2nd May, on this day

1194 King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
1230 William de Braose, 10th Baron Abergavenny was hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great
1335 Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
1345 "Quaden Maendach" in Gent: Battles between volders & weavers
1497 John Cabot departs to North-America
1526 German evangelical monarchy joins Schmalkaldische League
1536 King Henry VIII accused Anna Boleyn of adultery and incest
1568 Mary I of Scotland escapes from Loch Leven Castle, where she had been imprisoned by Sir William Douglas.
1595 King Philip II names Albrecht of Austria land guardian of Netherlands
1598 France and Spain signs Peace of Vervins
1611 First publication of the new Authorised King James Version of the Bible
1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, ends War of Devolution
1670 King Charles II charters Hudson Bay Company
1703 Portugal signs treaty with England to become a Great Covenant
1749 Empress Maria Theresa signs "Haugwitzschen State reform"
1750 Carlo Goldoni's "La Botega di Caffè" premieres in Mantua
1776 France and Spain agree to donate arms to American rebels
1780 William Herschel discovers 1st binary star, Xi Ursae Majoris
1808 Uprising against French occupation begins in Madrid
1816 Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Charlotte Augusta are wed.
1824 Goethe visits Ettersberg (Buchenwald)
1829 After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
1833 Czar Nicolas bans public sale of serfs
1845 Domingo Sarmiento publishes "Civilización y Barbarie"
1847 Sabbath famine
1863 Stonewall Jackson attacks Chancellorsville VA, wounded by his own men; South defeats North. He succumbs to pneumonia 8 days later.
1865 President Johnson offers $100,000 reward for capture of Jefferson Davis
1866 Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
1876 The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria.
1885 "Good Housekeeping" magazine is 1st published
1885 Congo Free State established by King Leopold II of Belgium
1885 Cree and Assiniboine warriors won the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
1887 G Rossini's corpse transfered to Santa Croce, Florence
1887 Hannibal W Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film
1889 Abyssinian emperor Menelik II/Italy signs Treaty of Wichale
1890 Territory of Oklahoma created
1900 Oscar II, King of Sweden, declares support for Britain at the time of the Second Boer War.
1900 George Bernard Shaws "You Never Can Tell" premieres in London
1902 The 1st science fiction film, "A Trip To The Moon", is released
1905 French newspapers publish lists of Jules Vernes unpublished work
1907 Belgium Jules baron de Trooz forms Belgian Government
1911 French troops occupy Fès El Bali Morocco
1916 US President Wilson signs Harrison Drug Act
1918 General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
1919 1st US air passenger service starts
1921 Begin 3rd anti-German revolt in Upper-Silesia
1926 US military intervenes in Nicaragua
1927 International Economic Conference (52 countries including USSR) opens
1927 Pulitzer prize awarded to Louis Bromfield (Early Autumn)
1932 Comedian Jack Benny's radio show airs for the first time.
1933 In Germany, Adolf Hitler bans trade unions
1934 Nazi-Germany begins People's court
1936 "Peter and the Wolf" premieres in Moscow
1936 Emperor Haile Selassie and family flee Abyssinia
1938 Ella Fitzgerald records "A-Tisket, A-Tasket"
1941 FCC approves regular scheduled commercial TV broadcasts to begin July 1
1941 Martin Bormann succeeds Rudolf Hess as Hitler's deputy
1941 Nazi occupied Netherlands layoff Jewish journalists
1942 Japanese troops occupy Mandalay, Burma
1942 World War II: HMS Edinburgh is sunk in the Barents Sea off the Norwegian coast. Its cargo of gold bars lay in 800 feet of water until salvaged in 1981
1943 German troops vacate Jefna Tunisia
1945 Allies occupy Wismar
1945 German Army in Italy surrenders
1945 Russia takes Berlin; General Weidling surrenders
1945 Yugoslav troops occupy Trieste
1946 Prisoners revolt at Alcatraz, 5 die
1949 Arthur Miller wins Pulitzer Prize for "Death of a Salesman"
1949 Bolivian state of siege proclaimed
1952 First jet passenger service begins between London and Johannesburg in South Africa with a BOAC Comet
1953 Football legend Sir Stanley Matthews, at the age of 38, wins an FA Cup winners' medal as Blackpool come back from trailing 3-1 to beat Bolton 4-3. In recognition of the impact he had on the match, it has become known as the 'Matthews Final'
1953 Feisal II installed as king of Iraq
1953 Hussein I installed as king of Jordan
1955 India poses discrimination "onaanraakbaren" punishable
1956 US Lab detects high-temperature microwave radiation from Venus
1956 US Methodist church disallows race separation
1960 House investigating committee, looking into payola questions
1962 OAS strikes in Algeria
1962 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
1964 Beatles' "Second Album" goes to number 1 and stays for 5 weeks
1964 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.
1965 Britain's Early Bird satellite begins transmitting TV programmes to more than 300 million viewers. The first programme: 'Out Of This World'
1968 Israeli television begins transmitting
1968 In Spain, General Franco orders the closing of the frontier between Spain and Gibraltar
1969 Britain's latest cruise liner, the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2), the last of the Cunard liners built for transatlantic service, sails on her maiden voyage from Southampton
1972 Electrical fire in Sunshine Silver mine - 126 die (Kellogg Idaho)
1972 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1974 Former Vice President Spiro Agnew is disbarred
1975 Apple records closes down
1980 Joseph Doherty and 3 other IRA men arrested for murder
1980 Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in Wall (Part II)" is banned in South Africa
1980 Pope John Paul II begins African tour
1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1981 Radio Shack re-releases Model III TRSDOS 1.3 with 2 fixes
1982 Falklands War: Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by British submarine Conqueror, killing more than 350 men
1983 6.7 earthquake injures 487 in Coalinga, CA
1984 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1986 The 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, opens.
1988 Jackson Pollock's "Search" sold for $4,800,000
1989 China imposes Martial Law as the government takes a firm stand against pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square
1990 South Africa and African National Congress open talks to end apartheid
1991 Pope John Paul II's encyclical on Centesimus annus
1992 Yugoslav Army seize Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic
1994 Bus crashes into a tree at Gdansk Poland, 30 killed
1994 Dr Kevokian found innocent on assisting suicides
1994 Michael Bolton found to have plagiarized Isley Brothers "Love is Wonderful Thing"
1995 During the Croatian War of Independence, Serb forces fire cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing 7 and wounding over 175 civilians.
1997 Donald Trump and Marla Maples announce they are separating
1997 Police arrest transsexual hooker Atisone Seiuli with Eddie Murphy

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. .
2002 Marad massacre of eight Hindus near Palakkad in Kerala
2004 Yelwa massacre of more than 630 nomad Muslims by Christians in Nigeria.
2005 The Pontiac Grand Am ceases production at the 100 year-old Lansing Car Assembly plant.

2nd May 2006

Berlusconi resigns as Italian PM

US warns of tough Iran resolution

Sudan tops 'failed states index'

2nd May 2007

US and EU agree 'single market'

Estonia shuts consulate in Moscow

ICC issues Darfur arrest warrants

2nd May 2008

Zimbabwe electionl results

Air crash kills Sudanese minister

Deadly blast at Yemen mosque

2nd May 2009

Swine flu spread 'not sustained'

Hospital 'hit by Sri Lankan army'

Uniformed Iraqi kills US soldiers

2nd May 2010

US studies bomb evidence

Eurozone approves Greece bail-out

Somali Islamist insurgents seize pirate haven

Birthdates which occurred on 2nd May :

1551 William Camden English historian (Brittania, Annales)
1601 Athanasius Kircher German Jesuit/inventor (magic lantern)
1660 Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti Palermo Italy, composer (Tigrane)
1729 Catherine II (the Great) empress of Russia (1762-96)
1729 Florian Johann Deller composer
1740 Elias Boudinot lawyer/patriot, found American Biblical Society
1752 Ludwig August Lebrun composer
1754 Vicente Martin y Soler composer
1768 Jean-Louis M Alibert French dermatologist
1772 Novalis writer
1779 John Galt Scotland, novelist (Ayrshire Legatees, Lawrie Todd)
1810 Hans Christian Lumbye composer
1810 Leo XIII 257th Roman Catholic pope (1878-1903)
1817 Zikmund Michal Kolesovsky composer
1821 Abram Sanders Piatt Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1908
1837 General Henry Martyn Robert parliamentarian (Robert's Rules of Order)
1840 Theodor Herzl founded Zionist movement
1843 Carl Michael Ziehrer composer
1844 Elijah McCoy black inventor, held over 50 patents including a lubricator for steam engines ("the Real McCoy")
1846 Zygmunt Noskowski composer
1849 Fürst Bernhard HM von Bülow German chancellor/Prussian PM (1900-09)
1853 Marie Verstraete actress (Louise-Frou Frou)
1855 Theodore Moses Tobani composer
1857 Frederic Cliffe composer
1859 Eugene D'Harcourt composer
1860 Sir D'Arcy Thompson zoologist/classicist (On Growth & Form)
1860 Theodor Herzl Austria, journalist/founder (Zionist movement)
1862 Marie F M Emmanuel French composer/musicologist (Salamine)
1869 Tyrone Power Sr London England, actor (Alexanders Ragtime Band)
1872 G G van der Hoeven Dutch editor-in-chief (NRC)
1884 François de Vries Dutch economist
1885 Hedda Hopper [Elda Furry] Hollidaysburg PA, gossip columnist (From Under My Hat)
1886 Gottfried Benn writer
1887 Edward Collins New York, Hall of Fame infielder (White Sox, A's)
1890 E[dward] E[lmer] "Doc" Smith US, sci-fi author (Triplanetary)
1892 Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen [the Red Baron], German WWI ace
1893 Beppie Nooij Jr Dutch actress (Rooie Sien) [or May 13, 1912]
1895 Alfred Kurella writer
1895 Peggy Bacon Ridgefield CT, author/illustrator (Off With Their Heads)
1898 Jef [Josephus C F] Last Dutch poet/politician (The Spark)
19-- Matt Thorr rocker (Jailhouse-Alive in a Mad World)
1900 Helen Morgan singer/actress (Applause, Frankie & Johnny)
1901 Lev N Lunts Russia, writer (Outside the Law, City of Truth)
1901 Robert Elliott Storey Wyatt cricketer (England batsman 1927-37)
1901 Willi Bredel writer
1902 Brian Aherne Worcestershire England, actor (Juarez)
1902 Erin O'Brien-Moore Los Angeles CA, actress (Peyton Place, Our Little Girl)
1903 Benjamin Spock New Haven CT, pediatrician/author (Common Sense Book of Baby Care)
1903 Oivin Fjeldstad composer
1904 Georgi Dimitrov composer
1905 Alan Rawsthorne Haslingden England, composer (Cortéges)
1906 Aileen Riggin Newport RI, springboard diver (Olympics-gold-1920, 24)
1906 Maurice Thiriet composer
1907 Pinky Lee children's show host (Pinky Lee Show)
1908 William Bakewell Los Angeles CA, actor (Stage manager-Pinky Lee Show)
1910 Laurie Nash cricketer (Tasmanian fast-bowler, 2 Tests for Australia)
1911 Lillian Rambach teacher violinist
1912 Axel Springer German newspaper magnate
1912 Marten Toonder writer/cartoonist (Mr Bommel)
1913 Nigel Patrick London England, actor/director (Sapphire, Prize of Gold)
1914 Dennis Dyer cricketer (opened batting for South Africa vs England 1947)
1915 Jan Hanus composer
1915 Van Alexander New York NY, orchestra leader (Gordon MacRae Show)
1918 Frederick Archibauld Warner diplomat
1919 Than Wyenn New York NY, actor (Pete Kelly's Blues)
1920 Jacob Gilboa composer
1921 Satyajit Ray Calcutta India, director (Goddess, Adversary)
1922 Abraham Rosenthal editor (New York Times)
1923 Christina Spierenburg Dutch singer
1924 Aafje Heynis Dutch singer
1924 Theodore Bikel Austrian/US folk singer/actor (The Russians Are Coming)
1925 David Ironside cricketer (South Africa swing bowler in 3 Tests vs New Zealand 1953-54)
1925 John Neville actor (Adventures of Baron Münchausen)
1925 Roscoe Lee Browne Woodbury NJ, actor (McCoy, Saunders-Soap)
1925 Svatopluk Havelka composer
1929 Edward Levy Irving composer
1929 Luc Ferrari composer
1929 Sydney Gedye cricketer (opening batsman in four Tests for New Zealand 1964)
1930 Morris Courtright manned spaceflight pioneer and Arizona State legislator
1932 Bruce Glover Chicago IL, actor (Diamonds are Forever)
1932 Kees de Galan Dutch economist
1932 Malcolm Leyland Lipkin composer
1933 Bunk Gardner rocker (Mothers Of Invention)
1935 Faisal II King of Iraq (1939-58)/son of Ghasi I
1935 Hussain ibn Talal King of Jordan (1952-99)
1935 Link Wray rocker (Link Wray & His Ray Men)
1936 Michael Rabin New York NY, violinist (In Memorium)
1936 Quinn Redeker Woodstock IL, actor (Dan Raven, Young & Restless)
1937 Gisela Elsner writer
1937 Lorenzo Music Brooklyn NY, writer/actor/voice (Carlton the doorman-Rhoda, Garfield)
1938 Constantine Bereng Seeiso king Moshushoe II of Lesotho
1940 Bryan Davis cricketer (brother of Charlie; West Indies batsman vs Australia 1965)
1940 Roger Robinson Seattle WA, actor (Warren-Friends, Newman's Law)
1940 Sari van Heemskerck Pillis-Duvekot Dutch MP (VVD)
1941 Jules Wijdenbosch premier Suriname
1944 F Innerhofer writer
1944 John Verity rocker (Argent)
1945 Bianca Pérez Morena de Macias Jagger Nicaragua, model/Mick's ex-wife
1945 Bob Henrit English pop drummer (Kinks-Waterloo Sunset)
1945 Goldy McJohn rocker (Steppenwolf)
1945 Randy Cain US soul singer (4 Gents/Delfonics)
1945 Robert Henrit England, rocker (Argent)
1946 Lesley Gore Tenafly NJ, singer (It's My Party)
1947 Bill Lowery (Representative-R-CA, 1981- )
1947 Jo Ann Pflug Atlanta GA, actress (MASH, Candid Camera, Rituals)
1948 Larry Gatlin Seminole TX, country singer (Gatlin Brothers-Broken Lady)
1949 Joey Phillips percussionist (Atlantic Star-Touch a 4 Leaf Clover)
1950 Lou Gramm Rochester NY, rocker (Foreigner-I Want to Know What Love Is)
1952 Christine Baranski Buffalo NY, actress (Maryann-Cybill, Birdcage)
1953 "Keith" Jamaal Wilkes NBA forward (Golden State-Rookie of Year 1975)
1954 Bulelani T Ngcuka South African attorney/leader (UDF)
1955 Ian Callen cricketer (one Test Australia vs India 1978, six wickets)
1955 Jay Osmond rocker (Osmond Brothers)
1955 Joe Callis rocker
1957 Domonic L Pudwill Gorie Lake Charles LA, USN/astronaut (STS-91)
1958 Kim Jones Sonoma CA, 5k runner
1959 Brian Tochi Los Angeles CA, actor (Dr Alan Poe-St Elsewhere, Renegades)
1960 Ravi Ratnayeke cricketer (Sri Lankan pace bowler & opening batsman)
1961 Doctor Robert [Bruce R Howard] rocker (Blow Monkeys-Wicked Ways)
1961 Peter Doohan Australia, tennis star
1962 Elizabeth Berridge Westchester NY, actress (Amadeus, Funhouse)
1962 Nancy Harvey Swift Current Sask, LPGA golfer (1995 Youngstown-11th)
1963 Jos van Eck Dutch soccer player (Sparta)
1963 Kenton Leonard CFL cornerback (Calgary Stampeders)
1964 Kelly Michael Gibson New Orleans LA, PGA golfer (1995 Bob Hope-7th)
1967 Kerryn McCann Australian marathoner (Olympics-96)
1968 Reggie Slack CFL quarterback (Saskatchewan Roughriders)
1968 Will Furrer WLAF quarterback (Amsterdam Admirals)
1969 Brian Lara cricketer (West Indies left-hand bat Smashed world records in 1994)
1969 Glen Young NFL linebacker (San Diego Chargers)
1970 Vania Thomas Miss US Virgin Islands Universe (1997)
1971 Greg Bishop NFL guard (New York Giants)
1972 Erik Maes Dutch soccer player (MVV)
1972 Jennifer Miriam Oklahoma City OK, playmate (March, 1997)
1972 Jill Savery Fort Lauderdale FL, synchronized swimmer (Olympics-gold-96)
1972 Peter Ogilvie Vancouver British Columbia, 100 meter sprinter (Olympics-96)
1973 Rich Yurkiewicz NFL/WLAF linebacker (Atlanta Falcons, Amst Admirals)
1974 Miles Joseph West Springfield MA, soccer forward (Olympics-gold-96)
1975 Mark Johnson Dayton OH, baseball pitcher (Olympics-bronze-96)
1975 Murray William Burdan Wellington New Zealand, swimmer (Olympics-96)
1976 Ailleen Damiles Miss Universe-Philippines/Miss Photogenic (1996)
1976 Nancy Feber Antwerp Belgium, tennis star
1977 Amy D'Entremont Stoneham MA, figure skater (1995 New England Jr champion)
1977 Jenna Von Oy actress (Six LeMeure-Blossom)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Deaths which occurred on May 2nd:
0649 Maruta of Tagrit theology/1st mafriaan Jakobitische church, dies
1250 Toeransa sultan of Egypt, murdered
1459 Pierozzi Antoninus Italian archbishop of Florence/saint, dies
1488 Jacob van Horne Burgundy statesman, dies
1519 Leonardo Da Vinci artist/scientist, dies at 67
1567 Marin Drzic Croatian playwright (Dundo Maroje), dies
1669 Pieter Jansz Post master builder (Waag, Gouda), dies at 61
1685 Adriaen van Ostade Dutch painter, buried
1727 Paul Aler French jesuit/poet (Gradus ad Parnassum), dies at 70
1736 Albert Seba Amsterdam pharmacist, dies at 71
1799 Henri-Joseph Rigel composer, dies at 58
1818 Herman W Daendels Governor-General of Guinea (1815-18), dies at 55
1845 August Pauly German writer (Real Encyclopedia), dies at 48
1849 David H Chassé Baron/General (fought Napoleon at Waterloo), dies at 84
1857 LC Alfred the Musset French poet (Lesson caprices Marianne), dies
1864 Giacomo Meyerbeer composer, dies at 72
1892 Wilhelm Rust composer, dies at 69
1897 William Cleaver Francis Robinson composer, dies at 63
1919 Gustav Landauer German socialist, dies
1937 Arthur Somervell composer, dies at 73
1945 Martin Bormann propoganda minister for Hitler, dies
1954 Pauline de Cock-Manifarges singer, dies at 82
1955 Tadeusz Jarecki composer, dies at 66
1957 Joseph McCarthy commie hunting senator (R-WI), dies at 47
1957 Tadeusz Zygfryd Kassern composer, dies at 53
1958 Alfred Weber German economist/sociologist, dies at 89
1959 Yrlö Henrik Kilpinen Finnish composer, dies at 67
1960 Caryl Chessman rapist executed after 12 years of appeals at 39
1961 J C White cricketer (49 wickets in 15 Tests for England 1921-31), dies
1963 Jack Crawford cricketer (469 runs & 39 wickets in 12 Tests), dies
1963 Tomas Vackar composer, dies at 17
1963 Van Wyck Brooks US historian (Ordeal of Mark Twain), dies at 77
1964 Nancy N Witcher Astor US/Eng feminist/ex of Waldorf Astor, dies
1968 Donald L Hall airplane designer (Spirit of St Louis), dies at 69
1969 Franz von Papen German chancellor (1932), dies at 89
1972 Hugo Hartung writer, dies at 69
1972 J Edgar Hoover head of FBI (1924-72)/cross dresser, dies at 77
1973 Alan Carney actor (Herbie-Take it from Me), dies at 61
1980 Clarrie Grimmett cricket (36 Tests for Australia, 216 wickets), dies
1982 Helmut Dantine
1982 Hugh Marlowe actor (Ellery Queen, Jim Matthews-Another World), dies at 71
1983 Marius F Duintjer architect, dies
1984 Jack Barry game show emcee (Joker's Wild), dies at 66
1984 Piet van Aken Flemish writer (Failing God, Niggers), dies at 64
1985 Hal LeRoy dancer/actor (Harold Teen), dies at 71 after cardiac surgery
1985 Milton S Eisenhower US diplomat, dies at 85
1990 David Rappaport 3'11' actor (Wizard, LA Law), shoots himself at 38
1990 Oleg Anatolyevich Yakovlev Russian cosmonaut, dies at 49
1990 William Levi Dawson composer, dies at 90
1991 Hal Bell dies at 65
1991 Leib Lensky dies at 82
1992 Joey Cuevas dancer, dies at 34
1992 Lee Salk baby doctor/author, dies of cardiac arrest at 65
1992 Margareth Wallmann Austrian opera director, dies at 88
1992 Philip Dunne screenwriter, dies of cancer at 84
1992 Wilbur Mills (Representative-D-AR)/involved with Fanne Foxe, dies at 82
1993 Julio Gallo wine maker (Gallo), dies in a car accident at 82
1993 Will Weng Sunday Times crossword puzzle editor (1968-78), dies at 86
1994 Louis Calaferte writer (Requiem of the Innocents), dies at 65
1994 Wilson Charles Geoffery Baldwin hero, dies at 75
1996 Arthur Leslie Noel Douglas Houghton civil servant, dies at 97
1996 Emile Habibi writer, dies at 73
1996 Peter John Swales football club chairman, dies at 63
1995 Michael Hordern actor (Fool, Green Man, Scoop), dies at 83

Golden Link 1/ On this day 2nd May

Golden Link 2/ On this day 2nd May

Golden Link 3/ On this day 2nd May