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This day in history

This day in history: 2 May

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Key facts

344 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 2 May.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2014: Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.

Holidays and observances

Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community of Madrid, Spain)

Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan)

Christian feast day: Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).

Christian feast day: Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)

Christian feast day: Bolesław Strzelecki (Catholic Church)

Christian feast day: Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)

Christian feast day: Germanus of Normandy

Christian feast day: Joseph Luu Van Nguyen (Catholic Church)

Christian feast day: May 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: Wiborada (Catholic Church)

Christian feast day: William Tirry (Catholic Church)

Flag Day (Poland)

Events

2014Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.

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.

2011An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others are taken ill.

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.

2008Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.

2008Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.

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.

2000President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.

1999Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.

1998The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union's monetary policy.

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.

1989Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.

1986Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.

1982Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.

1972In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.

1970ALM Flight 980 ditches in the Caribbean Sea near Saint Croix, killing 23.

1969The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.

1964First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.

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

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.

1952A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.

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.

1945World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.

1945World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.

1945World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1,000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.

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.

1933Germany's independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.

1920The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.

1906Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.

1889Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.

1885Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.

1876The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.

1867Albert Günther publishes the first study to recognise that the New Zealand tuatara is not a lizard.

1866Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.

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.

1829After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.

1812The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory.

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.

1670King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.

1625Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.

Born on this day

2015Princess Charlotte of Wales, British royal, and third in line to the British throne

1997BamBam, Thai singer

1996Cherprang Areekul, Thai singer

1996Julian Brandt, German footballer

1996Schuyler Bailar, American swimmer

1995Lucy Dacus, American singer-songwriter

1993Huang Zitao, Chinese singer and rapper

1993Isyana Sarasvati, Indonesian singer

1993Owain Doull, Welsh track cyclist

1992María Teresa Torró Flor, Spanish tennis player

1992Sunmi, South Korean singer

1991Jeong Jinwoon, South Korean actor and singer

1991Jonathan Villar, Dominican baseball player

1990Kay Panabaker, American actress

1990Paul George, American basketball player

1988Neftalí Feliz, Dominican baseball player

1987Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player

1987Nana Kitade, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress

1987Pat McAfee, American sports analyst and football player

1987Saara Aalto, Finnish singer and actress

1986Yasir Shah, Pakistani cricketer

1985Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player

1985Kyle Busch, American race car driver (died 2026)

1985Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter and actress

1985Sarah Hughes, American figure skater

1984Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer

1984Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player

1983Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer

1983Daniel Sordo, Spanish race car driver

1983Maynor Figueroa, Honduran footballer

1983Tina Maze, Slovenian skier

1982Johan Botha, South African cricketer

1981Chris Kirkland, English footballer

1981Robert Buckley, American actor

1981Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer

1980Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player

1980Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer

1980Tim Borowski, German footballer

1980Troy Murphy, American basketball player

1980Zat Knight, English footballer

Died on this day

2025George Ryan, American politician, 39th Governor of Illinois (born 1934)

2025Ricky Davao, Filipino actor and director (born 1961)

2024Darius Morris, American basketball player (born 1991)

2024Peter Oosterhuis, English golfer and broadcaster (born 1948)

2024Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater (born 1942)

2021Marcel Stellman, Belgian record producer and lyricist (born 1925)

2020Arif Wazir, Pakistani politician, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (born 1982)

2016Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (born 1947)

2015Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (born 1927)

2015Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (born 1925)

2015Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (born 1945)

2015Ruth Rendell, English author (born 1930)

2015Stuart Archer, English colonel and architect (born 1915)

2014Efrem Zimbalist Jr., American actor (born 1918)

2014Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (born 1922)

2014Žarko Petan, Slovenian director, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1929)

2013Charles Banks Wilson, American painter and illustrator (born 1918)

2013Dvora Omer, Israeli author and educator (born 1932)

2013Ernie Field, English boxer (born 1943)

2013Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (born 1980)

2013Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (born 1964)

2013Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (born 1947)

2012Akira Tonomura, Japanese physicist, author, and academic (born 1942)

2012Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Indonesian physician and politician, Indonesian Minister of Health (born 1955)

2012Fernando Lopes, Portuguese director and screenwriter (born 1935)

2012Lourdes Valera, Venezuelan actress (born 1963)

2012Tufan Miñnullin, Russian playwright and politician (born 1936)

2012Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (born 1932)

2011Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founder of Al-Qaeda (born 1957)

2010Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (born 1943)

Quote of the day

“Silence is a source of great strength.”

Lao Tzu

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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