May 2Birthdays & History

On this day: May 2 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 1194King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter.Europe
2. 1230William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.Europe
3. 1250Mamluks under Baybars murder the Ayyubid sultan Turanshah for fear of losing their privileges.Middle East
4. 1388The surrender of the Acropolis of Athens to Nerio Acciaioli ends the Catalan presence in the Duchy of Athens.Europe
5. 1536Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.Europe
6. 1559John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.Europe
7. 1568Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Lochleven Castle.Europe
8. 1611The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.Europe
9. 1625Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.EuropeAfrica
10. 1670King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.EuropeNorth America
11. 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.Europe
12. 1812The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory.Latin America
13. 1829After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.Oceania
14. 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.North America
15. 1866Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.Latin AmericaEurope
16. 1867Albert Günther publishes the first study to recognise that the New Zealand tuatara is not a lizard.Oceania
17. 1876The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.Middle EastEurope
18. 1885Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.North America
19. 1889Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.AfricaEurope
20. 1906Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.Europe
21. 1920The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.North America
22. 1933Germany's independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.Europe
23. 1941World War II: 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.Middle EastEurope
24. 1945World 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.EuropeNorth America
25. 1945World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1,000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.North America
26. 1945World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.Europe
27. 1945World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.Europe
28. 1952A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.EuropeAfrica
29. 1963Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.Europe
30. 1964Vietnam 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.AsiaNorth America
31. 1964First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.Asia
32. 1969The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.EuropeNorth America
33. 1970ALM Flight 980 ditches in the Caribbean Sea near Saint Croix, killing 23.Latin America
34. 1972In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.North America
35. 1982Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.Latin AmericaEurope
36. 1986Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.Europe
37. 1989Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.Europe
38. 1995During 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.Europe
39. 1998The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union's monetary policy.Europe
40. 1999Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.Latin America
41. 2000President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.North America
42. 2004The Yelwa massacre concludes. It began on 4 February 2004 when armed Muslims killed 78 Christians at Yelwa, Nigeria. In response, about 630 Muslims were killed by Christians on May 2.Africa
43. 2008Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.Asia
44. 2008Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.Latin America
45. 2011Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI's most wanted fugitive, is killed by the United States Navy SEALs in Abbottabad, Pakistan.North AmericaAsia
46. 2011An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others are taken ill.Europe
47. 2012A 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.EuropeNorth America
48. 2014Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "May 2" / CC BY-SA 4.0