Top 5 Historical Events on May 2
As we continue our journey through the month of May, let’s explore the top 5 events that happened on May 2 throughout history. These extraordinary moments have left a lasting impact on our world.
1. Osama bin Laden’s Death (2011)
Osama bin Laden, founder and leader of the extremist organization al-Qaeda, responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks and numerous other global acts of terrorism, was killed on May 2, 2011, in a targeted raid by United States Navy SEALs. The daring operation, code-named Operation Neptune Spear, occurred at bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, not far from the Pakistan Military Academy. This landmark event brought to close an almost decade-long manhunt that began shortly after the 9/11 atrocities, which transformed America and reshaped world politics and security.
Osama bin Laden’s death represented a defining triumph in the global campaign against terrorism and provoked expressions of collective relief and exultation throughout America and across the planet. President Obama announced the mission’s success in a televised address late that night, declaring “justice has been done.” The affair drew a curtain over an apparent vital phase of the international war on terror, but it also spawned contentious disputes on the themes of legality, sovereignty, and the next moves in the struggle against terrorism. The effect of bin Laden’s demise is still an important touchstone in discussions on security and international relations.
2. The Birth of Catherine the Great (1729)
Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst was born on May 2, 1729, in Stettin, Prussia (now Szczecin, Poland). Her parents were Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst and Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. Though she was later called Catherine the Great, she began her life as Sophie. The Zerbsts were a German noble family, and just as with many aspiring German nobles of the time, the family’s firsthand knowledge of Russia was limited to insights drawn from visits by emissaries. Catherine was destined to go to Russia, however, in what would be her and her mother’s desperate move to secure an empire. From early age, Catherine displayed an inquisitive mind and a sunny personality. These gifts would help her stay alive in a complex court web of her making and become one of the greatest rulers.
At the age of 16, in 1745, Sophie married future Emperor Peter III of Russia, changing her name to Catherine and adopting the Russian Orthodox faith. This marriage served as her induction into the unstable and complicated network of Russian politics. Catherine attained the Russian throne in 1762 after she led her husband’s overthrow in a coup; he wasn’t popular with the Russian army and nobility. As Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great executed sweeping reforms, greatly expanding Russian boundaries and transforming society into a European, Western model. Her control—she governed till her death in 1796—has often been called the Golden Age of the Russian Empire, testament to her successful governance and dominance of the cultural and political schene of Russia.
3. Lou Gehrig’s 2,130-Game Streak Ended (1939)
At 2,130 games, Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak, ending on May 2, 1939, stood as a stunning example of stamina and dedication. These key substances earned him the nickname “The Iron Horse.” Starting on June 1, 1925, the remarkable streak lasted 14 years (1) and confirmed Gehrig’s status as one of the most robust athletes ever to take the field and one of the most fearsome hitters in baseball history.
When Lou Gehrig benched himself, he was, in many ways, already benched. The legendary first baseman’s iron-man streak of 2,130 straight games couldn’t continue once his body began to break down. In fact, his physical decline had been quite noticeable in the month prior. And in the weeks that followed—one month to the day after he removed himself from the lineup, Gehrig’s symptoms were diagnosed as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
On May 2, 1939, though, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit against the Tigers, nobody knew what was really happening. To the fans packed into the stadium and more listening around the country, Gehrig’s stunning decision was just that: stunning.
Teammate Joe DiMaggio was not only shocked, he was angry. “Certainly, I was,” DiMaggio said years later. “Who wouldn’t be?” On the opposing team, George Kell was at third base that day. He can still feel the electricity—then the flatness—that raced through the park. “You could sense the disappointment,” the Hall of Fame third baseman said. “It was like a breath being taken away. You can’t say people were inquisitive. I’d say it was more sadness.”
Later that year, Gehrig’s departure from the game, including his memorable “Luckiest Man” speech, emphasized his great bravery and composure in the face of his sickness. His record, thought to be unattainable for years, was eventually surpassed by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995. Nevertheless, Gehrig’s heritage as an emblem of durability and steadiness persists in the storybooks of baseball for the indefinite future.
4. GPS Made Available to the Public (2000)
On May 2, 2000, then-president Bill Clinton delivered a statement with far-reaching implications for technology and navigation globally. He announced that the U.S. would cease degrading the Global Positioning System (GPS) signals available to civilians, a practice known as “Selective Availability.” The policy had been in effect to limit the accuracy of GPS signals obtainable to non-military users so that only the armed forces could experience the complete navigational precision provided by the system.
Selective Availability was enacted initially out of national security concerns. By turning off Selective Availability, GPS accuracy for civilian users improved tremendously, from about 100 meters to less than 10 meters, instantly opening up countless new applications in automotive navigation, agriculture, emergency response, and everyday consumer technology. The U.S.’s decision to make GPS available to everyone in the world — free and without a tether — democratized access to precise location information, enabling new technologies and services and transforming financial growth across the globe.
5. The Birth of Dr. Benjamin Spock (1903)
Dr. Benjamin Spock, a prominent American pediatrician who revolutionized child rearing and made a long-lasting impact on parenting practices around the world, was born on May 2, 1903, in New Haven, Connecticut. Spock was the first pediatrician to utilize psychoanalysis to try to understand children’s needs and family dynamics.
By advocating parents to treat their children like individuals and to apply some good judgment and suppleness in their care, his 1946 book The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care was very momentous.
It is difficult to exaggerate the impact of Dr. Spock’s book. The best-selling child care manual of all time, it sold more than 50 million copies in scores of languages, second only to the Bible in sales in the second half of the 20th century. Spock advised parents to take a compassionate, nurturing approach, seeing children as individuals with different needs and personalities, a far cry from the authoritarian models then dominant.
Dr. Spock’s influence not only reached out to generations of parents; it sparked debates and discussions about child care and ultimately shaped modern senses of parenting. Dr. Spock’s legacy lives on as a sign of his tremendous influence on pediatric care and parent education.
