These historical events took place on May 2nd:
1776: France & Spain agreed to give weapons to American rebels.
1783: Architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant is promoted by brevet to Major of Engineers in recognition of his service to American liberty.
1863: Stonewell Jackson attacking Chancellorsville is wounded by his own men.
1865: United States President Andrew Johnson awards $100,000 for the capture of the President of the Confederates of America Jefferson Davis.
1887: Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film that is used in inventor, Thomas Edison’s kinetoscope.
1916: In the Bronx, New York City: 2nd Ave & Bronx Terrace renamed Bronx Blvd; Seward Place renamed Sycamore Ave; Herald Ave renamed Dickinson Ave; Monroe & Selwyn Avenue named.
1927: United States Supreme Court’s “Buck v. Bell”, permits forced sterilizations of various “unfits” by states’ authorities where such surgeries are practiced for eugenic reasons.
1929: Billie Holiday at the age of fourteen and her mother are arrested for prostitution following a raid of a brothel in Harlem.
1946: “The Postman Always Rings Twice” film based on the novel by James M. Cain, directed by Tay Garnett and starring Lana Turner and John Garfield is released.
1957: Eugene O’Neill’s stage drama “Moon for the Misbegotten” premieres at the Bijou Theatre in New York City as it runs for 68 performances.