What Happened on May 2? | This Day That Year

Portsmouth, EnglandMedieval

1194

Portsmouth Gets Its Charter

The Lionheart builds a naval legacy

King Richard I of England, the warrior-king known as the Lionheart, granted the city of Portsmouth its first royal charter, recognizing its strategic importance as a naval port. This act of royal patronage transformed a modest coastal settlement into one of England's premier maritime bases -- a role it would fulfill for centuries as the home of the Royal Navy. From this harbor, fleets would sail to fight the Spanish Armada, conquer an empire, and defend Britain in two world wars.

1194 AD

King's Norton, EnglandEarly 20th Century

1902

Brian Aherne Was Born

A gentleman of stage and screen

In King's Norton, Worcestershire, Brian Aherne was born -- an English actor whose aristocratic bearing and polished performances would grace both sides of the Atlantic for half a century. Moving seamlessly between the London stage and Hollywood studios, he appeared alongside the era's greatest stars. His career embodied the golden age of transatlantic entertainment, when a cultivated English accent could open doors from the West End to Beverly Hills.

1902 AD

World War II — World War II: Following the coup d'état against Iraq Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom. — Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-646-5188-17,_Flugzeuge_Junkers_Ju_87.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Early 20th Century

1941

World War II

World War II: Following the coup d'état against Iraq Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom.

World War II: Following the coup d'état against Iraq Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom launches the Anglo-Iraqi War to restore him to power.

1941 AD