So you want to have a drink but you aren't sure why? Here are some GREAT reasons to call your friends over and have a party.
May 2nd - holidays
- Christian Feast Day

- Flag Day (Poland)

- Holiday of the Region of Madrid (Community of Madrid)

- National Education Day (Indonesia)

- Teacher's Day (Iran)

- The last day of the Festival of Ridván (Bahá'í Faith)

- The second day of Labour Day (Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia)

May 2nd - events
- 2008 - Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Myanmar killing over 130,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.

- 2004 - Yelwa massacre of more than 630 nomad Muslims by Christians in Nigeria.

- 2003 - From the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, US President George W. Bush announced in a nationally televised address in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner that major combat operations in Iraq had ended.

- 2002 - Marad massacre of eight Hindus near Palakkad in Kerala.

- 2000 - President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.

- 1999 - Panamanian election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.

- 1998 - The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union's monetary policy.

- 1995 - During the Croatian War of Independence, Serb forces fire cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing 7 and wounding over 175 civilians.

- 1994 - In a bus disaster in Poland, 32 people die.

- 1982 - Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.

- 1972 - In the early morning hours a fire broke out at the Sunshine mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, ID, killing 91 workers.

- 1969 - The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.

- 1964 - First ascent of Shishapangma the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.

- 1964 - Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the USS Card while docked at Saigon. Viet Cong forces are suspected of placing a bomb on the ship.

- 1963 - Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.

- 1955 - Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

- 1952 - The world's first ever jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1 makes its maiden flight, from London to Johannesburg.

- 1946 - The "Battle of Alcatraz" takes place, killing two guards and three inmates.

- 1945 - World War II: Fall of Berlin: The Soviet Union announces the capture of Berlin and Soviet soldiers hoist their red flag over the Reichstag building.

- 1945 - World War II: Italian Campaign – General Heinrich von Vietinghoff signs the official instrument of surrender of all Wehrmacht forces in Italy.

- 1945 - World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1000 dead inmates, most starved to death.

- 1933 - Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.

- 1932 - Comedian Jack Benny's radio show airs for the first time.

- 1920 - The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis, Indiana.

- 1918 - General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.

- 1889 - Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs a treaty of amity with Italy, which gives Italy control over Eritrea.

- 1885 - Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.

- 1885 - Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.

- 1885 - The Congo Free State is established by King Léopold II of Belgium.

- 1879 - The Spanish Socialist Worker's Party is founded in Casa Labra Pub (city of Madrid) by the historical Spanish workers' leader Pablo Iglesias.

- 1876 - The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria.

- 1866 - Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.

- 1863 - American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia eight days later.

- 1829 - After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of the HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.

- 1816 - Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Charlotte Augusta.

- 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.

- 1672 - John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.

- 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.

- 1568 - Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.

- 1559 - John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the beginning Scottish Reformation.

- 1536 - Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.

- 1335 - Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.

- 1230 - William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.

- 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.

May 2nd - births
- 2000 - Angel Sy, Filipina child actor

- 1990 - Kay Panabaker, American actor

- 1988 - Lara Liang, Taiwanese-American Singer

- 1987 - Nana Kitade, Japanese singer

- 1987 - Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player

- 1986 - James Kirk, Canadian actor

- 1986 - Emily Hart, American actress

- 1985 - Lily Allen, English singer and songwriter

- 1985 - Kyle Busch, American racing driver

- 1985 - Sarah Hughes, American figure skater

- 1985 - David Nugent, English footballer

- 1985 - Jarrod Saltalamacchia, American baseball player

- 1985 - Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player

- 1984 - Saulius Mikoli?nas, Lithuanian footballer

- 1984 - Thabo Sefolosha, American basketball player

- 1983 - Christa Rigozzi, Swiss model

- 1983 - Daniel Sordo, Spanish rally driver

- 1982 - Lorie, French singer

- 1982 - Johan Botha, South African cricketer

- 1981 - Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer

- 1981 - Matt Murray, English footballer

- 1981 - Chris Kirkland, English footballer

- 1981 - Robert Buckley, American actor

- 1980 - Tim Borowski, German footballer

- 1980 - Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder

- 1980 - Miloš Glogovac, Serbian footballer

- 1980 - Zat Knight, English footballer

- 1980 - Troy Murphy, American basketball player

- 1980 - Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player

- 1979 - Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)

- 1979 - Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player

- 1978 - Steve Bays, Canadian musician

- 1978 - Intars Busulis, Latvian singer, trombone player

- 1978 - Melvin Ely, American basketball player

- 1978 - Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player

- 1977 - Luke Hudson, American baseball player

- 1977 - Jenna von Oy, American actress

- 1977 - Fredrik Malm, Swedish politician

- 1975 - David Beckham, English footballer

- 1975 - Eva Santolaria, Spanish actress

- 1974 - Horacio Carbonari, Argentine former footballer

- 1974 - Garđar Thór Cortes, Icelandic tenor

- 1974 - Andy Johnson, Welsh footballer

- 1973 - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German film director and screenwriter

- 1972 - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, American professional wrestler and actor

- 1972 - Paul Adcock, English footballer

- 1972 - Pandora Boxx, American drag queen and reality tv personality

- 1971 - Musashimaru K?y?, American Samoan sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna

- 1969 - Brian Lara, Trinidadian West Indies cricketer

- 1968 - Hikaru Midorikawa, Japanese voice actor

- 1968 - Jeff Agoos, American footballer

- 1968 - Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer and actress

- 1967 - Bengt Ĺkerblom, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1995)

- 1967 - Mika Brzezinski, American journalist

- 1966 - Belinda Stronach, Canadian politician

- 1965 - Félix José, Dominican baseball player

- 1962 - Elizabeth Berridge, American actress

- 1962 - Ray Traylor, American wrestler (d. 2004)

- 1962 - Jimmy White, English snooker player

- 1962 - Mitzi Kapture, American actress

- 1961 - Phil Vickery, English celebrity chef

- 1961 - Stephen Daldry, English film director

- 1961 - Steve James, English snooker player

- 1959 - Alan Best, Canadian animation director and producer

- 1959 - Tony Wakeford, English musician (Sol Invictus)

- 1958 - David O'Leary, Irish football manager and player

- 1956 - David Rhodes, English guitarist

- 1956 - Amir Mokri, Iranian-born American cinematographer

- 1955 - Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer

- 1954 - Roberta Pedon, American glamour model (d. 1982)

- 1954 - Stephen Venables, British mountaineer

- 1953 - Valery Gergiev, Russian-born conductor

- 1952 - Christine Baranski, American actress

- 1952 - Mari Natsuki, Japanese singer, dancer and actress

- 1950 - Duncan Gay, Australian politician

- 1950 - Lou Gramm, American vocalist (Foreigner)

- 1950 - Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan socialite

- 1949 - Alan Titchmarsh, English television presenter

- 1948 - Larry Gatlin, American musician

- 1946 - Lesley Gore, American singer

- 1946 - David Suchet, English actor

- 1945 - Sarah Weddington, American attorney

- 1945 - Gene Deckerhoff, American sports announcer

- 1945 - Judge Dread, English musician (d. 1998)

- 1942 - Jacques Rogge, Belgian International Olympic Committee president

- 1941 - Clay Carroll, American baseball player

- 1939 - Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist

- 1938 - Chief Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)

- 1937 - Lorenzo Music, American actor (d. 2001)

- 1936 - Engelbert Humperdinck, Indian-born singer

- 1936 - Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)

- 1935 - King Faisal II of Iraq (d. 1958)

- 1935 - Lance LeGault, American actor

- 1935 - Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager

- 1932 - Maury Allen, American sportswriter

- 1930 - Marco Pannella, Italian politician and activist

- 1929 - Link Wray, American guitarist (d. 2005)

- 1929 - Édouard Balladur, French Prime Minister

- 1928 - Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, third king of Bhutan (d. 1972)

- 1927 - Ray Barrett, Australian actor (d. 2009)

- 1926 - Gérard D. Lévesque, Quebec politician (d. 1993)

- 1925 - Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor (d. 2007)

- 1925 - John Neville, English theatre and film actor

- 1924 - Theodore Bikel, Austrian-born actor and singer

- 1924 - Jamal Abro, Sindhi writer (d. 2004)

- 1922 - A.M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born newspaper editor (d. 2006)

- 1922 - Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)

- 1921 - Satyajit Ray, Indian director (d. 1992)

- 1920 - Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor (d. 2004)

- 1920 - Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist (d. 2000)

- 1917 - Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder

- 1915 - Doris Fisher, American songwriter (d. 2003)

- 1915 - Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)

- 1913 - Nigel Patrick, English actor (d. 1981)

- 1912 - Axel Cäsar Springer, German publisher (d. 1985)

- 1910 - Alexander Bonnyman, U.S. Marine (d. 1943)

- 1907 - Pinky Lee, American vaudeville performer (d. 1993)

- 1906 - Philippe Halsman, American photographer (d. 1979)

- 1906 - Aileen Riggin, American swimmer (d. 2002)

- 1903 - Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author (d. 1998)

- 1898 - Henry Hall, British bandleader (d. 1989)

- 1897 - J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)

- 1896 - Helen of Greece and Denmark, queen of Romania (d. 1982)

- 1895 - Lorenz Hart, American lyricist (d. 1943)

- 1894 - Joseph Henry Woodger, British theoretical biologist (d. 1981)

- 1892 - Manfred von Richthofen, German World War I pilot – the Red Baron (d. 1918)

- 1890 - E. E. Smith, American writer (d. 1965)

- 1887 - Vernon Castle, English dancer (d. 1918)

- 1887 - Eddie Collins, American baseball player (d. 1951)

- 1886 - Gottfried Benn, German author (d. 1956)

- 1885 - Hedda Hopper, American gossip columnist (d. 1966)

- 1881 - Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)

- 1879 - James F. Byrnes, American statesman, and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1972)

- 1873 - Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1944)

- 1865 - Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)

- 1860 - Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist/Zionist (d. 1904)

- 1859 - Jerome Klapka Jerome, English writer (d. 1927)

- 1843 - Elijah McCoy, Canadian-born Inventor (d. 1929)

- 1828 - Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist (d. 1915)

- 1810 - Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer (d. 1874)

- 1808 - Emma Wedgwood, English naturalist, wife of Charles Darwin, (d. 1896)

- 1806 - Catherine Labouré, French visionary and saint (d. 1876)

- 1802 - Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)

- 1773 - Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher (d. 1845)

- 1772 - Novalis, German writer (d. 1801)

- 1750 - John André, British Army officer of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1780)

- 1740 - Elias Boudinot, President of the American Continental Congress (d. 1821)

- 1737 - William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)

- 1729 - Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia (d. 1796)

- 1702 - Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian (d. 1782)

- 1695 - Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni, Italian-born architect (d. 1766)

- 1660 - Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)

- 1601 - Athanasius Kircher, German Jesuit scholar (d. 1680)

- 1551 - William Camden, English historian (d. 1623)

- 1458 - Leonor of Viseu, queen of Portugal (d. 1525)

- 1451 - René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)

- 1360 - Yongle, Emperor of China (d. 1424)
