From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Events

• 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
• 1230 – William de Braose, 10th Baron Abergavenny 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 beginning Scottish Reformation.
• 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
• 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.
• 1816 – Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Charlotte Augusta.
• 1829 – After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of the 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 Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
• 1876 – The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria.
• 1879 – The Spanish Socialist Worker's Party is founded in Casa Labra Pub (city of Madrid) by the historical Spanish workers' leader Pablo Iglesias.
• 1885 – Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
• 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 a treaty of amity with Italy, which gives Italy control over Eritrea.
• 1918 – General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
• 1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• 1932 – Comedian Jack Benny's radio show airs for the first time.
• 1933 – Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.
• 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 inmates, most starved to death.
• 1946 – The "Battle of Alcatraz" takes place, killing two guards and three inmates.
• 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 docked at Saigon. Viet Cong forces are suspected of placing a bomb on the ship.
• 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.
• 1982 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
• 1986 – The 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, opens.

• 1994 – In a bus disaster in Poland, 32 people die.
• 1995 – During the Croatian War of Independence, Serb forces fire cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing 7 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 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.
• 2000 – Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands unveils the Man With Two Hats monument in Apeldoorn and the other in Ottawa on May 11, 2000. Symbolically linking both Netherlands and Canada for their assistance throughout World War II.
• 2002 – Marad massacre of eight Hindus near Palakkad in Kerala.
• 2004 – Yelwa massacre of more than 630 nomad Muslims by Christians in Nigeria.
• 2008 – Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Myanmar killing over 130,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.

Births

• 1360 – Yongle, Emperor of China (d. 1424)
• 1451 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
• 1458 – Leonor of Viseu, queen of Portugal (d. 1525)
• 1551 – William Camden, English historian (d. 1623)
• 1601 – Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (d. 1680)
• 1660 – Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
• 1695 – Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni, Italian-born architect (d. 1766)
• 1702 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian (d. 1782)
• 1729 – Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (d. 1796)
• 1737 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
• 1740 – Elias Boudinot, President of the American Continental Congress (d. 1821)
• 1750 – John André, British Army officer of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1780)
• 1772 – Novalis, German writer (d. 1801)
• 1773 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher (d. 1845)
• 1802 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
• 1806 – Catherine Labouré, French visionary and saint (d. 1876)
• 1808 – Emma Wedgwood, English naturalist, wife of Charles Darwin, (d. 1896)
• 1810 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (d. 1874)
• 1828 – Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist (d. 1915)
• 1843 – Elijah McCoy, Canadian-born Inventor (d. 1929)
• 1859 – Jerome Klapka Jerome, English writer (d. 1927)
• 1860 – Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist/Zionist (d. 1904)
• 1865 – Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
• 1873 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1944)
• 1879 – James F. Byrnes, American statesman, and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1972)
• 1881 – Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)
• 1885 – Hedda Hopper, American gossip columnist (d. 1966)
• 1886 – Gottfried Benn, German author (d. 1956)
• 1887 – Vernon Castle, English dancer (d. 1918)
• 1887 – Eddie Collins, American baseball player (d. 1951)
• 1890 – E. E. Smith, American writer (d. 1965)
• 1892 – Manfred von Richthofen, German World War I pilot – the Red Baron (d. 1918)
• 1894 – Joseph Henry Woodger, British theoretical biologist (d. 1981)
• 1895 – Lorenz Hart, American lyricist (d. 1943)
• 1896 – Helen of Greece and Denmark, queen of Romania (d. 1982)
• 1897 – J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
• 1898 – Henry Hall, British bandleader (d. 1989)
• 1903 – Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author (d. 1998)
• 1906 – Philippe Halsman, American photographer (d. 1979)
• 1906 – Aileen Riggin, American swimmer (d. 2002)
• 1907 – Pinky Lee, American vaudeville performer (d. 1993)
• 1910 – Alexander Bonnyman, U.S. Marine (d. 1943)
• 1912 – Axel Cäsar Springer, German publisher (d. 1985)
• 1913 – Nigel Patrick, English actor (d. 1981)
• 1915 – Doris Fisher, American songwriter (d. 2003)
• 1915 – Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
• 1917 – Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder
• 1920 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist (d. 2000)
• 1921 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director (d. 1992)
• 1922 – A.M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born newspaper editor (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-born actor and singer
• 1924 – Jamal Abro, Sindhi writer (d. 2004)
• 1925 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1925 – John Neville, English theatre and film actor
• 1926 – Gérard D. Lévesque, Quebec politician (d. 1993)
• 1927 – Ray Barrett, Australian actor (d. 2009)
• 1928 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, third king of Bhutan (d. 1972)
• 1929 – Link Wray, American guitarist (d. 2005)
• 1929 – Édouard Balladur, French Prime Minister
• 1930 – Marco Pannella, Italian politician and activist
• 1932 – Maury Allen, American sportswriter
• 1935 – King Faisal II of Iraq (d. 1958)
• 1935 – Lance LeGault, American actor
• 1935 – Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck, Indian-born singer
• 1936 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
• 1937 – Lorenzo Music, American actor (d. 2001)
• 1938 – Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
• 1939 – Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist
• 1941 – Clay Carroll, American baseball player
• 1942 – Jacques Rogge, Belgian International Olympic Committee president
• 1945 – Sarah Weddington, American attorney
• 1945 – Gene Deckerhoff, American sports announcer
• 1945 – Judge Dread, English musician (d. 1998)
• 1946 – Lesley Gore, American singer
• 1946 – David Suchet, English actor
• 1948 – Larry Gatlin, American musician
• 1949 – Alan Titchmarsh, English television presenter
• 1950 – Duncan Gay, Australian politician
• 1950 – Lou Gramm, American vocalist (Foreigner)
• 1950 – Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan socialite
• 1952 – Christine Baranski, American actress
• 1952 – Mari Natsuki, Japanese singer, dancer and actress
• 1953 – Valery Gergiev, Russian-born conductor
• 1954 – Roberta Pedon, American glamour model (d. 1982)
• 1955 – Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
• 1956 – David Rhodes, English guitarist
• 1956 – Amir Mokri, Iranian-born American cinematographer
• 1958 – David O'Leary, Irish football manager and player
• 1959 – Alan Best, Canadian animation director and producer
• 1959 – Tony Wakeford, English musician (Sol Invictus)
• 1961 – Steve James, English snooker player
• 1961 – Phil Vickery, English celebrity chef
• 1961 – Stephen Daldry, English film director
• 1962 – Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
• 1962 – Ray Traylor, American wrestler (d. 2004)
• 1962 – Jimmy White, English snooker player
• 1962 – Mitzi Kapture, American actress
• 1965 – Félix José, Dominican baseball player
• 1966 – Belinda Stronach, Canadian politician
• 1967 – Mika Brzezinski, American journalist
• 1968 – Hikaru Midorikawa, Japanese voice actor
• 1968 – Jeff Agoos, American footballer
• 1968 – Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer and actress
• 1969 – Brian Lara, Trinidadian West Indies cricketer
• 1972 – Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, American professional wrestler and actor
• 1972 – Paul Adcock, English footballer
• 1973 – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German film director and screenwriter
• 1974 – Horacio Carbonari, Argentine former footballer
• 1974 – Garðar Thór Cortes, Icelandic tenor
• 1974 – Andy Johnson, Welsh footballer
• 1975 – David Beckham, English footballer
• 1977 – Luke Hudson, American baseball player
• 1977 – Jenna von Oy, American actress
• 1977 – Fredrik Malm, Swedish politician
• 1978 – Steve Bays, Canadian musician
• 1978 – Melvin Ely, American basketball player
• 1978 – Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
• 1980 – Tim Borowski, German footballer
• 1980 – Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
• 1980 – Miloš Glogovac, Serbian footballer
• 1980 – Zat Knight, English footballer
• 1980 – Troy Murphy, American basketball player
• 1980 – Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
• 1981 – Matt Murray, English footballer
• 1981 – Chris Kirkland, English footballer
• 1981 – Robert Buckley, American actor
• 1982 – Lorie, French singer
• 1982 – Johan Botha, South African cricketer
• 1983 – Christa Rigozzi, Swiss model
• 1983 – Daniel Sordo, Spanish rally driver
• 1984 – Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
• 1984 – Thabo Sefolosha, American basketball player
• 1985 – Lily Allen, English singer and songwriter
• 1985 – Kyle Busch, American racing driver
• 1985 – Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
• 1985 – David Nugent, English footballer
• 1985 – Jarrod Saltalamacchia, American baseball player
• 1986 – James Kirk, Canadian actor
• 1986 – Emily Hart, American actress
• 1987 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
• 1987 – Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1988 – Lara Liang, Taiwanese-American Singer
• 1990 – Kay Panabaker, American actor
• 2000 – Angel Sy, Filipina child actor

Deaths

• 373 – Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria (b. 298)
• 756 – Emperor Shōmu, Emperor of Japan (b. 701)
• 907 – Boris I of Bulgaria
• 1230 – William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny (b. 1197)
• 1300 – Blanche of Artois, regent of Navarre (b. 1248)
• 1450 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English military leader (b. 1396)
• 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian inventor and painter (b. 1452)
• 1564 – Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian humanist (b. 1500)
• 1627 – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer (b. 1560)
• 1667 – George Wither, English writer (b. 1588)
• 1683 – Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and scientist (b. 1613)
• 1711 – Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English statesman (b. 1641)
• 1802 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch statesman (b. 1762)
• 1810 – Rev. Dr. Henry Jerome de Salis, divine (b. 1740)
• 1819 – Mary Moser, English painter (b. 1744)
• 1857 – Alfred de Musset, French writer (b. 1810)
• 1864 – Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (b. 1791)
• 1880 – Eberhard Anheuser, German soap and candle maker and father-in-law of Adolphus Busch, founder of the Anheuser-Busch Company (b. 1805)
• 1927 – Ernest Starling, British physiologist (b. 1866)
• 1945 – Martin Bormann, Nazi official (b. 1900)
• 1945 – Ludwig Stumpfegger, German SS doctor (b. 1910)
• 1945 – Joe Corbett, baseball player (b. 1875)
• 1947 – Dorothea Binz, Nazi war criminal (b. 1920)
• 1957 – Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator (b. 1908)
• 1960 – Caryl Chessman, American robber and rapist (b. 1921)
• 1964 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-born politician (b. 1879)
• 1969 – Franz von Papen, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
• 1972 – J. Edgar Hoover, American director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
• 1979 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
• 1980 – George Pál, Hungarian-born film director (b. 1908)
• 1980 – Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
• 1983 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football star (b. 1926)
• 1984 – Jack Barry, television game show producer and host (b. 1918)
• 1985 – Attilio Bettega, Italian rallydriver (b. 1951)
• 1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpeter and bandleader (b. 1909)
• 1986 – Henri Toivonen, Finnish rallydriver (b. 1956)
• 1989 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic Cardinal (b. 1906)
• 1989 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (b. 1902)
• 1990 – David Rappaport, English actor (b. 1951)
• 1991 – Ronald McKie, Australian author (b. 1909)
• 1992 – Wilbur Mills, American politician (b. 1909)
• 1995 – Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
• 1997 – John Carew Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
• 1997 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator (b. 1921)
• 1998 – Hideto "hide" Matsumoto, Japanese musician (b. 1964)
• 1998 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
• 1998 – Kevin Lloyd, British actor (b. 1949)
• 1998 – Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
• 2001 – Ted Rogers, British comedian (b. 1935)
• 2001 – Gina Mastrogiacomo, American actress (b. 1961)
• 2002 – John Nathan-Turner, English television producer (b. 1947)
• 2002 – W. T. Tutte, English-born codebreaker (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Kenneth B. Clark, American psychologist (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Wee Kim Wee, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
• 2006 – Louis Rukeyser, American columnist (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Brad McGann, New Zealand film director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
• 2008 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
• 2009 – Jack Kemp, former United States Congressman and 1996 Vice Presidential Candidate (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances

• Poland – Flag Day
• Bahá'í Faith: Last day of the Festival of Ridván
• Madrid Region – Day of the Region.
• Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia – second day of Labour Day
• Iran – Teacher's Day
• Indonesia – Indonesia National Education Day

in the Roman Catholic Church:

• Athanasius of Alexandria
• Saint Germanus of Normandy
• Saint Waldebert, Walbert or Gaubert

in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church:

• Saint Tsar Boris

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it. ~ Harry Emerson Fosdick

• selected by Kalki

2005

You know more than you think you do. ~ Benjamin Spock (born 2 May 1903)

• selected by Kalki

2006

We are near waking when we dream that we dream. ~ Novalis (born 2 May 1772)

• selected by Kalki

2007

Love works magic.
It is the final purpose
Of the world story,
The Amen of the universe.
~ Novalis ~

• selected by Kalki

2008

Philosophy can bake no bread; but she can procure for us God, Freedom, Immortality. ~ Novalis

• proposed by Zarbon

2009

We are so bound together that no man can labor for himself alone. Each blow he strikes in his own behalf helps to mold the Universe. ~ Jerome K. Jerome (born 2 May 1859)

• proposed by Kalki

2010

Suggestions

In automobile terms, the child supplies the power but the parents have to do the steering. ~ Benjamin Spock (born 2 May 1903)

• 3 because all children need some form of guidance. Tarzan and Mowgli have nice stories but they aren't the best characteristic transformations to be had. Zarbon 15:22, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 07:07, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 12:42, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

Friends, the soil is poor, we must sow seeds in plenty for us to garner even modest harvests. ~ Novalis (born 2 May 1772)

• 2 because it is best to be prepared so that when a disappointment comes along, it will not overwhelm one to an unparalleled extent. Zarbon 15:22, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 07:07, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 16:07, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Out of a mob a society has developed, chaos has been transformed into a manifold world. ~ Novalis (born 2 May 1772)

• 2 because a transformation can be made, even from the state of chaos. Zarbon 15:22, 28 April 2008 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 07:07, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 16:07, 2 May 2008 (UTC) but extended to start with "Before abstraction everything is one, but one like chaos; after abstraction everything is united again, but this union is a free binding of autonomous, self-determined beings."

Realists are, as a rule, only men in the rut of routine who are incapable of transcending a narrow circle of antiquated notions. ~ Theodor Herzl (born May 2, 1860)

• 3 InvisibleSun 07:07, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 because being a realist is fine, but exceeding to an extent of not seeing anything else, to a degree of narrowness isn't warranted. Zarbon 04:37, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 16:07, 2 May 2008 (UTC) though I believe his comments refer to those who are normally called "realists" because they focus upon the physical processes or what are normally called practical affairs, but he also gives some hints of the "idealism" which must be included within the scope of a higher "realism."
• 2.5 Ningauble 17:21, 1 May 2009 (UTC) Vernacular and technical meanings of "realism" vary widely, and vary over time. I suspect his meaning could have been translated with greater precision were simplicity of expression sacrificed.

It is impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do. There is no fun in doing nothing when you have nothing to do. Wasting time is merely an occupation then, and a most exhausting one. Idleness, like kisses, to be sweet must be stolen. ~ Jerome K. Jerome (born May 2, 1859)

• 3 InvisibleSun 07:07, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Zarbon 04:37, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 16:07, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Ningauble 17:21, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

True anarchy is the generative element of religion. Out of the annihilation of every positive element she lifts her gloriously radiant countenance as the founder of a new world... ~ Novalis

• 3 Kalki 16:07, 2 May 2008 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 2 Zarbon 06:56, 8 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 23:37, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

Moral Action is that great and only Experiment, in which all riddles of the most manifold appearances explain themselves. Whoso understands it, and in rigid sequence of Thought can lay it open, is forever master of Nature. ~ Novalis

• 3 Kalki 16:07, 2 May 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 06:56, 8 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 23:37, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

Language is the dynamics of the spiritual realm. One word of command moves armies; the word Liberty entire nations. ~ Novalis

• 3 Kalki 16:07, 2 May 2008 (UTC) with a strong lean toward 4.
• 1 Zarbon 06:56, 8 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 23:37, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Games released on May 2.

From Wikia Gaming, your source for walkthroughs, games, guides, and more!

Game releases

• 2003
  • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker released for the GameCube in Europe.

From Familypedia

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.

Events

• 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
• 1335 - Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
• 1568 - Mary I of Scotland escapes from Loch Leven Castle, where she had been imprisoned by Sir William Douglas.
• 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 - Beginning of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation.
• 1816 - Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Charlotte Augusta are wed.
• 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 for the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia 8 days later.
• 1866 - Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
• 1876 - The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria.
• 1885 - Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
• 1885 - Cree and Assiniboine warriors won 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 a treaty of amity with Italy, which gives Italy control over Eritrea.
• 1900 - Oscar II, King of Sweden, declares support for Britain at the time of the Second Boer War.
• 1918 - General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
• 1920 - The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.
• 1932 - Comedian Jack Benny's radio show airs for the first time.
• 1933 - Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.
• 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. German forces surrender in Italy. German forces surrender to the New Zealand Army in Trieste.
• 1946 - "Battle of Alcatraz" - Alcatraz Federal prison, San Francisco is taken over by six inmates following failed escape attempt
• 1952 - The world's first ever jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1 makes its maiden voyage, flying from London to Johannesburg.
• 1953 - Hussein is crowned King of Jordan.
• 1955 - Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
• 1963 - Berthold Seliger launches near Cuxhaven a rocket with three stages with a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
• 1964 - Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the USS Card while docked at Saigon. Viet Cong forces are suspected of placing a bomb on the ship.
• 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.
• 1982 - Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
• 1986 - The 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, opens.
• 1995 - During the Croatian War of Independence, Serb forces fire cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing 7 and wounding over 175 civilians.
• 1997 - The Labour Party's Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, ending 18 years of Conservative Party rule. At 44, he is the youngest prime minister in 185 years.
• 1998 - The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the EU's monetary policy.
• 1999 - Panamanian election: Mireya Moscoso became the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
• 2000 - Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the U.S. military.
• 2000 - Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands unveiled the Man With Two Hats monument in Ottawa on May 11, 2002, and the other in Apeldoorn on May 2, 2000. Symbolically linking both Netherlands and Canada for their assistance throughout the Second World War.
• 2005 - Airwork Flight 23 crashes after structural failure.
• 2005 - The Pontiac Grand Am ceases production at the 100 year-old Lansing Car Assembly plant.

Births

• 1360 - Yongle, Emperor of China (d. 1424)
• 1451 - René II (d. 1508)
• 1458 - Leonor of Viseu, queen of Portugal (d. 1525)
• 1551 - William Camden, English historian (d. 1623)
• 1601 - Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (d. 1680)
• 1660 - Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
• 1695 - Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni, Italian-born architect (d. 1766)
• 1702 - Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian (d. 1782)
• 1729 - Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (d.1796)
• 1737 - William Petty, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
• 1740 - Elias Boudinot, President of the American Continental Congress (d. 1821)
• 1750 - John André, British Army officer of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1780)
• 1772 - Novalis, German writer (d. 1801)
• 1773 - Henrik Steffens, Norwegian-born philosopher (d. 1845)
• 1802 - Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
• 1810 - Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (d. 1874)
• 1828 - Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist (d. 1915)
• 1843 - Elijah McCoy, Canadian-born Inventor (d. 1929)
• 1859 - Jerome Klapka Jerome, English writer (d. 1927)
• 1860 - Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist/Zionist (d. 1904)
• 1865 - Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
• 1873 - Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1944)
• 1879 - James F. Byrnes, American politician, statesman, and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1972)
• 1881 - Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)
• 1885 - Hedda Hopper, American gossip columnist (d. 1966)
• 1886 - Gottfried Benn, German author (d. 1956)
• 1887 - Vernon Castle, English dancer (d. 1918)
• 1887 - Eddie Collins, American baseball player (d. 1951)
• 1890 - E. E. Smith, American writer (d. 1965)
• 1892 - Manfred von Richthofen, German World War I pilot - the Red Baron (d. 1918)
• 1895 - Lorenz Hart, American lyricist (d. 1943)
• 1896 - Helen of Greece and Denmark, queen of Romania (d. 1982)
• 1897 - J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
• 1903 - Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (d. 1977)
• 1903 - Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author (d. 1998)
• 1906 - Philippe Halsman, American photographer (d. 1979)
• 1906 - Aileen Riggin, American swimmer (d. 2002)
• 1907 - Pinky Lee, American vaudeville performer (d. 1993)
• 1910 - Alexander Bonnyman, U.S. Marine (d. 1943)
• 1912 - Axel Cäsar Springer, German publisher (d. 1985)
• 1913 - Nigel Patrick, English actor (d. 1981)
• 1915 - Doris Fisher, American songwriter (d. 2003)
• 1920 - Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (d. 2004)
• 1920 - Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist (d. 2000)
• 1921 - Satyajit Ray, Indian director (d. 1992)
• 1922 - A.M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born newspaper editor (d. 2006)
• 1922 - Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
• 1924 - Theodore Bikel, Austrian-born actor and singer
• 1925 - Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1926 - Gérard D. Lévesque, Quebec politician (d. 1993)
• 1929 - Link Wray, American guitarist (d. 2005)
• 1935 - King Faisal II of Iraq (d. 1958)
• 1935 - Lance LeGault, American actor
• 1935 - Luis Suárez Miramontes, former Spanish footballer and manager
• 1936 - Engelbert Humperdinck, Indian-born singer
• 1936 - Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
• 1937 - Lorenzo Music, American actor (d. 2001)
• 1938 - Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
• 1939 - Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist
• 1941 - Clay Carroll, American baseball player
• 1942 - Jacques Rogge, Belgian International Olympic Committee president
• 1945 - Sarah Weddington, American attorney
• 1945 - Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan socialite, ex-wife of Mick Jagger
• 1945 - Gene Deckerhoff, American sports announcer
• 1945 - Judge Dread, English musician (d. 1998)
• 1946 - Lesley Gore, American singer
• 1946 - David Suchet, English actor
• 1948 - Larry Gatlin, American musician
• 1949 - Alan Titchmarsh, English television presenter
• 1950 - Lou Gramm, American musician (Foreigner)
• 1950 - Duncan Gay, Australian politician
• 1952 - Christine Baranski, American actress
• 1953 - Valery Gergiev, Russian-born conductor
• 1955 - Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
• 1956 - David Rhodes, English guitarist
• 1958 - David O'Leary, Irish football manager and player, notable for managerial stint at Leeds United A.F.C.
• 1959 - Tony Wakeford, English musician (Sol Invictus)
• 1961 - Steve James, English snooker player
• 1961 - Phil Vickery, English celebrity chef
• 1962 - Stephen Daldry, English film director
• 1962 - Ray Traylor, American professional wrestler (d. 2004)
• 1962 - Jimmy White, English snooker player
• 1965 - Félix José, Dominican baseball player
• 1966 - Belinda Stronach, Canadian politician
• 1967 - Mika Brzezinski, American journalist
• 1968 - Midorikawa Hikaru, Japanese voice actor
• 1968 - Jeff Agoos, American soccer player
• 1968 - Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer and actress
• 1969 - Brian Lara, Trinidadian West Indies cricketer
• 1972 - The Rock, American professional wrestler and actor
• 1972 - Paul Adcock, English footballer
• 1973 - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German film director and screenwriter
• 1974 - Garðar Thór Cortes, Icelandic tenor
• 1974 - Andy Johnson, Welsh footballer
• 1975 - David Beckham, English footballer
• 1977 - Fredrik Malm, Swedish politician
• 1978 - Steve Bays, Canadian musician
• 1979 - Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1979 - Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
• 1980 - Tim Borowski, German footballer
• 1980 - Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
• 1980 - Zat Knight, English footballer
• 1980 - Troy Murphy, American basketball player
• 1980 - Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 - Matt Murray, English footballer
• 1981 - Chris Kirkland, English footballer
• 1982 - Lorie, French singer
• 1983 - Christa Rigozzi, Swiss model
• 1984 - Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
• 1984 - Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player
• 1985 - Lily Allen, English singer and songwriter
• 1985 - Kyle Busch, American race car driver
• 1985 - Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
• 1985 - David Nugent, English footballer
• 1986 - James Kirk, Canadian actor
• 1987 - Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
• 1990 - Kay Panabaker, American actress
• 1995 - Kelsey Lewis, American actress

Deaths

• 373 - Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria (b. 298)
• 756 - Emperor Shōmu, Emperor of Japan (b. 701)
• 907 - Boris I of Bulgaria
• 1230 - William de Braose (b. 1197)
• 1300 - Blanche of Artois, regent of Navarre (b. 1248)
• 1450 - William de la Pole, English military leader (b. 1396)
• 1519 - Leonardo da Vinci, Italian inventor and painter (b. 1452)
• 1564 - Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian humanist (b. 1500)
• 1627 - Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer (b. 1560)
• 1667 - George Wither, English writer (b. 1588)
• 1683 - Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and scientist (b. 1613)
• 1711 - Laurence Hyde, English statesman (b. 1641)
• 1802 - Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch statesman (b. 1762)
• 1810 - Rev. Dr. Henry Jerome de Salis, divine (b.1740)
• 1819 - Mary Moser, English painter (b. 1744)
• 1857 - Alfred de Musset, French writer (b. 1810)
• 1864 - Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (b. 1791)
• 1927 - Ernest Starling, British physiologist (b. 1866)
• 1945 - Martin Bormann, Nazi official (b. 1900)
• 1945 - Ludwig Stumpfegger, German SS doctor (b. 1910)
• 1945 - Joe Corbett, baseball player (b. 1875)
• 1947 - Dorothea Binz, Nazi war criminal (b. 1920)
• 1957 - Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator (b. 1908)
• 1960 - Caryl Chessman, American robber and rapist (b. 1921)
• 1964 - Nancy Astor, American-born politician (b. 1879)
• 1969 - Franz von Papen, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
• 1972 - J. Edgar Hoover, American director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
• 1979 - Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
• 1980 - George Pál, Hungarian-born film director (b. 1908)
• 1980 - Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
• 1983 - Norm Van Brocklin, American football star (b. 1926)
• 1984 - Jack Barry, television game show producer and host (b. 1918)
• 1985 - Attilio Bettega, Italian rallydriver (b.1951)
• 1985 - Larry Clinton, American trumpeter and bandleader (b. 1909)
• 1986 - Henri Toivonen, Finnish rallydriver (b.1956)
• 1989 - Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic Cardinal (b. 1906)
• 1989 - Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (b. 1902)
• 1990 - David Rappaport, English actor (b. 1951)
• 1992 - Wilbur Mills, American politician (b. 1909)
• 1995 - Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
• 1997 - John Carew Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
• 1997 - Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator (b. 1921)
• 1998 - Hideto "hide" Matsumoto, Japanese musician (b. 1964)
• 1998 - Kevin Lloyd, British actor (b. 1949)
• 1998 - Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
• 1999 - Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
• 2001 - Ted Rogers, British comedian (b. 1935)
• 2001 - Gina Mastrogiacomo, American actress (b. 1961)
• 2002 - John Nathan-Turner, English television producer (b. 1947)
• 2002 - W. T. Tutte, English-born codebreaker (b. 1917)
• 2005 - Kenneth B. Clark, American psychologist (b. 1914)
• 2005 - Wee Kim Wee, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
• 2006 - Louis Rukeyser, American columnist (b. 1933)
• 2007 - Brad McGann, New Zealand film director and screenwriter (b. 1964)

Holidays and observances

• Poland - Flag Day, an official holiday to honour the Flag of Poland
• Bahá'í Faith: Last day of the Festival of Ridván
• Madrid Region - Day of the Region.
• Slovenia and Serbia - second day of Labour Day
• Iran - Teacher's Day
• Indonesia - Indonesia National Education Day

Liturgical feast days

in the Roman Catholic Church:

• Athanasius of Alexandria
• Saint Boris
• Saints Exuperius and Zoe
• Saint Germanus
• Saint Waldebert, Walbert or Gaubert
• Saint Mafalda
• Saint Zoe

in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church:

• Saint Tsar Boris

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day

• On This Day in Canada