May 2 in History

Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.

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.

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI's most wanted fugitive, is killed by the United States Navy SEALs in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others are taken ill.

Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.

Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.

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.

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

Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.

The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union's monetary policy.

During the Croatian War of Independence, the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina fires cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing seven and wounding over 175 civilians.

Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.

Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.

Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.

In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.

ALM Flight 980 ditches in the Caribbean Sea near Saint Croix, killing 23.

The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.

Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the American aircraft carrier USNS Card while it is docked at Saigon. Two Viet Cong combat swimmers had placed explosives on the ship's hull. She is raised and returned to service less than seven months later.

First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.

Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.

A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.

World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.

World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.

World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1,000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.

World War II: A death march from Dachau to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all-Nisei 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners.

World War II: Following the 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.

Germany's independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.

The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.

Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.

Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.

Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.

The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.

Albert Günther publishes the first study to recognise that the New Zealand tuatara is not a lizard.

Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.

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.

After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.

The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory.

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.

King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.

Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.

The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.

Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Lochleven Castle.

John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.

The surrender of the Acropolis of Athens to Nerio Acciaioli ends the Catalan presence in the Duchy of Athens.

Mamluks under Baybars murder the Ayyubid sultan Turanshah for fear of losing their privileges.

William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.

King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter.

Princess Charlotte of Wales, British royal, and third in line to the British throne

BamBam, Thai singer

Cherprang Areekul, Thai singer

Julian Brandt, German footballer

Schuyler Bailar, American swimmer

Lucy Dacus, American singer-songwriter

Owain Doull, Welsh track cyclist

Isyana Sarasvati, Indonesian singer

Huang Zitao, Chinese singer and rapper

Sunmi, South Korean singer

María Teresa Torró Flor, Spanish tennis player

Jeong Jinwoon, South Korean actor and singer

Jonathan Villar, Dominican baseball player

Kay Panabaker, American actress

Paul George, American basketball player

Neftalí Feliz, Dominican baseball player

Saara Aalto, Finnish singer and actress

Nana Kitade, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress

Pat McAfee, American sports analyst and football player

Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player

Yasir Shah, Pakistani cricketer

Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter and actress

Kyle Busch, American race car driver (died 2026)

Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player

Sarah Hughes, American figure skater

Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer

Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player

Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer

Maynor Figueroa, Honduran footballer

Tina Maze, Slovenian skier

Daniel Sordo, Spanish race car driver

Johan Botha, South African cricketer

Robert Buckley, American actor

Chris Kirkland, English footballer

Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer

Tim Borowski, German footballer

Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer

Zat Knight, English footballer

Troy Murphy, American basketball player

Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player

Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (died 2003)

Kumail Nanjiani, Pakistani-American actor, stand-up comedian, and screenwriter

Jeff Gutt, American singer-songwriter

David Beckham, English footballer, coach, and model

Joe Wilkinson, English comedian, actor and writer

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German director and screenwriter

Dwayne Johnson, American actor and wrestler

Musashimaru Kōyō, Samoan-American sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna

Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer

Jeff Agoos, American footballer

Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer-songwriter and actress

Mika Brzezinski, American journalist and author

David Rocastle, English footballer (died 2001)

Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician

Gina Yoginda, Indonesian army general and diplomat

Michael Grandage, English director and producer

Jimmy White, English snooker player

Stephen Daldry, English director and producer

Royce Simmons, Australian rugby league player and coach

Tony Wakeford, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Yasushi Akimoto, Japanese songwriter and producer

David O'Leary, English-Irish footballer and manager

Régis Labeaume, Canadian businessman and politician, 41st Mayor of Quebec City

Willie Miller, Scottish footballer

Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer

Elliot Goldenthal, American composer and conductor

Dawn Primarolo, English politician

Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor and director

Jamaal Wilkes, American basketball player

Chris Anderson, Australian rugby league player and coach

Christine Baranski, American actress and singer

John Glascock, English singer and bass player (died 1979)

Frank Curry, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 2022)

Duncan Gay, Australian businessman and politician

Lou Gramm, American singer-songwriter

Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener and author

Alfons Schuhbeck, German celebrity chef, author and businessman

Larry Gatlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor

James Dyson, English businessman, founded the Dyson Company

Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (died 2015)

David Suchet, English actor

Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (died 1998)

Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist

Robert G. W. Anderson, English chemist, historian, and curator

Mustafa Nadarević, Bosnian actor and film director (died 2020)

Jacques Rogge, Belgian businessman (died 2021)

Clay Carroll, American baseball player

Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (died 1996)

Lorenzo Music, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2001)

Norma Aleandro, Argentinian actress, director, and screenwriter

Engelbert Humperdinck, English singer and pianist

Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager (died 2023)

Faisal II of Iraq, the last King of Iraq (died 1958)

Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

Phil Bruns, American actor and stuntman (died 2012)

Pulak Bandyopadhyay, Indian lyricist (died 1999)

Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter and critic (died 2013)

Marco Pannella, Italian journalist and politician (died 2016)

Édouard Balladur, Turkish-French economist and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of France

Link Wray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2005)

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan (died 1972)

Ray Barrett, Australian actor and singer (died 2009)

Michael Broadbent, British wine critic and writer (died 2020)

John Neville, English-Canadian actor (died 2011)

Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 2015)

Hugh Cortazzi, English soldier, historian, and diplomat, British Ambassador to Japan (died 2018)

Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (died 2008)

Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (died 2007)

A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born American journalist and author (died 2006)

B. B. Lal, Indian archaeologist (died 2022)

Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1992)

Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson, Scottish pianist and composer (died 1980)

Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (died 2002)

Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (died 2003)

Peggy Mount, English actress (died 2001)

Axel Springer, German journalist and publisher, founded Axel Springer AG (died 1985)

Marten Toonder, Dutch comic strip creator (died 2005)

Nigel Patrick, English actor and director (died 1981)

Alexander Bonnyman Jr., American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1943)

Edmund Bacon, American urban planner, architect, educator, and author (died 2005)

Pinky Lee, American comedian and television host (died 1993)

Charlotte Armstrong, American author (died 1969)

Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician, activist, and author (died 1998)

Brian Aherne, English actor (died 1986)

Henry Hall, English bandleader, composer, and actor (died 1989)

John Frederick Coots, American songwriter (died 1985)

Lorenz Hart, American playwright and lyricist (died 1943)

Norma Talmadge, American actress of the silent era (died 1957)

Joseph Henry Woodger, English biologist, philosopher, and academic (died 1981)

Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (died 1918)

E. E. Smith, American engineer and author (died 1965)

Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian philosopher, academic, and politician (died 1959)

Vernon Castle, English-American dancer (died 1918)

Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (died 1951)

Gottfried Benn, German author and poet (died 1956)

Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (died 1966)

John Boland, American politician (died 1958)

Isabel González, Puerto Rican activist who helped pave the way for Puerto Ricans' American citizenship (died 1971)

Harry J. Capehart, American lawyer, politician, and businessperson (died 1955)

Bill Horr, American football player, discus thrower, and coach (died 1955)

James F. Byrnes, American stenographer and politician, 49th United States Secretary of State (died 1972)

Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (died 1944)

Ichiyō Higuchi, Japanese writer (died 1896)

Giuseppe Morello, Italian-American mobster (died 1930)

Clyde Fitch, American playwright (died 1909)

John Scott Haldane, Scottish physiologist, physician, and academic (died 1936)

Theodor Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Zionist philosopher, journalist and author (died 1904)

Jerome K. Jerome, English author and playwright (died 1927)

Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American engineer (died 1929)

Otto Staudinger, German entomologist and author (died 1900)

Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and photographer (died 1915)

Jane Miller Thengberg, Scottish-Swedish governess and educator (died 1902)

William Buell Richards, Canadian lawyer and judge, 1st Chief Justice of Canada (died 1889)

Caroline Leigh Gascoigne, English novelist and poet (died 1883)

Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (died 1874)

Catherine Labouré, French nun and saint (died 1876)

Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (died 1870)

Abraham Pineo Gesner, Canadian physician and geologist (died 1864)

Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher and poet (died 1845)

Novalis, German author and poet (died 1801)

Vicente Martín y Soler, Spanish composer (died 1806)

Ludwig August Lebrun, German oboe player and composer (died 1790)

John André, English soldier and spy (died 1780)

Elias Boudinot, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Continental Congress (died 1821)

William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (died 1805)

Catherine the Great of Russia (died 1796)

Jean-Baptiste Barrière, French cellist and composer (died 1747)

Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and theosopher (died 1782)

Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French painter and architect (died 1766)

Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (died 1725)

Athanasius Kircher, German priest and scholar (died 1680)

Tokugawa Hidetada, Japanese shōgun (died 1632)

Sebald de Weert, Dutch captain, vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (died 1603)

William Camden, English historian and topographer (died 1623)

Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (died 1596)

Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, Count of Kladsko, Governor of Bohemia and Silesia (died 1536)

Eleanor of Viseu (died 1525)

René II, Duke of Lorraine (died 1508)

Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (died 1445)

Yongle Emperor of China (died 1424)

Ricky Davao, Filipino actor and director (born 1961)

George Ryan, American politician, 39th Governor of Illinois (born 1934)

Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater (born 1942)

Darius Morris, American basketball player (born 1991)

Peter Oosterhuis, English golfer and broadcaster (born 1948)

Marcel Stellman, Belgian record producer and lyricist (born 1925)

Arif Wazir, Pakistani politician, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (born 1982)

Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (born 1947)

Stuart Archer, English colonel and architect (born 1915)

Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (born 1945)

Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (born 1927)

Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (born 1925)

Ruth Rendell, English author (born 1930)

Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (born 1922)

Žarko Petan, Slovenian director, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1929)

Efrem Zimbalist Jr., American actor (born 1918)

Ernie Field, English boxer (born 1943)

Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (born 1964)

Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (born 1947)

Dvora Omer, Israeli author and educator (born 1932)

Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (born 1980)

Charles Banks Wilson, American painter and illustrator (born 1918)

Fernando Lopes, Portuguese director and screenwriter (born 1935)

Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (born 1932)

Tufan Miñnullin, Russian playwright and politician (born 1936)

Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Indonesian physician and politician, Indonesian Minister of Health (born 1955)

Akira Tonomura, Japanese physicist, author, and academic (born 1942)

Lourdes Valera, Venezuelan actress (born 1963)

Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founder of Al-Qaeda (born 1957)

Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (born 1943)

Marilyn French, American author and academic (born 1929)

Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (born 1951)

Jack Kemp, American football player and politician, 9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (born 1935)

Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (born 1940)

Izold Pustõlnik, Ukrainian-Estonian astronomer and academic (born 1938)

Brad McGann, New Zealand director and screenwriter (born 1964)

Louis Rukeyser, American journalist and author (born 1933)

Wee Kim Wee, Singaporean journalist and politician, 4th President of Singapore (born 1915)

W. T. Tutte, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (born 1917)

Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian musician (born 1943)

Douglas Harkness, Canadian politician (born 1903)

Oliver Reed, English actor (born 1938)

hide, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1964)

Justin Fashanu, English footballer (born 1961)

John Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1903)

Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher and academic (born 1921)

John Bunting, Australian public servant and diplomat, (born 1918)

Michael Hordern, English actor (born 1911)

Dorothy Marie Donnelly, American poet and author (born 1903)

André Moynet, French race car driver, pilot, and politician (born 1921)

Wilbur Mills, American lawyer and politician (born 1909)

Gauri Shankar Rai, Indian Politician (born 1924)

Ronald McKie, Australian journalist and author (born 1909)

David Rappaport, English-American actor (born 1951)

Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author (born 1902)

Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (born 1906)

Sergio Cresto, American race car driver (born 1956)

Henri Toivonen, Finnish race car driver (born 1956)

Attilio Bettega, Italian race car driver (born 1951)

Larry Clinton, American trumpet player and bandleader (born 1909)

Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (born 1918)

Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (born 1913)

Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (born 1926)

Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (born 1891)

George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (born 1908)

Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1903)

Nicholas Magallanes, American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet (born 1922)

James O. Richardson, American admiral (born 1878)

J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (born 1895)

Franz von Papen, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (born 1879)

Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (born 1879)

Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, peer, politician, poet, author and newspaper editor (born 1884)

Joseph McCarthy, American captain, lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1908)

Wallace Bryant, American archer (born 1863)

Dorothea Binz, German SS officer (born 1920)

Bill Denny, Australian journalist, lawyer, politician, and decorated soldier (born 1872)

Martin Bormann, German politician (born 1900)

Joe Corbett, American baseball player and journalist (born 1875)

Penelope Delta, Greek author (born 1874)

Ernest Joyce, English explorer (born 1875)

Charalambos Tseroulis, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister for Military Affairs (born 1879)

Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (born 1866)

Antun Branko Šimić, Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet (born 1898)

Johann Palisa, Austrian astronomer (born 1848)

Jüri Vilms, Estonian lawyer and politician (born 1889)

Clara Immerwahr, German chemist (born 1870)

Homer Davenport, American political cartoonist (born 1867)

Lars Oftedal, Norwegian priest, social reformer, politician, and newspaper editor (born 1838)

Terézia Zakoucs, Hungarian-Slovene author (born 1817)

Eberhard Anheuser, German-American businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (born 1805)

Tom Wills, Australian cricketer, co-created Australian rules football (born 1835)

José Gálvez Egúsquiza, Peruvian politician (born 1819)

Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer and educator (born 1791)

Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (born 1810)

James Gates Percival, American poet, surgeon and geologist (born 1795)

Zina Hitchcock, New York politician (born 1755)

Mary Moser, English painter and academic (born 1744)

Henry Jerome de Salis, English priest (born 1740)

Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch Gold Coast (born 1762)

Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo (born 1740)

Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (born 1641)

Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and mathematician (born 1613)

George Wither, English poet and author (born 1588)

Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (born 1560)

Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (born 1500)

Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (born 1452)

William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English admiral (born 1396)

Blanche of Artois (born 1248)

Meir of Rothenburg, German rabbi (born c.1215)

William de Braose, English son of Reginald de Braose (born 1197)

Leo I, King of Armenia (born 1150)

Boris I of Bulgaria

Liu Zong, general of the Tang dynasty

Marutha of Tikrit, Persian theologian of the Syriac Orthodox Church (born 565)

Athanasius of Alexandria, Egyptian bishop and saint (born 298)

Merneptah, pharaoh of Egypt