On This Day in History - May 2nd - Almanac

Today is Saturday, May 2, the 122nd day of 2015 with 243 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Neptune, Uranus and Saturn. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include Catherine the Great, empress of Russia, in 1729; Gen. Henry Robert, author of "Robert's Rules of Order," in 1837; pioneer Zionist Theodor Herzl in 1860; gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in 1885; baseball Hall of Fame member Eddie Collins in 1887; German fighter ace Manfred "The Red Baron" von Richthofen in 1892; Broadway composer Lorenz Hart in 1895; child-care specialist Dr. Benjamin Spock in 1903; comic Pinky Lee in 1907; singer/actor Theodore Bikel in 1924 (age 91); singer Engelbert Humperdinck, born Arnold Dorsey, in 1936 (age 79); activist/singer Bianca Jagger in 1945 (age 70); actor David Suchet in 1946 (age 69); pop singer Leslie Gore in 1946; country singer Larry Gatlin in 1948 (age 67); actor Christine Baranski in 1952 (age 63); fashion designer Donatella Versace in 1955 (age 60); actor/former professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in 1972 (age 43); soccer star David Beckham in 1975 (age 40).

On this date in history:

In 1519, Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist, scientist and inventor, died at age 67.

In 1611, a new translation of the Bible in England, popularly called the King James Bible after King James I, was published.

In 1863, Confederate Gen. Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own soldiers. (He died eight days later.)

In 1885, Good Housekeeping magazine published its first issue.

In 1941, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved the regular scheduling of commercial television broadcasts.

In 1972, 91 people were killed in a mine fire in Kellogg, Idaho, and J. Edgar Hoover died after nearly five decades as director of the FBI.

In 1995, the Clinton administration announced that Cuban boat people seeking asylum in the United States would be henceforth returned to Cuba.

In 1999, a meeting between the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic led to the release of three U.S. soldiers captured a month earlier by Serbian troops.

In 2004, Nigerian Christian militants attacked the Muslim town of Yelwa with firearms and machetes. The Nigerian Red Cross put the death toll at 630.

In 2008, Tropical Cyclone Nargis, with winds up to 120 mph, slammed into densely populated southern Myanmar. (The death toll was eventually raised to nearly 140,000 people.)

In 2010, Greece was saved from defaulting on its debts by the International Monetary Fund and the 16 European countries of the eurozone, which agreed on a $146 billion loan package for the struggling country.

In 2011, U.S. CIA Director Leon Panetta, in a memo to the agency's employees about the death of al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden in an American commando raid in Pakistan earlier in the day , said, "The supposedly uncatchable one has been caught and killed." Panetta said he extended his "profound appreciation and absolute respect to the strike team, whose great skill and courage brought our nation this historic triumph."

In 2012, U.S. officials said an investigation into Medicare fraud that included about $452 million in false billings in seven cities resulted in charges against 107 people, including doctors and nurses.

In 2013, President Obama nominated Penny Pritzker as U.S. commerce secretary. (She officially took the position in June.)

In 2014, a landslide struck a remote village in north Afghanistan, killing more than 2,000 people. An international official called the massive mud and rock collapse "absolutely devastating."

A thought for the day: "If 50 million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." -- Anatole France