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  • Nicomedia, Roman Empire
    Monday May 1, 305
    Roman Empire

    Diocletian became the first Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate his title

    Nicomedia, Roman Empire
    Monday May 1, 305

    On 1 May 305, Diocletian called an assembly of his generals, traditional companion troops, and representatives from distant legions. They met at the same hill, 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) out of Nicomedia, where Diocletian had been proclaimed emperor. In front of a statue of Jupiter, his patron deity, Diocletian addressed the crowd. With tears in his eyes, he told them of his weakness, his need for rest, and his will to resign. He declared that he needed to pass the duty of empire on to someone stronger. He thus became the first Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate his title.




  • Windisch, Austria
    Tuesday May 1, 1308
    Holy Roman Empire

    Albert was assassinated (Albert I of Germany)

    Windisch, Austria
    Tuesday May 1, 1308

    Albert was assassinated in 1308.




  • Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom
    Sunday May 1, 1464
    Elizabeth Woodville

    Edward IV married Elizabeth

    Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom
    Sunday May 1, 1464

    Edward IV had many mistresses, the best known of them being Jane Shore, and he did not have a reputation for fidelity. His marriage to the widowed Elizabeth Woodville took place secretly and, though the date is not known, it is traditionally said to have taken place at her family home in Northamptonshire on 1 May 1464.




  • Eisenach, Germany
    Saturday May 1, 1694
    Johann Sebastian Bach

    Mother's Death

    Eisenach, Germany
    Saturday May 1, 1694

    Bach's mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later.




  • Salzburg, Austria
    Saturday May 1, 1773
    Mozart

    Mozart and Metastasio

    Salzburg, Austria
    Saturday May 1, 1773

    Mozart paired with the grand old man of the world of libretto, the 74-year-old poet Metastasio. This wasn't an opera, this wasn't an oratorio, it was a 'dramatic serenade' that was performed successfully on May 1 of that year at the enthronement. Sadly, while it was definitely of high quality and certainly significant at the period, it has not survived the test of time to claim a place in the general repertoire.




  • New York, U.S.
    Friday May 1, 1789
    George Washington

    President of the United States

    New York, U.S.
    Friday May 1, 1789

    Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, taking the oath of office at Federal Hall in New York City.




  • U.S.
    Friday May 1, 1795
    Flag of the United States

    15 Stars

    U.S.
    Friday May 1, 1795

    In 1795, the number of stars and stripes was increased from 13 to 15 (to reflect the entry of Vermont and Kentucky as states of the Union).


  • Central Europe (Present-Day Paulsplatz, Paulsplatz, Frankfurt am Main, Hesse 60311, Germany)
    Monday May 1, 1848
    German revolutions of 1848–1849

    A Constituent National Assembly was elected in late April and early May

    Central Europe (Present-Day Paulsplatz, Paulsplatz, Frankfurt am Main, Hesse 60311, Germany)
    Monday May 1, 1848

    A Constituent National Assembly was elected from various German states in late April and early May 1848 and gathered in St. Paul's Church in Frankfurt am Main on May 18, 1848.


  • Central Europe (Present-Day Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)
    Tuesday May 1, 1849
    German revolutions of 1848–1849

    A meeting of the democratic people's associations was held in Kaiserslautern

    Central Europe (Present-Day Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)
    Tuesday May 1, 1849

    On 1 May 1849, a meeting of the democratic people's associations was held in Kaiserslautern. About 12,000 people gathered under the slogan, "If the government becomes rebellious, the citizens of the Palatinate will become the enforcers of the laws.


  • Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 1865
    Memorial day

    African-Americans parade

    Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 1865

    On May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina, recently freed African-Americans held a parade of 10,000 people to honor 257 dead Union soldiers, whose remains they had reburied from a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. Historian David W. Blight cites contemporary news reports of this incident in the Charleston Daily Courier and the New-York Tribune. Although Blight claimed that "African Americans invented Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina", in 2012, he stated that he "has no evidence" that the event in Charleston inspired the establishment of Memorial Day across the country. Accordingly, investigators for Time Magazine, LiveScience, RealClearLife and Snopes have called this conclusion into question.


  • France
    Saturday May 1, 1886
    Eiffel Tower

    Lockroy announced an alteration to the terms of the open competition being held for a centrepiece to the exposition

    France
    Saturday May 1, 1886

    Little progress was made until 1886, when Jules Grévy was re-elected as president of France and Édouard Lockroy was appointed as minister for trade. A budget for the exposition was passed and, on 1 May, Lockroy announced an alteration to the terms of the open competition being held for a centrepiece to the exposition, which effectively made the selection of Eiffel's design a foregone conclusion, as entries had to include a study for a 300 m (980 ft) four-sided metal tower on the Champ de Mars. (A 300-meter tower was then considered a herculean engineering effort).


  • Tiflis, Tiflis Governorate, Caucasus Viceroyalty, Russian Empire Or Georgia
    Tuesday May 1, 1900
    Joseph Stalin

    May day 1900

    Tiflis, Tiflis Governorate, Caucasus Viceroyalty, Russian Empire Or Georgia
    Tuesday May 1, 1900

    Co-organised a secret workers' mass meeting for May Day 1900, at which he successfully encouraged many of the men to take strike action. By this point, the empire's secret police—the Okhrana—were aware of Stalin's activities within Tiflis' revolutionary milieu. They attempted to arrest him in March 1901, but he escaped and went into hiding, living off the donations of friends and sympathizers.


  • Tiflis, Tiflis Governorate, Caucasus Viceroyalty, Russian Empire (Now Georgia)
    Wednesday May 1, 1901
    Joseph Stalin

    May day 1901

    Tiflis, Tiflis Governorate, Caucasus Viceroyalty, Russian Empire (Now Georgia)
    Wednesday May 1, 1901

    Remaining underground, he helped plan a demonstration for May Day 1901, in which 3,000 marchers clashed with the authorities.


  • Kumrovec, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary (Now Croatia)
    Saturday May 1, 1909
    Josip Broz Tito

    May day

    Kumrovec, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary (Now Croatia)
    Saturday May 1, 1909

    During his apprenticeship he was encouraged to mark May Day in 1909, and read and sold Slobodna Reč (Free Word), a socialist newspaper.


  • Moldova (Then Bessarabia)
    Thursday May 1, 1919
    Hungarian–Romanian War

    Romania Was Ordered To Leave Bessarabia

    Moldova (Then Bessarabia)
    Thursday May 1, 1919

    On 1 May, Bolshevik Soviet Russian Foreign Minister Georgy Chicherin issued an ultimatum to the Romanian government. Romania was ordered to leave Bessarabia.


  • Tisza River, Hungary
    Thursday May 1, 1919
    Hungarian–Romanian War

    Romania controled The Entire East bank of The Tisza River

    Tisza River, Hungary
    Thursday May 1, 1919

    On the evening of 1 May the entire east bank of the Tisza River was under the control of the Romanian army.


  • Germany
    Monday May 1, 1933
    Joseph Goebbels

    Goebbels converted the 1 May holiday from a celebration of workers' rights into a day celebrating the NSDAP

    Germany
    Monday May 1, 1933

    Goebbels converted the 1 May holiday from a celebration of workers' rights (observed as such especially by the communists) into a day celebrating the NSDAP.


  • Yugoslavia
    Thursday May 1, 1941
    Josip Broz Tito

    Calling on the people to unite in a battle against the occupation

    Yugoslavia
    Thursday May 1, 1941

    On 1 May 1941, Tito issued a pamphlet calling on the people to unite in a battle against the occupation.


  • Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    Joseph Goebbels

    Vice-Admiral Voss saw Goebbels for the last time

    Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945

    Later on 1 May, Vice-Admiral Voss saw Goebbels for the last time: "... While saying goodbye I asked Goebbels to join us. But he replied: 'The captain must not leave his sinking ship. I have thought about it all and decided to stay here. I have nowhere to go because with little children I will not be able to make it, especially with a leg like mine.


  • Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    Joseph Goebbels

    Goebbels' letter informed Chuikov of Hitler's death

    Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945

    Goebbels carried out his sole official act as Chancellor. He dictated a letter to General Vasily Chuikov and ordered German General Hans Krebs to deliver it under a white flag. Goebbels' letter informed Chuikov of Hitler's death and requested a ceasefire. After this was rejected, Goebbels decided that further efforts were futile.


  • Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    Joseph Goebbels

    Goebbels arranged to eliminate his children by injected morphine

    Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945

    On the evening of 1 May, Goebbels arranged for an SS dentist, Helmut Kunz, to inject his six children with morphine so that when they were unconscious, an ampule of cyanide could be then crushed in each of their mouths.


  • Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    Joseph Goebbels

    Goebbels killed himself

    Berlin, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945

    Goebbels and Magda left the bunker and walked up to the garden of the Chancellery, where they killed themselves.


  • Obersalzberg, Berchtesgaden, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    11:00:00 PM
    Martin Bormann

    Bormann left the Führerbunker

    Obersalzberg, Berchtesgaden, Germany
    Tuesday May 1, 1945
    11:00:00 PM

    At around 11:00 pm on 1 May, Bormann left the Führerbunker with SS doctor Ludwig Stumpfegger, Hitler Youth leader Artur Axmann, and Hitler's pilot Hans Baur as members of one of the groups attempting to break out of the Soviet encirclement. Bormann carried with him a copy of Hitler's last will and testament.


  • U.S.S.R.
    Sunday May 1, 1960
    Dwight D. Eisenhower

    U.S. one-man U-2 spy plane was reportedly shot down at high altitude over Soviet airspace

    U.S.S.R.
    Sunday May 1, 1960

    On May 1, 1960, a U.S. one-man U-2 spy plane was reportedly shot down at high altitude over Soviet airspace. The flight was made to gain photo intelligence before the scheduled opening of an east-west summit conference, which had been scheduled in Paris, 15 days later.


  • Falklands
    Saturday May 1, 1982
    Falklands War

    Black Buck 1

    Falklands
    Saturday May 1, 1982

    On 1 May, British operations on the Falklands opened with the "Black Buck 1" attack (of a series of five) on the airfield at Stanley.


  • Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 1989
    Central Park Jogger Case

    Meili Aftermath

    Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 1989

    Meili was comatose for 12 days. She suffered severe hypothermia, severe brain damage, severe hemorrhagic shock, loss of 75–80 percent of her blood, and internal bleeding. Her skull had been fractured so badly that her left eye was dislodged from its socket, which in turn was fractured in 21 places, and she suffered as well from facial fractures.


  • Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 1989
    Central Park Jogger Case

    Donald Trump Action

    Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 1989

    On May 1, 1989, Donald Trump, the real estate magnate, called for the return of the death penalty in full-page advertisements published in all four of the city's major newspapers. Trump said he wanted the "criminals of every age" who were accused of beating and raping a jogger in Central Park 12 days earlier "to be afraid". The advertisement, which cost an estimated US$85,000 (equivalent to $172,000 in 2018).


  • Geneva, Switzerland
    Monday May 1, 1995
    World Trade Organization

    Renato Ruggiero

    Geneva, Switzerland
    Monday May 1, 1995

    Renato Ruggiero was an Italian politician. He was Director-General of the World Trade Organization from 1995 to 1999.


  • Maidenhead, England
    Thursday May 1, 1997
    Theresa May

    A Seat in Parliament

    Maidenhead, England
    Thursday May 1, 1997

    Ahead of the 1997 general election, May was selected as the Conservative candidate for Maidenhead, a new seat which was created from parts of the seats of Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. She was elected with 25,344 votes (49.8%), almost double the total of second-placed Andrew Terence Ketteringham of the Liberal Democrats, who took 13,363 votes (26.3%).


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday May 1, 2000
    International Monetary Fund

    Horst Köhler

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday May 1, 2000

    Köhler was appointed Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2000.


  • Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 2000
    Dwayne Johnson

    Johnson Successfully Defended His Title

    Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 2000

    The following night on Raw, Johnson successfully defended his title against Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage match.


  • White House, Washington D.C., U.S.
    Tuesday May 1, 2001
    September 11 (9/11) Attacks

    A Group presently in the United States

    White House, Washington D.C., U.S.
    Tuesday May 1, 2001

    On May 1, 2001, the CIA informed the White House that "a group presently in the United States" was in the process of planning a terrorist attack.


  • China
    Saturday May 1, 2004
    SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    New SARS infections in China

    China
    Saturday May 1, 2004

    On May 1, Two additional confirmed cases of SARS and three additional suspected cases were reported in Beijing, all related to a single research lab. The total number of cases was six.


  • Israel
    Sunday May 1, 2005
    Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

    Erdoğan's visit to Israel

    Israel
    Sunday May 1, 2005

    Erdoğan visited Israel on 1 May 2005, a gesture unusual for a leader of a Muslim majority country. During his trip, Erdoğan visited the Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.


  • Hong Kong, China
    Sunday May 1, 2005
    IBM

    Lenovo

    Hong Kong, China
    Sunday May 1, 2005

    On 1 May 2005, the company sold its personal computer business to the Chinese technology company Lenovo for US$1.25 billion.


  • Barcelona, Spain
    Sunday May 1, 2005
    Lionel Messi

    1st Goal

    Barcelona, Spain
    Sunday May 1, 2005

    Messi scored his first senior goal on 1 May 2005, against Albacete, from an assist by Ronaldinho, becoming – at that time – the youngest-ever scorer for the club.


  • Los Angeles, California, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 2006
    Kobe Bryant

    Bryant's second child

    Los Angeles, California, U.S.
    Monday May 1, 2006

    Bryant's second daughter, Gianna, was born in May 2006.


  • Pakistan
    Sunday May 1, 2011
    Barack Obama

    Bin Laden Death

    Pakistan
    Sunday May 1, 2011

    The operation took place on May 1, 2011, and resulted in the shooting death of bin Laden and the seizure of papers, computer drives and disks from the compound.


  • Abbottabad, Pakistan
    Sunday May 1, 2011
    September 11 (9/11) Attacks

    Bin Laden was killed by American Special Forces

    Abbottabad, Pakistan
    Sunday May 1, 2011

    After a 10-year manhunt, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden was killed by American special forces in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 1, 2011.


  • Barcelona, Spain
    Wednesday May 1, 2013
    Lionel Messi

    Heavy defeat

    Barcelona, Spain
    Wednesday May 1, 2013

    Messi was ineffective during the first leg against Bayern Munich and was unable to play at all during the second, as Barcelona were defeated 7–0 on aggregate by the eventual champions. The first leg was played at Aliens Arena and Bayern finished with "4:0" on 23 April 2013, while the second leg was played at Camp Nou and Bayern finished with "3:0" on 1 May 2013 as well.


  • New York City, New York, U.S.
    Thursday May 1, 2014
    New York Stock Exchange

    Market rules violation

    New York City, New York, U.S.
    Thursday May 1, 2014

    On May 1, 2014, the stock exchange was fined $4.5 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that it had violated market rules.


  • U.S.
    Tuesday May 1, 2018
    Xerox

    Resign as part of a deal

    U.S.
    Tuesday May 1, 2018

    On May 1, 2018, it was announced that Chairman Robert Keegan and CEO Jeff Jacobson and four other directors would resign as part of a deal with investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who had mounted a proxy fight to oppose the Fujifilm deal. On May 4, Xerox backed away from the deal after stipulations about ceasing litigation were not met.


  • Roman Republic (Present-Day Rome, Italy)
    Wednesday May 1, 475 BC
    Roman Republic

    Valerius was awarded a triumph for the victory

    Roman Republic (Present-Day Rome, Italy)
    Wednesday May 1, 475 BC

    Valerius was awarded a triumph for the victory, which he celebrated on 1 May.


  • Salvador
    Thursday May 1, 1625

    Capture of Salvador

    Salvador
    Thursday May 1, 1625

    The Portuguese and Spanish expedition took back the city of Salvador.


  • Holland
    Thursday May 1, 1625

    Frederick Henry appointed a viceroy

    Holland
    Thursday May 1, 1625

    The viceroy of Holland was appointed by Prince Frederick Henry.


  • Hawaii
    Thursday May 1, 1738

    Kamehameha I Birth

    Hawaii
    Thursday May 1, 1738

    Kamehameha I, King of Hawaii was born in Hawaii in 1738.


  • Guadeloupe
    Tuesday May 1, 1759

    Occupation of Guadeloupe (1759)

    Guadeloupe
    Tuesday May 1, 1759

    The British fleet captured Guadeloupe, the West Indies, from France.


  • Fox Mountain
    Tuesday May 1, 1759

    Jacob Albright Birth

    Fox Mountain
    Tuesday May 1, 1759

    The founder of Albright's People, Jacob Albright, was born in Fox Mountain, Pennsylvania.


  • Yorkshire
    Tuesday May 1, 1764

    Benjamin Latrobe Birth

    Yorkshire
    Tuesday May 1, 1764

    The American architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe was born in England in 1764.


  • Opavice
    Tuesday May 1, 1764

    Gottfried Rieger Birth

    Opavice
    Tuesday May 1, 1764

    The Czech composer, Gottfried Rieger, was born in the Czech Republic in 1764.


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