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On This Day: Cyclone Nargis kills thousands in Myanmar

On May 2, 2008, Tropical Cyclone Nargis slammed into densely populated southern Myanmar. The death toll was eventually raised to nearly 140,000 people.

By UPI Staff
Myanma service members form a line to unload water supplies from a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft at Rangoon International Airport in Myanmar on May 12, 2008. The shipment of water, mosquito nets and blankets arrived on the first of three planned relief flights to provide aid to citizens devastated by Tropical Cyclone Nargis. File Photo by Andres Alcaraz/U.S. Marine Corps
1 of 4 | Myanma service members form a line to unload water supplies from a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft at Rangoon International Airport in Myanmar on May 12, 2008. The shipment of water, mosquito nets and blankets arrived on the first of three planned relief flights to provide aid to citizens devastated by Tropical Cyclone Nargis. File Photo by Andres Alcaraz/U.S. Marine Corps | License Photo

May 2 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

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

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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.

File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

In 1913, the United States formally recognized President Yuan Shikai and his Republic of China.

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

File Photo by Larry Rubenstein/UPI

In 1972, 91 people were killed in a mine fire in Kellogg, Idaho.

In 1972, J. Edgar Hoover died at the age of 77 after nearly five decades as director of the FBI.

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

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 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."

In 2018, California reported the first death associated with an E. Coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce grown in Arizona. The outbreak would go on to kill five people and sicken more than 200.

ile Photo by Mercedes/Flickr
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