Did you know
In 1999, Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
May 2 in History
1999 — Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama
May 2 spans 48 recorded events across recorded history, from 1194 to 2014. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
48 events
1194 – 2014
Today in history
More major events on May 2
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 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. Source
- 1611 The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker. Source
- 1194 King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter. Source
Did you know
General elections were held in Panama on 2 May 1999, electing both a new President of the Republic and a new Legislative Assembly. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
In 1999, Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Did you know
In 1999, Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Did you know
In 1999, Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
1194
King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter.
King of England from 1189 to 1199
1230
William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
13th-century Welsh nobleman
1250
Mamluks under Baybars murder the Ayyubid sultan Turanshah for fear of losing their privileges.
Slave-soldiers and enslaved mercenaries in the Muslim world
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
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
1559
John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.
Scottish clergyman, writer and historian (1514–1572)
1568
Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Lochleven Castle.
Queen of Scotland from 1542 to 1567
1611
The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
1611 English translation of the Bible
1625
Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.
Portuguese Jesuit theologian; Patriarch of Ethiopia from 1622 to 1634
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.
King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1660 to 1685
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.
1812 battle of the Mexican War of Independence
1829
After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
Royal Navy Admiral (1800–1869)
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.
People of Peru
1867
Albert Günther publishes the first study to recognise that the New Zealand tuatara is not a lizard.
German-born British zoologist (1830–1914)
1876
The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.
1876 rebellion 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.
Indigenous people of North America
1889
Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.
Emperor of Ethiopia from 1879 to 1913
1906
Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
International multi-sport event in Greece
1920
The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.
American professional baseball league
1933
Germany's independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.
Labour organization in Nazi Germany
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.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1945
World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.
Country in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
1945
World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.
German and Italian Fascist surrender document during WWII
1945
World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1,000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.
Nazi concentration camp in Ludwigslust, Germany
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.
First commercial jet airliner, four-engined
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.
1964
First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
Mountaineering and climbing term
1969
The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
British ocean liner
1970
ALM Flight 980 ditches in the Caribbean Sea near Saint Croix, killing 23.
Aviation accident in the Caribbean Sea on 2 May 1970
1972
In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.
Silver mine in Silver Valley, Idaho
1982
Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
1982 undeclared Argentina–United Kingdom war
1986
Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.
1986 nuclear accident in the Soviet Union
1989
Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
1947–1991 geopolitical rivalry between US and USSR
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.
1991–95 war during the Yugoslav Wars
1998
The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union's monetary policy.
Supranational central bank in Europe
2000
President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
President of the United States from 1993 to 2001
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.
North Indian Ocean cyclone in 2008
2008
Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
Active volcano in Los Lagos Region, Chile
2011
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.
Founder of al-Qaeda (1957–2011)
2011
An E.
coli 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.
Powdered-pigment-based art medium
2014
Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.
Mudslides in Afghanistan