On This Day in History - May 2nd - Almanac

Today is Monday, May 2, the 122nd day of 2022 with 243 to follow.

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

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; gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in 1885; German fighter ace Manfred "The Red Baron" von Richthofen in 1892; Broadway composer Lorenz Hart in 1895; childcare specialist Dr. Benjamin Spock in 1903; singer/actor Theodore Bikel in 1924; author Martha Grimes in 1931 (age 91); singer Engelbert Humperdinck, born Arnold Dorsey, in 1936 (age 86); activist/singer Bianca Jagger in 1945 (age 77); actor David Suchet in 1946 (age 76); pop singer Lesley Gore in 1946; inventor James Dyson in 1947 (age 75); country singer Larry Gatlin in 1948 (age 74); actor Christine Baranski in 1952 (age 70); fashion designer Donatella Versace in 1955 (age 67); actor/former professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in 1972 (age 50); soccer star David Beckham in 1975 (age 47); actor Ellie Kemper in 1980 (age 42); actor Robert Buckley in 1981 (age 41); NASCAR driver Kyle Busch in 1985 (37); singer Lily Allen in 1985 (age 37); Princess Charlotte of Cambridge in 2015 (7).

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 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.

In 1972, 91 people were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in a mine fire in Kellogg, Idaho. The Sunshine Mine is one of the world's most profitable silver mines in the world.

In 1972, J. Edgar Hoover died at the age of 77 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 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 2019, a drone delivered an organ for transplant for the first time -- a kidney at a Maryland hospital.

In 2020, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and U.S. Navy Blue Angels flew over Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Atlanta to honor frontline workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

A thought for the day: "Before you hate something you should try to understand it." -- American author Martha Grimes