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 In HistoryMay 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 Dayton, Ohio 45431 sunrise will occur at 06:33 AM and sunset will occur at 08:33 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).

Birthday curiousity Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the March 30 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)

Historical Events For May 2

  • 1194
    King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
  • 1230
    William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
  • 1335
    Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
  • 1536
    Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
  • 1559
    John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the beginning Scottish Reformation.
  • 1568
    Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
  • 1611
    King James Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
  • 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.
  • 1757
    End of Konbaung-Hanthawaddy War, and end of Burmese Civil War (1740–1757)
  • 1808
    Outbreak 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.
  • 1816
    Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Charlotte Augusta.
  • 1829
    After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of the HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
  • 1863
    American 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.
  • 1866
    Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
  • 1876
    The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria.
  • 1879
    The Spanish Socialist Worker‘s Party is founded in Casa Labra Pub (city of Madrid) by the historical Spanish workers’leader Pablo Iglesias.
  • 1885
    Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
  • 1885
    Cree and Assiniboine warriors win 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 Léopold II of Belgium.
  • 1889
    Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs a treaty of amity with Italy, which gives Italy control over Eritrea.
  • 1906
    Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
  • 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.
  • 1932
    Comedian Jack Benny’s radio show airs for the first time.
  • 1933
    Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.
  • 1941
    Following 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.
  • 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.
  • 1945
    World War II: Italian Campaign – General Heinrich von Vietinghoff signs the official instrument of surrender of all Wehrmacht forces in Italy.
  • 1945
    World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1000 dead inmates, most starved to death.
  • 1946
    The “Battle of Alcatraz” takes place, killing two guards and three inmates.
  • 1952
    The world’s first ever jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1 makes its maiden flight, from London to Johannesburg.
  • 1955
    Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
  • 1963
    Berthold 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.
  • 1964
    First ascent of Shishapangma the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
  • 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
    In the early morning hours a fire broke out at the Sunshine mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, ID, killing 91 workers.
  • 1982
    Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
  • 1989
    Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
  • 1994
    In a bus disaster in Poland, 32 people die.
  • 1995
    During the Croatian War of Independence, Serb forces fire cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing 7 and wounding over 175 civilians.
  • 1998
    The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union’s monetary policy.
  • 1999
    Panamanian election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
  • 2000
    President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
  • 2002
    Marad massacre of eight Hindus near Palakkad in Kerala.
  • 2004
    Yelwa massacre of more than 630 nomad Muslims by Christians in Nigeria.
  • 2008
    Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
  • 2008
    Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Myanmar killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
  • 2011
    Osama 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.
  • 2011
    The 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.

Who Were Born On May 2?

  • 1360
    Yongle Emperor, of China (d. 1424)
  • 1451
    René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
  • 1458
    Leonor of Viseu, queen of Portugal (d. 1525)
  • 1551
    William Camden, English historian (d. 1623)
  • 1601
    Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (d. 1680)
  • 1660
    Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
  • 1695
    Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-born architect (d. 1766)
  • 1702
    Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian (d. 1782)
  • 1729
    Catherine II of Russia, Empress of Russia (d. 1796)
  • 1737
    William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
  • 1740
    Elias Boudinot, President of the American Continental Congress (d. 1821)
  • 1750
    John André, British Army officer of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1780)
  • 1772
    Novalis, German writer (d. 1801)
  • 1773
    Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher (d. 1845)
  • 1802
    Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
  • 1806
    Catherine Labouré, French visionary and saint (d. 1876)
  • 1808
    Emma Wedgwood, English naturalist, wife of Charles Darwin, (d. 1896)
  • 1810
    Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (d. 1874)
  • 1828
    Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist (d. 1915)
  • 1843
    Elijah McCoy, Canadian-born Inventor (d. 1929)
  • 1859
    Jerome Klapka Jerome, English writer (d. 1927)
  • 1860
    Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist/Zionist (d. 1904)
  • 1865
    Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
  • 1867
    Giuseppe Morello, Sicilian-American gangster (d. 1930)
  • 1873
    Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1944)
  • 1879
    James F. Byrnes, American statesman, and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1972)
  • 1881
    Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)
  • 1885
    Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
  • 1886
    Gottfried Benn, German author (d. 1956)
  • 1887
    Eddie Collins, American baseball player (d. 1951)
  • 1887
    Vernon Castle, English dancer (d. 1918)
  • 1889
    Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian education pioneer and national hero (d. 1959)
  • 1890
    E. E. Smith, American writer (d. 1965)
  • 1892
    Manfred von Richthofen, German World War I pilot – the Red Baron (d. 1918)
  • 1894
    Joseph Henry Woodger, British theoretical biologist (d. 1981)
  • 1895
    Lorenz Hart, American lyricist (d. 1943)
  • 1896
    Helen of Greece and Denmark, queen of Romania (d. 1982)
  • 1897
    J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
  • 1898
    Henry Hall, British bandleader (d. 1989)
  • 1903
    Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author (d. 1998)
  • 1906
    Aileen Riggin, American swimmer (d. 2002)
  • 1906
    Philippe Halsman, American photographer (d. 1979)
  • 1907
    Pinky Lee, American vaudeville performer (d. 1993)
  • 1910
    Alexander Bonnyman, U.S. Marine (d. 1943)
  • 1912
    Axel Cäsar Springer, German publisher (d. 1985)
  • 1913
    Nigel Patrick, English actor (d. 1981)
  • 1915
    Doris Fisher, American songwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1915
    Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
  • 1917
    Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder
  • 1917
    Van Tien Dung, Vietnamese general and politician (d. 2002)
  • 1920
    Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (d. 2004)
  • 1920
    Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist (d. 2000)
  • 1921
    Satyajit Ray, Indian director (d. 1992)
  • 1922
    A.M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born newspaper editor (d. 2006)
  • 1922
    Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
  • 1924
    Jamal Abro, Sindhi writer (d. 2004)
  • 1924
    Theodore Bikel, Austrian-born actor and singer
  • 1925
    John Neville, English theatre and film actor (d. 2011)
  • 1925
    Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor (d. 2007)
  • 1926
    Gérard D. Lévesque, Quebec politician (d. 1993)
  • 1927
    Ray Barrett, Australian actor (d. 2009)
  • 1928
    Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, third king of Bhutan (d. 1972)
  • 1929
    Édouard Balladur, French Prime Minister
  • 1929
    Link Wray, American guitarist (d. 2005)
  • 1930
    Marco Pannella, Italian politician and activist
  • 1931
    Phil Bruns, American actor
  • 1932
    Maury Allen, American sportswriter
  • 1935
    King Faisal II of Iraq (d. 1958)
  • 1935
    Lance LeGault, American actor
  • 1935
    Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1936
    Engelbert Humperdinck, Indian-born singer
  • 1936
    Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
  • 1937
    Lorenzo Music, American actor (d. 2001)
  • 1938
    Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
  • 1939
    Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist
  • 1941
    Clay Carroll, American baseball player
  • 1941
    Tony Adamowicz, American racing driver
  • 1942
    Jacques Rogge, Belgian International Olympic Committee president
  • 1945
    Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan socialite
  • 1945
    Gene Deckerhoff, American sports announcer
  • 1945
    Judge Dread, English musician (d. 1998)
  • 1945
    Sarah Weddington, American attorney
  • 1946
    David Suchet, English actor
  • 1946
    Lesley Gore, American singer
  • 1948
    Larry Gatlin, American musician
  • 1949
    Alan Titchmarsh, English television presenter
  • 1950
    Duncan Gay, Australian politician
  • 1950
    Lou Gramm, American vocalist (Foreigner)
  • 1952
    Christine Baranski, American actress
  • 1952
    Mari Natsuki, Japanese singer, dancer and actress
  • 1953
    Valery Gergiev, Russian-born conductor
  • 1954
    Angela Bofill, American singer songwriter
  • 1954
    Roberta Pedon, American glamour model (d. 1982)
  • 1954
    Stephen Venables, British mountaineer
  • 1955
    Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
  • 1956
    Amir Mokri, Iranian-born American cinematographer
  • 1956
    David Rhodes, English guitarist
  • 1957
    Michael Coyle, American Composer
  • 1958
    David O'Leary, Irish football manager and player
  • 1959
    Alan Best, Canadian animation director and producer
  • 1959
    Tony Wakeford, English musician (Sol Invictus)
  • 1961
    Phil Vickery, English celebrity chef
  • 1961
    Stephen Daldry, English film director
  • 1961
    Steve James, English snooker player
  • 1962
    Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
  • 1962
    Jimmy White, English snooker player
  • 1962
    Mitzi Kapture, American actress
  • 1962
    Ray Traylor, American wrestler (d. 2004)
  • 1965
    Félix José, Dominican baseball player
  • 1966
    Belinda Stronach, Canadian politician
  • 1967
    Bengt Åkerblom, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1995)
  • 1967
    Mika Brzezinski, American journalist
  • 1968
    Hikaru Midorikawa, Japanese voice actor
  • 1968
    Jeff Agoos, American footballer
  • 1968
    Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer and actress
  • 1969
    Brian Lara, Trinidadian West Indies cricketer
  • 1971
    Musashimaru Kōyō, American Samoan sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna
  • 1972
    Dwayne Johnson, American professional wrestler and actor
  • 1972
    Pandora Boxx, American drag queen and reality TV personality
  • 1972
    Paul Adcock, English footballer
  • 1973
    Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German film director and screenwriter
  • 1974
    Andy Johnson, Welsh footballer
  • 1974
    Garðar Thór Cortes, Icelandic tenor
  • 1974
    Horacio Carbonari, Argentine footballer
  • 1974
    Matt Berry, English actor
  • 1975
    David Beckham, English footballer
  • 1975
    Eva Santolaria, Spanish actress
  • 1977
    Brian Cardinal, American basketball player
  • 1977
    Fredrik Malm, Swedish politician
  • 1977
    Jenna von Oy, American actress
  • 1977
    Luke Hudson, American baseball player
  • 1978
    Intars Busulis, Latvian singer, trombone player
  • 1978
    Melvin Ely, American basketball player
  • 1978
    Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978
    Steve Bays, Canadian musician
  • 1979
    Ioannis Kanotidis, Greek footballer
  • 1979
    Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979
    Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
  • 1980
    Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980
    Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
  • 1980
    Tim Borowski, German footballer
  • 1980
    Troy Murphy, American basketball player
  • 1980
    Zat Knight, English footballer
  • 1981
    Chris Kirkland, English footballer
  • 1981
    Matt Murray, English footballer
  • 1981
    Robert Buckley, American actor
  • 1981
    Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
  • 1982
    Johan Botha, South African cricketer
  • 1982
    Lorie, French singer
  • 1983
    Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer
  • 1983
    Christa Rigozzi, Swiss model
  • 1983
    Daniel Sordo, Spanish rally driver
  • 1984
    Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
  • 1984
    Thabo Sefolosha, American basketball player
  • 1985
    Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player
  • 1985
    David Nugent, English footballer
  • 1985
    Jarrod Saltalamacchia, American baseball player
  • 1985
    Kyle Busch, American racing driver
  • 1985
    Lily Allen, English singer and songwriter
  • 1985
    Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
  • 1986
    Emily Hart, American actress
  • 1986
    James Kirk, Canadian actor
  • 1987
    Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987
    Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
  • 1988
    Lara Liang, Taiwanese-American Singer
  • 1988
    Neftali Feliz, Dominican baseball player
  • 1989
    Jeanette Pohlen, American basketball player for the Indiana Fever
  • 1990
    Kay Panabaker, American actress
  • 1990
    Paul George, American basketball player

Who Died On May 2?

  • 373
    Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria (b. 298)
  • 756
    Emperor Shōmu, Emperor of Japan (b. 701)
  • 907
    Boris I of Bulgaria
  • 1219
    Leo I, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
  • 1230
    William de Braose, Norman-English nobleman (b. 1197)
  • 1300
    Blanche of Artois, regent of Navarre (b. 1248)
  • 1450
    William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English military leader (b. 1396)
  • 1519
    Leonardo da Vinci, Italian inventor and painter (b. 1452)
  • 1564
    Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian humanist (b. 1500)
  • 1627
    Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer (b. 1560)
  • 1667
    George Wither, English writer (b. 1588)
  • 1683
    Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and scientist (b. 1613)
  • 1711
    Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English statesman (b. 1641)
  • 1802
    Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch statesman (b. 1762)
  • 1810
    Rev. Dr. Henry Jerome de Salis, divine (b. 1740)
  • 1819
    Mary Moser, English painter (b. 1744)
  • 1857
    Alfred de Musset, French writer (b. 1810)
  • 1864
    Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (b. 1791)
  • 1880
    Eberhard Anheuser, German soap and candle maker and father-in-law of Adolphus Busch, founder of the Anheuser-Busch Company (b. 1805)
  • 1927
    Ernest Starling, British physiologist (b. 1866)
  • 1945
    Joe Corbett, American baseball player (b. 1875)
  • 1945
    Ludwig Stumpfegger, German SS doctor (b. 1910)
  • 1945
    Martin Bormann, Nazi official (b. 1900)
  • 1947
    Dorothea Binz, Nazi war criminal (b. 1920)
  • 1957
    Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator (b. 1908)
  • 1960
    Caryl Chessman, American robber and rapist (b. 1921)
  • 1964
    Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-born politician (b. 1879)
  • 1969
    Franz von Papen, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
  • 1972
    J. Edgar Hoover, American director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
  • 1979
    Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
  • 1980
    Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
  • 1980
    George Pal, Hungarian-born film director (b. 1908)
  • 1983
    Norm Van Brocklin, American football star (b. 1926)
  • 1984
    Jack Barry, television game show producer and host (b. 1918)
  • 1985
    Attilio Bettega, Italian rallydriver (b. 1951)
  • 1985
    Larry Clinton, American trumpeter and bandleader (b. 1909)
  • 1986
    Henri Toivonen, Finnish rallydriver (b. 1956)
  • 1986
    Sergio Cresto, American rally co-driver (b. 1956)
  • 1989
    Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic Cardinal (b. 1906)
  • 1989
    Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (b. 1902)
  • 1990
    David Rappaport, English actor (b. 1951)
  • 1991
    Ronald McKie, Australian author (b. 1909)
  • 1992
    Wilbur Mills, American politician (b. 1909)
  • 1995
    Sir Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
  • 1997
    John Carew Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
  • 1997
    Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator (b. 1921)
  • 1998
    Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
  • 1998
    Hideto “hide” Matsumoto, Japanese musician (b. 1964)
  • 1998
    Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
  • 1998
    Kevin Lloyd, British actor (b. 1949)
  • 1999
    Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
  • 2001
    Gina Mastrogiacomo, American actress (b. 1961)
  • 2001
    Ted Rogers, British comedian (b. 1935)
  • 2002
    John Nathan-Turner, English television producer (b. 1947)
  • 2002
    W. T. Tutte, English-born codebreaker (b. 1917)
  • 2005
    Kenneth B. Clark, American psychologist (b. 1914)
  • 2005
    Wee Kim Wee, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
  • 2006
    Louis Rukeyser, American columnist (b. 1933)
  • 2007
    Brad McGann, New Zealand film director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
  • 2008
    Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
  • 2009
    Jack Kemp, American politician, former American football player (b. 1935)
  • 2009
    Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese musician (b. 1951)
  • 2010
    Kama Chinen, Japanese citizen and world’s oldest living person (b. 1895)
  • 2010
    Lynn Redgrave, British actress (b. 1943)
  • 2010
    Moshe Hirsch, Jerusalem based anti-Zionist Neturei Karta rabbi (b. 1923)
  • 2011
    Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda and ‘the most wanted man in the world’(b. 1957)

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