2014 Badakhshan mudslides
Two mudslides in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, killed at least 350 people.
What happened on May 2
32 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1194 to 2025.
Standout on May 2
2014
2014 Badakhshan mudslides
Two mudslides in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, killed at least 350 people.
About May 2
May 2 is the 122nd day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 122 of 365 (123 in leap years)243 days left in the year (243 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Saturday in 2026, Sunday in 2027, Tuesday in 2028, Wednesday in 2029, Thursday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 18 of 2026 · Q2
- Zodiac sign
- ♉ Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
- Season
- Spring in the north · Autumn in the south
- May birthstone
- Emeraldrebirth, love and wisdom
- May birth flower
- Lily of the valley / Hawthornsweetness, humility and hope
- Next occurrence
- In 187 days
- Roman numerals
- II.Vday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 40thChernobyl disaster1986
- 40thHenri Toivonen1986
- 30thCherprang Areekul1996
- 30thJulian Brandt1996
- 30thSchuyler Bailar1996
- 10thAfeni Shakur2016
- 5thMarcel Stellman2021
- 1stGeorge Ryan2025
May 2 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Afeni Shakur
- 25 years ago2001
- Nothing recorded
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on May 2 — ages this year
- 2015Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015)turns 11
- 1997BamBamturns 29
- 1996Schuyler Bailarturns 30
- 1996Julian Brandtturns 30
- 1996Cherprang Areekulturns 30
- 1995Lucy Dacusturns 31
Historical events 32
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Russo-Ukrainian war
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.
Pastel
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.
Killing of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six in his private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Osama bin Laden
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.
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada won enough seats in the federal election to establish their first majority government.
2011 Germany E. coli O104:H4 outbreak
An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others are taken ill.
Cyclone Nargis
Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
Chaitén (volcano)
The Chaitén volcano in Chile began to erupt for the first time since around 1640.
Yelwa massacre
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.
Cyclone Manou
Cyclone Manou formed in the Indian Ocean; over the next two weeks it struck Madagascar and left more than 100,000 people homeless.
Bill Clinton
President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
1999 Panamanian general election
Panamanian general election: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
Mireya Moscoso
Mireya Moscoso (pictured) became the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union's monetary policy.
Croatian War of Independence
Croatian War of Independence: Serb forces began rocket attacks on the Croatian capital Zagreb, killing 7 people and injuring around 200 others.
Cold War
Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.
Henri Toivonen
Henri Toivonen was killed in an accident while leading the Tour de Corse rally, resulting in FISA banning the popular Group B rally cars for the following season.
Falklands War
Falklands War: HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano (pictured), the only ship ever to have been deliberately sunk by a nuclear submarine in battle.
Sunshine Mine
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
ALM Flight 980 ditches in the Caribbean Sea near Saint Croix, killing 23.
Queen Elizabeth 2
The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
First ascent
First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: An explosion attributed to Viet Cong commandos caused the escort carrier USNS Card to sink in the port of Saigon.
Seliger Forschungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH
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.
World War II
World War II: General Helmuth Weidling, the German commander of Berlin, surrendered to Soviet forces led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov, ending the Battle of Berlin.
Treaty of Wuchale
The Treaty of Wuchale was signed, ending the Italo-Ethiopian War, but differences in translation later led to another war.
Great Mill Disaster
A dust explosion (depicted) at the world's largest flour mill in Minneapolis resulted in 18 deaths.
Royal charter
A royal charter granted the Hudson's Bay Company a monopoly in the fur trade in Rupert's Land (present-day Canada).
Presbyterianism
Presbyterian clergyman John Knox returned from exile to lead the Scottish Reformation.
Richard I of England
King Richard I of England gave the city of Portsmouth its first royal charter.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015)
Princess Charlotte of Wales, British royal, and third in line to the British throne
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Arif Wazir
Arif Wazir, Pakistani politician, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (born 1982)
Afeni Shakur
Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (born 1947)
Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (born 1925)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Vietnamese Martyrs
Christian feast day: Joseph Luu Van Nguyen (Catholic Church)
Wiborada
Christian feast day: Wiborada (Catholic Church)
Boris I of Bulgaria
Christian feast day: Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
Bolesław Strzelecki
Christian feast day: Bolesław Strzelecki (Catholic Church)
Ahudemmeh
Christian feast day: Ahudemmeh (Syriac Orthodox Church).
William Tirry
Christian feast day: William Tirry (Catholic Church)
Germanus of Normandy
Christian feast day: Germanus of Normandy
Athanasius of Alexandria
Christian feast day: Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)
Spread across the centuries
- 12th century1
- 16th century1
- 17th century1
- 19th century2
- 20th century35
- 21st century32
Earliest: Richard I of England (1194). Most recent: Ricky Davao (2025).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about May 2
What day of the year is May 2?
May 2 is the 122nd day of the year, with 243 days left after it.
What star sign is May 2?
May 2 falls under Taurus (April 20 – May 20), a earth sign ruled by Venus. The birthstone for the month is Emerald.
How many things happened on May 2?
We record 80 entries for May 2: 32 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1194 to 2025.
Who was born on May 2?
Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015) (2015) is among the notable births on May 2. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the May 2 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like May 2
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.