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

• 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
• 524 – King Sigismund of Burgundy is executed at Orléans after an 8-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 – Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton the Kingdom of England recognises the Kingdom of Scotland as an independent state.
• 1455 – Battle of Arkinholm, Royal forces end the Black Douglas hegemony in Scotland.
• 1576 – Stephen Báthory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, marries Anna Jagiellon and they become co-rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
• 1707 – The Act of Union joins the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of 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.
• 1759 – Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain.
• 1776 – Establishment of the Illuminati in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt.
• 1778 – American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
• 1785 – Kamehameha I, the king of Hawaiʻi, defeats Kalanikūpule and establishes the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.
• 1786 – In Vienna, Austria, Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro is performed for the first time.
• 1794 – War of the Pyrenees: The Battle of Boulou ends, in which French forces defeat the Spanish and regain nearly all the land they lost to Spain in 1793.
• 1820 – Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators
• 1840 – The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom.
• 1844 – Hong Kong Police Force, the world's second modern police force and Asia's first, is established.
• 1846 – The few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicate the Nauvoo Temple.
• 1851 – Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition in London.
• 1852 – The Philippine peso is introduced into circulation.
• 1856 – The Province of Isabela was created in the Philippines in honor of the Queen Isabela II.
• 1862 – American Civil War: The Union Army completes its capture of New Orleans.
• 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins.
• 1865 – The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance.
• 1866 – The Memphis Race Riots begin. In three days time, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
• 1869 – The Folies Bergère opens in Paris.
• 1875 – Alexandra Palace reopens after being burned down in a fire in 1873.
• 1884 – Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States.
• 1884 – Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States.
• 1885 – The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opens for business.
• 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.
• 1893 – The World's Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago.
• 1894 – Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C.
• 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 kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history.
• 1901 – The Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo, New York.
• 1915 – The RMS Lusitania departs from New York City on her two hundred and second, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives.
• 1925 – The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is officially founded. Today it is the largest trade union in the world, with 134 million members.
• 1925 – The first Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer is held at the University of Toronto, Canada.
• 1927 – The first cooked meals on a scheduled flight are introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris.
• 1927 – The Union Labor Life Insurance Company is founded by the American Federation of Labor.
• 1930 – The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named.
• 1931 – The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
• 1933 – The Roca–Runciman Treaty between Argentina and Great Britain is signed by Julio Argentino Roca, Jr., and Sir Walter Runciman.
• 1933 – The Humanist Manifesto I published.
• 1933 – The Catholic Worker begins publishing
• 1940 – The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled due to war.
• 1941 – World War II: German forces launch a major attack on Tobruk.
• 1944 – World War II: Two hundred Communist prisoners are shot by the Germans at Kaisariani in Athens, Greece in reprisal for the killing of General Franz Krech by partisans at Molaoi.
• 1945 – World War II: A German newsreader officially announces that Adolf Hitler 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.
• 1945 – World War II: Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda commit suicide in the Reich Garden outside the Führerbunker. Their children are also killed by having cyanide pills inserted into their mouths by their mother, Magda.
• 1945 – World War II: Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army.
• 1945 – World War II: Yugoslav Partisans free Trieste.
• 1946 – Start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
• 1946 – The Paris Peace Conference concludes that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy.
• 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.
• 1948 – The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is established, with Kim Il-sung as leader.
• 1950 – Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth.
• 1956 – The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
• 1956 – A doctor in Japan reports an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.
• 1957 – Thirty-four people are killed when a Vickers Viking airliner crashes in Hampshire England.
• 1960 – Formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Also known as "Maharashtra Day".
• 1960 – Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
• 1961 – The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
• 1965 – Battle of Dong-Yin, a naval conflict between ROC and PRC, takes place.
• 1970 – Protests erupt in Seattle, following the announcement by U.S. President Richard Nixon that U.S. Forces in Vietnam would pursue enemy troops into Cambodia, a neutral country.
• 1971 – Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) takes over operation of U.S. passenger rail service.
• 1974 – The Argentine terrorist organization Montoneros is expelled from Plaza de Mayo by president Juan Perón.
• 1977 – Thirty-six people are killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations.
• 1978 – Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
• 1982 – The 1982 World's Fair opens in Knoxville, Tennessee.
• 1982 – Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during Falklands War.
• 1983 – Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis is awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.
• 1987 – Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.
• 1989 – Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
• 1990 – The former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) is granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church of the Philippines.
• 1991 – Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics steals his 939th base, making him the all-time leader in this category. However, his accomplishment is overshadowed later that evening by Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers, when he pitches his seventh career no-hitter, breaking his own record.
• 1993 – Dingiri Banda Wijetunga became president of Sri Lanka automatically after killing of R Premadasa in LTTE bomb explosion
• 1994 – Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
• 1995 – Croatian forces launch Operation Flash during the Croatian War of Independence.
• 1999 – The body of British climber George Mallory is found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924.
• 1999 – Spongebob SquarePants premieres on Nickelodeon after the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards.
• 2001 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declares the existence of "a state of rebellion", hours after thousands of supporters of her arrested predecessor, Joseph Estrada, storm towards the presidential palace at the height of the EDSA III rebellion.
• 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".
• 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 – The Puerto Rican government closes the Department of Education and 42 other government agencies due to significant shortages in cash flow.
• 2007 – The Los Angeles May Day mêlée occurs, in which the Los Angeles Police Department's response to a May Day pro-immigration rally become a matter of controversy.
• 2008 – The London Agreement on translation of European patents, concluded in 2000, enters into force in 14 of the 34 Contracting States to the European Patent Convention.
• 2009 – Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden.
• 2011 – Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.
• 2011 – Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks has been killed by United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Due to the time difference between the United States and Pakistan, bin Laden was actually killed on May 2.

Births

• 1218 – John I, Count of Hainaut (d. 1257)
• 1218 – Rudolf I of Germany (d. 1291)
• 1225 – Jean de Joinville, French historian and author (d. 1317)
• 1285 – Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1326)
• 1579 – Wolphert Gerretse, Dutch-American farmer, co-founded New Netherland (d. 1662)
• 1582 – Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (d. 1643)
• 1585 – Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (d. 1612)
• 1591 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (d. 1666)
• 1594 – John Haynes, English-American politician, 1st Governor of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1653)
• 1672 – Joseph Addison, English journalist and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (d. 1719)
• 1730 – Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1790)
• 1735 – Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Dutch admiral and philanthropist (d. 1819)
• 1751 – Judith Sargent Murray, American poet and playwright (d. 1820)
• 1764 – Benjamin Henry Latrobe, English-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (d. 1820)
• 1769 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Irish-English field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1852)
• 1803 – James Clarence Mangan, Irish poet and author (d. 1849)
• 1824 – Alexander William Williamson, English chemist and academic (d. 1904)
• 1825 – Johann Jakob Balmer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1898)
• 1825 – George Inness, American painter and educator (d. 1894)
• 1827 – Jules Breton, French painter (d. 1906)
• 1829 – José de Alencar, Brazilian author and playwright (d. 1877)
• 1829 – Frederick Sandys, English painter and illustrator (d. 1904)
• 1830 – Guido Gezelle, Belgian priest and poet (d. 1899)
• 1831 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (d. 1903)
• 1847 – Henry Demarest Lloyd, American journalist and politician (d. 1903)
• 1848 – Adelsteen Normann, Norwegian painter (d. 1919)
• 1850 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (d. 1942)
• 1851 – Laza Lazarević, Serbian psychiatrist and neurologist (d. 1891)
• 1852 – Calamity Jane, American scout (d. 1903)
• 1852 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish neuroscientist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1934)
• 1853 – Jacob Mikhailovich Gordin, Ukrainian-American journalist, actor, and playwright (d. 1909)
• 1855 – Cecilia Beaux, American painter and academic (d. 1942)
• 1857 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch art dealer (d. 1891)
• 1859 – Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, French painter and sculptor (d. 1955)
• 1862 – Marcel Prévost, French author and playwright (d. 1941)
• 1864 – Anna Jarvis, American founder of Mother's Day (d. 1948)
• 1871 – Seakle Greijdanus, Dutch theologian and scholar (d. 1948)
• 1872 – Sidónio Pais, Portuguese soldier and politician, 4th President of Portugal (d. 1918)
• 1872 – Harry Leon Wilson, American author and playwright (d. 1939)
• 1874 – Romaine Brooks, American-French painter and illustrator (d. 1970)
• 1874 – Paul Van Asbroeck, Belgian target shooter (d. 1959)
• 1875 – Dave Hall, American runner (d. 1972)
• 1881 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French-American priest, palaeontologist, and philosopher (d. 1955)
• 1884 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (d. 1964)
• 1885 – Clément Pansaers, Belgian poet (d. 1922)
• 1885 – Ralph Stackpole, American sculptor and painter (d. 1973)
• 1887 – Alan Cunningham, Anglo_Irish general and diplomat, High Commissioners for Palestine and Transjordan (d. 1983)
• 1896 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (d. 1947)
• 1896 – Mark W. Clark, American general (d. 1984)
• 1896 – J. Lawton Collins, American general (d. 1987)
• 1898 – Alfred Schmidt, Estonian weightlifter (d. 1972)
• 1900 – Ignazio Silone, Italian journalist and politician (d. 1978)
• 1900 – Aleksander Wat, Polish poet, writer, art theoretician and memorialist (d. 1967)
• 1901 – Sterling Allen Brown, American poet, academic, and critic (d. 1989)
• 1901 – Heinz Eric Roemheld, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
• 1901 – Antal Szerb, Hungarian scholar and author (d. 1945)
• 1905 – Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1982)
• 1905 – Henry Koster, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
• 1906 – Horst Schumann, German SS officer and physician (d. 1983)
• 1907 – Hayes Alvis, American bassist (Mills Blue Rhythm Band) (d. 1972)
• 1907 – Kate Smith, American singer and actress (d. 1986)
• 1908 – Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist and author (d. 1968)
• 1908 – Morris Kline, American mathematician and academic (d. 1992)
• 1909 – Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (d. 1996)
• 1909 – Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1990)
• 1910 – Behice Boran, Turkish sociologist and politician (d. 1987)
• 1910 – Raya Dunayevskaya, Ukrainian-American philosopher and activist (d. 1987)
• 1910 – Dirk Andries Flentrop, Dutch organ builder (d. 2003)
• 1910 – J. Allen Hynek, American astronomer and ufologist (d. 1986)
• 1911 – Wilfred Watson, English-Canadian poet, playwright and educator (b. 1998)
• 1912 – Otto Kretschmer, Polish-German admiral (d. 1998)
• 1913 – Louis Nye, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Walter Susskind, Czech-English pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 1980)
• 1914 – Jaap van der Poll, Dutch javelin thrower (d. 2010)
• 1915 – Hanns Martin Schleyer, German businessman (d. 1977)
• 1916 – Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor and producer (d. 2006)
• 1917 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (d. 1996)
• 1917 – Ulric Cross, Trinidadian navigator, judge, and diplomat (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Danielle Darrieux, French actress and singer
• 1917 – Ahron Soloveichik, Russian rabbi and scholar (d. 2001)
• 1918 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 1977)
• 1918 – Raymond Mailloux, Canadian captain and politician (d. 1995)
• 1918 – Jack Paar, American comedian, author and talk show host (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Lewis Hill, American broadcaster, co-founded Pacifica Radio (d. 1957)
• 1919 – Mohammed Karim Lamrani, Moroccan businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Morocco
• 1919 – Dan O'Herlihy, Irish-American actor (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Vladimir Colin, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1991)
• 1921 – Boo Morcom, American pole vaulter and jumper (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Alastair Gillespie, Canadian scholar and politician
• 1923 – Joseph Heller, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Antônio Maria Mucciolo, Italian-Brazilian archbishop (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Marcel Rayman, Polish soldier (d. 1944)
• 1924 – Art Fleming, American actor and game show host (d. 1995)
• 1924 – Evelyn Boyd Granville, American mathematician, computer scientist, and academic
• 1924 – Big Maybelle, American singer and pianist (d. 1972)
• 1924 – Karel Kachyňa, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Terry Southern, American author and screenwriter (d. 1995)
• 1925 – Helen Bamber, English psychotherapist and academic (d. 2014)
• 1925 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (d. 2015)
• 1925 – Scott Carpenter, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Sardar Fazlul Karim, Bangladeshi philosopher, scholar, and academic (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Peter Lax, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic
• 1927 – Gary Bertini, Israeli conductor and composer (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Laura Betti, Italian actress (d. 2004)
• 1927 – Bernard Vukas, Yugoslav-Croatian footballer (d. 1983)
• 1929 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-English sociologist and politician (d. 2009)
• 1930 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (d. 2011)
• 1930 – Richard Riordan, American lieutenant and politician, 39th Mayor of Los Angeles
• 1931 – Naim Attallah, Palestinian author and publisher
• 1932 – Sandy Woodward, English admiral (d. 2013)
• 1934 – Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Mexican politician
• 1934 – Shirley Horn, American singer and pianist (d. 2005)
• 1934 – Phillip King, Tunisian-English sculptor
• 1935 – Ian Curteis, English director and playwright
• 1935 – Julian Mitchell, English playwright and screenwriter
• 1936 – Danièle Huillet, French filmmaker (d. 2006)
• 1936 – Jerry Mander, American author and activist
• 1936 – Hans E. Wallman, Swedish director, producer, and composer (d. 2014)
• 1937 – Tamsyn Imison, English illustrator and educator
• 1937 – Una Stubbs, English actress and dancer
• 1939 – Judy Collins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1939 – Victor Davies, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1939 – Max Robinson, American journalist and academic (d. 1988)
• 1940 – Jüri Kukk, Estonian chemist and Soviet dissident (d. 1981)
• 1940 – John Wheeler, British politician
• 1940 – Yury Yershov, Russian mathematician and academic
• 1941 – Asil Nadir, Cypriot-English businessman
• 1942 – Stephen Macht, American actor
• 1943 – Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan politician (d. 2004)
• 1943 – Joe Walsh, Irish politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (d. 2014)
• 1944 – Costa Cordalis, Greek-German singer
• 1944 – Suresh Kalmadi, Indian businessman and politician
• 1945 – Rita Coolidge, American singer-songwriter
• 1945 – Carson Whitsett, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (The Imperial Show Band and Booker T. & the M.G.'s) (d. 2007)
• 1946 – Joanna Lumley, English actress, voice-over artist, author and activist
• 1946 – John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Jacob Bekenstein, Mexican-born Israeli-American theoretical physicist (d. 2015)
• 1947 – Sergio Infante, Chilean-Swedish poet and author
• 1948 – Györgyi Balogh, Hungarian sprinter
• 1948 – Patricia Hill Collins, American sociologist and scholar
• 1948 – Conrad Palmisano, American stuntman and director
• 1949 – Jim Clench, Canadian bass player (April Wine and Bachman–Turner Overdrive) (d. 2010)
• 1949 – Tim Hodgkinson, English saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
• 1949 – Paul Teutul, Sr., American motorcycle designer, co-founded Orange County Choppers
• 1950 – John Diehl, American actor and producer
• 1950 – Dann Florek, American actor and director
• 1950 – Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer and coach
• 1951 – Gordon Greenidge, Barbadian cricketer and coach
• 1951 – Geoff Lees, English race car driver
• 1952 – Richard Blundell, English economist and academic
• 1952 – Kim Lewison, English lawyer and judge
• 1952 – Peter Smith, Malaysian-born English academic and judge
• 1953 – Glen Ballard, American songwriter and producer
• 1953 – Naoya Uchida, Japanese voice actor, actor, and singer
• 1954 – Ray Parker, Jr., American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Raydio)
• 1954 – Joel Rosenberg, Canadian-American author and activist (d. 2011)
• 1955 – Alex Cunningham, Scottish politician
• 1955 – Martin O'Donnell, American composer
• 1956 – Phil Foglio, American illustrator
• 1956 – Frank Szymanski, German educator and politician
• 1957 – Uberto Pasolini, Italian banker, director, and producer
• 1959 – Yasmina Reza, French actress and playwright
• 1959 – Lawrence Seeff, South African cricketer and basket weaver
• 1960 – Steve Cauthen, American jockey and sportscaster
• 1961 – Clint Malarchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1961 – Marilyn Milian, American judge
• 1961 – Vasiliy Sidorenko, Russian hammer thrower
• 1962 – Maia Morgenstern, Romanian actress
• 1962 – Ted Sundquist, American football player, coach, and manager
• 1964 – Lady Sarah Chatto, English daughter of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
• 1964 – Will Kimbrough, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1964 – Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater
• 1967 – Tim McGraw, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1968 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer and manager
• 1968 – Johnny Colt, American bass player (The Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Train, and Rock Star Supernova)
• 1968 – Kelly Killoren Bensimon, American model, television personality and author
• 1969 – Wes Anderson, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Billy Owens, American basketball player
• 1970 – Bernard Butler, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Suede, The Tears, and McAlmont and Butler)
• 1971 – Ethan Albright, American football player
• 1971 – Kim Grant, South African tennis player
• 1971 – Artur Kohutek, Polish hurdler and soldier
• 1972 – Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Yemeni terrorist
• 1972 – Julie Benz, American actress
• 1973 – Mike Jesse, German footballer
• 1973 – Curtis Martin, American football player
• 1973 – Oliver Neuville, German footballer
• 1975 – Austin Croshere, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1975 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2003)
• 1975 – Nina Hossain, English journalist
• 1975 – Alexey Smertin, Russian footballer
• 1976 – Darius McCrary, American actor and singer
• 1976 – Patricia Stokkers, Dutch swimmer
• 1977 – Vera Lischka, Austrian swimmer and politician
• 1978 – James Badge Dale, American actor
• 1978 – Sachie Hara, Japanese model and actress
• 1978 – John Linehan, American basketball player
• 1978 – Nick Traina, American singer-songwriter (Link 80) (d. 1997)
• 1979 – Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
• 1980 – Marvin Cabrera, Mexican footballer
• 1980 – Jan Heylen, Belgian race car driver
• 1980 – Jay Reatard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
• 1981 – Derek Asamoah, Ghanaian footballer
• 1981 – Alexander Hleb, Belarusian footballer
• 1981 – Wes Welker, American football player
• 1982 – Jamie Dornan, Northern Irish model and actor
• 1982 – Mark Farren, Irish footballer (d. 2016)
• 1982 – Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player
• 1983 – Alain Bernard, French swimmer
• 1983 – Human Tornado, American wrestler
• 1984 – David Backes, American ice hockey player
• 1984 – Patrick Eaves, American ice hockey player
• 1984 – Alexander Farnerud, Swedish footballer
• 1984 – Víctor Montaño, Colombian footballer
• 1984 – Mark Seaby, Australian footballer
• 1985 – Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1985 – Drew Sidora, American actress and singer
• 1986 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2013)
• 1986 – Adam Casey, Australian footballer
• 1986 – Brent Stanton, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Leonardo Bonucci, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Glen Coffee, American football player
• 1987 – Matt Di Angelo, English actor and singer
• 1987 – Marcus Drum, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Amir Johnson, American basketball player
• 1987 – Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player
• 1988 – Maria Balaba, Latvian figure skater
• 1988 – Anushka Sharma, Indian model, actress, and producer
• 1989 – Alejandro Arribas, Spanish footballer
• 1989 – Poļina Jeļizarova, Latvian runner
• 1989 – Tim Urban, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1990 – Uriel Álvarez, Mexican footballer
• 1990 – Diego Contento, German footballer
• 1991 – Creagen Dow, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1991 – Bartosz Salamon, Polish footballer
• 1991 – Marcus Stroman, American baseball player
• 1992 – Hani, South Korean singer and television personality (EXID)
• 1992 – You Kikkawa, Japanese singer (MilkyWay)
• 1992 – Matěj Vydra, Czech footballer
• 1993 – Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, French footballer
• 1994 – Wallace, Brazilian footballer
• 1994 – Antoine Bibeau, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1996 – William Nylander, Swedish ice hockey player

Deaths

• 408 – Arcadius, Byzantine emperor (b. 337)
• 1118 – Matilda of Scotland (b. 1080)
• 1277 – Stephen Uroš I of Serbia (b. 1223)
• 1308 – Albert I of Germany (b. 1255)
• 1539 – Isabella of Portugal (b. 1503)
• 1555 – Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
• 1572 – Pope Pius V (b. 1504)
• 1731 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (b. 1677)
• 1738 – Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1669)
• 1772 – Gottfried Achenwall, Polish-German historian, economist, and jurist (b. 1719)
• 1813 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French general (b. 1768)
• 1856 – John Wilbur, American minister and theologian (b. 1774)
• 1873 – David Livingstone, Scottish-English missionary and explorer (b. 1813)
• 1899 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist and physician (b. 1824)
• 1904 – Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer and academic (b. 1841)
• 1913 – John Barclay Armstrong, American lieutenant (b. 1850)
• 1920 – Princess Margaret of Connaught (b. 1882)
• 1935 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (b. 1889)
• 1937 – Snitz Edwards, Hungarian-American actor (b. 1868)
• 1943 – Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian religious leader, founded the Brunstad Christian Church (b. 1871)
• 1945 – Joseph Goebbels, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
• 1945 – Magda Goebbels, German wife of Joseph Goebbels (b. 1901)
• 1953 – Everett Shinn, American painter and illustrator (b. 1876)
• 1956 – LeRoy Samse, American pole vaulter (b. 1883)
• 1960 – Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (b. 1875)
• 1963 – Lope K. Santos, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
• 1965 – Spike Jones, American singer and bandleader (b. 1911)
• 1968 – Jack Adams, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1895)
• 1968 – Harold Nicolson, English author and politician (b. 1886)
• 1970 – Yi Un, Korean prince (b. 1897)
• 1973 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
• 1976 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (b. 1908)
• 1976 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (b. 1939)
• 1978 – Aram Khachaturian, Georgian-Armenian composer and conductor (b. 1903)
• 1982 – William Primrose, Scottish viola player and educator (b. 1903)
• 1984 – Jüri Lossmann, Estonian-Swedish runner (b. 1891)
• 1985 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (b. 1897)
• 1986 – Hylda Baker, English actress and singer (b. 1905)
• 1986 – Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and producer (b. 1916)
• 1989 – Sally Kirkland, American journalist (b. 1912)
• 1989 – V. M. Panchalingam, Sri Lankan civil servant (b. 1930)
• 1989 – Patrice Tardif, Canadian farmer and politician (b. 1904)
• 1989 – Douglass Watson, American actor (b. 1921)
• 1990 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American tenor and actor (b. 1926)
• 1991 – Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
• 1993 – Pierre Bérégovoy, French metallurgist and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1925)
• 1993 – Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sri Lankan politician, 3rd President of Sri Lanka (b. 1924)
• 1994 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1960)
• 1995 – Antonio Salemme, Italian-American painter (b. 1892)
• 1996 – Luana Patten, American actress and singer (b. 1938)
• 1997 – Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1927)
• 1998 – Eldridge Cleaver, American author and activist (b. 1935)
• 1999 – Jos LeDuc, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1944)
• 2002 – Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh, Indian poet and author (b. 1908)
• 2002 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder and actor (b. 1926)
• 2000 – Jukka Tapanimäki, Finnish game programmer (b. 1961)
• 2002 – John Nathan-Turner, English screenwriter and producer (b. 1947)
• 2003 – Miss Elizabeth, American wrestler and manager (b. 1960)
• 2003 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
• 2004 – Larkin Kerwin, Canadian physicist and academic (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Kenneth Clark, American psychologist and academic (b. 1914)
• 2006 – Big Hawk, American rapper (Screwed Up Click) (b. 1969)
• 2006 – Rob Lacey, English actor and author (b. 1962)
• 2008 – Anthony Mamo, Maltese judge and politician, 1st President of Malta (b. 1909)
• 2008 – Deborah Jeane Palfrey, American madam (b. 1956)
• 2008 – Philipp von Boeselager, German soldier and economist (b. 1917)
• 2009 – Danny Gans, American singer and comedian (b. 1956)
• 2010 – Rob McConnell, Canadian trombonist, composer, and educator (b. 1935)
• 2010 – Helen Wagner, American actress (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Henry Cooper, English soldier and boxer (b. 1934)
• 2011 – Ted Lowe, English sportscaster (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Shanmugasundari, Indian actress (b. 1937)
• 2012 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (b. 1913)
• 2012 – James Kinley, Canadian engineer and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Charles Pitts, American guitarist (The Bo-Keys) (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Earl Rose, American pathologist and academic (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Mordechai Virshubski, German-Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Chris Kelly, American rapper (Kris Kross) (b. 1978)
• 2013 – Pierre Pleimelding, French footballer and manager (b. 1952)
• 2013 – Gregory Rogers, Australian author and illustrator (b. 1957)
• 2013 – Stuart Wilde, English author and educator (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Adamu Atta, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Kwara State (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Radhia Cousot, Tunisian-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1947)
• 2014 – Assi Dayan, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1945)
• 2014 – Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican footballer and coach (b. 1951)
• 2014 – Juan Formell, Cuban singer-songwriter and bass player (Los Van Van) (b. 1942)
• 2014 – Spike Maynard, American lawyer and judge (b. 1942)
• 2014 – Howard Smith, American journalist, director, and producer (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Stephen Milburn Anderson, American director and screenwriter (b. 1948)
• 2015 – Pete Brown, American golfer (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (b. 1923)
• 2015 – Vafa Guluzade, Azerbaijani political scientist, academic, and diplomat (b. 1940)
• 2015 – María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress and singer (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

• Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)
• Christian feast day:
  • Andeolus
  • Augustin Schoeffler, Jean-Louis Bonnard (part of Vietnamese Martyrs)
  • Blessed Klymentiy Sheptytsky (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
  • Brioc
  • James the Less
  • Joseph the Worker (Roman Catholic)
  • Marcouf
  • Philip the Apostle
  • Richard Pampuri
  • Sigismund of Burgundy
  • Walpurga (canonization)
  • May 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Argentina]
• Constitution Day (Latvia)
• Constitution Day (Marshall Islands)
• Commemoration of the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat following the foundation of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti (India):
  • Gujarat Day
  • Maharashtra Day
• Earliest day on which Mother's Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Samoa)
• Earliest day on which Mother's Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in May. (Hong Kong, Hungary, Lithuania, Mozambique, Portugal, Spain, Romania)
• Earliest day on which National Day of Prayer can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday in May. (United States)
• Earliest day on which World Asthma Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Tuesday in May. (International)
• International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day (guerilla gardeners)
• International Workers' Day or Labour Day (International), and its related observances:
  • Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of May. (Barbados, Dominica)
  • EuroMayDay (Western Europe)
  • Law Day (United States), formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
  • Loyalty Day, formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
• Lei Day (Hawaii)
• May Day (beginning of Summer) observances in the Northern hemisphere (see April 30):
  • Beltane (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in the Northern hemisphere)
  • Earliest day on which Beltane can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Ireland, Scotland)
  • Walpurgis Night, celebrated before dawn (Central and Northern Europe)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to May 1.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On this day in Canada