On this day: May 2nd
Credit/Source: Wikipedia
1194 King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter.
1230 William de Braose (died 1230) is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
1536 Anne Boleyn, Queen consort, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
1559 John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.
1568 Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Lochleven Castle.
1611 The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker (printer).
1625 Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarchate of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.
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.
1808 Outbreak of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid Dos de Mayo Uprising against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorializes this event in his painting ''The Second of May 1808''.
1812 The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory.
1829 After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of , declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
1863 American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia eight days later.
1866 Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
1876 The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.
1885 Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
1889 Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.
1906 Closing ceremony of the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
1920 The first game of the Negro National League (1920–31) is played in Indianapolis.
1933 Germany's independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.
1941 World War II: Following the ''1941 Iraqi coup d'état'' against Iraq Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom launches the Anglo-Iraqi War to restore him to power.
1945 World War II: The Soviet Union announces the Battle of Berlin.
1945 World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.
1945 World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1,000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.
1945 World War II: A Death marches (Holocaust) # Dachau to the Austrian border from Dachau concentration camp to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all-Nisei 442nd Infantry Regiment (United States) # 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners.
1952 A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.
1963 Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
1964 Vietnam War: Attack on USNS Card sinks the American aircraft carrier USNS ''Card'' while it is docked at Saigon. Two Viet Cong Frogman had placed explosives on the ship's hull. She is raised and returned to service less than seven months later.
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.
1970 ALM Flight 980 Water landing in the Caribbean Sea near Saint Croix, killing 23.
1972 In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine (Idaho) located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.
1982 Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine sinks the Argentina cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
1986 Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.
1989 Cold War: Hungary begins Removal of Hungary's border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germany to defect.
1995 During the Croatian War of Independence, the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina Zagreb rocket attacks at Zagreb, killing seven 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 1999 Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
2000 President Bill Clinton announces that accurate Global Positioning System access would no longer be restricted to the United States Armed Forces.
2004 The Yelwa massacre concludes. It began on 4 February 2004 when armed Muslims killed 78 Christians at Yelwa, Nigeria. In response, about 630 Muslims were killed by Christians on May 2.
2008 Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
2008 Chaitén (volcano) begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
2011 Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's most wanted man, is Killing of Osama bin Laden by the United States Navy SEALs in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
2011 An 2011 E. coli O104:H4 outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others are taken ill.
2012 A pastel version of ''The Scream'', by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for $120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for a work of art at auction.
2014 2014 Badakhshan mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.
1360 Yongle Emperor of China (d. 1424)
1402 Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1445)
1451 René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
1458 Eleanor of Viseu (d. 1525)
1476 Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, Count of Kladsko, Governor of Bohemia and Silesia (d. 1536)
1533 Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (d. 1596)
1551 William Camden, English historian and topographer (d. 1623)
1567 Sebald de Weert, Dutch captain, vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (d. 1603)
1579 Tokugawa Hidetada, Japanese shōgun (d. 1632)
1601 Athanasius Kircher, German priest and scholar (d. 1680)
1660 Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
1695 Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French painter and architect (d. 1766)
1702 Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and theosopher (d. 1782)
1707 Jean-Baptiste Barrière, French cellist and composer (d. 1747)
1729 Catherine the Great of Russia (d. 1796)
1737 William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (d. 1805)
1740 Elias Boudinot, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1821)
1750 John André, English soldier and spy (d. 1780)
1752 Ludwig August Lebrun, German oboe player and composer (d. 1790)
1754 Vicente Martín y Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1806)
1772 Novalis, German author and poet (d. 1801)
1773 Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher and poet (d. 1845)
1797 Abraham Pineo Gesner, Canadian physician and geologist (d. 1864)
1802 Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
1806 Catherine Labouré, French nun and saint (d. 1876)
1810 Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (d. 1874)
1813 Caroline Leigh Gascoigne, English novelist and poet (d. 1883)
1815 William Buell Richards, Canadian lawyer and judge, 1st Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1889)
1822 Jane Miller Thengberg, Scottish-Swedish governess and educator (d. 1902)
1828 Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and photographer (d. 1915)
1830 Otto Staudinger, German entomologist and author (d. 1900)
1844 Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American engineer (d. 1929)
1859 Jerome K. Jerome, English author and playwright (d. 1927)
1860 John Scott Haldane, Scottish physiologist, physician, and academic (d. 1936)
1860 Theodor Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Zionist philosopher, journalist and author (d. 1904)
1865 Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
1867 Giuseppe Morello, Italian-American mobster (d. 1930)
1872 Ichiyō Higuchi, Japanese writer (d. 1896)
1873 Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (d. 1944)
1879 James F. Byrnes, American stenographer and politician, 49th United States Secretary of State (d. 1972)
1880 Bill Horr, American football player, discus thrower, and coach (d. 1955)
1881 Harry J. Capehart, American lawyer, politician, and businessperson (d. 1955)
1882 Isabel González, Puerto Rican activist who helped pave the way for Puerto Ricans' American citizenship (d. 1971)
1884 John Boland (South Dakota politician), American politician (d. 1958)
1885 Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
1886 Gottfried Benn, German author and poet (d. 1956)
1887 Vernon and Irene Castle, English-American dancer (d. 1918)
1887 Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1951)
1889 Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1959)
1890 E. E. Smith, American engineer and author (d. 1965)
1892 Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (d. 1918)
1894 Norma Talmadge, American actress of the silent era (d. 1957)
1894 Joseph Henry Woodger, English biologist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1981)
1895 Lorenz Hart, American playwright and lyricist (d. 1943)
1897 John Frederick Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
1898 Henry Hall (bandleader), English bandleader, composer, and actor (d. 1989)
1902 Brian Aherne, English actor (d. 1986)
1903 Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician, activist, and author (d. 1998)
1905 Charlotte Armstrong, American author (d. 1969)
1907 Pinky Lee, American comedian and television host (d. 1993)
1910 Alexander Bonnyman Jr., American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
1910 Edmund Bacon (architect), American urban planner, architect, educator, and author (d. 2005)
1912 Axel Springer, German journalist and publisher, founded Axel Springer AG (d. 1985)
1912 Marten Toonder, Dutch comic strip creator (d. 2005)
1912 Nigel Patrick, English actor and director (d. 1981)
1915 Doris Fisher (songwriter), American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
1915 Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
1917 Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence (Vietnam) (d. 2002)
1921 B. B. Lal (archaeologist), Indian archaeologist (d. 2022)
1921 Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
1922 Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (d. 2007)
1922 A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born American journalist and author (d. 2006)
1923 Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (d. 2008)
1924 Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2015)
1924 Hugh Cortazzi, English soldier, historian, and diplomat, List of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Japan (d. 2018)
1925 John Neville (actor), English-Canadian actor (d. 2011)
1927 Ray Barrett, Australian actor and singer (d. 2009)
1927 Michael Broadbent, British wine critic and writer (d. 2020)
1929 Édouard Balladur, Turkish-French economist and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of France
1929 Link Wray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
1929 Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan (d. 1972)
1930 Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter and critic (d. 2013)
1930 Marco Pannella, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2016)
1931 Phil Bruns, American actor and stuntman (d. 2012)
1933 Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
1935 Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 2023)
1935 Faisal II of Iraq, the last King of Iraq (d. 1958)
1936 Norma Aleandro, Argentinian actress, director, and screenwriter
1936 Engelbert Humperdinck (singer), English singer and pianist
1937 Lorenzo Music, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1938 Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
1941 Clay Carroll, American baseball player
1942 Jacques Rogge, Belgian businessman (d. 2021)
1943 Mustafa Nadarević, Bosnian actor and film director (d. 2020)
1944 Robert G. W. Anderson, English chemist, historian, and curator
1945 Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
1945 Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist
1946 Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
1946 David Suchet, English actor
1947 James Dyson, English businessman, founded the Dyson (company)
1948 Larry Gatlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1949 Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener and author
1949 Alfons Schuhbeck, German celebrity chef, author and businessman
1950 Frank Curry, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2022)
1950 Duncan Gay, Australian businessman and politician
1950 Lou Gramm, American singer-songwriter
1951 John Glascock, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
1952 Christine Baranski, American actress and singer
1953 Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor and director
1953 Jamaal Wilkes, American basketball player
1954 Elliot Goldenthal, American composer and conductor
1954 Dawn Primarolo, English politician
1955 Willie Miller, Scottish footballer
1955 Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
1956 Régis Labeaume, Canadian businessman and politician, 41st List of mayors of Quebec City
1958 Yasushi Akimoto, Japanese songwriter and producer
1958 David O'Leary, English-Irish footballer and manager
1959 Tony Wakeford, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 Stephen Daldry, English director and producer
1960 Royce Simmons, Australian rugby league player and coach
1962 Michael Grandage, English director and producer
1962 Jimmy White, English snooker player
1963 Big Boss Man, American professional wrestler
1966 Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician
1967 Mika Brzezinski, American journalist and author
1967 David Rocastle, English footballer (d. 2001)
1968 Jeff Agoos, American footballer
1968 Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer-songwriter and actress
1969 Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer
1971 Musashimaru Kōyō, Samoan-American sumo wrestler, the 67th Makuuchi # Yokozuna
1972 Dwayne Johnson, American actor and wrestler
1973 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German director and screenwriter
1975 David Beckham, English footballer, coach, and model
1975 Joe Wilkinson, English comedian, actor and writer
1976 Jeff Gutt, American singer-songwriter
1978 Kumail Nanjiani, Pakistani-American actor, stand-up comedian, and screenwriter
1980 Tim Borowski, German footballer
1980 Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer
1980 Zat Knight, English footballer
1980 Troy Murphy, American basketball player
1980 Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 Robert Buckley, American actor
1981 Chris Kirkland, English footballer
1981 Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
1982 Johan Botha (cricketer), South African cricketer
1983 Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer
1983 Maynor Figueroa, Honduran footballer
1983 Tina Maze, Slovenian skier
1983 Daniel Sordo, Spanish race car driver
1984 Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
1984 Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player
1985 Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter and actress
1985 Kyle Busch, American race car driver
1985 Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player
1985 Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
1986 Yasir Shah, Pakistani cricketer
1987 Saara Aalto, Finnish singer and actress
1987 Nana Kitade, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
1987 Pat McAfee, American sports analyst and football player
1987 Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 Neftalí Feliz, Dominican baseball player
1990 Kay Panabaker, American actress
1990 Paul George, American basketball player
1991 Jeong Jinwoon, South Korean actor and singer
1991 Jonathan Villar, Dominican baseball player
1992 Sunmi, South Korean singer
1992 María Teresa Torró Flor, Spanish tennis player
1993 Owain Doull, Welsh track cyclist
1993 Isyana Sarasvati, Indonesian singer
1993 Huang Zitao, Chinese singer and rapper
1995 Lucy Dacus, American singer-songwriter
1996 Cherprang Areekul, Thai singer
1996 Julian Brandt, German footballer
1996 Schuyler Bailar, American swimmer
1997 BamBam, Thai singer
2015 Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015), British royal, and third Succession to the British throne to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom
1203 BC Merneptah, pharaoh of Egypt
373 CE Athanasius of Alexandria, Egyptian bishop and saint (b. 298)
649 Marutha of Tikrit, Persian Theology of the Syriac Orthodox Church (b. 565)
821 Liu Zong, general of the Tang Dynasty
907 Boris I of Bulgaria
1219 Leo I, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
1230 William de Braose (died 1230), English son of Reginald de Braose (b. 1197)
1293 Meir of Rothenburg, German rabbi (b. c.1215)
1300 Blanche of Artois (b. 1248)
1450 William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English admiral (b. 1396)
1519 Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1452)
1564 Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (b. 1500)
1627 Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (b. 1560)
1667 George Wither, English poet and author (b. 1588)
1683 Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and mathematician (b. 1613)
1711 Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1641)
1799 Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo (b. 1740)
1802 Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general and politician, List of colonial governors of the Dutch Gold Coast (b. 1762)
1810 Henry Jerome de Salis, English priest (b. 1740)
1819 Mary Moser, English painter and academic (b. 1744)
1856 James Gates Percival, American poet, surgeon and geologist (b. 1795)
1857 Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (b. 1810)
1864 Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer and educator (b. 1791)
1866 José Gálvez Egúsquiza, Peruvian politician (b. 1819)
1880 Eberhard Anheuser, German-American businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1805)
1880 Tom Wills, Australian cricketer, co-created Australian rules football (b. 1835)
1885 Terézia Zakoucs, Hungarian-Slovene author (b. 1817)
1900 Lars Oftedal (born 1838), Norwegian priest, social reformer, politician, and newspaper editor (b. 1838)
1912 Homer Davenport, American political cartoonist (b. 1867)
1915 Clara Immerwahr, German chemist (b. 1870)
1918 Jüri Vilms, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1889)
1925 Antun Branko Šimić, Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet (b. 1898)
1925 Johann Palisa, Austrian astronomer (b. 1848)
1927 Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (b. 1866)
1929 Charalambos Tseroulis, Greek general and politician, List of defence ministers of Greece (b. 1879)
1940 Ernest Joyce, English explorer (b. 1875)
1941 Penelope Delta, Greek author (b. 1874)
1945 Martin Bormann, German politician (b. 1900)
1945 Joe Corbett, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1875)
1946 Bill Denny, Australian journalist, lawyer, politician, and decorated soldier (b. 1872)
1947 Dorothea Binz, German SS officer (b. 1920)
1953 Wallace Bryant (archer), American archer (b. 1863)
1957 Joseph McCarthy, American captain, lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1908)
1963 Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, peer, politician, poet, author and newspaper editor (b. 1884)
1964 Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (b. 1879)
1969 Franz von Papen, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (German Reich) (b. 1879)
1972 J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
1974 James O. Richardson, American admiral (b. 1878)
1977 Nicholas Magallanes, American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet (b. 1922)
1979 Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate (b. 1903)
1980 Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
1980 George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (b. 1908)
1983 Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
1984 Jack Barry (game show host), American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (b. 1918)
1984 Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1913)
1985 Attilio Bettega, Italian race car driver (b. 1951)
1985 Larry Clinton, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1909)
1986 Sergio Cresto, American race car driver (b. 1956)
1986 Henri Toivonen, Finnish race car driver (b. 1956)
1989 Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author (b. 1902)
1989 Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (b. 1906)
1990 David Rappaport, English-American actor (b. 1951)
1991 Gauri Shankar Rai, Indian Politician (b. 1924)
1991 Ronald McKie, Australian journalist and author (b. 1909)
1992 Wilbur Mills, American lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
1993 André Moynet, French race car driver, pilot, and politician (b. 1921)
1994 Dorothy Marie Donnelly, American poet and author (b. 1903)
1995 John Bunting (diplomat), Australian public servant and diplomat, (b. 1918)
1995 Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
1997 John Eccles (neurophysiologist), Australian neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1903)
1997 Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
1998 hide (musician), Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1964)
1998 Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
1999 Douglas Harkness, Canadian politician (b. 1903)
1999 Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
2000 Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian musician (b. 1943)
2002 W. T. Tutte, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1917)
2005 Wee Kim Wee, Singaporean journalist and politician, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
2006 Louis Rukeyser, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
2007 Brad McGann, New Zealand director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
2008 Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
2008 Izold Pustõlnik, Ukrainian-Estonian astronomer and academic (b. 1938)
2009 Marilyn French, American author and academic (b. 1929)
2009 Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1951)
2009 Jack Kemp, American football player and politician, 9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (b. 1935)
2010 Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (b. 1943)
2011 Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founder of Al-Qaeda (b. 1957)
2012 Fernando Lopes (filmmaker), Portuguese director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
2012 Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (b. 1932)
2012 Tufan Miñnullin, Russian playwright and politician (b. 1936)
2012 Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Indonesian physician and politician, Ministry of Health (Indonesia) (b. 1955)
2012 Akira Tonomura, Japanese physicist, author, and academic (b. 1942)
2012 Lourdes Valera, Venezuelan actress (b. 1963)
2013 Ernie Field, English boxer (b. 1943)
2013 Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1964)
2013 Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (b. 1947)
2013 Dvora Omer, Israeli author and educator (b. 1932)
2013 Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (b. 1980)
2013 Charles Banks Wilson, American painter and illustrator (b. 1918)
2014 Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (b. 1922)
2014 Žarko Petan, Slovenian director, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
2014 Efrem Zimbalist Jr., American actor (b. 1918)
2015 Stuart Archer, English colonel and architect (b. 1915)
2015 Michael Blake (author), American author and screenwriter (b. 1945)
2015 Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (b. 1927)
2015 Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (b. 1925)
2015 Ruth Rendell, English author (b. 1930)
2016 Afeni Shakur, American Music industry, activist, and Black Panther Party (b. 1947)
2020 Arif Wazir, Pakistani politician, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (b. 1982)
2021 Marcel Stellman, Belgian record producer and lyricist (b. 1925)
2024 Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater (b. 1942)
2024 Darius Morris, American basketball player (b. 1991)
2024 Peter Oosterhuis, English golfer and broadcaster (b. 1948)
Christian feast day:
- Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).
- Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)
- Bolesław Strzelecki (Catholic Church)
- Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
- Germanus of Normandy
- Joseph Luu Van Nguyen (Catholic Church)
- Wiborada (Catholic Church)
- William Tirry (Catholic Church)
- May 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
The last day of the Festival of Ridván (Baháʼí Faith) (this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March equinox, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar)
Dos de Mayo Uprising # Impact of the uprising (Holiday of the Region of Madrid, Spain)
Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan)
Flag Day (Poland)
Indonesia National Education Day
Teachers' Day (Iran) (this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March Equinox, see List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar)
International Harry Potter Day
World Tuna Day
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/2 BBC: On This Day]
[https://www.onthisday.com/events/may/2 Historical Events on May 2]