/year

May 1 in history

341 sourced entries recorded on May 1, from 37 CE to 2023 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 305Emperor Diocletian abdicates and retires to his palace at Salona (modern Split) on the Adriatic coast, after a reign of nearly 21 years, in which the last vestiges of republican government have disappeared.source
  • 645First conflict of the Goguryeo–Tang War: A Chinese expeditionary army under Emperor Taizong of Tang crosses the Liao River into Goguryeo (one of the Three kingdoms of Korea).source
  • 664A solar eclipse affects areas along a line from Central America, through eastern North America, the North Atlantic, Ireland, Great Britain and Germany.source
  • 802Lachan Kʼawiil Ajaw Bot (born June 25, 760) becomes the ruler of the Mayan city state near Itzan in Guatemala.source
  • 880The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, by Patriarch Photius I, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.source
  • 908Emperor Wang Jian of Former Shu puts his adoptive son (and a potential successor) Wang Zongji (Prince of Shu) to death. He orders Wang Zongji's associates to be exiled.source
  • 1070After 353 years of being exiled to Lugo due to the Muslim occupation of the city of Braga, the Diocese of Braga is restored by order of Ferdinand I of León under Archbishop Pedro of Braga thanks to the advancing Christian forces during the Reconquista.source
  • 1169Norman invasion of Ireland starts with the arrival at Bannow Bay in Leinster of Norman military leaders Robert Fitz-Stephen, Maurice FitzGerald and others including Cambro-Norman knight (and vassal of Henry II of England) Richard de Clare ("Strongbow") who has made an alliance with exiled Irish chief Diarmait Mac Murchada to help him regain the throne of Leinster. Wexford, Waterford, Dublin and the Kingdom of Ossory are taken and Mac Murchada restored as King of Leinster.source
  • 1185The Solar eclipse of 1 May 1185, visible across Central America, Northern and Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan, occurs.source
  • 1187Battle of Cresson: A Muslim reconnaissance force (some 7,000 men) under Muzaffar al-Din Gökböri, defeats a small Crusader army near Nazareth. Only Gerard de Ridefort, commander of the Crusaders, and a handful of knights escape death or capture. The Muslims scatter and kill the Christian foot-soldiers (some 400 men) before pillaging the countryside.source
  • 1229Frederick II departs from Acre, while he and his suite pass down the "Street of the Butchers" to the harbour, the people crowd out of the doors, and pelts him with entrails and dung. Meanwhile, Odo of Montbéliard (or Eudes), commander of the Crusader army, and John of Ibelin, lord of Beirut, are left behind to quell the unrest in Palestine.source
  • 1243The Castillan troops are garrisoned in Murcia, to support the Hudid Dynasty.source
  • 1274In Florence, the 9-year-old Dante first sees the 8-year-old Beatrice, his lifelong muse. She appears later as one of his guides in the Divine Comedy, Paradiso and Purgatorio.source
  • 1282Battle of Forlì: A French expeditionary army under Jean d'Eppe launches an assault on Forlì and breaches the outer wall. While they plunder the suburbs, Guido I da Montefeltro sends a small force out the gate on the opposite side of the city. In an ambush, forces of the Guelphs and Ghibellines defeat the main army of d'Eppe, who is forced to retreat to Faenza. He asks the Pope for reinforcements, but this is refused.source
  • 1312Mladen II Šubić of Bribir becomes the new Ban of Croatia upon the death of his father, Paul I Šubić.source
  • 1314The 1314–1316 papal conclave to elect a successor to Pope Clement V begins at Carpentras Cathedral in Provence with 23 cardinals in attendance, of whom the votes of 16 are necessary to elect a new Pontiff. The cardinals are divided into three factions, none of which have more than eight people, with a group from Italy (led by Guillaume de Mandagot), who want to move the papacy back to Rome; nine from Gascony, most of whom are relatives of Pope Clement (led by Arnaud de Pellegrue); and five from Provence (led by Berengar Fredol).source
  • 1328Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton: England recognises Scotland as an independent nation, after the Wars of Scottish Independence.source
  • 1328Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton is ratified by the English parliament meeting in Northampton.source
  • 1351Zürich joins the Old Swiss Confederacy.source
  • 1361King Magnus Eriksson of Sweden and Norway sends a letter to the citizens of Visby, with a warning of an upcoming Danish invasion.source
  • 1368The English Parliament is opened for a 21-day session by King Edward III.source
  • 1375The third war between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire as the 40,000 Hungarian troops, led by King Lajos of Hungary depart from Várad (now Oradea in Romania) and march into the Principality of Wallachia, whose ruler, Vladislav, has recently changed his alliance from Hungary to the Ottoman sultanate.source
  • 1387With a larger squadron of almost 60 ships, Arundel departs from Orwell and sails to the British-controlled French port of Brest, at the time under siege by Jean de Montfort.source
  • 1395The Duchy of Milan is created, after Lord Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan buys the title of Duke from Wenceslaus, King of the Romans.source
  • 1437In Bohemia, Sion Castle near Kutná Hora in the modern-day Czech Republic is besieged by royal forces sent by the Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg and commanded by his Hofmeister, Hynce Ptáček of Pirkštejn. The siege, defended by the Taborite Hussite Jan Roháč of Dubá, lasts for four months before succeeding.source
  • 1455Battle of Arkinholm: Forces loyal to King James II of Scotland defeat the supporters of the Earl of Douglas.source
  • 1455Battle of Arkinholm ends in a decisive victory for supporters of James II against the rebel Douglasessource
  • 1464Edward IV of England secretly marries Elizabeth Woodville, and keeps the marriage a secret for five months afterwards.source
  • 1486After being rejected twice by Portugal's King Joao II, Italian-born explorer Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo) is granted an audience by Queen Isabella I of Castile and presents to her his proposal to sail westward to find an alternate route to Asia. The Queen refers the matter to a committee of experts, who conclude (as the Portuguese advisers did in 1484) that Columbus has underestimated the distance to Asia. However, she and King Ferdinand of Aragon elect to keep Columbus from taking his plans elsewhere, and grant him an allowance of 14,000 maravedis per year, and an expense account for food and lodging while in Spain.source
  • 1489Italian painter Cima da Conegliano completes his painting Madonna and Child with Saints Giacomo and Girolamo.source
  • 1500Pero Vaz de Caminha finishes writing his chronicle of the Portuguese discovery of Brazil while accompanying Cabral.source
  • 1505Christ's College, Cambridge, England, is re-founded, receiving its charter from Lady Margaret Beaufort.source
  • 1517Evil May Day: Xenophobic riots break out in London as English citizens attack foreigners, including Flemish shoemakers and French royal courtiers. The Duke of Norfolk leads a private army of 1,300 men to put down the rioting.source
  • 1546Sir John Alan is dismissed from his post as Lord Chancellor of Ireland by England's Privy Council after accusations of corruption and promoting discord are made by the Lord Deputy, Anthony St Leger. Alan is later reinstated in 1548.source
  • 1551The Council of Trent reconvenes by order of Pope Julius III after having been adjourned on September 17, 1549.source
  • 1555Foundation of St John's College, Oxford, England, to teach Catholic theology.source
  • 1562Jean Ribault, French navigator, lands in Florida, and later establishes a Huguenot colony at Charlesfort on Parris Island, South Carolina.source
  • 1566Suleiman the Magnificent, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, begins his last campaign, departing from Constantinople at the head of one of the largest armies he has ever commanded, with a plan to attack Vienna, capital of the Holy Roman Empire. However, he dies in September.source
  • 1566Charles IX, King of France, completes his grand tour of his kingdom, returning to Paris a little more than 27 months and 2,500 mi after his departure on January 24, 1564.source
  • 1576Stephen Báthory, the Hungarian Prince of Transylvania, is crowned king of Poland.source
  • 1585The coronation of Pope Sixtus V takes place in Rome.source
  • 1590King James VI and Anne of Denmark arrive at Leith.source
  • 1606Pedro Fernandes de Queirós discovers the islands of Vanuatu (also known as the New Hebrides). Believing them to be Australia, he names them La Austrialia del Espiritu Santo.source
  • 1619native Irish ordered to leave lands of the British Plantation of Ulster by this date or be fined.source
  • 1625A Portuguese-Spanish expedition recaptures Salvador, Bahia (Bahia) from the Dutch.source
  • 1642Honours and titles granted by Charles I of England from this date onward will in 1646 be retrospectively annulled by Parliament.source
  • 1649The Wendat people Indian tribe complete the burning of 15 of their own villages, to prevent their stores from being taken by the Haudenasaunee Iroquois. Almost all the remaining people (approximately 10,000) become refugees, on a path that eventually brings them to Wendake.source
  • 1650claimant King Charles II of England signs the Treaty of Breda with the Scottish Covenanters.source
  • 1650Charles II repudiates his alliance with Irish Catholics in favour of one with Scottish Covenanters in the Treaty of Breda. Most English Royalists in Ireland surrender to the Parliamentarians after this point.source
  • 1658Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial and The Garden of Cyrus are published by Thomas Browne in England.source
  • 1660The Convention Parliament votes to welcome the Declaration of Breda and unanimously approves a resolution for England declaring that "according to the ancient and fundamental laws of this kingdom, the Government is, and ought to be, by Kings, Lords and Commons."source
  • 1667April 29–May 1 – Second Anglo-Dutch War: A Dutch flotilla under Admiral van Ghent enters the Firth of Forth in Scotland and bombards Burntisland.source
  • 1669the Spanish Armada de Barlovento is defeated by an English Privateer fleet led by Captain Henry Morgan during his raid on Lake Maracaibo.source
  • 1687King James II attends the consecration of Ferdinando d'Adda, Papal Nuncio to London, as titular Archbishop of Amasia in the Royal Chapel of St James's Palace.source
  • 16891 May (11 May N.S.) – Battle of Bantry Bay between the English Royal Navy under the Earl of Torrington and the French fleet under the Marquis de Châteaurenault. The French are able to protect their transports unloading supplies for James II and withdraw unpursued.source
  • 1696A partial solar eclipse is visible in western Canada and Greenland.source
  • 1698The Banishment Act of 1697 goes into effect for Roman Catholic church officials in Ireland, having been the deadline for all "popish archbishops, bishops, vicars general, deans, jesuits, monks, friars, and other regular popish clergy" to have reported to Irish ports for deportation. Re-entry to Ireland after May 4, 1698, is a criminal offense with a penalty of 12 months imprisonment and expulsion, while a second re-entry is punishable by death as treason.source
  • 1699May 1 (O.S.) – A series of five student orations at the College of William & Mary precipitate the Colony of Virginia's capital moving from Jamestown to Middle Plantation, resulting in the establishment of Williamsburg.source
  • 1699Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville founds the first European settlement in the Mississippi River Valley, at Fort Maurepas (Ocean Springs, Mississippi).source
  • 1707the new sovereign state of Great Britain comes into being as a result of the Acts of Union which combine the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single united Kingdom of Great Britain and merge the Parliaments of England and Scotland to form the Parliament of Great Britain. The Equivalent, a sum of £398,000, is paid to Scotland by the English government. The Honours of Scotland are locked away in Edinburgh Castle.source
  • 1707The Acts of Union come into force, making Wales officially a part of the Kingdom of Great Britain. The newly established Parliament of Great Britain has a total of 27 MPs representing Welsh constituencies, as opposed to 45 for Scotland and 486 for England.source
  • 1708Privy Council of Scotland abolished.source
  • 1708the Privy Councils of England and Scotland are merged into the Privy Council of Great Britain.source
  • 1712the Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 comes into effect.source
  • 1713As part of the Treaty of Utrecht, the Spanish Crown agrees the Asiento de Negros with Anne, Queen of Great Britain, granting a subsidiary of the British South Sea Company, the Real Asiento de Inglaterra, a 30-year monopoly in the supply of African slaves to colonial Spanish America.source
  • 1718San Antonio in what later becomes Texas is founded by Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares with the construction of the initial Mission San Antonio de Valero.source
  • 1723A great fire in Stockholm destroys the Katarina Church and a large part of the city around it.source
  • 1726Voltaire begins his exile in England.source
  • 1729a tornado destroys buildings in Sussex and Kent.source
  • 1733The canton system is first introduced in Prussia.source
  • 1752commissioners for the promotion of inland navigation in Ireland are incorporated.source
  • 1753Species Plantarum by Carl Linnaeus.source
  • 1753Species Plantarum is published by Linnaeus (adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature as the formal start date of the scientific classification of plants).source
  • 1757France and Austria sign a second Treaty of Versailles, committing France to sending an additional 105,000 troops to the war against Prussia, and to pay expenses to Austria at the rate of 12 million florins annually.source
  • 1757France and Austria sign a second Treaty of Versailles, committing France to sending an additional 105,000 troops to the war against Prussia, and to pay expenses to Austria at the rate of 12 million florins annually.source
  • 1759the foundation of Wedgwood potterysource
  • 1759Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery in England.source
  • 1767Anointing of Christian VII and Queen Caroline Mathilde at Christiansborg Palace.source
  • 1775A bust of George III is found, in Montreal, adorned with beads, cross, and mitre, with the words "Pope of Canada: Sot of England." A reward of 500 guineas does not lead to apprehension of the culprit.source
  • 1775The Royal Danish Porcelain Factory is founded by the chemist Frantz Heinrich Müller, who is given a 50-year monopoly to create porcelain in Denmark, and begins operations in a converted post office.source
  • 1776Adam Weishaupt founds the Illuminati in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.source
  • 1777legal case of Goodright v. Stevens decides that the declaration of either parent cannot be accepted to prove that a child born in wedlock is a bastard.source
  • 1781Receiving proposals for Vermont's independence, Col. Ira Allen temporizes to prevent invasion and enable the farmers to sow seed for another crop.source
  • 1783A volcanic eruption started on the Reykjanes ridge and Nýey was formed.source
  • 1786Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna.source
  • 1791April 29–May 8 – The first American ships reach Japan, brigantine Lady Washington captained by John Kendrick of Boston, and the brig Grace.source
  • 1794April 29–May 1 – Battle of Boulou: The French defeat the Spanish and Portuguese forces.source
  • 1794April 29-May 1 - Second Battle of Boulousource
  • 1795Unification of Hawai‘i: Battle of Nuʻuanu: Kamehameha I of the Island of Hawaii defeats the Oahuans, solidifying his control of the major islands of the archipelago and officially founding the Kingdom of Hawaii.source
  • 1795Battle of Nu'uanu: Kamehameha I of the island of Hawaii defeats the Oahuans, solidifying his control of the major islands of the archipelago and officially founding the Kingdom of Hawaii.source
  • 1802Matthew Flinders becomes the first European to visit the You Yangs ranges near Geelong, Victoria. He and three of his men climb to the highest point, naming it "Station Peak". It is later renamed Flinders Peak.source
  • 1810Macon's Bill Number 2 becomes law in the United States, intending to motivate Britain and France to stop seizing American vessels during the Napoleonic Wars.source
  • 1810Macon's Bill Number 2 becomes law, intending to motivate Britain and France to stop seizing American vessels during the Napoleonic Wars.source
  • 1813May 1–9 – War of 1812: Fort Meigs is first besieged, by British allied forces under General Henry Proctor and Chief Tecumseh.source
  • 1813May 1–9 – War of 1812: First Siege of Fort Meigs: British allied forces, under General Henry Proctor and Chief Tecumseh, lay siege to the fort but do not capture it.source
  • 1813Christian Frederick is appointed Steward of Norway.source
  • 1815Explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville marries Adèle Dumont D'Urville (née Pepin) in Toulon.source
  • 1820The Cato Street conspirators are the last to suffer judicial decapitation in the UK following their public hanging for treason outside Newgate Prison in London (legally, a mitigation of the last sentence in Britain of hanging, drawing and quartering).source
  • 1820Sparekassen for Kjøbenhavn og Omegn is established in Copenhagen.source
  • 1820Robert Owen's Report to the County of Lanark, of a plan for relieving public distress and removing discontent (published 1821) is delivered.source
  • 1820The last judicial decapitation in the United Kingdom is meted out to the principals in the Cato Street conspirators after their public hanging for treason in London. Legally, the post-hanging beheading is a mitigation of the last sentence in Britain of "hanging, drawing and quartering".source
  • 1823William Farquhar was dismissed from his position as First Resident by Stamford Raffles .source
  • 1827Georg Ohm publishes Die galvanische Kette, mathematisch bearbeitet (tr., The Galvanic Circuit Investigated Mathematically) in which Ohm's law appears for the first time.source
  • 1828Peruvian–Bolivian War: Peruvian forces under Agustín Gamarra cross the Desaguadero River into Bolivia, seeking to expel Gran Colombian influence in the country.source
  • 1834Belgian State Railways established.source
  • 1838Jenners department store established as drapers in Princes Street, Edinburgh.source
  • 1839Edward John Eyre explores the area north of Adelaide until 29 June, during the expedition he discovers Lake Torrenssource
  • 1839The start of Eyre's expeditions to the interior of South Australia.source
  • 1840Britain issues the Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp; it becomes valid for the pre-payment of postage from May 6.source
  • 1844The Hong Kong Police Force, the world's second and Asia's first modern, police force is established.source
  • 1849General elections and a constitutional referendum were held.source
  • 1849Convention of Balta Liman agreement between Russia and the Ottoman Empire decides the political situation of the Danubian Principalitiessource
  • 1849Jean-Baptiste Malou consecrated as bishop of Brugessource
  • 1851governors Justo José de Urquiza of Entre Rios and Benjamin Virasoro of Corrientes rise up against Rosassource
  • 1851coup causing the end of Costa Cabral's tenure and of the Septembrist government. Start of the Regeneration period.source
  • 1851The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in the Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London is opened by Queen Victoria.source
  • 1855Van Diemen's Land is separated administratively from the Australian province of New South Wales and granted self-government.source
  • 1856The province of Isabela is created in the Philippines, in honor of Queen Isabella II of Spain.source
  • 1856Railway line between Brussels and Ghent completedsource
  • 1858April 28–May 1 – Battle of Grahovac: The Ottomans are decisively defeated by Montenegrin forces. The Bawani Imli massacre, (April 28) where 52 Indian freedom fighters were hanged to death on a tamarind tree by British colonial forces.source
  • 1860Joaquim António de Aguiar takes over as Prime Minister, succeeding António José Severim de Noronha, 1st Duke of Terceirasource
  • 1860The seat of the South African Republic (ZAR) government is officially transferred from Potchefstroom to Pretoria.source
  • 1860A Chondrite-type meteorite falls to earth in Muskingum County, Ohio, near the town of New Concord.source
  • 1862Cape Western – Cape Town to Stellenbosch, 30 mi.source
  • 1862November 1 – The 1862 International Exhibition is held at South Kensington in London; it is particularly noteworthy for an exhibit from Japan, influential in the development of Anglo-Japanese style.source
  • 1863May 1–4 – American Civil War: Battle of Chancellorsville – General Robert E. Lee defeats Union forces with 13,000 Confederate casualties, among them Stonewall Jackson (fatally wounded by friendly fire), and 17,500 Union casualties.source
  • 1863The Evening Star, a Dunedin newspaper, publishes its first issue. The paper continued until 1979.source
  • 1865The Treaty of the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay against Paraguay is formally signed, following the outbreak of the Paraguayan War.source
  • 1865Treaty of the Triple Alliancesource
  • 1865Henricus Franciscus Bracq consecrated as bishop of Ghentsource
  • 1866May 1–3 – The Memphis massacre: a rebellion with a series of violent racial events.source
  • 1867The first political May Day march takes place in Chicago.source
  • 1871the Rural Association of Uruguay, first union of rural producers in the country, was established.source
  • 1873The use of Dutch is officially allowed in the Cape of Good Hope's parliament.source
  • 1873The Vienna World's Fair opens in the capital of Austria-Hungary and runs for six months, closing on October 31.source
  • 1876The Royal Titles Act 1876 in the UK Parliament confers the title 'Empress of India' upon Queen Victoria from 1877.source
  • 1876The Settle–Carlisle Railway in England is opened to passenger traffic (it opened to goods traffic in 1875).source
  • 1878November 10 – Exposition Universelle, a world's fair, is staged in Paris. In June some parts of the city are first lit by 'Yablochkov candles' (arc lamps) and on June 30 the head of the Statue of Liberty goes on display there.source
  • 1882Helsingør Shipyard is founded by Mads Christian Holm.source
  • 1882The Berlin Philharmonic orchestra is founded in Germany, as Frühere Bilsesche Kapelle.source
  • 1882Édouard Manet exhibits his painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère at the Paris Salon.source
  • 1884The eight-hour workday is first proclaimed by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in the United States. This date, called May Day or Labour Day, becomes a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country.source
  • 1886A general strike begins in the United States, which escalates on May 4 into the Haymarket affair in Chicago, and eventually wins the eight-hour day for workers.source
  • 1888Fort Belknap Indian Reservation is established by the United States Congress.source
  • 1890A coordinated series of mass rallies and one-day strikes is held throughout many cities and mining towns in Europe and North America, to demand an eight-hour workday.source
  • 1891Troops fire on a workers' May Day demonstration in support of the 8-hour workday in Fourmies, France, killing 9 and wounding 30.source
  • 1891Fusillade de Fourmies, nine killed and thirty wounded when troops fire on workers' May Day demonstration in support of eight-hour workday in Fourmies.source
  • 1891The first Fascio dei lavoratori (Workers League) is founded by Giuseppe De Felice Giuffrida in Catania, Sicily.source
  • 1891The first official Fascio dei Lavoratori was founded on Labour Day in Catania by Giuseppe de Felice Giuffrida. In Rome a rally organized by socialists and anarchists to celebrate the May 1 (International Workers' Day) claim of an eight-hour workday ends with a wave of arrests.source
  • 1893The 1893 World's Fair, also known as the World's Columbian Exposition, opens to the public in Chicago, Illinois. The first United States commemorative postage stamps are issued for the event.source
  • 1897The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ioens in Copenhagen.source
  • 1897all the able-bodied men of Pabbay, Barra Isles, are lost in a storm while out fishing.source
  • 1898Spanish–American War: Battle of Manila Bay – Commodore Dewey destroys the Spanish squadron, in the first battle of the war, as well as the first battle in the Philippines Campaign.source
  • 1898The Slagelse-Verslev Railway opens on western Zealand.source
  • 1899Transvaal – Potgietersrus to Pietersburg, 39 mi.source
  • 1899Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission at Calcutta.source
  • 1899Britain's Prime Minister announces in the House of Commons that the government has not been able to reach an agreement with Cecil Rhodes on plans for a Cape Town to Cairo railroad across Africa.source
  • 1899the National Trust acquires its first part of Wicken Fen, making it the UK's oldest wetland nature reserve.source
  • 1900Scofield Mine disaster: An explosion of blasting powder in a coal mine in Scofield, Utah, kills 200 people.source
  • 1902Daiwa Securities founded, as predecessor name was Fujimoto Bill Broker Banking in Kitaiama, Osaka.source
  • 1904Belgium national football team plays its first international, against Francesource
  • 1905Season of events to celebrate 75th anniversary of Belgian independence opened.source
  • 1912ʻAbdu'l-Bahá lays the cornerstone for the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.source
  • 1913The first national banknotes were introduced in denominations of 10 shillings, and 1, 5, and 10 pounds.source
  • 1914November 1 – The Exposition Internationale is held at Lyon, France.source
  • 1914Football club NK Lokomotiva founded in Zagreb (as ŽŠK Viktorija)source
  • 1915General Louis Botha, Prime Minister of South Africa, leads the army in the occupation of German South West Africa.source
  • 1917The New Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own) is formed as the 3rd Brigade of the New Zealand Division, part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.source
  • 1917Imperial German Navy Zeppelins L 43 and L 45 conduct reconnaissance patrols over the North Sea off the coast of Scotland, above the Firth of Forth and Aberdeen, respectively.source
  • 1917Emilius Seghers consecrated as bishop of Ghentsource
  • 1919Oszkár Jászi emigrates to Viennasource
  • 19201920 Major League Baseball season: The Brooklyn Robins and the Boston Braves play to a 1–1 tie in 26 innings, recording the longest single game in MLB history.source
  • 1921May 1–7 – Jaffa riots: Riots at Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine result in 47 Jewish and 48 Arab deaths.source
  • 1922Kinjōtei Bakery, as predecessor of Fuji Bakery was founded in Nagoya.source
  • 1925Matsuya Department Store of Ginza was open in Tokyo.source
  • 1925In the Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia, the al-Baqi' mausoleums are destroyed by King Ibn Saud.source
  • 1925The founding of the kibbutz Givat HaShlosha by group of Jewish immigrants from Poland.source
  • 1925The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the world's largest trade union organisation, is founded in Guangzhou, Republic of China.source
  • 1926A lockout of coal miners leads to the declaration of the 1926 United Kingdom general strike. Police and miners clash eighteen times in the course of industrial disputes in the South Wales coalfield.source
  • 1927Dioceses of Guildford and of Portsmouth are created in the Church of England.source
  • 1927April 22–May 5 – The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 strikes 700,000 people, in the greatest natural disaster in American history through this time.source
  • 1928Cape – George to Knysna, 42 mi 7 ch.source
  • 1929The 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.source
  • 19291929 Kopet Dag earthquake.source
  • 19291929 Kopet Dag earthquakesource
  • 1931National Trust for Scotland established and acquires its first property, Crookston Castle (donated by Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet).source
  • 1931Construction of the Empire State Building is completed in New York City.source
  • 1934The May Constitution of 1934 heralds the beginning of the Austrofascist Federal State of Austria.source
  • 1935Proletarul, the newspaper of the Socialist Workers Party of Romania, ceases publishing.source
  • 1936Natal – Point to Congella, 1 mi 52 ch.source
  • 1939New Congress working committee announced.source
  • 1940President Getúlio Vargas signs a decree, establishing the country's minimum wage.source
  • 1941The breakfast cereal Cheerios is introduced as CheeriOats by General Mills in the United States.source
  • 1941The first Defense Bonds and Defense Savings Stamps go on sale in the United States, to help fund the greatly increased production of military equipment.source
  • 1941Magne Thomassen, speed skater and Olympic silver medallistsource
  • 1941Orson Welles' first film Citizen Kane premieres in New York City; it will be frequently cited as the best film ever made.source
  • 1943Johan Oscar Smith, Christian leader, founder of the Brunstad Christian Church (born 1871)source
  • 1945Mass suicide in Demmin: An estimated 700–2,500 suicides take place, after 80% of the town has been destroyed by the Soviets during the past three days.source
  • 1946Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council was established.source
  • 1946The establishment of Taiwan Power Company in Taiwan.source
  • 1946At least 800 Indigenous Australian pastoral workers walk off the job in Northwest Western Australia, starting one of the longest industrial strikes in Australia.source
  • 1946At least 800 Aboriginal pastoral workers walk off the job in Northwest Western Australia, starting one of the longest industrial strikes in Australia.source
  • 1947Portella della Ginestra massacre: The Salvatore Giuliano gang of Sicilian separatists opens fire on a Labour Day parade at Portella della Ginestra, Sicily, killing 11 people and wounding 27.source
  • 1949Nereid, a moon of Neptune, is discovered by Gerard Kuiper.source
  • 1950UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, begins operations.source
  • 1951The opera house of Geneva, Switzerland is almost destroyed in a fire.source
  • 1952East Germany threatens to form its own army.source
  • 1953First iron cast by the European Coal and Steel Community at Belval, Esch-sur-Alzette.source
  • 19541 May–9 May – The Asian Games take place in Manila.source
  • 1954The Unification Church is founded in South Korea.source
  • 1954The first test of television in Colombia is conducted, transmitting signals between Bogotá and Manizales.source
  • 1955The end of First Taiwan Strait Crisis.source
  • 1956Finance Minister, Levi Eshkol, approves the establishment of the city of Ashdod.source
  • 1956Minamata disease is discovered in Japan.source
  • 1958The Nordic Passport Union comes into force.source
  • 1958Arturo Frondizi becomes President of Argentina.source
  • 1958U.S. space scientist James van Allen announces the discovery of Earth's magnetosphere.source
  • 1959Opposition leader İsmet İnönü got attacked in Uşaksource
  • 1959The Immigration Ordinance 1959 was enacted.source
  • 1960The U-2 incident: Several Soviet surface-to-air missiles shoot down an American Lockheed U-2 spy plane. Its pilot, Francis Gary Powers of the Central Intelligence Agency, is captured.source
  • 1960The U-2 incident reveals that the United States uses Norwegian air bases as part of spying missions against the Soviet Union.source
  • 1960The U-2 Incident begins when an American U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, is shot down by Soviet Air Defence Forces. The clandestine flight had taken off from the U.S. base at Badaber near Peshawar, Pakistan.source
  • 1961National Airlines Flight 337, internal to Florida, is forced by an armed hijacker to fly to Cuba, the first of a spate of such aircraft hijackings.source
  • 1961A landslide occurred in Ringlet, Cameron Highlands, Pahang.source
  • 1962Norwich City F.C. wins the English Football League Cup, beating Rochdale in the final.source
  • 1962Dayton Hudson Corporation opens the first of its Target discount stores, in Roseville, Minnesota.source
  • 1963The Coca-Cola Company introduces its first diet drink, Tab cola.source
  • 1964At 4:00 a.m., John George Kemeny and Thomas Eugene Kurtz run the first computer program written in BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), an easy to learn high level programming language which they have created. BASIC is eventually included on many computers and even some games consoles.source
  • 1965Bob Askin replaces Jack Renshaw as Premier of New South Wales.source
  • 1967GO Transit, Canada's first interregional public transit system, is established.source
  • 1967Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu are married in Las Vegas.source
  • 1968CARIFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade Association, is formally created as an agreement between Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.source
  • 1971Amtrak begins intercity rail passenger service in the United States.source
  • 1972Hutu rebels set up their own short-lived, "People's Republic of Martyazo", at the Bururi Province. The Tutsi-dominated Burundian Army ended the secession movement within two weeks, before beginning the slaughter of thousands of Hutus.source
  • 1974Expulsion of Montoneros from Plaza de Mayosource
  • 1975The 25th anniversary of Malaysian Trade Union Congress was celebrated.source
  • 1977The Taksim Square massacre in Istanbul results in 34 deaths and hundreds of injuries.source
  • 1979Greenland is granted limited autonomy from Denmark, with its own Parliament sitting in Nuuk.source
  • 1980The Australian branch of Earthwatch Institute is established in Sydney.source
  • 1980"About that Urban Renaissance...", an article by journalist Dan Rottenberg in Chicago, contains the first recorded use of the word "yuppie".source
  • 1981Pensions in Chile: The new Chilean pension system, based on private pension funds, begins.source
  • 1982A crowd of over 100,000 attends the first day of the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, which is kicked off with an address by President Ronald Reagan. Over 11 million people attend during its six-month run.source
  • 19881988 IRA attacks in the Netherlandssource
  • 19891989 Paraguayan general electionsource
  • 1989Andrés Rodríguez, who seized power and declared himself President of Paraguay during a military coup in February, wins a landslide victory at a general election marked by charges of fraud.source
  • 1990The former Episcopal Church in the Philippines (supervised by the Episcopal Church) is granted full autonomy and raised to the state of an Autocephalous Anglican province and renamed the Episcopal Church of the Philippines.source
  • 1992April 29–May 4 – In Simi Valley, California, a jury acquits four LAPD police officers accused of excessive force in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King, causing the 1992 Los Angeles riots and leading to 53 deaths and $1 billion in damage.source
  • 1992The National Council of Social Service is formed to coordinate Voluntary Welfare Organisations in Singapore.source
  • 1992Lithuania introduces a new temporary currency, the talonas.source
  • 1997Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as the Labour Party wins the 1997 United Kingdom general election and returns to government for the first time in 18 years.source
  • 1999Children's animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants premieres on Nickelodeon.source
  • 2000The annual U.S. report on international terrorism was released and named Afghanistan as posing a major terrorist threat, partly because it sheltered Osama bin Laden. The report also said that Pakistan refused to end support for groups that trained terrorists in Afghanistan and in Pakistan itself and that Pakistan did not close schools that serve as conduits for terrorism.source
  • 2000A new class of composite material is fabricated, which has a combination of physical properties never before seen in a natural or human-made material.source
  • 2003U.S. President George W. Bush declares an end to the invasion of Iraq in the Mission Accomplished speech. Hostilities would continue for several years during a period of Iraqi insurgency.source
  • 20032003 Bingöl earthquake: A 6.4 Mw earthquake strikes in Bingöl, Turkey, killing 177 people.source
  • 2004The European Union expands by 10 new member states: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.source
  • 2004Singapore Pools is transferred to the Singapore Totalisator Board; present-day Tote Board (a statutory board of the Ministry of Finance), taking over this role from Temasek Holdings.source
  • 2007During his labour day speech, President Mwai Kibaki promises to scrap tuition fees issued by public high schools.source
  • 2009The state stamp maker Azermarka issued postage stamps dedicated to the 15th anniversary of Azerbaijan's cooperation with NATO.source
  • 2010Expo 2010 is held in Shanghai, China.source
  • 2013Flash floods leave 16 people dead and 3 others missing in Saudi Arabia, with authorities urging citizens to avoid low-lying wadis. At least two others were killed in neighboring Oman in some of the heaviest rainfall in more than 25 years.source
  • 2014The Banco Nacional introduced a 1.5 percent charge for deposits made in coins.source
  • 2014The first-ever outbreak of chikungunya in the Caribbean reaches epidemic levels.source
  • 2015October 31 – Expo 2015 is held in Milan, Italy.source
  • 2015Establishment of Ulaanbaatar Securities Exchange.source
  • 2016Two missionaries from the United States are found slain in separate areas of rural St. Mary parish. Randy Hentzel and Harold Nichols both worked for a Pennsylvania-based Christian charity called Teams for Medical Missions.source
  • 2018Georgia implements new smoking regulations, banning smoking in public places and imposing restrictions on selling and advertising of tobacco products.source
  • 2019King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand marries his personal bodyguard Suthida Tidjai – a commoner – in a surprise ceremony, making her queen consort of Thailand.source
  • 20232023 banking crisis: San Francisco-based First Republic Bank fails and is auctioned off by the US FDIC to JPMorgan Chase for $10.7 billion. The collapse surpasses March's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank to become the second largest in US history.source

Births

  • 1218John I, count of Hainaut (died 1257)source
  • 1218Rudolf I, king of Germany (died 1291)source
  • 1238Magnus VI ("the Law-mender"), king of Norway (died 1280)source
  • 1245Philip III (the Bold), king of France (died 1285)source
  • 1285Edmund Fitzalan, English nobleman and knight (died 1326)source
  • 1326Rinchinbal Khan (Ningzong), Mongol emperor (died 1332)source
  • 1488Sidonie of Bavaria, eldest daughter of Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria-Munich (died 1505)source
  • 1503Celio Secondo Curione, Italian humanist (died 1569)source
  • 1545Franciscus Junius, French theologian (died 1602)source
  • 1579Wolphert Gerretse, Dutch founder of the New Netherland Colony (died 1662)source
  • 1583Orazio Grassi, Italian Jesuit priest, architect and scientist (died 1654)source
  • 1594John Haynes, governor of Connecticut (died 1653)source
  • 1602William Lilly, English astrologer (died 1681)source
  • 1633Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French noble and military engineer noted for designing fortifications (died 1707)source
  • 1672Joseph Addison, English politician and writer (died 1719)source
  • 1769Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, British general, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1852)source
  • 1789George Fife Angas, English coachbuilder, businessman and politician; founder of South Australia (died 1879)source
  • 1829José de Alencar, novelistsource
  • 1852Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish histologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (died 1934)source
  • 1855Marie Corelli, English novelist (died 1924)source
  • 1896Mark W. Clark, American general (died 1984)source
  • 1915Hoàng Văn Thái in Tiền Hảisource
  • 2011Manukura, white North Island brown kiwisource

Deaths

  • 37Antonia the Younger, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia the Younger (born 36 BC)source
  • 408Emperor Arcadius dies in his palace at Constantinople, after a weak 13-year reign. He is succeeded by his 7-year-old son, Theodosius II, who rules under the domination of his devout Christian sister Pulcheria and Anthemius, who acts as regent.source
  • 408Arcadius, Roman emperorsource
  • 524King Sigismund of Burgundy is executed at Orléans after an 8-year reign, and is succeeded by his brother Godomar. He rallies the Burgundian army and begins plundering Frankish territory.source
  • 558Marcouf, missionary and saintsource
  • 908Wang Zongji, Chinese prince and pretendersource
  • 1106Conon, Lotharingian noblemansource
  • 1118Matilda of Scotland, queen of England (born c.1080)source
  • 1133Manegold von Mammern, German abbotsource
  • 1171Diarmaid mac Murchadha, king of Leinster (born 1110)source
  • 1171Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster (born 1110).source
  • 1187Roger de Moulins, French Grand Mastersource
  • 1219Raoul I of Lusignan, French nobleman and knightsource
  • 1236William d'Aubigny (or d'Albini), English noblemansource
  • 1255Walter de Gray, English archbishop and statesmansource
  • 1256Mafalda of Portugal, abbess, previously queen consort of Castilesource
  • 1277Stefan Uroš I ("the Great"'), king of Serbiasource
  • 1278William II of Villehardouin, prince of Achaea (born 1211)source
  • 1278William of Villehardouin, prince of Achaea, dies. By the terms of the Treaty of Viterbo, his lands passed under the direct control of Charles I, king of Sicily. Charles appoints a bailiff to rule the Latin principality. In response, Charles swears fealty to the new pope, Nicholas III, on May 24. He promises not to attack or invade the Byzantine Empire because Nicholas has hopes to unify the Orthodox Church with the Catholic Church.source
  • 1308Albert I, German nobleman, pretender and king (born 1255)source
  • 1308King Albrecht I of Germany, ruler of the Regnum Teutonicorum and King of the Romans within the Holy Roman Empire, is assassinated at Windisch in Switzerland by his nephew, John of Swabia, the day after the two had an argument at a banquet in Winterthur.source
  • 1312Paul I, Croatian nobleman, knight and oligarch (born 1245)source
  • 1315Margaret of Brandenburg, German noblewoman (born 1270)source
  • 1444John Meverel, English politiciansource
  • 1455Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray (in battle)source
  • 1461James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormonde, Lord Lieutenant (born 1420)source
  • 1484Adalbert of Saxony, Administrator of Mainz (1482–1484) (born 1467)source
  • 1539Isabella of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress (born 1503)source
  • 1555Pope Marcellus II (born 1501)source
  • 1639Dermot O'Mallun, 1st Baron Glean-O'Mallunsource
  • 1668Frans Luycx, Flemish painter (born 1604)source
  • 1718Robert Daniell, coloniser of The Carolinas, 71 or 72source
  • 1731Johann Ludwig Bach, German composer (born 1677)source
  • 1738Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English statesman (born c. 1669)source
  • 1813Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French marshal (killed in action) (born 1768)source
  • 1833Yagan and Midgegoroo are proclaimed as outlaws for killing two whites at Canning; Yagan is killed in Julysource
  • 1841Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin, acting Governor of the Cape Colony who supervised the arrival and settling of the British settlers and who founded Port Elizabeth, dies in Southampton, Englandsource
  • 1873David Livingstone, Scottish explorer of Africa (born 1813)source
  • 1883Qorpo-Santo (real name José Joaquim de Campos Leão), journalist and playwrightsource
  • 1896Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia, King of Herat (born 1831)source
  • 1896Naser al-Din Shah Qajar is assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani while visiting and praying at Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine.source
  • 1904Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (born 1841)source
  • 1949Gheorghe Petrașcu, Romanian painter (born 1872)source
  • 1976Tuol Svay Prey High School had transformed into "Security Prison 21" or S-21 was opened by the secret police (Santebal) of Angkar which became an extermination center, death camp for the Khmer Rouge guards to torture and kill others which included political prisoners and party cadres, with the executions first took place in the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek; all religious practices are banned in Cambodian society such as practice, worship and prayer, as many of Buddhist monks were labeled as "parasites" and forced to disrobe and perform hard manual labor, which estimates that 25,000 to 50,000 monks (including Huot Tat) were killed by Angkar, with 2,000 Buddhist temples (wats) were destroyed, desecrated, or repurposed as storage units, prisons, and even execution centers, the Khmer Rouge aimed to replace traditional spiritual identity with total loyalty to Angkar.source
  • 1978Aram Khachaturian, Soviet-Armenian composer and conductor (born 1903)source
  • 1993Assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa: During a May Day rally, President of Sri Lanka Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam suicide bomber. Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga succeeds Premadasa as the 3rd executive president of Sri Lanka.source
  • 1994Ayrton Senna, 34, Brazilian racing driver, racing accident.source
  • 1994Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy.source
  • 2011U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda, was killed on May 2, 2011 (PKT, UTC+05) during an American military operation in Pakistan.source