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May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (122nd in Leap Year s). There are 244 days remaining.
Events
- 1834 - The British colonies abolish slavery.
- 1851 - The Great Exhibition is opened in London by Queen Victoria .
- begins.
- 1869 - The Folies Bergères open in Paris .
- 1884 - Proclamation of the demand for Eight-hour Workday in the United States
- 1886 - The start of the General Strike which eventually wins the eight-hour workday in the United States . These events are today commemorated as May Day or Labor Day in most industrialized countries.
- 1893 - The World's Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago, Illinois .
- 1894 - Coxey's Army , the first significant American Protest March , arrives in Washington D.C. .
- - The United States Navy destroys the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first battle of the war.
- 1900 - The Scofield Mine Disaster kills 200 in Scofield, Utah in the now fifth-worst Mining Accident in United States History .
- 1901 - The Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo, New York .
- 1915 - RMS Lusitania departs New York City on her 202nd & final crossing of the North Atlantic . Six days later she'll be torpedoed off the Irish coast with the loss of 1,198 lives.
- 1930 - The planet Pluto is officially named.
- 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 - forces launch a major attack on Tobruk .
- 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.
- 1956 - The Polio Vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
- 1960 - – Francis Gary Powers , in a U-2 Spyplane , is shot down over the Soviet Union , sparking off a diplomatic crisis.
- 1971 - Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) is formed to take over U.S. passenger rail service.
- 1978 - Japan 's Naomi Uemura , travelling by Dog Sled , becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
- 1978 - The first unsolicited bulk commerical E-mail (which would later become known as " Spam ") was sent by a DEC marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States.
- 1978 - May Day Bank Holiday introduced across England.
- 1982 - The 1982 World's Fair opens in Knoxville, Tennessee .
- 1994 - Motor Racing legend Ayrton Senna dies aged 34, while leading the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy.
- " speech, President George W. Bush declares "major combat operations in Iraq have ended" on board USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of California .
- 2004 - Cyprus , Czech Republic , Estonia , Hungary , Latvia , Lithuania , Malta , Poland , Slovakia , and Slovenia join the European Union , celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.
- 2006 - Illegal aliens and their supporters across the United States carry out the Great American Boycott , a one day national Protest against the enforcement of pending Immigration Laws .
Births
- 1218 - John I, Count Of Hainaut (d. 1257 )
- 1218 - Rudolph I Of Germany , Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1291 )
- 1285 - Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl Of Arundel , English politician (d. 1326 )
- 1582 - Marco Da Gagliano , Italian composer (d. 1643 )
- 1594 - John Haynes , Massachusetts colonial magistrate
- 1672 - Joseph Addison , English politician and writer (d. 1719 )
- 1804 - Aleksey Khomyakov , Russian poet (d. 1860 )
- 1830 - Mother Jones , American labor activist (d. 1930 )
- 1831 - Emily Stowe , Canadian physician and suffragist (b. 1903 )
- 1852 - Calamity Jane , American Wild West performer (d. 1903 )
- 1852 - Santiago Ramón Y Cajal , Spanish histologist and neuroscientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine (d. 1934 )
- 1872 - Sidónio Pais , Portuguese military and politician (d. 1918 )
- 1881 - Pierre Teilhard De Chardin , French palaeontologist and philosopher (d. 1955 )
- 1887 - Alan Gordon Cunningham , British army officer (d. 1983 )
- 1896 - Mark Wayne Clark , American general (d. 1984 )
- 1901 - Heinz Eric Roemheld , American film composer (d. 1985 )
- 1901 - Antal Szerb , Hungarian author, literature historian (d. 1945 )
- 1905 - Henry Koster , German film director (d. 1988 )
- 1908 - Giovanni Guareschi , Italian journalist (d. 1968 )
- 1909 - Kate Smith , American singer (d. 1986 )
- 1913 - Louis Nye , American comedian and actor (d. 2005 )
- 1913 - Walter Susskind , Czech conductor (d. 1980 )
- 1915 - Archie Williams , American athlete (d. 1993 )
- 1916 - Glenn Ford , Canadian actor
- 1917 - John Beradino , American actor and baseball player (d. 1996 )
- 1917 - Danielle Darrieux , French singer and actress
- 1918 - Jack Paar , American television host (d. 2004 )
- 1918 - Gersh Budker , Russian physicist (d. 1977 )
- 1919 - Dan O'Herlihy , Irish film actor (d. 2005 )
- 1923 - Joseph Heller , American novelist (d. 1999 )
- 1924 - Art Fleming , American game show host (d. 1995 )
- 1924 - Karel Kachyňa , Czech film director (d. 2004 )
- 1925 - Chuck Bednarik , American football player
- 1925 - Scott Carpenter , American astronaut
- 1928 - Desmond Titterington , Northern Irish racecar driver (d. 2002 )
- 1929 - Ralf Dahrendorf , German-born sociologist and politician
- 1930 - Richard Riordan , Mayor of Los Angeles, California
- 1934 - Joan Hackett , American actress (d. 1983 )
- 1935 - Ann Robinson , American actress
- 1937 - Una Stubbs , English actress
- 1939 - Judy Collins , American folk singer
- 1939 - Max Robinson , American broadcast journalist (d. 1988 )
- 1940 - Elsa Peretti , Italian jewelry designer
- 1944 - Suresh Kalmadi , Indian politician
- 1945 - Rita Coolidge , American singer
- 1946 - Joanna Lumley , British actress
- 1946 - John Woo , Hong Kong director, producer, writer, and actor
- 1950 - Dann Florek , American actor
- 1954 - Ray Parker Jr. , American singer and songwriter
- 1960 - Steve Cauthen , American jockey
- 1962 - Maia Morgenstern , Romanian actress
- 1964 - Yvonne Van Gennip , Dutch speed skater
- 1967 - Tim McGraw , American musician
- 1968 - Oliver Bierhoff , German footballer
- 1968 - D'arcy Wretzky , American musician ( Smashing Pumpkins )
- 1969 - Wes Anderson , American director, writer, and producer
- 1973 - Curtis Martin , American football player
- 1973 - Oliver Neuville , German footballer
- 1975 - Alexei Smertin , Russian footballer
- 1975 - Jodhi May , British actress
- 1981 - Aleksander Hleb , Belarusian footballer
- 1985 - James M. Worhach , Political strategist
- 1990 - Caitlin Stasey , Australian actress
- 1997 - Ariel Gade , American child actress
Deaths
- 408 - Arcadius , Roman emperor
- 1308 - Albert I Of Habsburg (murdered) (b. 1255 )
- 1572 - Pope Pius V (b. 1504 )
- 1731 - Johann Ludwig Bach , German composer (b. 1677 )
- 1738 - Charles Howard, 3rd Earl Of Carlisle , English statesman
- 1772 - Gottfried Achenwall , German statistician (b. 1719 )
- 1813 - Jean-Baptiste Bessières , French marshal (killed in combat) (b. 1768 )
- 1873 - David Livingstone , Scottish missionary (b. 1813 )
- 1899 - Ludwig Büchner , German philosopher and physician (b. 1824 )
- 1904 - Antonín Dvořák , Czech composer (b. 1841 )
- 1937 - Snitz Edwards , American actor (b. 1868 )
- 1945 - Joseph Goebbels , Nazi Minister of Propaganda (suicide) (b. 1897 )
- 1965 - Spike Jones , American band leader, musician, and comedian (b. 1911 )
- 1970 - Yi, Eun , Crown Prince Korea (b. 1897 )
- 1976 - Alexandros Panagoulis , Greek politician and poet (b. 1939 )
- 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 Prime Minister (suicide) (b. 1925 )
- 1993 - Ranasinghe Premadasa , Prime Minister Of Sri Lanka (b. 1924 )
- 1994 - Ayrton Senna , Brazilian race car driver (b. 1960 )
- 1998 - Eldridge Cleaver , American activist (b. 1935 )
- 2000 - Steve Reeves , American actor (b. 1926 )
- 2003 - Miss Elizabeth , American wrestler (b. 1960 )
Holidays and observances
- May Day , Labour Day , Workers' Day, Day of the International Solidarity of Workers.
- Switzerland - official feast of Spring.
- Czech Republic - "National Love Day" – couples tend to flock to the memorial of the poet Karel Hynek Mácha in Prague and kiss.
- Lei Day - Hawaii an holiday for the Lei .
- 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 .
- Northern Europe - Walpurgis Night .
- Roman Empire - all-female festival in honour of Bona Dea .
- Roman Empire - fourth and last day of the Floralia in honour of Flora .
- United States - Law Day, U.S.A. , Loyalty Day .
- Malta - L-Ewwel Ta Mejju, Malta , Jum Il-haddiem (Worker's Day) .
External links
April 30 - May 2 - April 1 - June 1 – Listing Of All Days
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