Today in History - History - May 2nd

1906Tsar Nicolas II of Russia dismisses his moderate Prime Minister Witte and appoints Ivan Goremykin, a conservative bureaucrat

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

2012Barcelona football player Lionel Messi breaks the European goal-scoring record with 68 goals

197914th Academy of Country Music Awards: Kenny Rogers & Barbara Mandrell

1670King Charles II gives royal charter to the Hudson's Bay Company

1923Senator Walter Johnson pitches his 100th shutout, beats Yanks 3-0

1865US President Johnson offers $100,000 reward for capture of Jefferson Davis

1997Police arrest transsexual prostitute Atisone Seiuli with Eddie Murphy

2008The critically acclaimed "Iron Man", starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, is released

1933In Germany, Adolf Hitler bans trade unions

1729Catherine the Great [Catherine II], Stettin, Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia, Empress of Russia (1762-96)

1903Benjamin Spock, New Haven, Connecticut, American pediatrician (Common Sense Book of Baby Care)

1797Abraham Gesner, Cornwallis Nova Scotia, Canadian geologist (inventor of kerosene)

1892Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen [The Red Baron], Breslau, German World War I fighter ace

1985Lily Allen, English singer and songwriter

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

1946"Rebecca" actress Joan Fontaine (28) weds producer and actor William Dozier (38)

2009Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal (32) weds film and stage actor Peter Sarsgaard (38) in a small chapel in Brindisi, Italy

1972J. Edgar Hoover, first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1924-72) dies at 77

1957Joseph McCarthy, anti-communist US senator (R-Wisc), dies at 48

1519Leonardo da Vinci, artist/scientist, dies at 67

2011Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda and 'the most wanted man in the world' (b. 1957)