1500s / 16th century history on the 2nd of May

1519 : LEONARDO da ViNCi the Italian polymath died in Château du Clos Lucé, France, aged 67, possibly of a stroke (born in Italy in 1452). During the High Renaissance he worked as a painter, sculptor, draughtsman, architect, engineer, scientist, and theorist.

1536 : ANNE BOLEYN the Queen of England was arrested and imprisoned on charges of treason, witchcraft, adultery, and incest. She was beheaded in an execution 16 days later on the 19th May.

1700s / 18th century history on the 2nd of May

1729 : CATHERiNE the GREAT of RUSSiA was born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia, which is now known as Szczecin, Poland (died in 1796 aged 67). She was Russia’s longest-ruling female leader.

1800s / 19th century history on the 2nd of May

1819 : MARY MOSER the English painter died aged 74 (born in 1744). She was one of the most celebrated women artists in Britain during the 18th-century, and one of only two female founding members of the Royal Academy of Arts.

1829 : Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger declared the Swan River Colony in Australia which was soon named Perth.

1892 : The Red Baron, German captain and pilot was born Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen in Breslau, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, now known as Wrocław, Poland. (died in 1918 aged 25).

1900s / 20th century history on the 2nd of May

1933 : LOCH NESS MONSTER sighting made the news for 1st time : Although accounts of an aquatic beast living in Scotland’s Loch Ness date back  over 1,500 years, the modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster was born when a sighting made local news on the 2nd May 1933. The Inverness Courier newspaper related an account of a local couple who claimed to have seen “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface.” The news story of the “monster” (a moniker chosen by the Courier editor) became a media phenomenon, with London newspapers sending many correspondents to Scotland,  and a circus offered a 20,000 pound sterling reward for capture of the Loch Ness Monster.

1949 : Alan Titchmarsh (MBE, DL, HonFSE) the English gardener and TV presenter was born in Ilkley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.

1945 : The fall of Berlin was announced by the Soviet Union announced during World War II.

1950 : LOU GRAMM the American singer-songwriter was born Louis Andrew Grammatico in Rochester, New York, United States. He is best known for being the lead singer of Foreigner rock band from 1977 to 1990. Lou Gramm’s official website : LouGrammOfficial.com

1952 : A De Havilland Comet made the first jetliner flight with paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg, South Africa.

1955 : Donatella Versace the Italian fashion designer was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy.

1963 : Berthold Seliger launched the only sounding rocket developed in Germany. It was a rocket with 3 stages and a maximum flight altitude of over than 100 kilometres was launched near Cuxhaven.

1969 : QE2 : Queen Elizabeth 2 the British ocean liner departed on her maiden voyage to New York City, USA.

1972 : Dwayne Johnson the American-Canadian wrestler known as The Rock was born in Hayward, California, USA. He is also an actor, producer, and and former American football and Canadian football player.

1972 : Ahti Heinla the co-developer of Skype was born in Estonia.

1975 : David Beckham the English footballer was born in Leytonstone, London, England. David Beckham’s official website : DavidBeckham.com

1986 : The City of Chernobyl was evacuated 6 days after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

1989 : Hungary began dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allowed a number of East Germans to defect, during the last 2 years of the Cold War, which started in 1947 and ended in 1991.

1998 : The European Central Bank was founded in Brussels.

1999 : Mireya Moscoso became the 1st woman to be elected President of Panama.

2000s / 21st century history on the 2nd of May

2000 : President Bill Clinton announced that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.

2008 : Cyclone Nargis hit Burma and killed more than 138,000 people, and left millions of people homeless.

2011 : OSAMA BiN LADEN was killed by the United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He was the FBI’s most wanted man, and main suspect behind the September 11 attacks in 2001.

2012 : The SCREAM by Norwegian painter EDVARD MUNCH, pastel version, sold for $120 million in a New York City auction, which set a new world record for an artwork at auction.

2014 : Mudslides in Badakhshan in Afghanistan resulted in 2,500 missing people.

2015 : Princess Charlotte of Cambridge the British royal was born Charlotte Elizabeth Diana in St Mary’s Hospital, London, England. She is the daughter of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Princess Charlotte is the 4th in line to the British throne.

see more interesting events on all the other days of MAY (History On This Day @ Azoosh)

This page was last updated on the 3rd May 2021

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