May 2

May 2 is the 122nd day of the year (123rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 243 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Thursday or Friday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Sunday (56).

Events

• 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 nascent Scottish Reformation.
• 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
• 1611 – The King James Version of the 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.
• 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.
• 1816 – Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Princess Charlotte of Wales.
• 1829 – After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of 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 the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
• 1876 – The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria.
• 1879 – The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is founded in Madrid by Pablo Iglesias.
• 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 the Treaty of Wuchale, giving 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.
• 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 prisoners, most of whom starved to death.
• 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 – Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the USS Card while it is docked at Saigon. Viet Cong forces are suspected of placing a bomb on the ship. 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.
• 1972 – In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.
• 1980 – Referendum on system of government held in Nepal.
• 1982 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
• 1986 – Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster
• 1989 – Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
• 1994 – A bus crashes in Gdańsk, Poland killing 32 people.
• 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 sick from the bacteria outbreak.
• 2011 – The 41st Canadian federal election is held, in which the governing Conservative Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper, increases their number of seats from a minority to a majority.
• 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

• 1360 – Yongle Emperor of China (d. 1424)
• 1451 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
• 1458 – Eleanor of Viseu (d. 1525)
• 1533 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (d. 1596)
• 1551 – William Camden, English historian and topographer (d. 1623)
• 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)
• 1815 – William Buell Richards, Canadian lawyer and judge, 1st Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1889)
• 1828 – Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and photographer (d. 1915)
• 1830 – Otto Staudinger, German entomologist and author (d. 1900)
• 1843 – 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, Jewish-Austrian philosopher, journalist and author (d. 1904)
• 1865 – Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
• 1867 – Giuseppe Morello, Italian-American mobster (d. 1930)
• 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)
• 1881 – Alexander Kerensky, Russian lawyer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Russia (d. 1970)
• 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 – 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 – Bob Wyatt, English cricketer (d. 1995)
• 1902 – Brian Aherne, English actor (d. 1986)
• 1903 – Benjamin Spock, American rower, pediatrician, and author (d. 1998)
• 1904 – Bill Brandt, German-English photographer and journalist (d. 1983)
• 1906 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (d. 1979)
• 1907 – Pinky Lee, American comedian and television host (d. 1993)
• 1910 – Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
• 1912 – Axel Springer, German journalist and publisher, founded Axel Springer AG (d. 1985)
• 1913 – Pietro Frua, Italian coachbuilders and car designers (d. 1983)
• 1913 – Nigel Patrick, English actor and director (d. 1981)
• 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
• 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)
• 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)
• 1923 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (d. 2008)
• 1924 – Jamal Abro, Pakistani lawyer and author (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2015)
• 1924 – Hugh Cortazzi, English soldier, historian, and diplomat, British Ambassador to Japan
• 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)
• 1928 – Hans Trass, Estonian ecologist and botanist
• 1929 – Édouard Balladur, Turkish-French economist and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of France
• 1929 – James Dillion, American discus thrower (d. 2010)
• 1929 – Link Wray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
• 1930 – Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter and critic (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Marco Pannella, Italian journalist and politician
• 1931 – Phil Bruns, American actor and stuntman (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Martha Grimes, American author and poet
• 1932 – Maury Allen, American journalist, actor, and author (d. 2010)
• 1933 – Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
• 1935 – Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1936 – Norma Aleandro, Argentinian actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck, English singer and pianist
• 1936 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
• 1937 – Klaus Enders, German motorcycle sidecar racer
• 1937 – Lorenzo Music, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
• 1938 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
• 1939 – Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist and engineer
• 1941 – Tony Adamowicz, American race car driver
• 1941 – Bruce Cameron, Scottish bishop
• 1941 – Clay Carroll, American baseball player
• 1942 – Jacques Rogge, Belgian businessman
• 1943 – Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian chutney musician (d. 2000)
• 1944 – Robert G. W. Anderson, English chemist, historian, and curator
• 1944 – Bob Henrit, English drummer
• 1945 – Randy Cain, American soul singer (d. 2009)
• 1945 – Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
• 1945 – Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist
• 1946 – Peter L. Benson, American psychologist and academic (d. 2011)
• 1946 – Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
• 1946 – David Suchet, English actor
• 1946 – Indrek Tart, Estonian sociologist and poet
• 1947 – James Dyson, English businessman, founded the Dyson Company
• 1947 – Lynda Myles, English screenwriter and producer
• 1948 – Larry Gatlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
• 1949 – Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener and author
• 1950 – Simon Gaskell, English chemist and academic
• 1950 – Duncan Gay, Australian businessman and politician
• 1950 – Lou Gramm, American rock singer-songwriter
• 1950 – Richard Ground English lawyer and judge (d. 2014)
• 1951 – John Glascock, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
• 1952 – Chris Anderson Australian rugby league player and coach
• 1952 – Christine Baranski, American actress and singer
• 1952 – Isla St Clair, Scottish singer and actress
• 1953 – Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor and director
• 1954 – Elliot Goldenthal, American composer and conductor
• 1954 – Dawn Primarolo, English politician
• 1954 – Stephen Venables, English mountaineer and author
• 1955 – Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
• 1956 – Régis Labeaume, Canadian businessman and politician, 41st Mayor of Quebec City
• 1958 – Yasushi Akimoto, Japanese songwriter and producer
• 1958 – Stanislav Levý, Czech footballer and manager
• 1958 – David O'Leary, English-Irish footballer and manager
• 1959 – Alan Best, Canadian animator, director, and producer
• 1959 – Tony Wakeford, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1960 – Stephen Daldry, English director and producer
• 1961 – Steve James, English snooker player
• 1961 – Sophie Thibault, Canadian journalist
• 1961 – Phil Vickery, English chef and author
• 1962 – Elizabeth Berridge (actress), American actress
• 1962 – Jimmy White, English snooker player
• 1965 – Félix José, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1966 – Uwe Freiler, German footballer
• 1966 – Margus Kolga, Estonian diplomat
• 1966 – Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician
• 1967 – Bengt Åkerblom, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1995)
• 1967 – Mika Brzezinski, American journalist and author
• 1967 – David Rocastle, English footballer (d. 2001)
• 1968 – Jeff Agoos, Swiss-American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
• 1968 – Julia Hartley-Brewer, English broadcaster and columnist
• 1968 – Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer-songwriter and actress
• 1969 – Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer
• 1970 – Marco Walker, Swiss footballer and coach
• 1971 – Musashimaru Kōyō, Samoan-American sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna
• 1971 – Fatima Yusuf, Nigerian sprinter
• 1972 – Paul Adcock, English footballer
• 1972 – Ahti Heinla, Estonian programmer and businessman, co-developed Skype
• 1972 – Dwayne Johnson, American-Canadian wrestler, actor, and producer
• 1973 – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German director and screenwriter
• 1974 – Horacio Carbonari, Argentinian footballer and manager
• 1974 – Andy Johnson, English-Welsh footballer
• 1974 – Janek Meet, Estonian footballer
• 1975 – David Beckham, English footballer, coach, and model
• 1976 – Jeff Gutt, American singer-songwriter
• 1977 – Brian Cardinal, American basketball player
• 1977 – Jan Fitschen, German runner
• 1977 – Luke Hudson, American baseball player
• 1977 – Fredrik Malm, Swedish journalist and politician
• 1977 – Jenna von Oÿ, American actress and singer
• 1978 – Melvin Ely, American basketball player
• 1978 – Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Ioannis Kanotidis, Greek footballer
• 1980 – Tim Borowski, German footballer
• 1980 – Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
• 1980 – Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer
• 1980 – Zat Knight, English footballer
• 1980 – Artūras Masiulis, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1980 – Troy Murphy, American basketball player
• 1980 – Lassaâd Ouertani, Tunisian footballer (d. 2013)
• 1980 – Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Robert Buckley, American actor
• 1981 – Chris Kirkland, English footballer
• 1981 – Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
• 1981 – Matt Murray, English footballer
• 1981 – Rina Satō, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1982 – Timothy Benjamin, Welsh sprinter
• 1982 – Johan Botha, South African cricketer
• 1983 – Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer
• 1983 – Maynor Figueroa, Honduran footballer
• 1983 – Tina Maze, Slovenian skier
• 1983 – Daniel Sordo, Spanish race car driver
• 1983 – Ove Vanebo, Norwegian politician
• 1984 – Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
• 1984 – Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player
• 1985 – Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1985 – Kyle Busch, American race car driver
• 1985 – Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player
• 1985 – Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
• 1985 – David Nugent, English footballer
• 1985 – Jarrod Saltalamacchia, American baseball player
• 1986 – Katie O'Brien, British tennis player
• 1987 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
• 1987 – Pat McAfee, American football player
• 1987 – Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1988 – Neftalí Feliz, Dominican baseball player
• 1988 – Stephen Henderson, Irish footballer
• 1989 – Jeanette Pohlen, American basketball player
• 1990 – Paul George, American basketball player
• 1991 – Jeong Jinwoon, South Korean actor and singer
• 1992 – María Teresa Torró Flor, Spanish tennis player
• 1993 – Owain Doull, Welsh track cyclist
• 1994 – Yook Sungjae, South Korean singer, actor, and dancer
• 2015 – Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, British royal, and fourth in line to the British throne

Deaths

• 373 – Athanasius of Alexandria, Egyptian bishop and saint (b. 298)
• 907 – Boris I of Bulgaria
• 1219 – Leo I, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
• 1230 – William de Braose, English son of Reginald de Braose (b. 1197)
• 1300 – Blanche of Artois (b. 1248)
• 1450 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English admiral (b. 1396)
• 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1452)
• 1564 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (b. 1500)
• 1627 – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (b. 1560)
• 1667 – George Wither, English poet and author (b. 1588)
• 1683 – Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and mathematician (b. 1613)
• 1711 – Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1641)
• 1799 – Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo (b. 1740)
• 1802 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch Gold Coast (b. 1762)
• 1810 – Henry Jerome de Salis, English priest (b. 1740)
• 1819 – Mary Moser, English painter and academic (b. 1744)
• 1857 – Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (b. 1810)
• 1864 – Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer and educator (b. 1791)
• 1880 – Eberhard Anheuser, German-American businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1805)
• 1880 – Tom Wills, Australian cricketer, co-created Australian rules football (b. 1835)
• 1885 – Terézia Zakoucs, Hungarian-Slovene author (b. 1817)
• 1915 – Clara Immerwahr, German chemist (b. 1870)
• 1918 – Jüri Vilms, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1889)
• 1925 – Antun Branko Šimić, Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet (b. 1898)
• 1927 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (b. 1866)
• 1929 – Charalambos Tseroulis, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister for Military Affairs (b. 1879)
• 1941 – Penelope Delta, Greek author (b. 1874)
• 1945 – Martin Bormann, German politician (b. 1900)
• 1945 – Joe Corbett, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1875)
• 1947 – Dorothea Binz, German SS officer (b. 1920)
• 1953 – Wallace Bryant, American archer (b. 1863)
• 1957 – Joseph McCarthy, American captain, lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1908)
• 1963 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, peer, politician, poet, author and newspaper editor (b. 1884)
• 1964 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (b. 1879)
• 1969 – Franz von Papen, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
• 1972 – J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
• 1974 – James O. Richardson, American admiral (b. 1878)
• 1979 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
• 1980 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
• 1980 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (b. 1908)
• 1983 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
• 1984 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (b. 1918)
• 1984 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1913)
• 1985 – Attilio Bettega, Italian race car driver (b. 1951)
• 1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1909)
• 1986 – Sergio Cresto, American race car driver (b. 1956)
• 1986 – Henri Toivonen, Finnish race car driver (b. 1956)
• 1989 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author (b. 1902)
• 1989 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (b. 1906)
• 1990 – David Rappaport, English-American actor (b. 1951)
• 1991 – Ronald McKie, Australian journalist and author (b. 1909)
• 1992 – Wilbur Mills, American lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
• 1993 – André Moynet, French race car driver, pilot, and politician (b. 1921)
• 1994 – Dorothy Marie Donnelly, American poet and author (b. 1903)
• 1995 – John Bunting, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (b. 1918)
• 1995 – Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
• 1997 – John Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
• 1997 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
• 1998 – hide, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1964)
• 1998 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
• 1998 – Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1903)
• 1999 – Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
• 1999 – Robin Humphreys, British scholar of Latin America (b. 1907)
• 2000 – Sundar Popo, Trinidadian musician (b. 1943)
• 2002 – W. T. Tutte, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Wee Kim Wee, Singaporean journalist and politician, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
• 2006 – Louis Rukeyser, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Brad McGann, New Zealand director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
• 2008 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
• 2008 – Izold Pustõlnik, Ukrainian-Estonian astronomer and academic (b. 1938)
• 2009 – Marilyn French, American author and academic (b. 1929)
• 2009 – Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1951)
• 2009 – Jack Kemp, American football player and politician, 9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (b. 1935)
• 2010 – Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (b. 1943)
• 2011 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founder of Al-Qaeda (b. 1957)
• 2012 – Fernando Lopes, Portuguese director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Tufan Miñnullin, Russian playwright and politician (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Indonesian physician and politician, Indonesian Minister of Health (b. 1955)
• 2012 – Akira Tonomura, Japanese physicist, author, and academic (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Ernie Field, English boxer (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1964)
• 2013 – Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (b. 1947)
• 2013 – Dvora Omer, Israeli author and educator (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (b. 1980)
• 2013 – Charles Banks Wilson, American painter and illustrator (b. 1918)
• 2014 – Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Žarko Petan, Slovenian director, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., American actor (b. 1918)
• 2015 – Stuart Archer, English colonel and architect (b. 1915)
• 2015 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (b. 1945)
• 2015 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Ruth Rendell, English author (b. 1930)
• 2016 – Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)
  • Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
  • Germanus of Normandy
  • Waldebert (Roman Catholic Church)
  • May 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• The last day of the Festival of Ridván (Bahá'í Faith) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March Equinox)
• Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community of Madrid, Spain)
• Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan)
• Flag Day (Poland)
• Indonesia National Education Day
• Teachers' Day (Iran)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to May 2.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History