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May 2
May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). There are 243 days remaining.
Events
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1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
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1335 - Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia
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1568 - Mary I of Scotland escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
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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.
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1672 - John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
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1808 - Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation.
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1816 - Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Charlotte Augusta are wed.
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1829 - After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
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1863 - American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends, with a defeat of the Army of the Potomac under General Joseph Hooker by Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson.
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1885 - Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.
- 1885 - The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium.
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1889 - Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs a treaty of amity with Italy, which gives Ethiopia control over Eritrea.
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1900 - Oscar II, King of Sweden, declares support for Britain at the time of the Boer War.
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1918 - General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
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1920 - The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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1932 - Comedian Jack Benny's radio show airs for the first time.
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1933 - The first modern sighting of the Loch Ness monster is reported.
- 1933 - Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.
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1939 - Lou Gehrig's streak of 2130 consecutive Major League Baseball games played comes to an end. The record will stand for 56 years before Cal Ripken, Jr. breaks it.
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1940 - The British passenger liner City of Exeter encounters the German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis, but without incident.
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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.
- 1945 - The last postage stamp utilized by Manzhouguo is issued.
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1948 - Hour of Charm's last broadcast.
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1952 - The first commercial jet plane, the BOAC's Comet, is put into service
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1953 - Hussein is crowned King of Jordan.
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1955 - Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
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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.
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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.
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1966 - Upper Hutt in New Zealand is proclaimed a city.
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1969 - The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
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1970 - The Ohio National Guard arrives at Kent State University in response to arson on an ROTC building.
- 1970 - Vietnam War: Joint forces continue attack into Cambodia
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1972 - Buddy Baker became the first stock car driver to finish a 500-mile race in less than three hours en route to winning the Winston Select 500 at the Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.
- 1972 - Production of the movie Jaws begins.
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1982 - Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
- 1982 - The Weather Channel goes on the air.
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1984 - Sunday in the Park with George opens on Broadway.
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1986 - The 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada opens.
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1988 - The last B-1 Lancer is delivered.
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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 for 185 years.
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1998 - The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the EU's monetary policy.
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1999 - Norman J. Sirnic and Karen Sirnic are murdered in their Weimar, Texas parsonage by Angel Maturino Resendiz. The couple are his fourth and fifth victims in his fourth attack.
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2000 - Bill Clinton announces that GPS access equivalent to the U.S. military would be available for regular citizens.
Births
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1601 - Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (d. 1680)
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1660 - Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
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1729 - Empress Catherine II of Russia (d. 1796)
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1740 - Elias Boudinot, American President of the Continental Congress (d. 1821)
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1772 - Novalis, German writer (d. 1801)
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1860 - Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist, Zionist leader (d. 1904)
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1881 - Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)
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1884 - Elijah McCoy, Canadian-born inventor (d. 1929)
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1885 - Hedda Hopper, American actress, gossip columnist (d. 1966)
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1886 - Gottfried Benn, German author (d. 1956)
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1887 - Vernon Castle , dancer (d. 1918)
- 1887 - Eddie Collins, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1951)
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1890 - E. E. Smith, American science fiction writer (d. 1965)
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1892 - Manfred von Richthofen, "The Red Baron" German World War I pilot (d. 1918)
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1895 - Lorenz Hart, American lyricist (d. 1943)
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1903 - Dr. Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician, Olympic Games gold medalist in rowing, author (d. 1998)
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1907 - Pinky Lee, vaudeville performer, children's television host (d. 1993)
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1912 - Axel Cäsar Springer , publisher (d. 1985)
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1913 - Nigel Patrick , actor (d. 1981)
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1915 - Doris Fisher, American singer, songwriter (d. 2003)
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1920 - Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (d. 2004)
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1921 - Satyajit Ray, Indian director (d. 1992)
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1924 - Theodore Bikel, actor, singer
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1925 - Roscoe Lee Browne , actor
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1929 - Link Wray, guitarist
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1935 - King Faisal II of Iraq (d. 1958)
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1936 - Engelbert Humperdinck, singer
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1937 - Lorenzo Music, writer, producer (d. 2001)
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1941 - Stephen J. Cannell, producer
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1942 - Jacques Rogge, Belgian IOC president
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1945 - Sarah Weddington, attorney in Roe v. Wade case
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1946 - David Suchet, actor
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1946 - Lesley Gore, singer
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1949 - Alan Titchmarsh, gardener, TV presenter, writer
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1955 - Donatella Versace, fashion designer
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1961 - Steve James, English snooker player
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1962 - Jimmy White, English snooker player
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1969 - Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer
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1972 - The Rock, professional wrestler and actor
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1975 - David Beckham, English footballer
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1985 - Sarah Hughes, figure skating champion
Deaths
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373 - Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria (b. 298)
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1230 - William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny (b. c. 1197)
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1300 - Blanche of Artois, regent of Navarre, Countess of Lancaster
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1450 - William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (b. 1396)
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1519 - Leonardo da Vinci, inventor, painter (b. 1452)
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1802 - Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch statesman (b. 1762)
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1819 - Mary Moser, painter (b. 1744)
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1857 - Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (b. 1810)
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1864 - Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (b. 1791)
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1957 - Joseph McCarthy, U.S. Senator (b. 1908)
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1964 - Nancy Astor, first woman elected to the British Parliament (b. 1879)
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1972 - J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI (b. 1895)
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1980 - George Pál, director, producer (b. 1908)
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1989 - Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, a senior cardinal (b. 1906)
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1983 - Norm Van Brocklin, American football star
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1990 - David Rappaport, English actor (b. 1951)
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1995 - Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
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1997 - John Carew Eccles, Nobel Prize winner (b. 1903)
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1998 - Hideto "hide" Matsumoto, musician (b. 1964)
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1999 - Oliver Reed, actor (b. 1938)
- 1999 - Norman J. and Karen Sirnic
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2002 - John Nathan-Turner, English television producer (b. 1947)
- 2002 - W. T. Tutte, codebreaker and mathematician (b. 1917)
Holidays and observances
External links
May 1 - May 3 - April 2 - June 2 -- listing of all days
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