1. The first recorded baseball game in California was played on May 2, 1860, between the San Francisco Eagles and the San Francisco Red Rovers.

2. May 2, 1907, marks the founding of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), a private research university in Pasadena.

3. On May 2, 1946, the city of Santa Monica, California, installed the world's first automated parking garage. The garage could hold up to 72 cars, which were lifted and stored by a complex system of elevators and conveyor belts.

4. May 2, 1971, saw the opening of the first branch of the Cheesecake Factory restaurant chain in Beverly Hills, California. Today, the chain has over 200 locations in the United States and abroad.

5. In 2015, May 2 was declared "El Dia de Los Angeles" by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in honor of the city's 234th birthday. The day was marked with cultural events and celebrations across the city.