May 1
May 1 is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 244 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
Up to 1900
- 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire as Roman Emperors.
- 524 - King Sigismund of Burgundy is executed at Orleans after an eight-year reign and is succeeded by his brother Godomar.
- 880 - The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
- 1328 - The Scottish Wars of Independence end: The Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton leads the Kingdom of England to agree to recognize the Kingdom of Scotland as an independent state.
- 1351 – Zürich becomes part of Switzerland.
- 1460 - Italian seafarer Antonio de Noli, sailing for Portugal, discovers the Cape Verde island of Maio, which he names after the date of his discovery.
- 1464 - Edward IV of England marries Elizabeth Woodville.
- 1707 – Act of Union joins Scotland and England.
- 1759 – Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery company.
- 1776 – The Illuminati are founded in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, by Adam Weishaupt.
- 1778 - American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
- 1785 – Kamehameha I, king of Hawai'i defeats Kalanikupule, creating the Kingdom of Hawai'i.
- 1786 – The Opera, the Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is performed for the first time in Vienna, Austria.
- 1794 - War of the Pyrenees: The Battle of Boulou ends, in which French forces defeat the Spanish and regain almost the land they had lost to Spain in 1793.
- 1834 – British colonies abolish Slavery.
- 1840 – The Penny Black postage stamp, is introduced in the UK.
- 1844 – The Hong Kong police force is founded.
- 1851 – Queen Victoria announces the beginning of the Great Exhibition in London.
- 1852 - The Philippines Peso is introduced into circulation.
- 1856 - The province of Isabela is created in the Philippines.
- 1863 – The Stainless Banner is adopted as the flag of the Confederate States of America.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins.
- 1865 – Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance.
- 1875 - Alexandra Palace in London re-opens after being burned down in a fire in 1873.
- 1884 - Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first African American to play a professional baseball game in the US.
- 1893 - The World's Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago.
- 1898 - Spanish-American War: Battle of Manila Bay - The United States Navy destroys the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first battle of the war.
- 1900 – The Scofield Mine disaster in Utah kills 200 men.
1901 – 2000
- 1901 - Start of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
- 1915 – The RMS Lusitania leaves New York City on what would become its final journey across the Atlantic Ocean. It is torpedoed and sunk off Ireland on May 7.
- 1925 - The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is officially founded.
- 1927 - The first cooked meals on a scheduled flight are introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris.
- 1929 – A magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes present-day Iran and Turkmenistan, killing 5,800 people.
- 1930 – The dwarf planet Pluto is officially given its name.
- 1931 – New York City's Empire State Building is opened.
- 1933 - The Humanist Manifesto I is published.
- 1940 - World War II: The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled because of the war.
- 1941 - World War II: German forces launch a major attack on Tobruk, Libya.
- 1941 - Orson Welles's movie Citizen Kane is released in cinemas.
- 1945 – World War II: The Nazi leadership announces the death of Adolf Hitler the previous day.
- 1945 - World War II: Yugoslav partisans liberate the city of Trieste.
- 1947 - Porta della Ginestra massacre against people in May Day celebrations in Sicily by bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano, killing 11 people and wounding 33.
- 1948 – The North Korean state under Kim Il-Sung is founded.
- 1950 – Guam becomes a US Commonwealth (a state that depends on the US).
- 1956 – The Polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
- 1956 - Minamata disease is first discovered in Japan.
- 1957 - 34 people are killed when a Vickers Viking airliner crashes in Hampshire, southern England.
- 1960 – U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is shot down over the Soviet Union, making an international incident.
- 1960 - Formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
- 1961 - Then-Prime Minister of Cuba Fidel Castro announces that Cuba is a Communist country, and a one-party state, without elections.
- 1977 – 36 people are killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during Labour Day demonstrations.
- 1978 – Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by Dog Sled, reaches the North Pole on his own.
- 1979 – Greenland gains autonomy (self government) from Denmark, with Jonathan Motzfeldt as Prime Minister.
- 1982 – Opening of the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee.
- 1989 - Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
- 1993 - President of Sri Lanka Ranasinghe Premadasa is killed by a suicide bomber in Colombo.
- 1993 - Prime Minister of France Pierre Bérégovoy commits suicide.
- 1994 – Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna is killed in a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix.
- 1995 – Croatian forces launch Operation Flash during the Croatian War of Independence.
- 1997 – Tony Blair's Labour Party defeats John Major's Conservative Party in the United Kingdom General Election. Tony Blair therefore becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1999 – The remains of George Mallory are found on Mount Everest, almost 75 years after his disappearance.
- 1999 – The show SpongeBob SquarePants airs for the first time.
From 2001
- 2003 – A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes Eastern Turkey, killing 177 people.
- 2004 – Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta join the EU. This is the biggest enlargement in the EU's history.
- 2008 - Hangzhou Wen Daqiao Bridge is opened between Cixi and Jiaxing, People's Republic of China.
- 2009 – Sweden allows Same-sex marriage.
- 2011 – Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda, is captured and killed by US forces in Pakistan.
- 2018 - Scotland introduces a new minimum price for alcohol.
- 2019 - Naruhito becomes Emperor of Japan, succeeding his father Akihito; Japan's Reiwa period starts.
Births
Up to 1850
- 1218 – Rudolph I of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1291)
- 1218 - John I, Count of Hainaut (d. 1257)
- 1238 – King Magnus VI of Norway (d. 1280)
- 1582 - Marco da Gagliano, Italian poet (d. 1641)
- 1591 - Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (d. 1666)
- 1653 - Prince George of Denmark, consort of Anne of Great Britain (d. 1708)
- 1672 – Joseph Addison, English writer and essayist (d. 1719)
- 1751 - Judith Sargent Murray, American poet, playwright, essayist and women's rights activist (d. 1820)
- 1764 - Benjamin Henry Latrobe, English-American architect (d. 1820)
- 1769 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (d. 1852)
- 1814 - Prince Karl of Auersperg, Austro-Hungarian politician (d. 1890)
- 1821 - Henry Ayers, 8th Premier of South Australia (d. 1897)
- 1825 - Johann Jakob Balmer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1898)
- 1827 - Jules Breton, French painter (d. 1906)
- 1829 – José de Alencar, Brazilian novelist (d. 1877)
- 1830 - Guido Gezelle, Flemish poet (d. 1899)
- 1831 - Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and suffragist (d. 1903)
- 1837 - Walter Hauser, Swiss politician (d. 1902)
- 1850 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (d. 1942)
1851 – 1900
- 1852 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish doctor, won the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1934)
- 1852 – Calamity Jane, American Wild West performer (d. 1903)
- 1855 - Cecilia Beaux, American painter (d. 1942)
- 1857 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch art dealer (d. 1891)
- 1859 - Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, French artist (d. 1935)
- 1862 – Marcel Prevost, French writer and dramatist (d. 1941)
- 1864 – Anna Jarvis, founder of Mother's Day (d. 1948)
- 1868 - Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (d. 1940)
- 1871 - Seakle Greijdanus, Dutch theologian (d. 1948)
- 1872 – Sidónio Pais, Portuguese military leader and politician (d. 1918)
- 1872 - Hugo Alfvén, Swedish composer and conductor (d. 1960)
- 1874 - Romaine Brooks, American painter and sculptor (d. 1970)
- 1881 - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French philosopher (d. 1955)
- 1881 - John Svanberg, Swedish long-distance runner (d. 1957)
- 1884 - Francis Curzon, 5th Earl of Howe, British naval officer and racing driver (d. 1964)
- 1885 - Ralph Stockpole, American sculptor and painter (d. 1973)
- 1887 - Vincenzo Cardarelli, Italian journalist and writer (d. 1959)
- 1888 - John Francis O'Hara, American cardinal (d. 1962)
- 1896 - J. Lawton Collins, American general (d. 1987)
- 1896 - Herbert Backe, German Nazi politician (d. 1947)
- 1898 - Eugene R. Black, Sr., 3rd President of the World Bank (d. 1992)
- 1899 – Jón Leifs, Icelandic composer (d. 1968)
- 1900 - Ignazio Silone, Italian author and politician (d. 1978)
1901 – 1950
- 1905 - Henry Koster, German-American director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1988)
- 1907 – Kate Smith, American singer (d. 1986)
- 1908 – Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist (d. 1968)
- 1909 – Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet (d. 1990)
- 1913 - Balraj Sahni, Indian actor (d. 1973)
- 1913 – Walter Susskind, Czech conductor (d. 1980)
- 1914 - Louis Nye, American comedian and actor (d. 2005)
- 1915 - Archie Williams, American sprinter (d. 1993)
- 1915 – Hanns Martin Schleyer, German business executive (d. 1977)
- 1916 – Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)
- 1916 - Rong Yiren, Chinese politician (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Danielle Darrieux, French singer and actress (d. 2017)
- 1917 - Wendy Toye, English actress (d. 2010)
- 1918 - Jack Paar, American author and television and radio host (d. 2004)
- 1919 - Dan O'Herlihy, Irish actor (d. 2005)
- 1919 - Mohammed Karim Lamrani, former Prime Minister of Morocco (d. 2018)
- 1919 - Manna Dey, Indian playback singer (d. 2013)
- 1923 - Frank Brian, American basketball player (d. 2017)
- 1923 - Billy Steel, Scottish footballer (d. 1982)
- 1924 – Terry Southern, American screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1924 – Art Fleming, American game show host (d. 1995)
- 1924 - Evelyn Boyd Granville, American mathematician and educator
- 1924 – Grégoire Kayibanda, 1st President of Rwanda (d. 1976)
- 1925 - Scott Carpenter, American astronaut, pilot and aquanaut (d. 2013)
- 1925 - Chuck Bednarik, American football player (d. 2015)
- 1925 - Gabriele Amorth, Italian priest and exorcist (d. 2016)
- 1926 - Doug Cowie, Scottish footballer
- 1926 - Peter Lax, Hungarian-American mathematician
- 1927 - Mustafa Nurul Islam, Bangladeshi academic (d. 2018)
- 1927 - Laura Betti, Italian actress (d. 2004)
- 1927 - Walter Zeman, Austrian footballer (d. 1991)
- 1928 – Desmond Titterington, Northern Irish racing driver (d. 1972)
- 1929 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-born sociologist and politician (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Little Walter, American singer (d. 1968)
- 1930 - Richard Riordan, former Mayor of Los Angeles
- 1930 - Ollie Matson, American football player (d. 2011)
- 1932 - Sandy Woodward, British admiral (d. 2013)
- 1934 - Cuauhtémoc Cardenas, Mexican politician
- 1936 - Hasse Wallman, Swedish entrepreneur, composer, director, author and producer (d. 2014)
- 1937 - Una Stubbs, English actress and dancer
- 1937 - Bo Nilsson, Swedish composer and songwriter
- 1939 – Judy Collins, American singer
- 1939 - Rosy Armen, French singer
- 1940 - Fakhruddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi economist and politician
- 1941 - Asil Nadir, Turkish-Cypriot businessman
- 1943 - Joe Walsh, Irish politician (d. 2014)
- 1944 - Costa Cordalis, Greek-German singer
- 1945 – Rita Coolidge, American singer
- 1946 – Joanna Lumley, English actress
- 1946 - John Woo, Chinese movie director
- 1950 - Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer
1951 – 1975
- 1951 - Antony Worrall Thompson, English chef and broadcaster
- 1954 - Ray Parker Jr., American singer, musician and actor
- 1956 - Catherine Frot, French actress
- 1957 - Uberto Pasolini, Italian movie producer, director and investment banker
- 1959 – Yasmina Reza, French actress, writer and playwright
- 1960 - Bart Chilton, American civil servant (d. 2019)
- 1961 - Clint Malarchuk, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 - Timna Brauer, Austrian-Israeli singer
- 1962 – Maia Morgenstern, Romanian actress
- 1962 - Ted Sundquist, American football player, coach and manager
- 1964 – Lady Sarah Chatto, member of the extended British royal family
- 1964 - Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater
- 1965 - Todd Spikes, American former police officer and convicted sex offender
- 1966 – Olaf Thon, German footballer
- 1967 – Tim McGraw, American singer
- 1968 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer
- 1968 – D'arcy Wretzky, American musician
- 1968 - Johnny Colt, American bass guitarist
- 1969 – Wes Anderson, American director and writer
- 1969 - Mary Lou McDonald, Irish politician, leader of Sinn Féin
- 1973 – Oliver Neuville, German footballer
- 1974 - Lornah Kiplagat, Kenyan-Dutch runner
- 1975 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon footballer (d. 2003)
- 1975 – Alexey Smertin, Russian footballer
- 1975 - Nina Hossain, English journalist
From 1976
- 1976 - Violante Placido, Italian actress and singer
- 1979 – Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
- 1979 - Lars Berger, Norwegian biathlete
- 1979 - Pauli Rantasalmi, Finnish musician
- 1980 – Zaz, French singer
- 1980 - Jay Reatard, American rock musician (d. 2010)
- 1981 – Aliaksandr Hleb, Belarussian footballer
- 1981 - Derek Asamoah, Ghanaian footballer
- 1981 - Manny Acosta, Panamanian baseball player
- 1982 – Darijo Srna, Croatian footballer
- 1982 – Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player
- 1982 - Mark Warren, Irish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1983 - Alain Bernard, French rower
- 1984 – Alexander Farnerud, Swedish footballer
- 1984 - Farah Fath, American actress
- 1986 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorean footballer (d. 2013)
- 1987 - Leonardo Bonucci, Italian footballer
- 1987 - Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player
- 1988 – Anushka Sharma, Indian actress and model
- 1990 – Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress
- 1991 - Levina, German singer
- 1992 - Sammy Ameobi, English footballer
- 1997 – Ariel Gade, American actress
Deaths
Up to 1950
- 408 – Arcadius, Roman emperor
- 524 - King Sigismund of Burgundy
- 1118 - Edith of Scotland, first wife of Henry I of England (born 1080)
- 1277 - Stephen Uros I of Serbia (born 1223)
- 1308 – Albert I of Habsburg (murdered) (born 1255)
- 1555 – Pope Marcellus II (born 1501)
- 1572 – Pope Pius V (born 1504)
- 1731 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German composer (born 1677)
- 1738 – Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English statesman
- 1772 – Gottfried Achenwall, German statistician (born 1719)
- 1813 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French marshal (killed in combat) (born 1768)
- 1873 – David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer (born 1813)
- 1881 - Romolo Gessi, Italian soldier and explorer (born 1831)
- 1893 - Alexander Kaufmann, German poet (born 1817)
- 1899 – Ludwig Büchner, German philosopher and physician (born 1824)
- 1904 – Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (born 1841)
- 1920 - Princess Margaret of Connaught (born 1882)
- 1928 - Ebenezer Howard, English town planner, founder of the Garden City movement (born 1850)
- 1931 - Thomas Cooper Gotch, British painter (born 1854)
- 1935 - Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (born 1889)
- 1937 – Snitz Edwards, American actor (born 1868)
- 1943 - Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian religious leader (born 1871)
- 1945 – Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda (suicide) (born 1897)
- 1945 – Magda Goebbels, wife of Joseph Goebbels (suicide) (born 1901)
1951 – 2000
- 1963 – Lope K. Santos, Filipino writer (born 1879)
- 1965 – Spike Jones, American band leader, musician, and comedian (born 1911)
- 1968 - Jack Adams, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach and manager (born 1895)
- 1970 – Yi, Eun, Crown Prince Korea (born 1897)
- 1973 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter (born 1914)
- 1976 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek politician and poet (born 1939)
- 1978 – Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer (born 1903)
- 1982 – William Primrose, Scottish violist (born 1903)
- 1989 – Douglass Watson, American actor (born 1921)
- 1990 – Sergio Franchi, Italian director (born 1926)
- 1991 – Richard Thorpe, American movie director (born 1896)
- 1993 – Pierre Bérégovoy, Prime Minister of France (suicide) (born 1925)
- 1993 – Ranasinghe Premadasa, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (born 1924)
- 1993 - Warren P. Knowles, Governor of Wisconsin (born 1908)
- 1994 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (born 1960)
- 1996 - Luana Patten, American actress (born 1938)
- 1997 - Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist (born 1927)
- 1998 – Eldridge Cleaver, American activist (born 1935)
- 2000 – Steve Reeves, American actor (born 1926)
From 2001
- 2008 – Anthony Mamo, first President of Malta (born 1909)
- 2008 – Philipp von Boeselager, German resistance activist (born 1917)
- 2009 – Karst Tates, Dutch attempted assassin (born 1971)
- 2010 – Helen Wagner, American actress (born 1918)
- 2011 – Henry Cooper, British heavyweight boxer (born 1934)
- 2011 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi-Arabian terrorist leader (al-Qaeda) (born 1957)
- 2013 - Chris Kelly, American rapper (Kris Kross) (born 1978)
- 2014 - Assi Dayan, Israeli movie director and actor (born 1945)
- 2014 - Juan Formell, Cuban musician and composer (born 1942)
- 2014 - Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican footballer and coach (born 1951)
- 2014 - Richard Percival Lister, English author, poet and artist (born 1914)
- 2014 - Manfred von Richthofen, German sports official (born 1934)
- 2014 - Georg Stollenwerk, German footballer (born 1930)
- 2014 - Mel Clark, American baseball player (born 1926)
- 2015 - David Day, Australian broadcaster (born 1951)
- 2015 - Pete Brown, American golfer (born 1935)
- 2015 - Geoff Duke, British motorcycle racer (born 1923)
- 2015 - Stephen Milburn Anderson, American movie director and writer (born 1947)
- 2015 - Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (born 1930)
- 2015 - Vafa Guluzade, Azerbaijani diplomat (born 1940)
- 2015 - Beth Whittall, Canadian swimmer (born 1936)
- 2015 - Harry Geisinger, American politician (born 1933)
- 2015 - Dave Goldberg, American executive (born 1967)
- 2016 - Jean-Marie Girault, French politician (born 1926)
- 2016 - Solomon W. Golomb, American mathematician, engineer and educator (born 1922)
- 2016 - Madeleine LeBeau, French actress (born 1923)
- 2017 - Erkki Kurenniemi, Finnish musician and designer (born 1941)
- 2017 - Mike Lowry, American politician, Governor of Washington (born 1939)
- 2017 - Sam Mele, American baseball player (born 1922)
- 2017 - Mohamed Talbi, Tunisian historian and professor (born 1921)
- 2017 - Bruce Hampton, American musician (born 1947)
- 2017 - Yisrael Friedman, Israeli rabbi and educator (born 1923)
- 2017 - Karel Schoeman, South African novelist and translator (born 1939)
- 2018 - Elmar Altvater, German political scientist (born 1938)
- 2018 - Chuck Missler, American evangelist and author (born 1934)
- 2018 - Universo 2000, Mexican professional wrestler (born 1963)
- 2018 - Peter Temple-Morris, British politician (born 1938)
- 2018 - Arthur Barnard, American sprinter (born 1929)
- 2018 - Max Berrú, Ecuadorean-Chilean singer and musician (born 1942)
- 2019 - Dinko Dermendzhiev, Bulgarian footballer (born 1941)
- 2019 - Alessandra Panaro, Italian actress (born 1939)
- 2019 - Arvi Parbo, Estonian-Australian businessman and philanthropist (born 1926)
- 2019 - B. Subhashan Reddy, Indian judge (born 1943)
Holidays
- Saints of the Day: Saint Joseph the Worker; Saint Jeremiah, prophet
- May Day
- International Workers' Day
- Beltane in Neo-Pagan Tradition
- Lei Day (Hawaii)
- Constitution Day (Latvia and Marshall Islands)
- Loyalty Day
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