May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 243 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about May 2nd, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about May 2nd in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- World Tuna Day.
- International Harry Potter Day.
- Baby Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – May 2
2011: Osama bin Laden is killed by a U.S. commando
Bin Laden was the founder of al-Qaeda, a militant group that claimed responsibility for a series of terrorist attacks on U.S. targets on September 11, 2001.
1997: Tony Blair becomes British Prime Minister, ending 18 years of Conservative Party reign
Blair’s Labor Party achieved a landslide victory in the general elections. Many of his early fans were bitterly disappointed when he supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
1991: Microsoft Registers Their Domain Name
Microsoft registers the microsoft.com domain name. For such a major technology company, notably, this was over 6 years after the domain name system was created and the first domain name registered, and over 4 years after competitor Apple registered apple.com. I guess it was no surprise that it took Microsoft another 4 years to recognize the growing importance of the “Internet Tidal Wave“, about a year after the World Wide Web was already gaining mainstream popularity and most of the rest of the technology industry were already on board.
1989: The Iron Curtain begins to crumble as Hungary dismantles its border fence
By gradually opening its border to Austria, Hungary facilitated the escape of hundreds of East Germans in the months before the Berlin Wall fell.
1982: The British Royal Navy sinks the Argentinian cruiser General Belgrano
323 lives were lost in the attack, more than half of the total number of Argentinian casualties during the Falklands War. The British Sun tabloid newspaper commented the controversial attack with one of its most notorious headlines: “Gotcha”.
1952: The jet age begins with the first scheduled flight of the De Havilland Comet 1
Precisely one year after the maiden flight from London to Johannesburg, a Comet 1 crashed due to structural problems, killing 43 people. A series of similar accidents soon led to the grounding of the entire Comet fleet.
1994: A man in Rwanda is trying to get out of his cell in Kigali at the beginning of the genocide in 1994. (I wonder how they took the photo and what happened after that)
Two homeless men squat below the recently constructed World Trade Center, Photo: Fred Conrad for The New York Times, USA – New York City, 1975
1966: Vietnam War – Army nurses take a break from helping others, 1966.
1966: Sharon Tate and Tony Curtis during the filming of “Don’t Make Waves”, Malibu Beach, 1966
1945: The USSR announced the fall of Berlin during WWII in 1945.
1952: The first commercial jet airliner, De Havilland Comet, took off in 1952.
1914: Moscow. May 2, 1914.
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, May 2
1985: Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter
1975: David Beckham, English footballer, coach, model
1921: Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, screenwriter
1808: Emma Darwin, English wife of Charles Darwin
1729: Catherine the Great, Russian wife of Peter III of Russia
Dwayne Johnson was born.
David Beckham was born.
Satyajit Ray was born.
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, May 2
2011: Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founded al-Qaeda
1972: J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
1957: Joseph McCarthy, American politician
1864: Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer
1519: Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, architect
Leonardo Da Vinci died.
Oliver Reed died.
Osama Bin Laden died.
