2 May 1463

A Saturday in history

Weekday

Saturday

Season

Spring (N. Hemisphere)

Century

15th century

Records

344

  1. 2014

    Russo-Ukrainian War: Forty-eight people were killed during a confrontation between pro-Russian protesters and pro-Ukrainian unity protesters in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa.

    Source
  2. 2014

    Two mudslides in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, killed at least 350 people.

    Source
  3. 2011

    The Conservative Party of Canada won enough seats in the federal election to establish their first majority government.

    Source
  4. 2011

    Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six in his private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

    Source
  5. 2008

    The Chaitén volcano in Chile began to erupt for the first time since around 1640.

    Source
  6. 2003

    Cyclone Manou formed in the Indian Ocean; over the next two weeks it struck Madagascar and left more than 100,000 people homeless.

    Source
  7. 1999

    Mireya Moscoso (pictured) became the first woman to be elected President of Panama.

    Source
  8. 1995

    Croatian War of Independence: Serb forces began rocket attacks on the Croatian capital Zagreb, killing 7 people and injuring around 200 others.

    Source
  9. 1986

    Henri Toivonen was killed in an accident while leading the Tour de Corse rally, resulting in FISA banning the popular Group B rally cars for the following season.

    Source
  10. 1982

    Falklands War: HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano (pictured), the only ship ever to have been deliberately sunk by a nuclear submarine in battle.

    Source
  11. 1964

    Vietnam War: An explosion attributed to Viet Cong commandos caused the escort carrier USNS Card to sink in the port of Saigon.

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  12. 1945

    World War II: General Helmuth Weidling, the German commander of Berlin, surrendered to Soviet forces led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov, ending the Battle of Berlin.

    Source
  13. 1889

    The Treaty of Wuchale was signed, ending the Italo-Ethiopian War, but differences in translation later led to another war.

    Source
  14. 1878

    A dust explosion (depicted) at the world's largest flour mill in Minneapolis resulted in 18 deaths.

    Source
  15. 1670

    A royal charter granted the Hudson's Bay Company a monopoly in the fur trade in Rupert's Land (present-day Canada).

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  16. 1559

    Presbyterian clergyman John Knox returned from exile to lead the Scottish Reformation.

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  17. 1194

    King Richard I of England gave the city of Portsmouth its first royal charter.

    Source

Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.