Famous Events For May 2 – Today In History

May 2: Today in History – Historical Events

Early Centuries – May 2 Historic Events – Before the 1700s

1. 2nd May 1194: King Richard of England gives Portsmouth its Royal Charter.
2. 2nd May 1230: Prince Llywelyn the Great today hanged William de Braose, the 10 Baron of Abergavenny.
3. 2nd May 1250: Toeransa, Sultan of Egypt was murdered today.
4. 2nd May 1497: John Cabot departs from Bristol to North America.
5. 2nd May 1526: German Evangelical monarchy joins Schmalkaldic league
6. 2nd May 1529: Spanish King Philip II named Albrecht of Austria land guardian of the Netherlands.

7. 2nd May 1536: King Henry VIII, today accused Queen Anna Boleyn of adultery, incest, and treason.
8. 2nd May 1598: Henry IV signed the Treaty of Vervins, which ended Spain’s interference in France.
9. 2nd May 1668: Peace of Aix-la-Chapel ended the war of devolution in France.
10. 2nd May 1670: England’s King Charles II today hired the services of The Company of Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson Bay (The Hudson Bay Co.,) to exploit the resources of the Hudson Bay area.
11. 2nd May 1672: John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.

18th Century – What Happened on May 2 – The 1700s

12. 2nd May 1703: Portugal signed a treaty with England to become a Great Covenant.
13. 2nd May 1776: France and Spain today agreed to donate arms to American rebels.
14. 2nd May 1780: Astronomer William Herschel discovered the 1st binary star, Xi Ursae Majoris today.

15. 2nd May 1796: A mutiny in the British Navy spread from Spithead to the rest of the fleet.
16. 2nd May 1798: The black General Toussaint L’Ouverture today forced British troops to agree to evacuate the port of Santo Domingo.

19th Century – May 2 This Day That Year – The 1800s

17. 2nd May 1808: The citizens of Madrid today rose against Napoleon, which culminated in a fierce battle fought in Madrid’s central square, in which the Spanish were defeated.
18. 2nd May 1813: Napoleon defeated the Russian and Prussian armies at Grossgorschen.
19. 2nd May 1833: The public sale of serves was banned by Czar Nicholas today.
20. 2nd May 1865: US President Andrew Jonson today offered a $ 100,000 reward for the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
21. 2nd May 1876: In Bulgaria the April Uprising breaks out.
22. 2nd May 1878: US today stopped minting 20 cent coins.

23. 2nd May 1885: The magazine “Good Housekeeping” was first published on this day.
24. 2nd May 1885: King Leopold II of Belgium formed the Congo Free State today.

20th Century – Important Events On This Day May 2nd – The 1900s

25. 2nd May 1919: The first air passenger service in the US was started today.
26. 2nd May 1920: Today the first game of the National Negro Baseball League was played in Indianapolis.
27. 2nd May 1924: Netherlands refuses to recognize the USSR.
28. 2nd May 1926: US military intervenes in Nicaragua.
29. 2nd May 1933: Adolf Hitler banned trade unions in Germany.
30. 2nd May 1934: Nazi Germany began “People’s Court”.
31. 2nd May 1934: In Germany a Chancellery meeting took place between Adolf Hitler and the executives of General Motors Corp. and its German division (Opel). Opel soon became an essential element of German rearmament.
32. 2nd May 1936: Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia fled Abyssinia with his family.
33. 2nd May 1938: Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Thornton Wilder for his play “Our Town”.

34. 2nd May 1941: Nazi-occupied Netherlands lays off Jewish journalists.
35. 2nd May 1942: Japanese troops occupy Mandalay in Burma.
36. 2nd May 1943: German troops vacate Jefna in Tunisia.
37. 2nd May 1945: Allies occupy Wismar in North Germany.
38. 2nd May 1945: German Army in Italy surrenders.
39. 2nd May 1945: In World War II, this day marks the end of the Battle of Berlin with the surrender of General Weidling and the Soviet army taking Berlin.
40. 2nd May 1949: Playwright Arthur Miller won the Pulitzer Prize for his work “Death of a Salesman”.
41. 2nd May 1949: A state of siege was proclaimed in Bolivia.
42. 2nd May 1950: Laws on immigration were accepted by the Dutch 1st Chamber today.
43. 2nd May 1950: Dutch PM Malan recognizes South Africa but not China as the People’s Republic.
44. 2nd May 1952: The first scheduled jetliner passenger service began operation with BOAC Comet.

45. 2nd May 1952: Operations begin today at United Surinam Workers Union in the Netherlands which flew from London to Johannesburg carrying 36 passengers.
46. 2nd May 1953: Today Faisal II was installed as the King of Iraq.
47. 2nd May 1953: Hussein I became the King of Jordan today.
48. 2nd May 1955: India proposes to discriminate against Dalits and the “Untouchables” punishable.
49. 2nd May 1955: Tennessee Williams was today awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his work Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”.
50. 2nd May 1956: High-temperature radiation from Venus was today detected at a US laboratory.
51. 2nd May 1956: Racial separation was disallowed by the US Methodist Church.
52. 2nd May 1957: Gangster Frank Costello today escaped an assassination attempt by members of the rival gang.
53. 2nd May 1960: Singer Harry Belafonte performed a second time at the Carnegie Hall.
54. 2nd May 1962: The US today performed an atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island.
55. 2nd May 1965: The “Early Bird” Satellite goes into commercial operation today.
56. 2nd May 1968: Gold prices reached $39.35 per ounce in London which was the record high then.

57. 2nd May 1968: Israeli television began transmitting today.
58. 2nd May 1970: Diane Crump became the first woman Jockey at the Kentucky Derby.
59. 2nd May 1972: An electrical fire that occurred in Sunshine Silver Mine in Kellogg, Idaho killed 126 people.
60. 2nd May 1972: The US performed a nuclear test at its Nevada Test Site.
61. 2nd May 1985: The US performed a nuclear test at its Nevada Test Site.
62. 2nd May 1986: Transportation Expo 86 opens Vancouver in Canada.
63. 2nd May 1990: South African and African National Congress today opened talks to end apartheid.
64. 2nd May 1991: Pope John Paul II’s encyclical on Centesimus annus.
65. 2nd May 1993: Sandra Palmers today won the LPGA Sprint Senior Challenge Golf Tournament.
66. 2nd May 1994: Dr. Kervokian was today found innocent of assisting suicide.

67. 2nd May 1995: Serbian missiles today exploded in the heart of Zagreb. The explosion killed six people.
68. 2nd May 1997: Prominent businessman and TV personalities Donald Trump and Marla Maples today announced that they are separating.
69. 2nd May 1997: Robert Scheidt the security chief of the Republic of Texas surrendered today.
70. 2nd May 1999: Mireya Moscoso was today elected President of Panama, the first woman to become president of that country.

21st Century – May 2 This Day In History – The 2000s

71. 2nd May 2000: In the Philippines rebels at Talipao threatened to behead 2 hostages if military troops were not pulled back.
72. 2nd May 2000: US President Bill Clinton today announced that accurate GPS access will no longer be restricted to the United States Military.

73. 2nd May 2001: A landslide in Wulong county in China buried a 9-story building in which 76 of the 95 residents were home. 65 bodies were recovered. At least 79 are feared dead.
74. 2nd May 2002: The Bush administration today committed to join the International Conference on Middle East Peace and economic reconstruction.
75. 2nd May 2002: A 12-year-old boy was killed in a bomb explosion in Karachi Pakistan,
76. 2nd May 2003: An old Russian-made bus carrying more than 40 passengers burst into flames in Vietnam today. 6 people died and 70 others suffered burn injuries. Flammable cargo is said to be the cause.
77. 2nd May 2004: In Southern Iraq, Shiite militiamen attacked a US convoy killing two soldiers and setting the vehicle on fire. Two other American soldiers were killed in Bagdad. In all at least 9 American soldiers were killed in Southern and Northern Iraq.
78. 2nd May 2005: Florida’s governor Bush today signed a legislature imposing a 25-year Jail term for a child
79. 2nd May 2005: Brazil posted a record trade surplus for April. Its currency rose 5% against the dollar during the month.
80. 2nd May 2006: A pre-dawn fire in New York City raged through a 21-acre site. It was the worst fire in 10 years and it destroyed 15 industrial buildings.

81. 2nd May 2006: The Canadian dollar cracked 90 US cents which was a new 28-year high. This made imports from the US ranging from vegetables to computers cheaper.
82. 2nd May 2006: The federal government of Canada released its budget today. It offered tax cuts and pledged to allot more funds for the military, border security, and policing.
83. 2nd May 2007: Congress today failed to override President Bush’s veto of legislation requiring the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, which was a setback to anti-war Democrats. Further Bush termed al-Qaida as enemy #1 of the US.
84. 2nd May 2008: Cyclone Nargis makes a landfill in Myanmar killing 130,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
85. 2nd May 2008: The ruling Labor Party in Britain suffered its worst defeat in local elections by winning just 24% of the votes. This was seen as a warning to Prime Minister Brown to address the cash crunch.
86. 2nd May 2009: In response to regional military build-up and global shifts in power, the Australian government said it will spend 70 billion US dollars boosting defenses in the next 20 years.
87. 2nd May 2010: China, to mop up excess cash, raised the proportion of the deposits that lenders must keep at the central bank.
88. 2nd May 2011: In Europe, mostly in Germany over 30 people died and many others were taken ill when the 2011 E-Coli 0104:H4 outbreak struck Europe.
89. 2nd May 2011: The Mastermind behind the 9/11 attack and most wanted terrorist by the FBI, Osama Bin Laden was today killed by the US special forces in Abbottabad in Pakistan.
90. 2nd May 2012: Football star and Barcelona player Lionel Messi, with 68 goals broke the European goal-scoring record.

91. 2nd May 2012: A pastel version of the painting “The Scream” by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch was sold for $119,922,500 in an auction.
92. 2nd May 2013: Rhode Island today legalized same-sex marriage becoming the 10th state to do so.
93. 2nd May 2013: A gold mine in Jebel Amir, North Darfur in Sudan collapsed today killing 60 people.
94. 2nd May 2013: In a raid conducted by the Syrian Army on al-Bayda in Baniyas, 100 people were killed.
95. 2nd May 2013: 14 members of the Sons of Iraq were killed today in attacks in Fallujah in Iraq.
96. 2nd May 2014: The Kyiv Regime launched a raid against pro-Russian forces and in retaliation the pro-Russian forces shot down two of their helicopters.
97. 2nd May 2015: Celtic wins the Scottish Premiership for 2014-15.
98. 2nd May 2015: At Twickenham, Toulon won the 2015 European Rugby Champions Cup Final today.
99. 2nd May 2016: In the world snooker championship, Mark Selby of Britain beat Ding Junhui of China 18-14 today.
100. 2nd May 2016: After starting the season at 5000-1 odds, Leicester City won the English Premier League.

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