Historical Events on May 2

Events 1 - 200 of 231

• 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
• 1345 "Quaden Maendach" in Ghent: battles between fullers & weavers

• 1526 German evangelical monarchy joins Schmalkaldic League

• 1595 King Philip II names Albrecht of Austria land guardian of Netherlands
• 1598 France & Spain sign Peace of Vervins
• 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1st peace of Aachen: ends War of Devolution, French-Spanish war in The Netherlands

• 1672 John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
• 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 & Spain agreed to give weapons to American rebels

• 1808 Uprising against French occupation begins in Madrid
• 1824 Goethe visits Ettersberg (Buchenwald)
• 1829 After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia
• 1833 Russian Tsar Nicolas I bans public sale of serfs
• 1845 Argentinian Domingo Sarmiento publishes his anti-tyranny work "Facundo Civilización y Barbarie"
• 1853 Franconi's Hippodrome opens in New York City
• 1863 South defeats North in Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia

• 1866 Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao
• 1869 The Folies Trévise (later cabaret hall Folies Bergère) opens as an opera house in Paris, France
• 1876 Ross Barnes hit 1st home run in National League
• 1876 The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria
• 1878 US stops minting 20 cent coin
• 1885 "Good Housekeeping" magazine is 1st published
• 1885 Congo Free State formed by King Leopold II of Belgium
• 1887 Gioacchino Rossini's corpse transfered to Santa Croce, Florence

• 1889 Abyssinian Emperor Menelik II and Italy sign Treaty of Wichale
• 1890 Territory of Oklahoma created

• 1903 29th Kentucky Derby: Hal Booker riding Judge Himes wins in 2:09
• 1904 30th Kentucky Derby: Shorty Prior riding Elwood wins in 2:08.50

• 1906 32nd Kentucky Derby: Roscoe Troxler aboard Sir Huon wins in 2:08.8

• 1907 Jules baron de Trooz forms Belgian government
• 1908 1908 "Take me out to the Ball Game" registered for copyright.

• 1911 French troops occupy Fès El Bali, Morocco
• 1915 Old Fordham Road in Bronx renamed Landing Road

• 1916 2nd Ave & Bronx Terrace renamed Bronx Blvd; Seward Pl renamed Sycamore Ave; Herald Ave renamed Dickinson Ave; Monroe & Selwyn Avenue named
• 1917 Cin Fred Tooney & Chic's Hippo Vaughn pitch duel no-hitter, Vaughn gives up 2 hits & a run in 10th, so Cin wins 1-0
• 1918 General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
• 1920 1st game of National Negro Baseball League played in Indianapolis
• 1921 Start of 3rd anti-German revolt in Upper Silesia
• 1922 WBAP-AM begins broadcasting from Fort Worth, Texas

• 1924 Netherlands refuses to recognize USSR
• 1925 Kezar Stadium opens in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park
• 1926 US military intervenes in Nicaragua
• 1927 International Economic Conference (52 countries including USSR) opens
• 1927 Pulitzer prize awarded to Louis Bromfield (Early Autumn)
• 1927 U.S. Supreme Court's "Buck v. Bell", permits forced sterilizations of various "unfits" by states' authorities where such surgeries are practiced for eugenic reasons
• 1928 KPQ-AM in Wenatchee WA begins radio transmissions

• 1930 Des Moines (Western League) defeats Wichita 13-6 to open 1st ballpark with permanently installed lights
• 1932 Jack Benny's 1st radio show premieres (NBC Blue Network)
• 1932 Pulitzer prize awarded to Pearl S Buck (Good Earth)

• 1934 Nazi Germany begins People's Court
• 1936 Sergei Prokofiev's musical "Peter and the Wolf" premieres in Moscow
• 1936 62nd Kentucky Derby: Ira Hanford aboard Bold Venture wins in 2:03.6

• 1938 Pulitzer prize awarded to Thornton Wilder for his play "Our Town"

• 1941 FCC approves regular scheduled commercial TV broadcasts to begin July 1
• 1941 Nazi occupied Netherlands lays off Jewish journalists

• 1942 68th Kentucky Derby: Wayne D Wright aboard Shut Out wins in 2:04.4
• 1942 Japanese troops occupy Mandalay, Burma
• 1943 German troops vacate Jefna, Tunisia
• 1944 WABD (WNEW, now WNYW) TV channel 5 in NYC (DUM/MET/FOX) 1st broadcast
• 1945 Allies occupy Wismar, Northern Germany
• 1945 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina & Princess Juliana reach Gilze-Rijen
• 1945 More than 1,000,000 German soldiers officially surrender to the Western Allies in Italy and Austria

• 1945 Yugoslav troops occupy Trieste
• 1946 The "Battle of Alcatraz" takes place, killing two guards and three inmates

• 1947 Eugene O'Neill's "Moon for the Misbegotten" premieres in NYC

• 1949 Bolivian state of siege proclaimed
• 1949 Don Newcombe, 1st start, shuts out Cincinnati on 5 hits to win 3-0
• 1950 Carlo Terron's "Giuditta" premieres in Milan
• 1950 Dutch 1st Chamber accept Laws on immigration
• 1950 Dutch PM Malan recognizes South-Africa but not People's Republic of China
• 1952 1st performance of John Cage's "Water Music"
• 1952 1st scheduled jet airliner passenger service began with a BOAC Comet
• 1952 Operations begin at United Suriname Workers of Netherlands which flew from London to Johannesburg carrying 36 passengers
• 1953 79th Kentucky Derby: Hank Moreno aboard Dark Star wins in 2:02
• 1953 Feisal II installed as King of Iraq
• 1953 Hussein I installed as King of Jordan

• 1955 India proposal to discrimination against Dalits or "Untouchables" punishable

• 1955 WGBH TV channel 2 in Boston, MA (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1956 US Lab detects high-temperature microwave radiation from Venus
• 1956 US Methodist church disallows racial separation

• 1958 Yanks threaten to broadcast games nationwide if NL goes ahead with plans to broadcast, games into NYC
• 1959 85th Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker aboard Tomy Lee wins in 2:02.2
• 1960 Harry Belafonte 2nd Carnegie Hall performance
• 1960 Pulitzer prize awarded to Al Drury (Advice & Consent)
• 1960 House investigating committee, looking into payola questions
• 1962 OAS strikes in Algeria
• 1962 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
• 1962 WMHT TV channel 17 in Schenectady-Alby-Tro, NY (PBS) 1st broadcast
• 1962 European Cup Final, Amsterdam: Eusébio scores twice as defending champions Benfica beat Real Madrid, 5-3; Puskás, hits all 3 for Madrid

• 1964 90th Kentucky Derby: Bill Hartack aboard Northern Dancer wins in 2:00


• 1964 Beatles' "Beatles' 2nd Album" goes #1 & stays #1 for 5 weeks
• 1964 Mad Dog Vachon beats Verne Gagne in Omaha, to become NWA champ
• 1964 First ascent of Shishapangma the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and lowest of the Eight-thousanders
• 1965 "New Faces of 1965" opens at Booth Theater NYC for 52 performances
• 1965 Early Bird satellite goes into commercial service
• 1966 Pulitzer prize awarded Arthur M Schlesinger Jr (Thousand Days)

• 1968 1st performance of Roger Sessions' 8th Symphony
• 1968 22nd NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 2
• 1968 Gold reaches then record high ($39.35 per ounce) in London
• 1968 Israeli television begins transmitting
• 1969 British liner Queen Elizabeth II leaves Southampton on maiden voyage to NY
• 1970 1st woman jockey at Kentucky Derby (Diane Crump)
• 1970 96th Kentucky Derby: Mike Manganello on Dust Commander wins 2:03.4
• 1970 KOAI (now KNAZ) TV channel 2 in Flagstaff, AZ (NBC) 1st broadcast
• 1972 126 killed in an electrical fire in Sunshine Silver mine, Kellogg, Idaho
• 1972 Lt General Vernon A Walters, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
• 1972 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

• 1974 Six Catholic civilians killed and eighteen wounded when the UVF explode a bomb at Rose & Crown Bar on Ormeau Road, Belfast
• 1975 Apple records closes down
• 1977 "The King & I" opens at Uris Theater NYC for 719 performances
• 1978 NBA championship: Portland Trailblazers win in 4 games
• 1978 1978 NFL Draft: Earl Campbell from University of Texas first pick by Houston Oilers
• 1979 "Quadrophenia" premieres in London
• 1979 -May 10] Vivekananda (Sri Lanka) begins nonstop ride, cycling 187 hrs, 28 min, around Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka

• 1980 Joseph Doherty & 3 other IRA men arrested for murder

• 1980 Pope John Paul II begins African tour


• 1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1981 107th Kentucky Derby: Jorge Velásquez on Pleasant Colony wins in 2:02
• 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, California
• 1984 "Sunday in the Park with George" opens at Booth NYC for 604 performances
• 1984 Indians' Andre Thornton ties record for most walks (6 in 16 inn)
• 1984 Mattingly's single breaks up Lamarr Hoyt's perfect game bid
• 1984 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1986 Transportation Expo 86 opens in Vancouver, BC
• 1987 113th Kentucky Derby: Chris McCarron aboard Alysheba wins in 2:03.4
• 1988 Baltimore Orioles sign a 15 year lease to remain in Baltimore and get a new park
• 1988 David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" premieres in NYC

• 1989 "Killin' Time" debut album by Clint Black is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1990)
• 1990 "Some Americans Abroad" opens at Vivian Beaumont NYC for 62 performances
• 1990 South Africa & African National Congress open talks to end apartheid

• 1992 "High Rollers Social & Pleasure Club" opens at H Hayes NYC 14 performances
• 1992 118th Kentucky Derby: Pat Day aboard Lil E Tee wins in 2:03
• 1992 Yugoslav Army seizes Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic
• 1993 "5 Guys Named Moe" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 445 performances
• 1993 "Candida" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 45 performances
• 1993 "Redwood Curtain" closes at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC after 40 performances
• 1993 "Tango Passion" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 5 performances
• 1994 Bus crashes into a tree at Gdańsk Poland, 32 killed
• 1994 Dr Kervokian found innocent on assisting suicides
• 1994 Michael Bolton found to have plagurized Isley Bros "Love is Wonderful Thing"


• 1995 "Hamlet" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 121 performances
• 1995 Expos bat out of order against Mets in 6th inning
• 1995 Serbian missiles exploded in the heart of Zagreb, killing six

• 1997 Mercury Mail announces its 1 millionth internet subscriber

• 1997 Republic of Texas security chief Robert Scheidt surrenders

• 1998 124th Kentucky Derby: Kent Desormeaux aboard Real Quiet wins in 2:02.20
• 1998 Battle of Hogwarts: fictional battle that ended the Second Wizarding War with the death of Lord Voldemort at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
• 1999 Panamanian election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama

• 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

• 2009 135th Kentucky Derby: Calvin Borel wins aboard 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird

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