May 1 - Definition and Overview

May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). There are 244 days remaining.

Events

300-1899

• 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor.
• 1328 - Wars of Scottish Independence end: Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton - England recognises Scotland as an independent nation.
• 1699 - Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville founds the first European settlement in the Mississippi River Valley.
• 1707 - The Act of Union joins England, and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
• 1753 - Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
• 1776 - Adam Weishaupt founds the Illuminati in Ingolstadt, Germany.
• 1786 - Premier night of the opera The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna.
• 1790 - The United States completes its first census.
• 1834 - The British colonies abolish slavery.
• 1840 - The Penny Black postage stamp is put on sale in the United Kingdom.
• 1848 - Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji), collegiate social fraternity, founded at Jefferson College (now Washington & Jefferson College) in Canonsburg, PA
• 1851 - The Great Exhibition opens in London.
• 1863 - American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins - Union forces under Major General Joseph Hooker begin to fight Confederate troops commanded by General Robert E. Lee (Union defeat).
• 1869 - The Folies Bergères open in Paris.
• 1873 - The 1873 Vienna World's Fair opens in Vienna.
• 1882 - First Labour Day in the United States held in New York.
• 1883 - Buffalo Bill Cody put on his first Wild West Show.
• 1884 - Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States
• 1886 - The start of the general strike which eventually won the eight-hour workday in the United States. These events are today commemorated as May Day or Labour Day in most industrialized countries.
• 1893 - The World Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago, Illinois.
• 1894 - Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington D.C..
• 1898 - Spanish-American War: The Battle of Manila Bay - The United States Navy destroys the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first battle of the war.

1900-1999

• 1901 - The Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo, New York.
• 1902 - Petrol Loco, the first prototype gasoline-powered "locomobile" (automobile), is completed.
• 1931 - The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
• 1940 - The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled due to war.
• 1941 - Orson Welles's Citizen Kane premieres in New York City
• 1941 - World War II: German forces launch major attack on Tobruk.
• 1941 - Cheerios is introduced as CheeriOats by the General Mills cereal company.
• 1948 - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is established, with Kim Il Sung as president.
• 1950 - Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth.
• 1954 - Taku is founded in Japan.
• 1956 - The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
• 1960 - Cold War: U-2 Crisis - Francis Gary Powers, in a U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, beginning a crisis.
• 1967 - Elvis Presley marries Priscilla Beaulieu.
• 1971 - Amtrak is formed.
• 1972 - Vietnam War: Easter Offensive - North Vietnamese troops capture Quang Tri City, effectively giving them control Quang Tri Province.
• 1978 - Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by sled dog, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
• 1982 - The 1982 World's Fair opens in Knoxville, Tennessee.
• 1983 - Edwin El Chapo Rosario wins boxing's vacant WBC world Lightweight title by beating Jose Luis Ramirez in San Juan, by points in 12 rounds, becoming Puerto Rico's 14th world boxing champion. A young Julio Cesar Chavez also wins as part of the undercard.
• 1994 - Formula One driver Ayrton Senna is killed during the San Marino Grand Prix.
• 1995 - First issue of The Inner Swine published.
• 1997 - HM Prison Pentridge, Melbourne, Australia is officially closed.

2000-2099

• 2003 - War in Iraq: U.S. President George W. Bush announces the end of major combat operations in Iraq.
• 2004 - Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union.
• 2005 - After being canceled by Fox Television, Family Guy premieres its fourth season.

Births

1200-1899

• 1218 - Rudolph I of Germany, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1291)
• 1672 - Joseph Addison, politician and writer (d. 1719)
• 1769 - Likeliest birthdate for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, British general and Prime Minister (d. 1852)
• 1830 - Mother Jones, labor activist (d. 1930)
• 1852 - Calamity Jane, riflewoman, Wild West star (d. 1903)
• 1881 - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French palaeontologist and philosopher (d. 1955)
• 1887 - Alan Gordon Cunningham, British army officer (d. 1983)

1900-1999

• 1905 - Henry Koster, German film director (d. 1988)
• 1908 - Giovanni Guareschi, Italian journalist (d. 1968)
• 1909 - Kate Smith, American singer (d. 1986)
• 1913 - Walter Susskind, Czech conductor (d. 1980)
• 1915 - Archie Williams, American athlete
• 1916 - Glenn Ford, Amcerican actor
• 1918 - Jack Paar, American television host (d. 2004)
• 1923 - Joseph Heller, American novelist (d. 1999)
• 1924 - Art Fleming, game show host (d. 1995)
• 1929 - Ralf Dahrendorf, sociologist and politician
• 1939 - Judy Collins, American folk singer
• 1940 - Elsa Peretti, jewelry designer
• 1944 - Rita Coolidge, singer
• 1944 - Suresh Kalmadi, politician
• 1946 - John Woo, director, producer, writer, actor
• 1954 - Ray Parker Jr., singer/songwriter
• 1960 - Steve Cauthen, jockey
• 1964 - Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater
• 1967 - Tim McGraw, country musician
• 1968 - Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer
• 1968 - D'Arcy Wretzky, musician
• 1975 - Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2003)

Deaths

1300-1899

• 1308 - Albert I of Habsburg, duke of Austria, murdered by John Parricida (b. c. 1250)
• 1572 - Pope Pius V (b. 1504)
• 1873 - David Livingstone, Scottish missionary (b. 1813)

1900-1999

• 1904 - Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (b. 1841)
• 1945 - Joseph Goebbels (b. 1897) and his wife Magda (b. 1901), (suicide) prominent figures in Nazi Germany.
• 1965 - Spike Jones, band leader, musician, comedian (b. 1911)
• 1978 - Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer (b. 1903)
• 1982 - William Primrose, Scottish violist (b. 1903)
• 1989 - Douglass Watson, American actor (b. 1921)
• 1993 - Pierre Bérégovoy, French minister (suicide) (b. 1925)
• 1994 - Ayrton Senna, triple Formula One champion (b. 1960)

2000-2099

• 2003 - Miss Elizabeth, WWE wrestling figure

Holidays and observances

• Beltane, Lá Bealtaine, the first day of Summer in modern Ireland was celebrated by the Celts, and is now also celebrated by Neopagans and Wiccans.
• May Day, Labour Day, Loyalty Day, Day of the International Solidarity of Workers - see event section above.
• Lei Day - Hawaiian holiday for the Lei.
• Roman Empire - all-female festival in honour of Bona Dea
• Roman Empire - fourth and last day of the Floralia in honour of Flora
• Switzerland - official feast of Spring
• Czech Republic - "National Love Day" - couples tend to flock to the memorial of a poet in Prague and kiss

April 30 - May 2 - April 1 - June 1 -- listing of all days