Died On May 2nd

Discover the most famous people who died on May 2. The list includes people like Leonardo da Vinci, Osama Bin Laden, Joseph McCarthy, J. Edgar Hoover, Martin Bormann. Famous personalities featured on this list, include novelists, political leaders, actors and sociologists and from other domains of life. This list includes people from Germany, United Kingdom, United States & Italy and many more countries.
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 1 
Leonardo da Vinci
(Italian Polymath & Artist Known for His Paintings: ‘Mona Lisa’, ‘The Last Supper’ and ‘Virgin of the Rocks’)
Leonardo da Vinci
117
Birthdate: April 15, 1452
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Anchiano, Italy
Died: 1519

Widely regarded as one of the greatest painters ever, Leonardo da Vinci was an extremely talented polymath. While his work The Mona Lisa became the most famous portrait, his drawing The Vitruvian Man became a cultural icon. A man well ahead of his time, Leonardo is also known for his notes on science and invention.

 2 
Oliver Reed
18
Birthdate: February 13, 1938
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Wimbledon, London, England
Died: 1999

Oliver Reed was an English actor who was considered one of the most bankable actors at the peak of his career. Characterized by his hellraiser lifestyle and macho image, Reed's problem with alcohol addiction was highly publicized and overshadowed his acting achievements. He often got into trouble because of his drinking habit and was once arrested for disturbing the peace.

 3 
Afeni Shakur
(American Political Activist and Member of the ‘Black Panther Party’)
Afeni Shakur
26
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: January 22, 1947
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Lumberton, North Carolina, United States
Died: 2016

Afeni Shakur was a political activist best known as the mother of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Afeni Shakur was an important member of the popular political organization Black Panther Party where she mentored new members like Jamal Joseph, Dhoruba Bin-Wahad, and Cleo Silvers.

 4 
Lynn Redgrave
(Best Known for Her Films: ‘Tom Jones’ and ‘Georgy Girl’)
Lynn Redgrave
7
Birthdate: March 8, 1943
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Marylebone, London, England
Died: 2010

Lynn Redgrave was a British-American actress whose career, which spanned over 40 years, is embellished with two Golden Globe Awards and nominations for prestigious awards, such as Academy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. In 2009, Redgrave was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. In 2013, the Bleecker Street Theater was renamed Lynn Redgrave Theater in her honor.

 5 
William Moulton Marston
5
Birthdate: May 9, 1893
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Saugus, Massachusetts
Died: 1947
Psychologist William Moulton Marston, also known as “Charles Moulton,” is remembered for inventing a precursor of the lie detector, along with his wife, Elizabeth Holloway. He was also a comic book author, who created the superheroine Wonder Woman. He was in a polyamorous relationship with his wife and Olive Byrne.
 6 
Jack Kemp
(Politician)
Jack Kemp
2
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: July 13, 1935
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
Died: 2009
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 7 
Paulo Freire
(Educator and Philosopher)
Paulo Freire
5
Birthdate: September 19, 1921
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Recife, Brazil
Died: 1997
An advocate of critical consciousness as a form of pedagogy, Paulo Freire grew up amid abject poverty in a Depression-hit Brazil. Remembered for his iconic work Pedagogy of the Oppressed, the revered educator who supported dialogic education had also won accolades such as the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education.
 8 
Efrem Zimbalist Jr
4
Birthdate: November 30, 1918
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Died: 2014
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 9 
Nancy Astor
(Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton (1919-45))
Nancy Astor
3
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: May 19, 1879
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Danville, Virginia, United States
Died: 1964
 10 
Michael Hordern
(Actor)
Michael Hordern
3
Birthdate: October 3, 1911
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Hertfordshire, England
Died: 1995
 11 
Norm Van Brocklin
(American football player)
Norm Van Brocklin
2
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: March 15, 1926
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Parade, South Dakota, United States
Died: 1983
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 12 
David Rappaport
(English Actor)
David Rappaport
1
Birthdate: November 23, 1951
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London, England
Died: 1990
 13 
Bobby Unser
(American Former Automobile Racer)
Bobby Unser
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: February 20, 1934
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Died: 2021

Born into the First Family of American auto racing, Bobby Unser had begun racing at age 15. He, his brother Al, and his nephew Al Jr., made racing history by winning a record nine Indianapolis 500 races together. He was trapped in a blizzard in New Mexico once and was almost killed.

 14 
Ivan Aivazovsky
(Painter)
Ivan Aivazovsky
1
Birthdate: July 29, 1817
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Feodosia, Russia
Died: 1900

Remembered for his awe-inspiring marine art, Russian painter Ivan Aivazovsky was the son of an Armenian merchant. His 60-year career had seen him produce around 6,000 works, most of which were seascapes. He had been the Russian navy’s official painter and inspired Anton Chekhov’s phrase worthy of Aivazovsky’s brush.

 15 
Henri Toivonen
(Finnish Rally Driver Who Became the Youngest Driver Ever to Become the World Rally Champion)
Henri Toivonen
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: August 25, 1956
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Jyväskylä, Finland
Died: 1986

Henri Toivonen was a Finnish rally driver who became the youngest driver ever to become the World Rally Champion in 1980. The record was later broken by his countryman Jari-Matti Latvala in 2008. Henri Toivonen is also known as the son of Pauli Toivonen, who won the 1968 European Rally Championship title.

 16 
Robert Clampett
(Animator)
Robert Clampett
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: May 8, 1913
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: San Diego, California, U.S.
Died: 1984
 17 
Tracy Reed
(Actress)
Tracy Reed
0
Birthdate: September 21, 1942
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: London, England
Died: 2012
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 18 
Maya Plisetskaya
(Russian Ballet Dancer and Choreographer)
Maya Plisetskaya
4
Listed In: Dancers
Birthdate: November 20, 1925
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: 2015

Maya Plisetskaya was a legendary Soviet and Russian ballerina. Growing up in a war-torn region, she had a difficult childhood. She sought solace in ballet and pursued a career as a dancer. She was remarkably fluid in her movements and soon became internationally renowned. She later became a ballet director and choreographer. She was married to composer Rodion Shchedrin. 

 19 
Clara Immerwahr
(German Chemist)
Clara Immerwahr
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: June 21, 1870
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Wojczyce, Poland
Died: 1915

Clara Immerwahr was a German chemist who became the first German woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry. Apart from being a chemist, Clara Immerwahr was also a pacifist and a women's rights activist. Her work, marriage with the popular chemist Fritz Haber, and her suicide at the age of 44 have inspired films, novels, and TV series.

 20 
Louis Rukeyser
(Journalist)
Louis Rukeyser
0
Birthdate: January 30, 1933
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: 2006
 21 
Alfred de Musset
(French Writer Best Known for His Autobiographical Novel ‘The Confession of a Child of the Century’)
Alfred de Musset
2
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: December 11, 1810
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: 1857

French playwright and author Alfred de Musset is best remembered for his autobiographical The Confession of a Child of the Century. Though he was supposedly part of the Romantic movement, many of his works satirized the movement. He stopped allowing his plays to be staged after The Venetian Night flopped.

 22 
Jeff Hanneman
(Musician, best known as a founding member and rhythm/lead guitarist of the American thrash metal band Slayer)
Jeff Hanneman
4
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: January 31, 1964
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Oakland, California, United States
Died: 2013
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 23 
Maidie Norman
(Actress)
Maidie Norman
1
Birthdate: October 16, 1912
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Villa Rica, Georgia, United States
Died: 1998
 24 
Sir John Eccles
(Australian Neurophysiologist Who Won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for His Work on the Synapse)
Sir John Eccles
2
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: January 27, 1903
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Melbourne, Australia
Died: 1997

Sir John Eccles was a philosopher and neurophysiologist whose services to physiological research earned him the title of Knight Bachelor in 1958. His work on the synapse earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with Alan Lloyd Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley in 1963. The same year, he also received the Australian of the Year Award.

 25 
Augusto Boal
(Theatre director, Writer, Politician, Playwright)
Augusto Boal
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: March 16, 1931
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro
Died: 2009
Augusto Boal was a Brazilian theatre practitioner and drama theorist. He studied at Columbia University in New York and returned to Brazil to work at the Arena Theatre in São Paulo. He directed numerous classical dramas and made a name for himself. He founded the Theatre of the Oppressed and developed legislative theatre. He won the UNESCO Pablo Picasso Medal. 
 26 
George Pal
(Hungarian-American Animator, Film Director and Producer)
George Pal
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: February 1, 1908
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Cegléd, Hungary
Died: 1980

Born to stage-entertainer parents, Hungarian-American animator and filmmaker George Pal scripted history as the second-most-nominated exiled Hungarian at the Academy Awards. He is best remembered for his Puppetoons series and his sci-fi and fantasy movies such as The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine.

 27 
Boris I of Bulgaria
(King)
Boris I of Bulgaria
1
Birthdate: 0825 AD
Birthplace: Pliska, Bulgaria
Died: 0907
 28 
Ruth Rendell
(Writer, Politician, Novelist, Screenwriter)
Ruth Rendell
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: February 17, 1930
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: London
Died: 2015
 29 
Mohammed Dib
(One of Algeria's Most Popular and Prolific Writers)
Mohammed Dib
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: July 21, 1920
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tlemcen, Algeria
Died: 2003

Mohammed Dib was an Algerian author who wrote more than 30 novels. He is also remembered for writing numerous poems, children's literature, and short stories in the French language. He is often counted among Algeria's most popular and prolific writers. Mohammed Dib was the recipient of the Fénéon Prize as well as the Mallarmé Prize.

 30 
Richard Theodore Greener
(Educator)
Richard Theodore Greener
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: January 30, 1844
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: 1922
 31 
Robert Henry Cain
(British Army Major who was awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross in 1944)
Robert Henry Cain
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: January 2, 1909
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Shanghai, China
Died: 1974
 32 
Pridi Phanomyong
(Politician)
Pridi Phanomyong
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: May 11, 1900
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Ayutthaya, Thailand
Died: 1983
 33 
Prince Waldemar of Prussia
(Prince)
Prince Waldemar of Prussia
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: March 20, 1889
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Kiel, Germany
Died: 1945
 34 
Hester Thrale
(Author)
Hester Thrale
2
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 27, 1741
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Wales
Died: 1821

A close associate of Samuel Johnson, Hester Thrale was married to an affluent brewer named Henry Thrale but, following Henry’s death, got married to her daughter’s Italian music teacher. A renowned diarist, she released volumes of letters and anecdotes of Samuel Johnson after Johnson’s death.

 35 
Athanasius of Alexandria
(Egyptian Theologian, Statesman and National Leader)
Athanasius of Alexandria
1
Birthdate: 0296 AD
Birthplace: Alexandria, Egypt
Died: 0373

Athanasius of Alexandria was the 20th bishop of Alexandria. A well-known Egyptian leader of the 4th century, Athanasius' career was shaped by his conflicts with Arius and successive Roman emperors. He is venerated as a saint and his feast day is observed on different days depending upon the various churches.

 36 
Julio Gallo
(Wine maker)
Julio Gallo
0
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: March 21, 1910
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Antioch, California, United States
Died: 1993
 37 
Rafael Hernández Colón
(Politician)
Rafael Hernández Colón
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: October 24, 1936
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died: 2019
 38 
Helmut Dantine
(Actor)
Helmut Dantine
1
Birthdate: October 7, 1918
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: 1982
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 39 
Leo I, King of Armenia
(King)
Leo I, King of Armenia
2
Birthdate: 1150 AD
Birthplace: Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Died: 1279
 40 
Giacomo Meyerbeer
(Opera composer)
Giacomo Meyerbeer
2
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: September 5, 1791
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: 1864
 41 
Alfred Weber
(Economist, Educationist, Sociologist, University teacher)
Alfred Weber
0
Birthdate: July 30, 1868
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Erfurt
Died: 1958

Alfred Weber was a German geographer, sociologist, economist, and theoretician of culture. Weber's work and contribution played a key role in the progression of modern economic geography. The younger brother of Max Weber, Alfred Weber contributed theories for analyzing social processes, social change as a confluence of civilization, and culture.

 42 
Evelyn De Morgan
(Painter)
Evelyn De Morgan
0
Birthdate: August 30, 1855
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: London
Died: 1919
 43 
Giuseppe Siri
(Priest)
Giuseppe Siri
2
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: May 20, 1906
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Genoa, Italy
Died: 1989
 44 
Robert Hunter
(Environmentalist)
Robert Hunter
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: October 13, 1941
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Saint Boniface, Winnipeg, Canada
Died: 2005

Part of the Don't Make a Wave Committee, Robert Hunter also co-founded the international environmental organization Greenpeace. He was also a seasoned journalist and had begun writing as a teenager, when his mother bought him a typewriter. He battled prostate cancer in his final days and eventually succumbed to it.

 45 
Dorothea Binz
(Officer)
Dorothea Binz
7
Listed In: Criminals
Birthdate: March 16, 1920
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Templin, Germany
Died: 1947
 46 
Gustav Landauer
(Politician, Translator, Writer, Journalist)
Gustav Landauer
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: April 7, 1870
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Karlsruhe
Died: 1919
 47 
David Wechsler
(Romanian-American Psychologist)
David Wechsler
0
Birthdate: January 12, 1896
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Lespezi, Romania
Died: 1981
 48 
Robert Homme
(Actor)
Robert Homme
0
Birthdate: March 8, 1919
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Stoughton, Wisconsin, United States
Died: 2000
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 49 
Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov
(Statesman)
Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: August 26, 1787
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: 1869
 50 
W. T. Tutte
(British-Canadian Mathematician Best Known for His Work on Code-Breaking in World War II)
W. T. Tutte
1
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: May 14, 1917
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Newmarket, Suffolk, England
Died: 2002

Born to working-class parents who were employed with the upkeep of the Fitzroy House stables, W. T. Tutte completed his high school studies on scholarships. Initially interested in physical chemistry, he later focused on math and became a genius codebreaker. He deciphered several intricate German military codes, such as FISH.