This Day in History
Today: May 2, 2026
1194
King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter.[1]
1230
William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
1536
Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
1559
John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.
1568
Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Lochleven Castle.[2]
1611
The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
1625
Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.[3]
1670
King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
1808
Outbreak of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorializes this event in his painting The Second of May 1808.
1812
The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory.
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