History of 1 May
1905 – In New York, radium was tested as a cure for cancer.
1912 – In London’s Kensington Gardens, a statue of Peter Pan was erected.
1915 – A German submarine sank the U.S. ship Gulflight.
1922 – Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect no-hit, no-run game against the Detroit Tigers. The Sox won 3-0. Another perfect game did not come along until 46 years later.
1927 – Adolf Hitler held his first Nazi meeting in Berlin.
1931 – The Empire State Building in New York was dedicated and opened. It was 102 stories tall and was the tallest building in the world at the time.
1934 – The Philippine legislature accepted a U.S. proposal for independence.
1937 – U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signed an act of neutrality, keeping the United States out of World War II.
1941 – “Citizen Kane,” directed and starring Orson Welles, premiered in New York.
1944 – The Messerschmitt Me 262, the first combat jet, made its first flight.
1945 – Martin Bormann, private secretary to Adolf Hitler, escaped from the Fuehrerbunker as the Red Army advanced on Berlin.
1945 – Admiral Karl Doenitz succeeded Hitler as leader of the Third Reich. This was one day after Hitler committed suicide.
1948 – The People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was proclaimed.
1950 – Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry called Annie Allen.
1952 – Production of Mr. Potato Head began.
1958 – James Van Allen reported that two radiation belts encircled Earth.
1960 – Francis Gary Powers’ U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Powers was taken, prisoner.
1961 – Fidel Castro announced there would be no more elections in Cuba.
1967 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle became president of Nicaragua.
1968 – In the second day of battle, U.S. Marines, with the support of naval fire, continue their attack on a North Vietnamese Division at Dai Do.
1969 – Leonard Tose bought the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles for $16,155,000.
1970 – Students at Kent State University riot in downtown Kent, OH, in protest of the American invasion of Cambodia.
1971 – The National Railroad Passenger Corp. (Amtrak) went into service. It was established by the U.S. Congress to run the nation’s intercity railroads.
1981 – The Japanese government announced that it would limit passenger car exports to the United States over the next three years.
1986 – The Tass News Agency reported the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.
1986 – Bill Elliott set a stock car speed record with his Ford Thunderbird in Talladega, AL. Elliott reached a speed of 212.229 mph.
1989 – Disney-MGM Studios opened.
Disney movies, music, and books
1992 – On the third day of the Los Angeles riots resulting from the Rodney King beating trial. King appeared in public to appeal for calm, he asked, “Can we all get along?”
1998 – Arrow Air was fined $5 million for using spare parts that lacked federal approval in the U.S.
1999 – On Mount Everest, a group of U.S. mountain climbers discovered the body of George Mallory. Mallory had died in June of 1924 while trying to become the first person to reach the summit of Everest. At the time of the discovery, it was unclear whether or not Mallory had actually reached the summit.
2000 – ABC aired the first celebrity “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
2000 – The “Barbie for President” doll was released in stores.
2001 – Chandra Levy was last seen in Washington, DC. Her remains were found in Rock Creek Park on May 22, 2002. California Congressman Gary Condit was questioned in the case due to his relationship with Levy.
2011 – U.S. President Barack Obama announced that U.S. soldiers had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.
2019 – Naxalite attack in Gadchiroli district: 16 army soldiers, including a driver, killed in an IED blast. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Manny Acosta, Panamanian baseball player
- 1981 – Derek Asamoah, Ghanaian footballer
- 1981 – Alexander Hleb, Belarusian footballer
- 1981 – Wes Welker, American football player
- 1982 – Beto, Portuguese footballer
- 1982 – Jamie Dornan, Northern Irish model, and actor
- 1982 – Mark Farren, Irish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1982 – Katya Zamolodchikova, American drag queen
- 1982 – Tommy Robredo, a Spanish tennis player
- 1982 – Darijo Srna, Croatian footballer
- 1983 – Alain Bernard, French swimmer
- 1983 – Human Tornado, American wrestler
- 1983 – Park Hae-jin, South Korean actor
- 1984 – David Backes, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Miso Brecko, Slovenian footballer
- 1984 – Patrick Eaves, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Alexander Farnerud, Swedish footballer
- 1984 – Farah Fath, American actress
- 1984 – Keiichiro Koyama, Japanese singer, and actor
- 1984 – Víctor Montaño, Colombian footballer
- 1984 – Mark Seaby, Australian footballer
- 1985 – Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1986 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1986 – Adam Casey, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Jesse Klaver, Dutch politician
- 1986 – Lee Chang-min, South Korean singer
- 1986 – Brent Stanton, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Leonardo Bonucci, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Glen Coffee, American football player
- 1987 – Iván DeJesus Jr., Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1987 – Marcus Drum, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Amir Johnson, American basketball player
- 1987 – Ryan Mathews, American football player
- 1987 – Saidi Ntibazonkiza, Burundian footballer
- 1987 – Shahar Peer, an Israeli tennis player
- 1988 – Maria Balaban, Latvian figure skater
- 1988 – Maxim Gustik, Belarusian freestyle skier
- 1988 – Teodor Peterson, Swedish cross-country skier
- 1989 – Alejandro Arribas, Spanish footballer
- 1989 – Poļina Jeļizarova, Latvian runner
- 1990 – Uriel Álvarez, Mexican footballer
- 1990 – Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress
- 1990 – Diego Contento, German footballer
- 1990 – Scooter Gennett, American baseball player
- 1991 – Marcus Stroman, American baseball player
- 1991 – Daniel Talbot, British sprinter
- 1992 – Trevor Philp, Canadian alpine skier
- 1992 – Bradley Roby, American football player
- 1993 – Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, French footballer
- 1994 – Wallace, Brazilian footballer
- 1995 – Collin Seedorf, Dutch footballer
- 1996 – Christopher J. Alexis Jr., Grenadian road cyclist
- 1996 – Daniel Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
- 1996 – Jacob Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
- 1996 – Michael Seaton, Jamaican footballer