Date·Lore

On This Day · The 122nd day of the year

May 2

From 1194 to 2014, May 2 gathers 820 years of history. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

♉ZodiacTaurus ◈BirthstoneEmerald ❀Birth flowerLily of the Valley

Taurus is the sign for May 2 — read more on the Taurus page, or see May's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on May 2?

May 2 is the 122nd day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1194 and 2014. Famous people born on May 2 include Manfred von Richthofen, Satyajit Ray and Yongle Emperor.

Released on May 2

Movies, games, albums & shows

2024

  • Game MotoGP 24
  • Game Foundry
  • Game Indika
  • Game Endless Ocean: Luminous
  • TV T・P BON

2023

  • Game Showgunners

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1194

    Richard I of England

  2. 1941

    World War II

  3. 1964

    Vietnam War

  4. 1982

    Falklands War

  5. 1986

    Chernobyl disaster

  6. 1995

    Croatian War of Independence

  7. 2000

    Bill Clinton

  8. 2008

    Chaitén (volcano)

  9. 2011

    Osama bin Laden

  10. 2014

    2014 Badakhshan mudslides

Famous birthday twins

Born on May 2

Manfred von Richthofen

b. 1892

Satyajit Ray

b. 1921

Yongle Emperor

b. 1360

Tina Maze

b. 1983

David Beckham

b. 1975

Dwayne Johnson

b. 1972

Édouard Balladur

b. 1929

Ashley Harkleroad

b. 1985

Deaths

  • 2011Osama bin Laden
  • 1998Hide (musician)
  • 1986Henri Toivonen
  • 1915Clara Immerwahr
  • 1519Leonardo da Vinci

Holidays & observances

  • —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)

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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