May 2nd

A pastel version of The Scream, by painter Edvard Munch, sold for $120 million in a New York City auction. The transaction set a new world record for an auctioned piece of art.

Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI's most wanted man is killed by United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Myanmar killing over 130,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.

The Labour Party’s Tony Blair became Prime Minister of Britain, ending 18 years of conservative rule. At 44, he was the youngest prime minister in 185 years.

Nelson Mandela claimed victory in South Africa's first democratic elections.

The Iron Curtain begins to crumble as Hungary dismantles its border fence. By gradually opening its border to Austria, Hungary facilitated the escape of hundreds of East Germans in the months before the Berlin Wall fell.

Falklands War: Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by British submarine Conqueror, killing more than 350 men.

J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI for 48 years, died at age 77.

The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth II departed on her maiden voyage to New York.

Tennessee Williams won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

The jet age begins with the first scheduled flight of the De Havilland Comet 1. Precisely one year after the maiden flight from London to Johannesburg, a Comet 1 crashed due to structural problems, killing 43 people. A series of similar accidents soon led to the grounding of the entire Comet fleet.

Arthur Miller wins Pulitzer Prize for "Death of a Salesman".

The Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.

General Mills began shipping a new cereal called "Cheerioats" to six test markets. (The cereal was later renamed "Cheerios.").

Lou Gehrig established a new major-league baseball record when he played his 2,130th consecutive game. It would take another 57 years before Cal Ripken, Jr., broke it.

Jack Benny's first radio show debuted on the NBC Blue Network.

Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart was born in New York City.

The Oklahoma Territory was organized.

Good Housekeeping magazine went on sale for the first time.

Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was accidentally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, Va. He died eight days later.

The Hudson Bay Co. was chartered by England's King Charles II.

Artist Leonardo da Vinci died.