May 2

Events

Pre-1600

* 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
*1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
* 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 nascent Scottish Reformation.
*1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.

1601–1900

* 1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
* 1625 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.
* 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.
* 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''.
*1812 – The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory after Mexican rebels under José María Morelos y Pavón abandon the city after 72 days under siege by royalist Spanish troops under Félix María Calleja.
* 1829 – After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of , 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 the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
* 1876 – The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.
*1885 – Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
* 1889 – Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.

1901–present

* 1906 – Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
*1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.
*1933 – Germany's independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.
*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: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.
* 1945 – World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.
* 1945 – World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.
* 1945 – World War II: A death march from Dachau to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all- Nisei 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners.
* 1952 – A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.
* 1963 – Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
* 1964 – Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the American aircraft carrier USNS ''Card'' while it is docked at Saigon. Two Viet Cong combat swimmers had placed explosives on the ship's hull. She is raised and returned to service less than seven months later.
* 1964 – First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
*1969 – The British ocean liner ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
* 1970 – ALM Flight 980 ditches in the Caribbean Sea near Saint Croix, killing 23.
* 1972 – In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.
*1982 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA ''General Belgrano''.
*1986 – Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.
*1989 – Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
*1995 – During the Croatian War of Independence, the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina fires cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing seven 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 general 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.
*2004 – The Yelwa massacre concludes. It began on 4 February 2004 when armed Muslims killed 78 Christians at Yelwa. In response, about 630 Muslims were killed by Christians on May 2nd.
*2008 – Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
* 2008 – Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
*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 – An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others are taken ill.
*2012 – A pastel version of '' The Scream'', by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for $120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for a work of art at auction.
*2014 – Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.

Births

Pre-1600

* 1360 – Yongle Emperor of China (d. 1424)
* 1402 – Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1445)
* 1451 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
* 1458 – Eleanor of Viseu (d. 1525)
* 1476 – Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, Count of Kladsko, Governor of Bohemia and Silesia (d. 1536)
* 1533 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (d. 1596)
*1551 – William Camden, English historian and topographer (d. 1623)
*1567 – Sebald de Weert, Dutch captain, vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (d. 1603)
* 1579 – Tokugawa Hidetada, Japanese shōgun (d. 1632)

1601–1900

*1601 – Athanasius Kircher, German priest and scholar (d. 1680)
*1660 – Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
* 1695 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French painter and architect (d. 1766)
* 1702 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and theosopher (d. 1782)
* 1707 – Jean-Baptiste Barrière, French cellist and composer (d. 1747)
*1729 – Catherine the Great of Russia (d. 1796)
* 1737 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
*1740 – Elias Boudinot, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1821)
*1750 – John André, English soldier and spy (d. 1780)
* 1752 – Ludwig August Lebrun, German oboe player and composer (d. 1790)
*1754 – Vicente Martín y Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1806)
* 1772 – Novalis, German author and poet (d. 1801)
* 1773 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher and poet (d. 1845)
* 1797 – Abraham Pineo Gesner, Canadian physician and geologist (d. 1864)
* 1802 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
*1806 – Catherine Labouré, French nun and saint (d. 1876)
* 1810 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (d. 1874)
* 1813 – Caroline Leigh Gascoigne, English novelist and poet (d. 1883)
*1815 – William Buell Richards, Canadian lawyer and judge, 1st Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1889)
* 1822 – Jane Miller Thengberg, Scottish-Swedish governess and educator (d. 1902)
* 1828 – Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and photographer (d. 1915)
*1830 – Otto Staudinger, German entomologist and author (d. 1900)
*1844 – Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American engineer (d. 1929)
* 1859 – Jerome K. Jerome, English author and playwright (d. 1927)
*1860 – John Scott Haldane, Scottish physiologist, physician, and academic (d. 1936)
* 1860 – Theodor Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Zionist philosopher, journalist and author (d. 1904)
*1865 – Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
* 1867 – Giuseppe Morello, Italian-American mobster (d. 1930)
* 1872 – Ichiyō Higuchi, Japanese writer (d. 1896)
* 1873 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (d. 1944)
*1879 – James F. Byrnes, American stenographer and politician, 49th United States Secretary of State (d. 1972)
* 1880 – Bill Horr, American football player, discus thrower, and coach (d. 1955)
* 1882 – Isabel González, Puerto Rican activist who helped pave the way for Puerto Ricans' American citizenship (d. 1971)
*1885 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
* 1886 – Gottfried Benn, German author and poet (d. 1956)
* 1887 – Vernon Castle, English-American dancer (d. 1918)
* 1887 – Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1951)
* 1889 – Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1959)
*1890 – E. E. Smith, American engineer and author (d. 1965)
* 1892 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (d. 1918)
* 1894 – Norma Talmadge, American actress of the silent era (d. 1957)
* 1894 – Joseph Henry Woodger, English biologist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1981)
* 1895 – Lorenz Hart, American playwright and lyricist (d. 1943)
* 1897 – John Frederick Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
* 1898 – Henry Hall, English bandleader, composer, and actor (d. 1989)

1901–present

* 1901 – Bob Wyatt, English cricketer (d. 1995)
* 1901 – Edouard Zeckendorf, Belgian doctor, army officer and mathematician (d. 1983)
* 1901 – Willi Bredel, German writer (d. 1964)
* 1902 – Brian Aherne, English actor (d. 1986)
* 1902 – Werner Finck, German Kabarett comedian, actor and author (d. 1978)
* 1903 – Benjamin Spock, American rower, pediatrician, and author (d. 1998)
* 1905 – Alan Rawsthorne, British composer (d. 1971)
* 1905 – Charlotte Armstrong, American author (d. 1969)
* 1906 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (d. 1979)
* 1907 – Pinky Lee, American comedian and television host (d. 1993)
* 1908 – Frank Rowlett, American cryptologist (d. 1998)
* 1909 – Teddy Stauffer, Swiss bandleader, musician, and actor (d. 1991)
* 1910 – Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
* 1910 – Edmund Bacon, American urban planner, architect, educator, and author (d. 2005)
*1912 – Axel Springer, German journalist and publisher, founded Axel Springer AG (d. 1985)
* 1912 – Karl Adam, German rowing coach (d. 1976)
* 1912 – Marten Toonder, Dutch comic strip creator (d. 2005)
* 1912 – Nigel Patrick, English actor and director (d. 1981)
* 1913 – Pietro Frua, Italian coachbuilder and car designer (d. 1983)
* 1913 – Aydın Sayılı, Turkish historian and academic (d. 1993)
* 1915 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
* 1915 – Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
* 1917 – Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder (d. ?)
* 1917 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (d. 2002)
*1920 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
* 1920 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (d. 2000)
* 1920 – Vasantrao Deshpande, Indian singer and sitar player (d. 1983)
* 1920 – Guinn Smith, American pole vaulter, soldier, and pilot (d. 2004)
* 1920 – Jacob Gilboa, Israeli composer (d. 2007)
*1921 – B. B. Lal, Indian archaeologist (d. 2022)
* 1921 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
*1922 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (d. 2007)
* 1922 – A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born American journalist and author (d. 2006)
* 1922 – Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
* 1923 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (d. 2008)
* 1923 – Albert Nordengen, Norwegian banker and politician (d. 2004)
*1924 – Jamal Abro, Pakistani lawyer and author (d. 2004)
* 1924 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2015)
* 1924 – Arthur Clues, Australian rugby league player (d. 1998)
* 1924 – Hugh Cortazzi, English soldier, historian, and diplomat, British Ambassador to Japan (d. 2018)
* 1925 – John Neville, English-Canadian actor (d. 2011)
* 1926 – Gérard D. Levesque, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1993)
*1927 – Ray Barrett, Australian actor and singer (d. 2009)
* 1927 – Amos Kenan, Israeli columnist, painter, sculptor, playwright and novelist (d. 2009)
* 1927 – Michael Broadbent, British wine critic and writer (d. 2020)
*1928 – Hans Trass, Estonian ecologist and botanist (d. 2017)
* 1928 – Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt, French writer and translator of German origin
* 1928 – Horst Stein, German conductor (d. 2008)
* 1929 – Édouard Balladur, Turkish-French economist and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of France
* 1929 – James Dillion

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