This Day in History: May 2

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This Day in History: May 2

Take a look at all of the important historical events that took place on May 2.

On this day. May 2 ...

1941: General Mills begins shipping its new cereal, “Cheerioats,” to six test markets. (The cereal would later be renamed “Cheerios.”)

Also on this day:

• 1519: Leonardo da Vinci dies in Cloux, France, at age 67.
• 1908: The original version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” with music by Albert Von Tilzer and lyrics by Jack Norworth, is published by Von Tilzer’s York Music Co.
• 1927: The U.S. Supreme Court, in Buck v. Bell, upholds 8-1 a Virginia law allowing the forced sterilization of people to promote the “health of the patient and the welfare of society.”
• 1957: Crime boss Frank Costello narrowly survives an attempt on his life in New York; the alleged gunman, Vincent “The Chin” Gigante, would be acquitted at trial after Costello refused to identify him as the shooter.
• 1957: Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., dies at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.
• 1968: “The Odd Couple,” the movie version of the Neil Simon comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, opens in New York City
• 1972: Longtime FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover dies in Washington at age 77.

• 1982: The Weather Channel makes its debut.
• 1994: Nelson Mandela claims victory in the wake of South Africa’s first democratic elections; President F.W. de Klerk acknowledges defeat.
• 2018: The Boy Scouts of America announces that the group’s flagship program would undergo a name change; after being known simply as the Boy Scouts for 108 years, the program would now be called Scouts BSA. (The change came as girls were about to enter the ranks.)