12 History Lessons + 4 Births & 5 Deaths for May 2, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII, is arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
- 1611 – The King James Bible is published for the first time in London.
- 1670 – The Hudson’s Bay Company is founded by royal charter in England, becoming one of the oldest commercial corporations in the world.
- 1803 – The United States formally acquires the Louisiana Territory from France in a ceremony known as the Louisiana Purchase.
- 1885 – The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium.
- 1933 – Adolf Hitler bans trade unions in Nazi Germany.
- 1945 – Soviet troops capture Berlin, effectively ending the Battle of Berlin in World War II.
- 1952 – The first commercial jetliner, the de Havilland Comet 1, makes its maiden flight from London to Johannesburg.
- 1982 – The British submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano during the Falklands War.
- 1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa’s first Black president following the end of apartheid.
- 2011 – Osama bin Laden is buried at sea by U.S. forces after his death in a raid in Pakistan.
- 2023 – King Charles III and Queen Camilla are formally crowned at Westminster Abbey.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck, British pop singer (Release Me) (89)
- 1972 – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actor and former WWE superstar (53)
- 1985 – Lily Allen, British singer-songwriter (Smile, The Fear) (40)
- 1985 – David Beckham, English footballer and global icon (40)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance master of art, science, and engineering (67)
- 1863 – Stonewall Jackson, Confederate general during the American Civil War (39)
- 1972 – J. Edgar Hoover, first Director of the FBI (77)
- 1999 – Oliver Reed, British actor (Gladiator, Oliver!) (61)
- 2015 – Ruth Rendell, British crime novelist (Inspector Wexford series) (85)
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