On This Day in History — May 1

Highlights of May 1

• 2016 — The evacuation of nearly 88,000 people began when a wildfire swept through Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, and burned for another 14 months, becoming the costliest disaster in Canadian history. Read more
• 2010 — Faisal Shahzad attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, New York City, but it failed to explode. Read more
• 2002 — The Horncastle boar's head (pictured), which probably once formed part of the crest of an Anglo-Saxon helmet, was found. Read more
• 1991 — In Major League Baseball, Rickey Henderson broke the record for stolen bases on the same night that Nolan Ryan broke his own record for no-hitters. Read more
• 1974 — Argentine president Juan Perón expelled Montoneros from a demonstration in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, forcing the group to become a clandestine organization. Read more
• 1950 — Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Read more
• 1947 — Sicilian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a crowd of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, killing 11 and wounding 33. Read more
• 1945 — Second World War: British and Indian forces conducted a successful airborne assault on a Japanese artillery battery during the advance to liberate Rangoon, Burma. Read more
• 1941 — Citizen Kane, a widely acclaimed film by actor and director Orson Welles, premiered. Read more
• 1931 — New York City's Empire State Building (pictured), at the time the tallest building in the world, opened. Read more
• 1900 — A dust explosion at a coal mine near Scofield, Utah, U.S., killed at least 200 miners. Read more
• 1897 — The Ramakrishna Mission was founded by Swami Vivekananda to serve as the humanitarian counterpart to the Hindu monastic order Ramakrishna Math. Read more
• 1885 — The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opened for business. Read more
• 1884 — Moses Fleetwood Walker (pictured), the last African American in Major League Baseball until Jackie Robinson, played his first game for the Toledo Blue Stockings. Read more
• 1794 — War of the Pyrenees: France regained nearly all the land it lost to Spain the previous year with its victory in the Second Battle of Boulou. Read more
• 1786 — The Marriage of Figaro (audio featured), an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna. Read more
• 1707 — Under the terms of the Acts of Union, the Kingdoms of England and Scotland merged to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, with a single parliament and government based in Westminster. Read more
• 1699 — Francis Nicholson and James Blair organize five May Day orations given by students of the College of William & Mary, leading to the establishment of Williamsburg as Virginia's new capital. Read more
• 1625 — Dutch–Portuguese War: Portuguese and Spanish forces recaptured the Brazilian city of Bahia, which had previously been captured by the Dutch Republic. Read more
• 1576 — Stephen Báthory and Anna Jagiellon were crowned as the elected rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Read more
• 1169 — Norman mercenaries landed at Bannow Bay in Leinster, beginning the Norman invasion of Ireland. Read more
• 880 — The Nea Ekklesia church in Constantinople, on which many later cross-in-square Eastern Orthodox churches were based, was consecrated. Read more
• 305 — Diocletian and Maximian retired as co-rulers of the Roman Empire, being succeeded by Galerius and Constantius Chlorus. Read more

Events

• 2026 — After a ransomware attack by the group ShinyHunters, the education platform Canvas operated by private company Instructure, goes offline, affecting thousands of educational institutions. Read more
• 2024 — The 2024 Loblaw boycott, a Canadian boycott against retail corporation and grocer Loblaw Companies, begins. Read more
• 2019 — Naxalite attack in Gadchiroli district of India: Sixteen army soldiers, including a driver, killed in an IED blast. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team. Read more
• 2019 — Naruhito ascends to the throne of Japan succeeding his father Akihito, beginning the Reiwa period. Read more
• 2018 — Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) resumes the Deir ez-Zor campaign in order to clear the remnants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the Iraq–Syria border. Read more
• 2011 — Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. Read more
• 2010 — Faisal Shahzad attempts to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, but the bomb fails to go off. Read more
• 2009 — Same-sex marriage in Sweden is legalized. Read more
• 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. Read more
• 2003 — Invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended". Read more
• 1997 — The Labour Party wins the 1997 General Election and Tony Blair is elected as Prime Minister. Read more
• 1994 — Three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix. Read more
• 1993 — Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated in Colombo in a suicide bombing carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Read more
• 1991 — Angolan Civil War: The MPLA and UNITA agree to the Bicesse Accords, which are formally signed on May 31 in Lisbon. Read more
• 1982 — Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during the Falklands War. Read more
• 1970 — Vietnam War: A student anti-war strike erupts in response to U.S. and South Vietnamese forces attacking Vietnamese communists in a Cambodian Campaign. Read more
• 1960 — Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Sverdlovsk Oblast, Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis. Read more
• 1957 — A Vickers VC.1 Viking crashes while attempting to return to Blackbushe Airport in Yateley, killing 34. Read more
• 1947 — Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 persons are killed and 33 wounded. Read more
• 1946 — Start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians. Read more
• 1945 — World War II: German radio broadcasts news of Adolf Hitler's death, falsely stating that he has "fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany". The Soviet flag is raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin. Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army. Read more
• 1929 — The 7.2 Mw Kopet Dag earthquake shakes the Iran–Turkmenistan border region with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing up to 3,800 and injuring 1,121. Read more
• 1921 — The Jaffa riots begin. Read more
• 1900 — The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history. Read more
• 1898 — Spanish–American War: Battle of Manila Bay: The Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy destroys the Pacific Squadron of the Spanish Navy after a seven-hour battle. Spain loses all seven of its ships, and 381 Spanish sailors die. There are no American vessel losses or combat deaths. Read more
• 1896 — While on a pilgrimage of Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine in Ray, Tehran, Naser al-Din Shah of Qajar Persia, was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani. Read more
• 1894 — Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C. Read more
• 1891 — The 1891 New Orleans Lynchings: 11 Italian immigrants are lynched by a mob in Louisiana, USA after the acquittal of several defendants in a murder case, the largest mass lynching in U.S. history. Read more
• 1891 — On Labor Day in Catania, Sicily, workers establish the first successful Fascio Siciliano, launching a movement of peasants and laborers protesting poverty, landlordism, taxation, and economic hardship across Sicily. Read more
• 1886 — Rallies are held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 is celebrated as International Workers' Day in many countries. Read more
• 1866 — The Memphis Race Riots begin. Over three days, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Read more
• 1865 — The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance. Read more
• 1863 — American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville between Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac under Joseph Hooker begins. Read more
• 1863 — American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant win the Battle of Port Gibson and establish a firm presence on the east side of the Mississippi River. Read more
• 1851 — Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London. Read more
• 1820 — Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool. Read more
• 1807 — The Slave Trade Act 1807 takes effect, abolishing the slave trade within the British Empire. Read more
• 1753 — Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Read more
• 1707 — The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain takes effect. Read more
• 1669 — Henry Morgan's raid on Lake Maracaibo: the Spanish Armada de Barlovento is defeated by an English Privateer fleet led by Captain Henry Morgan. Read more
• 1492 — The Edict of Expulsion is officially proclaimed in Castile, requiring all Jewish residents to leave within three months. Read more
• 1455 — Scottish Royal forces loyal to King James II defeat a rebel army of the Black Douglases in the battle of Arkinholm. Read more
• 1328 — Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, England recognises Scotland as an independent state. Read more
• 1169 — Norman mercenaries land at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland. Read more
• 418 — A synod in Carthage condemns Pelagianism. Read more

Born on May 1

• 2006 — Lewis Miley, English footballer Read more
• 2005 — Linda Fruhvirtová, Czech tennis player Read more
• 2004 — Charli D'Amelio, American social media influencer and dancer Read more
• 2003 — Lizzy Greene, American actress Read more
• 2002 — Camilla Araujo, American influencer Read more
• 2002 — Chet Holmgren, American basketball player Read more
• 2000 — Rema, Nigerian singer-songwriter and rapper Read more
• 1999 — YNW Melly, American rapper Read more
• 1999 — Tiffany Stratton, American wrestler Read more
• 1997 — Miles Sanders, American football player Read more
• 1996 — William Nylander, Canadian-Swedish ice hockey player Read more
• 1992 — Madeline Brewer, American actress Read more
• 1992 — Hani, South Korean singer and actress Read more
• 1992 — Bradley Roby, American football player Read more
• 1991 — Marcus Stroman, American baseball player Read more
• 1990 — Scooter Gennett, American baseball player Read more
• 1990 — Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress Read more
• 1989 — Victoria Monét, American singer-songwriter Read more
• 1988 — Anushka Sharma, Indian actress and film producer Read more
• 1987 — Leonardo Bonucci, Italian footballer Read more
• 1987 — Amir Johnson, American basketball player Read more
• 1987 — Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player Read more
• 1986 — Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (died 2013) Read more
• 1986 — Jesse Klaver, Dutch politician Read more
• 1984 — David Backes, American ice hockey player Read more
• 1983 — Alain Bernard, French swimmer Read more
• 1983 — Park Hae-jin, South Korean actor Read more
• 1983 — Craig Williams, American wrestler Read more
• 1982 — Beto, Portuguese footballer Read more
• 1982 — Jamie Dornan, Northern Irish model and actor Read more
• 1982 — Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player Read more
• 1982 — Darijo Srna, Croatian footballer Read more
• 1982 — Katya Zamolodchikova, American drag queen Read more
• 1981 — Alexander Hleb, Belarusian footballer Read more
• 1981 — Wes Welker, American football player and coach Read more
• 1980 — Jan Heylen, Belgian race car driver Read more
• 1980 — Jay Reatard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2010) Read more
• 1979 — Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player Read more
• 1978 — James Badge Dale, American actor Read more
• 1978 — Michael Russell, American tennis player Read more

Died on May 1

• 2023 — Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1938) Read more
• 2021 — Olympia Dukakis, American actress (born 1931) Read more
• 2015 — Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (born 1923) Read more
• 2015 — Vafa Guluzade, Azerbaijani political scientist, academic, and diplomat (born 1940) Read more
• 2015 — María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (born 1940) Read more
• 2015 — Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (born 1930) Read more
• 2014 — Adamu Atta, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Kwara State (born 1927) Read more
• 2014 — Radhia Cousot, French computer scientist and academic (born 1947) Read more
• 2014 — Assi Dayan, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1945) Read more
• 2014 — Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican footballer and coach (born 1951) Read more
• 2013 — Chris Kelly, American rapper (born 1978) Read more
• 2012 — James Kinley, Canadian engineer and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (born 1925) Read more
• 2012 — Mordechai Virshubski, German-Israeli lawyer and politician (born 1930) Read more
• 2011 — Henry Cooper, English boxer (born 1934) Read more
• 2011 — Ted Lowe, English sportscaster (born 1920) Read more
• 2010 — Helen Wagner, American actress (born 1918) Read more
• 2008 — Anthony Mamo, Maltese judge and politician, 1st President of Malta (born 1909) Read more
• 2008 — Philipp von Boeselager, German soldier and economist (born 1917) Read more
• 2005 — Kenneth Clark, American psychologist and academic (born 1914) Read more
• 2003 — Miss Elizabeth, American wrestler and manager (born 1960) Read more
• 2003 — Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (born 1923) Read more
• 2000 — Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder and actor (born 1926) Read more
• 1998 — Eldridge Cleaver, American author and activist (born 1935) Read more
• 1997 — Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (born 1927) Read more
• 1994 — Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (born 1960) Read more
• 1993 — Pierre Bérégovoy, French metallurgist and politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1925) Read more
• 1993 — Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sri Lankan politician, 3rd President of Sri Lanka (born 1924) Read more
• 1991 — Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (born 1896) Read more
• 1990 — Sergio Franchi, Italian-American tenor and actor (born 1926) Read more
• 1989 — Sally Kirkland, American journalist (born 1912) Read more
• 1989 — V. M. Panchalingam, Sri Lankan civil servant (born 1934) Read more
• 1989 — Patrice Tardif, Canadian farmer and politician (born 1904) Read more
• 1988 — Ben Lexcen, Australian sailor and architect (born 1936) Read more
• 1986 — Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (born 1905) Read more
• 1986 — Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and producer (born 1916) Read more
• 1985 — Denise Robins, English journalist and author (born 1897) Read more
• 1984 — Jüri Lossmann, Estonian long-distance runner (born 1891) Read more
• 1982 — William Primrose, Scottish viola player and educator (born 1903) Read more
• 1978 — Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer and conductor (born 1903) Read more
• 1976 — T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (born 1908) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Aldebrandus; Christian feast day: Amator; Christian feast day: Andeolus; Christian feast day: Aredius of Gap; Christian feast day: Asaph; Christian feast day: Augustin Schoeffler, Jean-Louis Bonnard (part of Vietnamese Martyrs); Christian feast day: Benedict of Szkalka; Christian feast day: Bertha of Val d'Or; Christian feast day: Brioc; Christian feast day: James the Less (Anglican Communion); Christian feast day: Jeremiah; Christian feast day: Saint Joseph the Worker (Roman Catholic); Christian feast day: Julian of Bale; Christian feast day: Blessed Klymentiy Sheptytsky (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church); Christian feast day: Mafalda of Portugal; Christian feast day: Marcouf; Christian feast day: Orientius; Christian feast day: Peregrine Laziosi; Christian feast day: Philip the Apostle (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church); Christian feast day: Richard Pampuri; Christian feast day: Seven Apostolic Men Caecilius of Elvira; Christian feast day: Seven Apostolic Men Ctesiphon of Vergium; Christian feast day: Seven Apostolic Men Euphrasius of Illiturgis; Christian feast day: Seven Apostolic Men Hesychius of Cazorla; Christian feast day: Seven Apostolic Men Indaletius; Christian feast day: Seven Apostolic Men Secundus of Abula; Christian feast day: Seven Apostolic Men Torquatus of Acci; Christian feast day: Sigismund of Burgundy; Christian feast day: Theodard; Christian feast day: Ultan; Christian feast day: May 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Armed Forces Day (Mauritania); Constitution Day (Argentina, Latvia, Marshall Islands); Commemoration of the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat following the foundation of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti (India): Maharashtra Day; International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day; Lei Day (Hawaii); International Workers' Day or Labour Day (International), and its related observances: Law Day (United States), formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States); International Workers' Day or Labour Day (International), and its related observances: Loyalty Day, formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States); May Day (beginning of Summer) observances in the Northern hemisphere (see April 30): Calan Mai (Wales); May Day (beginning of Summer) observances in the Northern hemisphere (see April 30): Beltane (Gaelic)

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