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Headlines from May 2, 1980

Rescue Troop Commander Denies He Urged Pressing On to Teheran; No Intention to Resign, He Says Hostage Rescue Commander Denies He Favored Pushing On to Teheran 2 Rescued in Burning Transport None of Iranians on Bus Injured Quick Loading of Helicopters A 'Mammoth Fireball'

By Richard Halloran Special To the New York Times

WASHINGTON, May 1--Col. Charlie A. Beckwith, Army commander of the ground force for the rescue mission into Iran, asserted today that he personally recommended to his superiors that the operation be canceled after three of eight helicopters had failed.

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of April 30, 1980, covering May 2, 1980.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Against The Wind by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

    Against The Wind

    Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    8
  2. 2
    Album cover for The Wall by Pink Floyd

    The Wall

    Pink Floyd

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    21
  3. 3
    Album cover for Glass Houses by Billy Joel

    Glass Houses

    Billy Joel

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    7
  4. 4
    Album cover for Mad Love by Linda Ronstadt

    Mad Love

    Linda Ronstadt

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    8
  5. 5
    Album cover for Light Up The Night by The Brothers Johnson

    Light Up The Night

    The Brothers Johnson

    Last week
    6
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    9

Notable Births

Tim Borowski

1980Tim Borowski, German footballer[†]

Tim Borowski is a German football manager and former player.

Ellie Kemper

1980Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer[†]

Elizabeth Claire Kemper is an American actress, best known for her roles of Erin Hannon in the sitcom The Office (2009–2013) and Kimmy Schmidt in the sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2019). She has also appeared in films, notably Bridesmaids (2011), 21 Jump Street (2012), Sex Tape (2014), and Home Sweet Home Alone (2021). In 2018, she released her debut book, My Squirrel Days.

Zat Knight

1980Zat Knight, English footballer[†]

Zatyiah Knight is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

Troy Murphy

1980Troy Murphy, American basketball player[†]

Troy Brandon Murphy is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Murphy was born in Morristown, New Jersey but grew up in Sparta Township. He attended the Delbarton School and the University of Notre Dame, both of which are Roman Catholic schools. During his time at Notre Dame, he was a two-time consensus All-American before declaring himself for the 2001 NBA draft, where he was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 14th overall pick. Murphy has since graduated from Columbia University.

Brad Richards

1980Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player[†]

Bradley Ray Richards is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Lightning, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings during his National Hockey League (NHL) career.

Notable Deaths

Clarrie Grimmett

1980Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (born 1891)[†]

Clarence Victor Grimmett was a New Zealand-born Australian cricketer. He was one of the finest spin bowlers of his all time and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.

George Pal

1980George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (born 1908)[†]

George Pal was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after emigrating from Europe.

Famous People Who Share Your Birthday

Birthday Twins

10 notable people born on May 2, across different years.

Portrait of David Beckham, born in 1975

Photo: Soccer Aid for Unicef · CC BY 3.0 · Commons

Full image credit

Creator: Soccer Aid for Unicef

Credit: YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkdEY911KsA&ab_channel=SoccerAidforUnicef – View/save archived versions on archive.org

Attribution is required when this image is reused.

View source and license details

Born 1975

David Beckham

English footballer (born 1975)

Portrait of Novalis, born in 1772

Photo: Franz Gareis · Public domain · Commons

Full image credit

Creator: Franz Gareis

Credit: http://novalis.autorenverzeichnis.de/portraets/port_2_gareis_novalis_1800.html

View source and license details

Born 1772

Novalis

German aristocrat and polymath (1772–1801)

Weekly No. 1

Box Office

The film reported at No. 1 at the United States box office for May 2, 1980.

Market
United States
Reported period
May 2, 1980
Source
Wikipedia

Reported period gross: $847,617

Direct period match: This is the reported box-office period matched to May 2, 1980.

  1. #1

    Kramer vs. Kramer

    Historical No. 1 listing.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Source period May 1, 1980–May 7, 1980.

Historical Context for May 2, 1980

In 1980, the world population was approximately 4,447,606,236 people[†]

I was wondering if anything interesting on the news was going on when I was born, and decided to create this website for fun. The purpose is to show people what was going on when they were born. With this website I've found out that it was a pretty slow news day on my birthday, but I bet it would feel cool to know a historical event happened on your birthday.

The data used in this project is provided by the New York Times API. They have by far the best API I was able to find, with articles dating back to the 1950s. There weren't any other major newspapers that had an API with close to as much data. The closest was the Guardian API, but theirs only went back to the 1990s. I decided to only use articles from the New York Times because their API was by far the best. This tool works if you have a birthday after the 1950s or so.

Some important dates in history I'd recommend looking up on this website are:

  • 9/11/2001: The September 11 Attacks happened on this day, the news articles from this date provide great context to the tragedy our nation suffered and the immediate response from the American people. The headlines capture the shock, confusion, and unity that emerged in the aftermath of this devastating event.
  • 7/20/1969: The historic Apollo 11 moon landing, when humans first set foot on another celestial body. The articles from this date showcase humanity's greatest achievement in space exploration and the culmination of the space race.
  • 11/9/1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the beginning of the end of the Cold War. The coverage provides fascinating insights into this pivotal moment in world history and the emotions of people as decades of division came to an end.
  • 1/20/2009: Barack Obama's inauguration as the first African American President of the United States, a watershed moment in American history that represented a major milestone in the ongoing journey toward racial equality.
  • 8/15/1969: The Woodstock Music Festival began, marking a defining moment in American counterculture and music history. The coverage captures the spirit of the era and the unprecedented gathering of young people.

These historical events are just a few examples of the fascinating moments in history you can explore through this tool. Whether you're interested in your own birthday, significant historical dates, or just curious about what was making headlines on any given day, this website offers a unique window into the past through the lens of contemporary news coverage.

You can read more on our blog.