May 1st in History

Michael Dobson | May 1

Today in History

  • The Act of Union joins England and Scotland to become the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707)
  • The Illuminati are founded (1776)
  • The Kingdom of Hawai’i is established (1785)
  • Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro premiers (1786)
  • The first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, is issued (1840)
  • American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins (1863)
  • White police officers and civilians rampage through Memphis, Tennessee in a race riot, killing 46 blacks, The resultant outrage helps pass the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution (1866)
  • The Folies Bergère opens in Paris (1869)
  • The first significant American protest march, Coxey’s Army, arrives in Washington, DC, to protest against widespread unemployment (1894)
  • The ex-planet Pluto receives its name (1830)
  • The Empire State Building is dedicated (1931)
  • World War II: German forces attack Tobruk (1941)
  • The polio vaccine is made available to the public (1956)
  • Cold War: A U-2 spyplane piloted by Francis Gary Powers is shot down over the Soviet Union (1960)
  • Fidel Castro proclaims that Cuba is a socialist nation and abolishes elections (1961)
  • Amtrak takes over American rail passenger service (1971)
  • Iraq War: US President George W. Bush makes his “Mission Accomplished” speech (2003)

Birthdays

  • Joseph Addison, journalist and diplomat (1672)
  • Benjamin Latrobe, architect, designer of the US Capitol (1764)
  • Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, field marshal and politician (1769)
  • Calamity Jane, frontierswoman and scout (1852)
  • Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, priest, paleontologist, and philosopher (1881)
  • Kate Smith, singer (1907)
  • Glenn Ford, actor (1916)
  • Jack Paar, comedian, author, and talk show host (1918)
  • Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22 (1923)
  • Art Fleming, game show host (1924)
  • Terry Southern, author of Candy (1924)
  • Scott Carpenter, astronaut (1925)
  • Judy Collins, singer-songwriter (1939)
  • Rita Coolidge, singer-songwriter (1945)
  • Joanna Lumley, actress (1946)
  • John Woo, director (1946)
  • Ray Parker, Jr., wrote and sang the Ghostbusters theme (1954)
  • Phil Foglio, cartoonist (1956)
  • Tim McGraw, country singer (1967)
  • Wes Anderson, director (1969)

Deaths

  • David Livingston, missionary (1873)
  • Antonín Dvořák, composer (1904)
  • Joseph Goebbels (and family), Nazi leader (1945)
  • Spike Jones, bandleader (1965)
  • Aram Khachaturian (Արամ ատրյան), composer (1978)
  • Eldridge Cleaver, author and activist (1998)
  • Steve Reeves, bodybuilder and actor (2002)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Constitution Day (Latvia, Marshall Islands)
  • Gujarat Day/Maharashtra Day (India)
  • International Worker’s Day (worldwide)
  • Lei Day (Hawaii)
Informal and made-up holidays include International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day.