May 1

May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). There are 244 days remaining.

Events:

1291 - Switzerland gains independence.
1707 - The Act of Union joined England, Wales, and Scotland to form the United Kingdom.
1714 - George I of the House of Hanover chosen succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom upon the death of Queen Anne I.
1776 - Adam Weishaupt founds the Illuminati in Ingolstadt, Germany.
1790 - The United States completes its first census.
1798 - British naval commander Horatio Nelson destroys the French fleet in the Battle of the Nile.
1834 - Slavery abolished in British territories.
1876 - Colorado admitted to statehood.
1786 - Premier night of the opera The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna
1884 - the start of the general strike which eventually won the eight-hour workday in the United States. May 1st, called May Day or Labour Day, is now a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country; a few exceptions are Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, and (oddly enough), the United States. It is also a major holiday in the Communist countries.
1894 - Japan declares war on China over the fate of Korea.
1914 - Germany declares war on Russia, launching World War I.
1931 - The Empire State Building opened in New York City. At 102 stories, it would be the world's tallest building for the next 41 years. Click to see the current tallest.
1941 - Orson Welles's Citizen Kane, considered by many the greatest film ever made, premiered in New York.
1946 - The Atomic Energy Commission is established.
1948 - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was established with Kim Il Sung as president.
1950 - Guam organized as a United States territory.
1956 - The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk made available to the public.
1960 - Benin gains independence as Dahomey.
1967 - Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu. (They divorced in 1973.)
1978 - Japan's Naomi Uemura, traveling by sled dog, became the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
1991 - Texas Rangers fireballer Nolan Ryan hurled his seventh no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
1991 - Oakland A's outfielder Rickey Henderson broke the all-time record for stolen bases by swiping his 939th.

Births:

10 - Roman Emperor Claudius
1218 - Rudolph I of Germany, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (+ 1291)
1769 - Likeliest birthdate for The Duke of Wellington, British general and Prime Minister (+ 1852)
1770 - William Clark - American explorer.
1779 - Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner
1819 - Herman Melville, American author.
1881 - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, palaeontologist and philosopher (+ 1955)
1905 - Henry Koster, film director (+ 1988)
1908 - Giovanni Guareschi, writer (+ 1968)
1923 - Shimon Peres. Israeli statesman
1929 - Ralf Dahrendorf, sociologist and politician
1932 - Meir Kahane, Jewish extremist
1936 - Yves St. Laurent, fashion designer
1942 - Jerry Garcia, American musician and frontman for the Grateful Dead.
1944 - Rita Coolidge

Deaths:

1714 - Queen Anne I
1922 - Alexander Graham Bell
1972 - J. Edgar Hoover
1981 - Paddy Chayefsky, screenwriter
1987 - Pola Negri, silent film star

Holidays and observances:

Beltane was celebrated by the Celts, and is now celebrated by Neopagans and Wiccans.
Day of the International Solidarity of Workers (particularly in Communist countries).
May Day, Labour day - see event section above.
Roman Empire - all-female festival in honor of Bona Dea

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