to power.
- 1945World War II: Fall of Berlin: The Soviet Union announces the capture of Berlin and Soviet soldiers hoist their red flag over the Reichstag building.
- 1945World War II: Italian Campaign – General Heinrich von Vietinghoff signs the official instrument of surrender of all Wehrmacht forces in Italy.
- 1945World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1000 dead inmates, most starved to death.
- 1946The “Battle of Alcatraz” takes place, killing two guards and three inmates.
- 1952The world’s first ever jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1 makes its maiden flight, from London to Johannesburg.
- 1955Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
- 1963Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
- 1964First ascent of Shishapangma the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
- 1964Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the USS Card while docked at Saigon. Viet Cong forces are suspected of placing a bomb on the ship.
- 1969The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
- 1972In the early morning hours a fire broke out at the Sunshine mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, ID, killing 91 workers.
- 1982Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
- 1989Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
- 1994In a bus disaster in Poland, 32 people die.
- 1995During the Croatian War of Independence, Serb forces fire cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing 7 and wounding over 175 civilians.
- 1998The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union’s monetary policy.
- 1999Panamanian election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
- 2000President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
- 2002Marad massacre of eight Hindus near Palakkad in Kerala.
- 2004Yelwa massacre of more than 630 nomad Muslims by Christians in Nigeria.
- 2008Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
- 2008Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Myanmar killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
- 2011Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI’s most wanted man is killed by the United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
- 2011The 2011 E. coli O104:H4 outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others sick from the bacteria outbreak.
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Who Were Born On May 2?
- 1360Yongle Emperor, of China (d. 1424)
- 1451René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
- 1458Leonor of Viseu, queen of Portugal (d. 1525)
- 1551William Camden, English historian (d. 1623)
- 1601Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (d. 1680)
- 1660Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
- 1695Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-born architect (d. 1766)
- 1702Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian (d. 1782)
- 1729Catherine II of Russia, Empress of Russia (d. 1796)
- 1737William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
- 1740Elias Boudinot, President of the American Continental Congress (d. 1821)
- 1750John André, British Army officer of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1780)
- 1772Novalis, German writer (d. 1801)
- 1773Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher (d. 1845)
- 1802Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
- 1806Catherine Labouré, French visionary and saint (d. 1876)
- 1808Emma Wedgwood, English naturalist, wife of Charles Darwin, (d. 1896)
- 1810Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (d. 1874)
- 1828Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist (d. 1915)
- 1843Elijah McCoy, Canadian-born Inventor (d. 1929)
- 1859Jerome Klapka Jerome, English writer (d. 1927)
- 1860Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist/Zionist (d. 1904)
- 1865Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
- 1867Giuseppe Morello, Sicilian-American gangster (d. 1930)
- 1873Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1944)
- 1879James F. Byrnes, American statesman, and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1972)
- 1881Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)
- 1885Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
- 1886Gottfried Benn, German author (d. 1956)
- 1887Eddie Collins, American baseball player (d. 1951)
- 1887Vernon Castle, English dancer (d. 1918)
- 1889Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian education pioneer and national hero (d. 1959)
- 1890E. E. Smith, American writer (d. 1965)
- 1892Manfred von Richthofen, German World War I pilot – the Red Baron (d. 1918)
- 1894Joseph Henry Woodger, British theoretical biologist (d. 1981)
- 1895Lorenz Hart, American lyricist (d. 1943)
- 1896Helen of Greece and Denmark, queen of Romania (d. 1982)
- 1897J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
- 1898Henry Hall, British bandleader (d. 1989)
- 1903Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author (d. 1998)
- 1906Aileen Riggin, American swimmer (d. 2002)
- 1906Philippe Halsman, American photographer (d. 1979)
- 1907Pinky Lee, American vaudeville performer (d. 1993)
- 1910Alexander Bonnyman, U.S. Marine (d. 1943)
- 1912Axel Cäsar Springer, German publisher (d. 1985)
- 1913Nigel Patrick, English actor (d. 1981)
- 1915Doris Fisher, American songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1915Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
- 1917Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder
- 1917Van Tien Dung, Vietnamese general and politician (d. 2002)
- 1920Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (d. 2004)
- 1920Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist (d. 2000)
- 1921Satyajit Ray, Indian director (d. 1992)
- 1922A.M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born newspaper editor (d. 2006)
- 1922Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
- 1924Jamal Abro, Sindhi writer (d. 2004)
- 1924Theodore Bikel, Austrian-born actor and singer
- 1925John Neville, English theatre and film actor (d. 2011)
- 1925Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1926Gérard D. Lévesque, Quebec politician (d. 1993)
- 1927Ray Barrett, Australian actor (d. 2009)
- 1928Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, third king of Bhutan (d. 1972)
- 1929Édouard Balladur, French Prime Minister
- 1929Link Wray, American guitarist (d. 2005)
- 1930Marco Pannella, Italian politician and activist
- 1931Phil Bruns, American actor
- 1932Maury Allen, American sportswriter
- 1935King Faisal II of Iraq (d. 1958)
- 1935Lance LeGault, American actor
- 1935Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1936Engelbert Humperdinck, Indian-born singer
- 1936Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
- 1937Lorenzo Music, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1938Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
- 1939Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist
- 1941Clay Carroll, American baseball player
- 1941Tony Adamowicz, American racing driver
- 1942Jacques Rogge, Belgian International Olympic Committee president
- 1945Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan socialite
- 1945Gene Deckerhoff, American sports announcer
- 1945Judge Dread, English musician (d. 1998)
- 1945Sarah Weddington, American attorney
- 1946David Suchet, English actor
- 1946Lesley Gore, American singer
- 1948Larry Gatlin, American musician
- 1949Alan Titchmarsh, English television presenter
- 1950Duncan Gay, Australian politician
- 1950Lou Gramm, American vocalist (Foreigner)
- 1952Christine Baranski, American actress
- 1952Mari Natsuki, Japanese singer, dancer and actress
- 1953Valery Gergiev, Russian-born conductor
- 1954Angela Bofill, American singer songwriter
- 1954Roberta Pedon, American glamour model (d. 1982)
- 1954Stephen Venables, British mountaineer
- 1955Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
- 1956Amir Mokri, Iranian-born American cinematographer
- 1956David Rhodes, English guitarist
- 1957Michael Coyle, American Composer
- 1958David O'Leary, Irish football manager and player
- 1959Alan Best, Canadian animation director and producer
- 1959Tony Wakeford, English musician (Sol Invictus)
- 1961Phil Vickery, English celebrity chef
- 1961Stephen Daldry, English film director
- 1961Steve James, English snooker player
- 1962Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
- 1962Jimmy White, English snooker player
- 1962Mitzi Kapture, American actress
- 1962Ray Traylor, American wrestler (d. 2004)
- 1965Félix José, Dominican baseball player
- 1966Belinda Stronach, Canadian politician
- 1967Bengt Åkerblom, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1995)
- 1967Mika Brzezinski, American journalist
- 1968Hikaru Midorikawa, Japanese voice actor
- 1968Jeff Agoos, American footballer
- 1968Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer and actress
- 1969Brian Lara, Trinidadian West Indies cricketer
- 1971Musashimaru Kōyō, American Samoan sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna
- 1972Dwayne Johnson, American professional wrestler and actor
- 1972Pandora Boxx, American drag queen and reality TV personality
- 1972Paul Adcock, English footballer
- 1973Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German film director and screenwriter
- 1974Andy Johnson, Welsh footballer
- 1974Garðar Thór Cortes, Icelandic tenor
- 1974Horacio Carbonari, Argentine footballer
- 1974Matt Berry, English actor
- 1975David Beckham, English footballer
- 1975Eva Santolaria, Spanish actress
- 1977Brian Cardinal, American basketball player
- 1977Fredrik Malm, Swedish politician
- 1977Jenna von Oy, American actress
- 1977Luke Hudson, American baseball player
- 1978Intars Busulis, Latvian singer, trombone player
- 1978Melvin Ely, American basketball player
- 1978Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978Steve Bays, Canadian musician
- 1979Ioannis Kanotidis, Greek footballer
- 1979Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
- 1980Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
- 1980Tim Borowski, German footballer
- 1980Troy Murphy, American basketball player
- 1980Zat Knight, English footballer
- 1981Chris Kirkland, English footballer
- 1981Matt Murray, English footballer
- 1981Robert Buckley, American actor
- 1981Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
- 1982Johan Botha, South African cricketer
- 1982Lorie, French singer
- 1983Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer
- 1983Christa Rigozzi, Swiss model
- 1983Daniel Sordo, Spanish rally driver
- 1984Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
- 1984Thabo Sefolosha, American basketball player
- 1985Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player
- 1985David Nugent, English footballer
- 1985Jarrod Saltalamacchia, American baseball player
- 1985Kyle Busch, American racing driver
- 1985Lily Allen, English singer and songwriter
- 1985Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
- 1986Emily Hart, American actress
- 1986James Kirk, Canadian actor
- 1987Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
- 1988Lara Liang, Taiwanese-American Singer
- 1988Neftali Feliz, Dominican baseball player
- 1989Jeanette Pohlen, American basketball player for the Indiana Fever
- 1990Kay Panabaker, American actress
- 1990Paul George, American basketball player
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Who Died On May 2?
- 373Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria (b. 298)
- 756Emperor Shōmu, Emperor of Japan (b. 701)
- 907Boris I of Bulgaria
- 1219Leo I, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
- 1230William de Braose, Norman-English nobleman (b. 1197)
- 1300Blanche of Artois, regent of Navarre (b. 1248)
- 1450William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English military leader (b. 1396)
- 1519Leonardo da Vinci, Italian inventor and painter (b. 1452)
- 1564Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian humanist (b. 1500)
- 1627Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer (b. 1560)
- 1667George Wither, English writer (b. 1588)
- 1683Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and scientist (b. 1613)
- 1711Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English statesman (b. 1641)
- 1802Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch statesman (b. 1762)
- 1810Rev. Dr. Henry Jerome de Salis, divine (b. 1740)
- 1819Mary Moser, English painter (b. 1744)
- 1857Alfred de Musset, French writer (b. 1810)
- 1864Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (b. 1791)
- 1880Eberhard Anheuser, German soap and candle maker and father-in-law of Adolphus Busch, founder of the Anheuser-Busch Company (b. 1805)
- 1927Ernest Starling, British physiologist (b. 1866)
- 1945Joe Corbett, American baseball player (b. 1875)
- 1945Ludwig Stumpfegger, German SS doctor (b. 1910)
- 1945Martin Bormann, Nazi official (b. 1900)
- 1947Dorothea Binz, Nazi war criminal (b. 1920)
- 1957Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator (b. 1908)
- 1960Caryl Chessman, American robber and rapist (b. 1921)
- 1964Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-born politician (b. 1879)
- 1969Franz von Papen, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
- 1972J. Edgar Hoover, American director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
- 1979Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1980Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
- 1980George Pal, Hungarian-born film director (b. 1908)
- 1983Norm Van Brocklin, American football star (b. 1926)
- 1984Jack Barry, television game show producer and host (b. 1918)
- 1985Attilio Bettega, Italian rallydriver (b. 1951)
- 1985Larry Clinton, American trumpeter and bandleader (b. 1909)
- 1986Henri Toivonen, Finnish rallydriver (b. 1956)
- 1986Sergio Cresto, American rally co-driver (b. 1956)
- 1989Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic Cardinal (b. 1906)
- 1989Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (b. 1902)
- 1990David Rappaport, English actor (b. 1951)
- 1991Ronald McKie, Australian author (b. 1909)
- 1992Wilbur Mills, American politician (b. 1909)
- 1995Sir Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
- 1997John Carew Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
- 1997Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator (b. 1921)
- 1998Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1998Hideto “hide” Matsumoto, Japanese musician (b. 1964)
- 1998Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
- 1998Kevin Lloyd, British actor (b. 1949)
- 1999Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
- 2001Gina Mastrogiacomo, American actress (b. 1961)
- 2001Ted Rogers, British comedian (b. 1935)
- 2002John Nathan-Turner, English television producer (b. 1947)
- 2002W. T. Tutte, English-born codebreaker (b. 1917)
- 2005Kenneth B. Clark, American psychologist (b. 1914)
- 2005Wee Kim Wee, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
- 2006Louis Rukeyser, American columnist (b. 1933)
- 2007Brad McGann, New Zealand film director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
- 2008Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
- 2009Jack Kemp, American politician, former American football player (b. 1935)
- 2009Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese musician (b. 1951)
- 2010Kama Chinen, Japanese citizen and world’s oldest living person (b. 1895)
- 2010Lynn Redgrave, British actress (b. 1943)
- 2010Moshe Hirsch, Jerusalem based anti-Zionist Neturei Karta rabbi (b. 1923)
- 2011Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda and ‘the most wanted man in the world’(b. 1957)
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