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Today May 2nd 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
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.
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 – 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 for 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.
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.
1900 – Oscar II, King of Sweden, declares support for the United Kingdom 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, Indiana.
1932 – Comedian Jack Benny s radio show airs for the first time.
1933 – Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.
1939 – Batman s first appearance in a comic book.
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.
Births
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 near Cuxhaven, a rocket with three stages and 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.
1994 – in Poland bus disaster 32 people died.
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.
Deaths
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)
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)
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 – Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author (d. 1998)
1903 – Bing Crosby, American actor and singer (d. 1977)
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
1929 – Link Wray, American guitarist (d. 2005)
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
1962 – Stephen Daldry, English film director
1962 – Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
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 – 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 – 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
1982 – Lorie, French singer
1983 – Christa Rigozzi, Swiss model
1984 – Saulius Mikoliunas, Lithuanian footballer
1984 – Thabo Sefolosha, American 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
1985 – Jarrod Saltalamacchia, American baseball player
1986 – James Kirk, Canadian actor
1987 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
1988 – Lara Liang, Taiwanese-American Singer
1990 – Kay Panabaker, American actor
1995 – Kelsey Lewis, American actress
2000 – Angel Sy, Filipina child actor
Holidays and observances
373 – Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria (b. 298)
756 – Emperor Shomu, 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 Gradic, 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)
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)
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