May 1

May 2

357 entries in history

May 3
Events
46
Births
178
Deaths
116
Holidays
17

⭐ Featured

2014

Russo-Ukrainian War: Forty-eight people were killed during a confrontation between pro-Russian protesters and pro-Ukrainian unity protesters in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa.

2014

Two mudslides in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, killed at least 350 people.

2011

Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six in his private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

46 results

2014

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

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.

2011

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

2011

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

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.

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.

2000

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

1999

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

1998

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

1995

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.

1989

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

1986

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

1982

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

1972

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

1970

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

1969

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

1964

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.

1964

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

1963

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.

1952

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

1945

World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall 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 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.

1941

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.

1933

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

1920

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

1906

Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.

1889

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

1885

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

1876

The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.

1867

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

1866

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

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.

1829

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

1812

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

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.

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.

1625

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

1611

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

1568

Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Lochleven Castle.

1559

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

1536

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

1230

William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.

1194

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