May 2nd

• 1972

  An electrical fire in the Sunshine Silver mine in Idaho kills 126 people.

• 1997

  Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery starring Mike Myers and Elizabeth Hurley is released.

• 1983

  A 6.7 magnitude earthquake injures 487 people in Coalinga, California.

• 1670

  The Hudson's Bay Company is chartered in England, becoming North America's oldest company.

• 2008

  Cyclone Nargis devastates Myanmar, killing over 130,000 people and leaving millions homeless.

• 1970

  Diane Crump becomes the first female jockey at the Kentucky Derby.

• 2011

  Osama bin Laden, the founder of Al-Qaeda, is killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in Pakistan.

• 1908

  The original version of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' is published in New York.

• 1933

  The first alleged sighting of the Loch Ness Monster occurs in Scotland.

• 1980

  Pink Floyd's Another Brick in Wall (Part II) is banned in South Africa.

• 1878

  The United States ceases minting the 20-cent coin.

• 1887

  Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film, later used in Edison's Kinetoscope.

• 2008

  Iron Man, the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is released, starring Robert Downey Jr.

• 1952

  The first scheduled jet airliner passenger service begins with a BOAC Comet from London to Johannesburg.

• 1995

  Hamlet opens at the Belasco Theater in NYC for 121 performances.

• 1994

  Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president, marking the end of apartheid.

• 1927

  The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Buck v. Bell permits forced sterilizations for eugenic reasons.