Calendar date · May
What happened on May 2
On May 2, 1194: King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter.
Events
48
across history
Notable births
50
Notable deaths
50
Zodiac
Taurus
Featured moment · 1194
King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter.
Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus; Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes; and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was therefore not expected to become king, but his two elder brothers predeceased their father.
People
Born on May 2
Show 9 more — notable births on May 2
People
Died on May 2
Show 9 more — notable deaths on May 2
Timeline
Every May 2 on record
-
1194 King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter. King of England from 1189 to 1199
Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus; Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes; and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was therefore not expected to become king, but his two elder brothers predeceased their father.
-
1230 William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. 13th-century Welsh nobleman
William de Braose was the son of Reginald de Braose by his first wife, Grecia Briwere. He was an ill-fated member of the House of Braose, a powerful and long-lived dynasty of Marcher Lords.
-
1250 Mamluks under Baybars murder the Ayyubid sultan Turanshah for fear of losing their privileges. Slave-soldiers and enslaved mercenaries in the Muslim world
Mamluk or Mamaluk were non-Arab, ethnically diverse enslaved mercenaries, slave-soldiers, and freed slaves who were assigned high-ranking military and administrative duties in the Muslim world. They were purchased as military slaves, converted to Islam, and trained in martial and courtly skills. Upon completion of their training they were freed, but remained part of the ruling military caste, forming elite regiments and, in some periods and regions, rising to sovereign power.
-
1388 The surrender of the Acropolis of Athens to Nerio Acciaioli ends the Catalan presence in the Duchy of Athens. Ancient citadel above the city of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word Acropolis is from Greek ἄκρον (akron) 'highest point, extremity' and πόλις (polis) 'city'. The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece.
-
1536 Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft. Queen of England from 1533 to 1536
Anne Boleyn was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading for treason, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation.
- 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.
- 1625 Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch 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 rise up in rebellion 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 HMS Challenger 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.
Show 15 earlier entries from May 2
- 1867 Albert Günther publishes the first study to recognise that the New Zealand tuatara is not a lizard.
- 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 Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
- 1920 The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.
- 1933 Germany's independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 100 kilometres (62 mi) near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
- 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.
Around the world
Holidays on May 2
- Christian feast day: Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).
- Christian feast day: Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)
- Christian feast day: Bolesław Strzelecki (Catholic Church)
- Christian feast day: Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
- Christian feast day: Germanus of Normandy
- Christian feast day: Joseph Luu Van Nguyen (Catholic Church)
- Christian feast day: Wiborada (Catholic Church)
- Christian feast day: William Tirry (Catholic Church)
- Christian feast day: 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)
- Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community 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
Keep going