On This Day: May 2, 2024

Birthdays

1729 Catherine The Great

1904 Bing Crosby, American actor & singer

1916 Peggy Mount, English actress

1926 Clive Jenkins, Trade union leader

1936 Englebert Humperdink, Singer

1952 Isla St Clair, Television personality

1962 Jimmy White, Snooker player

Events

1519 Leonardo da Vinci, the artist & scientist, died

1670 The Hudson Bay Company, operating in Canada, was created

1945 Berlin was captured by Russian forces at the end of WW2

1965 Britains 'Early Bird' satellite began tranmitting TV programmes

1969 The liner QE2 had its maiden voyage

1982 The Argentine cruiser 'Belgrano' was sunk enroute to the Falklands

1984 The Queen opened the Liverpool Garden Festival

1986 Radiation released from the Chernobyl accident reached Britain