^B{^#!16!2 May^N! Feast day of St Gennys, St Athanasius, St Mefalda, St Wiborada, St Waldebert, Saints Exuperius and Zoe, and St Ultan of Fosses.
^B{1251^B} Simon de Montfort suppressed the Gascon rebellion. ^B{1482^B} Venice, in alliance with the Papacy, declared war on Ferrara, which was supported by Florence, Milan and Naples. ^B{ 1536^B} Queen Anne Boleyn was sent to the Tower of London. ^B{1611^B} The Authorized Version of the Bible (King James Version) was first published. ^B{1670^B} The Hudson Bay Company was incorporated. ^B{1926^B} US troops landed to preserve order in Nicaraguan revolt. ^B{1936^B} Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie and his family fled from Addis Ababa, three days before it fell to Italian forces. ^B{1945^B} Germany surrendered to Allied forces. ^B{1969^B} The passenger liner ^I{Queen Elizabeth II^I} set off from Southampton on its first voyage. ^B{1989^B} Martial law was imposed in China as the government took a firmer stand against pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.
^B{^I{^#!14!Born ^N}Catherine II 'the Great' of Russia, ^B{1729^B}; Jerome K Jerome, English novelist and playwright, ^B{1859^B}; Theodor Herzl, Hungarian founder of Zionism, ^B{1860^B}; Benjamin Spock, US childcare specialist, ^B{1903^B}; Bing Crosby, US singer, ^B{1904^B}; Peggy Mount, English actress, ^B{1916^B}; Clive Jenkins, British labor-union leader, ^B{1926^B}; David Suchet, British actor, ^B{1946^B}.
^B{^I{^#!14!Died ^N}Leonardo da Vinci, Florentine artist and scientist, ^B{1519^B}; Joseph McCarthy, US politician who investigated suspected communists, ^B{1957^B}; Nancy Astor, first British woman MP, ^B{1964^B}; J Edgar Hoover, US director of the FBI, ^B{1972^B}.
