On This Day for May 2 - Lou Gehrig's 2,130-game streak ended, Catherine II is featured, and more

Created: 2020-05-02 10:03 Updated: 2020-05-02 10:03 Notebook: On this Day in History

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May 02

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

Catherine II

FEATURED EVENT

1939

Lou Gehrig's 2,130-game streak ended

MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2015: Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge, the second child of Prince William, duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, duchess of Cambridge, was born in London. [ Sort fact from fiction in our English royalty quiz.]

2011: Osama bin Laden—founder of the militant Islamist organization al-Qaeda and mastermind of numerous terrorist attacks, notably the September 11, 2001, attacks—was killed by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. [ Watch a video of U.S. President Barack Obama announcing the death of Osama bin Laden.]

1997: British Labour Party leader Tony Blair became prime minister of the United Kingdom; he was the youngest person to hold the office since 1812. [ Test your knowledge of British culture and politics.]

1946: An attempted prison escape by six inmates at Alcatraz resulted in two days of violent fighting, which became known as the Battle of Alcatraz.

1935: The peasants of Luzon, Philippines, rose up in arms against oppressive land tenancy laws.

1921: Bengali director Satyajit Ray, who brought Indian cinema to world recognition with the Apu Trilogy, was born in Calcutta (Kolkata). [Sort fact from fiction in our Bollywood quiz.]

SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1972

Dwayne Johnson
American professional wrestler and actor

1975

David Beckham
British athlete

1729

Catherine the Great
empress of Russia

1892

Manfred, baron von Richthofen
German aviator

1921

Satyajit Ray
Indian film director