May 2

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)
• 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
• 1937 – Lorenzo Music, writer, producer (d. 2001)
• 1941 – Stephen J. Cannell, producer
• 1942 – Jacques Rogge, Belgian IOC president
• 1945 – Sarah Weddington, attorney in Roe v. Wade case
• 1946 – David Suchet, actor
• 1946 – Lesley Gore, singer
• 1949 – Alan Titchmarsh, gardener, TV presenter, writer
• 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
• -Justin Ocello (Brockport High)soccer

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)
• 1989 – Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, a senior cardinal (b. 1906)
• 1983 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football star
• 1990 – David Rappaport, English actor (b. 1951)
• 1995 – Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
• 1997 – John Carew Eccles, Nobel Prize winner (b. 1903)
• 1998 – Hideto "hide" Matsumoto, musician (b. 1964)
• 1999 – Oliver Reed, actor (b. 1938)
• 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)

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:
  • Athanasius
  • Waldebert or Gaubert
  • Saints Exuperius and Zoe
  • Saint Mafalda
• 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

May 1 – May 3 – April 2 – June 2 – listing of all days