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- 0305 Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor.
- 1045 Gregory VI is appointed Pope.
- 1048 Bishop Bernold flees St Pieterskerk for Utrecht Netherlands
- 1171 Death - Dermot MacMurrough last Irish king of Leinster, dies
- 1238 Birth - Magnus VI Lagabuter King of Norway (1263-80)
- 1245 Birth - Philippe III Poissy Yvelines France, King of France (1270-85)
- 1277 Death - Stefanus IV Uros I de Great King of Serbia (1243-76), dies
- 1308 Death - Albrecht I van Habsburg German King (1298-1308), murdered
- 1394 Ekiho, exorcised the Zen temple & it's surroundings from an old badger
- 1447 Death - Louis VII Duke of Baveria (1413-43), dies
- 1456 Death - Hugues de Lannoy Flemish viceroy of Holland/Zealand, dies
- 1471 Death - Thomas a Kempis spiritual writer (Navolging of Christ), dies at 91
- 1493 Birth - Phillippus Paracelsus Switzerland, physician/alchemist
- 1523 Danish king Christian III arrives in Veere
- 1528 Pánfilo the Narvaéz begins exploration to with 350 men to Florida
- 1544 Turkish troops occupy Hungary
- 1545 Birth - Franciscus Junius [Franois du Jon], French/Netherlands calvinist theologist
- 1551 Council of Trente resumes
- 1555 Death - Marcellus II [Marcello Cervini] Italian Pope (1555), dies at 53
- 1567 Birth - Michiel Jansz van Mierevelt Dutch royal painter
- 1572 Death - Pius V [Antonio Ghislieri] great-inquisiteur/Pope (1566-72), dies
- 1576 Stefan Batory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, marries Anna Jagiellon and they become the co-rulers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- 1577 Birth - Franois van Kinschot Dutch treasurer
- 1582 Birth - Marco da Gagliano Italian opera composer
- 1592 Birth - Johann A Schall von Bell German missionaries/astronomer
- 1598 Jacob van Necks merchant fleet departs for Java
- 1625 Portuguese & Spanish expedition recaptures Salvador (Bahia)
- 1628 Meiboom in Quincy MA degenerates into orgy with Indian women
- 1633 Birth - Sbastien le Prestre de Vauban French fortress architect
- 1672 Birth - Joseph Addison England, essayist (Spectator)
- 1679 Death - Esaias Reusner composer, dies at 43
- 1682 Louis XIV & his court inaugurate Paris Observatory
- 1700 Death - John Dryden English poet/playwright (Rival Ladies), dies
- 1703 Battle at Rultusk: Swedish army beats Russians
- 1703 Death - Kiva Yoshinaka Japanese monarch, murdered
- 1704 Boston Newsletter publishes first newspaper ad
- 1707 England, Wales & Scotland form UK of Great Britain
- 1707 The Act of Union joins the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
- 1711 Arch duke Karel of Austria/Hungarian rebellion sign Peace of Szatmar
- 1725 Spain & Austria sign trade treaty
- 1733 Death - Nicolas Coustou French sculptor (San), dies at 75
- 1735 Birth - John H van Kinsbergen Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral/founder of Dutch Marines Corps
- 1751 The first cricket match is played in America.
- 1753 Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
- 1757 Austria & France divide Prussia
- 1759 Birth - Jacob Albright [Albrecht], German/US predictor
- 1759 British fleet occupies Guadeloupe, West-Indies, on France
- 1764 Birth - Benjamin Henry Latrobe engineer/architect (built Capitol)
- 1764 Birth - Gottfried Rieger composer
- 1769 Birth - Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington, British PM (C) (1828-30)
- 1770 Forby Sutherland is laid to rest at Botany Bay. He is the first European to be buried in New South Wales.
- 1771 Birth - George Guest composer
- 1772 Death - Gottfried Achenwall German lawyer/statistics/economist, dies at 52
- 1775 Birth - Jacob-Joseph-Balthasar Martinn composer
- 1776 Adam Weishaupt founds the secret society of Illuminati
- 1776 Establishment of the Illuminati in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt.
- 1781 Emperor Jozef II decrees protection of population
- 1786 Mozart's opera "Marriage of Figaro" premieres in Wien (Vienna)
- 1786 Opening night of the opera The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna, Italy.
- 1786 Wolfgang Mozart premieres his opera, The Marriage of Figaro, in Vienna
- 1800 Birth - Ret Thomas Aloysius Dornin Commander (Union Navy), died in 1874
- 1807 Birth - John Bankhead "Prince John" Magruder Major General (Confederate Army)
- 1818 Birth - Jos Amador de los Ros Spanish historian/poet
- 1819 Birth - William Steele Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1885
- 1822 John Phillips becomes first mayor of Boston
- 1825 Birth - George Inness US landscape painter ("Delaware Water Gap")
- 1829 Birth - Jos M de Alencar Brazilian writer/minister of Justice
- 1830 Birth - Mary Harris Jones [Mother Jones], hell-raiser
- 1831 Death - Antonius van Alphen apostle vicar of De Bosch, dies at 82
- 1833 The passenger ship Lady of the Lake sinks after striking an iceberg
- 1834 The British colonies abolish slavery.
- 1835 Birth - Alfred Napoleon Alexander "Natti" Duffie Brigadier General (Union volunteers)
- 1839 Birth - Chardonnet inventor (rayon)
- 1840 The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, was issued in the United Kingdom.
- 1840 The first adhesive postage stamps ("Penny Blacks" from England) issued
- 1841 The first emigrant wagon train leaves Independence MO for California
- 1844 Samuel Morse sends first telegraphic message
- 1844 Whig convention nominates Henry Clay as presidential candidate
- 1846 Ida Pfeiffer (48) begins trip around world
- 1848 The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta was founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
- 1850 John Geary becomes first San Fransisco mayor
- 1851 Birth - Eberhard Nestle German orintalist/biblical scholar
- 1851 Great Exhibition opens in London's Hyde Park, at Crystal Palace
- 1851 The Great Exhibition opens in London by Queen Victoria.
- 1852 Birth - Calamity [Martha] Jane [Burke] frontier adventurer/Indian fighter
- 1853 Argentina adopts it's constitution
- 1857 William Walker, conqueror of Nicaragua, surrenders to US Navy
- 1858 Birth - Anthony Johnson Showalter composer
- 1859 Birth - Bohuslav Jeremias composer
- 1859 Birth - Willem J Leyds Dutch/South Africa lawyer/politician/diplomat
- 1861 Lee orders Confederate troops under T J Jackson to Harper's Ferry
- 1862 Birth - Anthony G Krller entrepreneur/government advisor/husband of Helene Mller
- 1862 Birth - Marcel Prvost French publisher/writer (Les demis-vierges)
- 1862 Union captain David Farragut conquers New Orleans
- 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville VA (29,000 injured or died)
- 1863 Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi
- 1863 Confederate "National Flag" replaces "Stars & Bars"
- 1863 Confederate congress passed resolution to kill black soldiers
- 1863 Death - Edward Dorr Tracy US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 29
- 1864 Atlanta campaign, Georgia
- 1864 Battle at Alexandria LA (Red River Campaign)
- 1864 Wilderness campaign
- 1866 American Equal Rights Association forms
- 1867 Reconstruction of South begins, black voter registration
- 1869 "Folies-Bergère" opens in Paris France
- 1869 A colt is reported killed by a meteorite near New Concord OH
- 1869 Death - ? colt reported killed by a meteorite near New Concord OH
- 1869 The Folies Bergre opens in Paris.
- 1870 Death - Francisco Solano Lpez fieldmarshal/President of Paraguay
- 1872 Birth - Hugo Alfvn Stockholm Sweden, composer (Midsommarvaka)
- 1872 Death - Amalia princess of Weimar/wife of prince Hendrik the Navigator, dies
- 1873 Death - David Livingstone British physician/explorer (Africa), dies at 60
- 1873 Emperor Franz Jozef opens 5th World's Fair in Wien (Vienna)
- 1873 The first US postal card issued
- 1874 Death - Vilem Blodek composer, dies at 39
- 1875 238 members of "Whiskey Ring" accused of anti-US activities
- 1876 Visitor posting - Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India - United Kingdom
- 1880 Birth - Conrad Weiss German writer/poet (Tantum dic verbo)
- 1881 Birth - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin France, philosopher/paleontologist
- 1883 "Buffalo Bill" Cody put on his first Wild West Show
- 1883 Amsterdam World's Fair opens
- 1884 Birth - Felipe Boero composer
- 1884 Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States.
- 1885 Maria "Goeie Mie" Swanenburg sentence to life for killing 27 in Netherlands
- 1886 Death - Conrad Busken Huet writer (Country of Rubens)
- 1886 Death - Heinrich Franz Daniel Stiehl composer, dies at 56
- 1886 The start of the general strike which eventually wins the eight-hour workday in the United States. These events are today commemorated as May Day or Labor Day in most industrialized countries.
- 1886 US general strike for 8 hour day, begins
- 1887 Birth - Alan Gordon Cunningham Irish/British general/director of Palestine (1945-48)
- 1889 Bayer introduces aspirin in powder form (Germany)
- 1892 Birth - Howard Barlow Plain City OH, conductor (Voice of Firestone)
- 1892 Death - Willem A Scholten manufacturer (potatoes), dies at 89
- 1892 US Quarantine Station opens on Angel Island, San Fransisco Bay
- 1893 The World's Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago.
- 1893 World Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago
- 1895 Birth - Leo Sowerby Grand Rapids MI, composer (Pulitzer 1946)
- 1896 Death - Naser ed-Din shah of Persia (1848-96), murdered at 65
- 1898 Birth - Eugene R Black US, President of World Bank (1953-62)
- 1898 Death - Alphonse Wauters Belgian historian, dies at 81
- 1898 George Dewey commands, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley" as US route Spanish fleet at Manila
- 1899 Birth - Jn Leifs Iceland, composer/conductor
- 1900 Birth - Ignazio Silone Italy, novelist/politician (Bread and Wine)
- 1900 Death - Mihly von Munkcsy [Michael von Lieb], German painter, dies at 56
- 1900 Premature blast collapses mine tunnel killing 200 at Scofield UT
- 1900 The Scofield mine disaster kills 200 in Scofield, Utah in the now fifth-worst mining accident in United States history.
- 1901 Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo
- 1901 The Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo, New York.
- 1902 Death - John Glover English chemist (production sulfuric acid), dies at 85
- 1903 Death - Arthur Haygarth cricketer (compiler of "Scores & Biographies"), dies
- 1903 Death - Luigi Arditi violist/composer, dies at 80
- 1904 Death - Antonn Dvorak Czechoslovakia, composer (Slavic Dancing), dies at 62
- 1905 Birth - Leila Hyams New York NY, actress (Big House, Ruggles of Red Gap)
- 1905 Birth - Nikolai Tikhonov Soviet PM (1980-85)
- 1907 Belgian Government of De Trooz forms
- 1907 Birth - Jan Pauw CEO (Aruban Theater Group)
- 1907 Birth - Kate Smith Greenville AL, singer (God Bless America)/Philadelphia Flyer luck charm
- 1907 Indian Mine Laws passes (concessions from Netherlands-Indies)
- 1908 Birth - Giovanni Guareschi Italian writer (Don Camillo, Peppone)
- 1908 World's most intense rain shower (2.47" in 3 minutes) at Portobelo Panama
- 1909 Birth - Ethel Jane Cain original UK Speaking Clock voice
- 1909 Birth - George Melachrino composer
- 1909 Birth - Yannis Ritsos Greek poet
- 1909 Netherlands begins unity with Belgium
- 1909 Prohibition goes into effect in Ontario.
- 1910 Birth - Cliff Battles Akron OH, NFL hall of famer (Braves, Redskins)
- 1912 Beverly Hills Hotel opens
- 1912 Birth - Anna Pollak mezzo-soprano
- 1912 Birth - Felipe Padilla de Leon composer
- 1912 Canada issues first five-dollar bank note.
- 1913 Birth - Walter Susskind Praha (Prague) Czechoslovakia, conductor
- 1913 The Australian Government releases the first commonwealth banknote – ten shillings.
- 1914 China's first president Yuan Shikai wins dictatorial qualification
- 1915 British Lusitania leaves New York, for Liverpool
- 1915 German submarine sinks US ship Gulflight
- 1915 RMS Lusitania departs New York City on her two hundred and second and final crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives, including 128 Americans, rousing American sentiment against Germany.
- 1916 Birth - Glenn Ford Qubec Canada, actor (Cade's County, Big Heat, Midway)
- 1916 Birth - Jack Parr Canton OH, TV host (Jack Paar Show)
- 1916 Birth - Jane Jacobs Scranton PA, urbanologist
- 1917 Birth - Danielle Darrieux France, actress (Alexander the Great, Mayerling)
- 1917 Birth - John Beradino Los Angeles CA, actor (Steve Hardy-General Hospital)
- 1917 Birth - Louis G "Lo" van Hensbergen actor/author (Amsterdam Affair)
- 1917 Death - Jos E Rodo Uruguayan writer (Motivos de proteo), dies
- 1919 Birth - Alwyn Farquharson Scottish clan-captain/large landowner
- 1919 Birth - Dan O'Herlihy Ireland, actor (Fail Safe, Last Starfighter, Robocop)
- 1919 Mount Kelud (Indonesia) erupts, boiling crater lake which broke through crater wall killing 5,000 people in 104 small villages
- 1919 Mount Kelud erupts in Indonesia, killing 5,000 people.
- 1920 Belgian-Luxembourg toll tunnel opens
- 1921 Birth - 12th Lord Middleton English large landowner/multi-millionaire
- 1921 Birth - Paul Daels president (Flemish Iron Pilgrimage committee)
- 1921 Death - Louis Campbell-Tipton composer, dies at 43
- 1921 Drusian sultan Pasja al-Atrasj elected Governor of Suwayda
- 1922 Birth - Louis Nye Hartford CT, comedian (Steve Allen, Happy Days)
- 1923 Birth - Joseph Heller Brooklyn NY, novelist (Catch-22, 1963 Arts & Letters Award)
- 1924 Admiral Paul Koundouriótis becomes President of Greece
- 1924 Birth - Art Fleming Bronx NY, TV host (Jeopardy)
- 1924 Birth - Earl George composer
- 1924 Birth - Enrico Josif composer
- 1924 Birth - Patricia Roberts Harris 1st US black woman cabinet member
- 1924 Birth - Terry Southern writer
- 1924 Death - August Cuppens Flemish author (Limburgs Driemanschap), dies at 62
- 1925 Birth - Chuck Bednarik Pennsylvania, NFL hall of fame center/linebacker (Philadelphia)
- 1925 Birth - Malcolm Scott Carpenter Boulder CO, astronaut (Mercury 7-Aurora 7)
- 1925 Cyprus becomes a British Crown Colony
- 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.
- 1926 British coal-miners go on strike
- 1926 Death - Nicolaus Adriani translator (Middle-Celebes Language), dies at 60
- 1926 Satchel Paige makes pitching debut in Negro Southern League
- 1927 Birth - Greta Andersen Denmark, 100 meter freestyle swimmer (Olympics-gold-1948)
- 1927 Birth - Harry [Harold George Jr] Belafonte New York NY, calypso singer (The Banana Boat Song)
- 1927 Birth - Israr Ali cricket pace bowler (Pakistan in 4 Tests 1952-59)
- 1927 Birth - Lord Bathurst English earl/large landowner/multi-millionaire
- 1927 Birth - Roland Verhavert Flemish screen writer (Sea Gulls Die in the Harbor)
- 1927 Birth - William Mitchell Byers musician
- 1927 The Union Labor Life Insurance Company is founded by the American Federation of Labor.
- 1927 The first British airliner to serve cooked meals (Imperial Airways)
- 1927 The first cooked meals on a scheduled flight are introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris.
- 1928 6 children die & 10 injured by hailstones in Klausenburg, Romania
- 1928 Birth - Raoul Servais Belgian cartoonist/president (l'ASIFA)
- 1928 Drunken fascist Erich Wichman attacks VARA-radio transmitter
- 1928 Lei Day begun (a Hawaiian celebration)
- 1928 Pitcairn Airlines (later Eastern) begins service
- 1929 Birth - Sonny James [James Loden] Hackelburg AL, rocker (Young Love)
- 1929 Birth - Sonny Ramadhin cricket spin bowler (great West Indies spin bowler)
- 1929 Farm workers strike begins in East-Groningen
- 1929 In Iran a 7.4 earthquake resulted in 3,300 deaths. One of the world's deadliest earthquakes.
- 1929 Police kill 19 Mayday demonstrators in Berlin
- 1930 Birth - Little Walter [Marion Walter Jacobs] rocker
- 1930 Birth - Ollie Matson NFL halfback (Cardinals, Rams, Lions, Eagles)
- 1930 Bradman scores 236 Australia vs Worcestershire, his first f-class innings in England
- 1930 The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named.
- 1931 Empire State Building opens in New York NY
- 1931 Norway claims Peter I Island
- 1931 Singer Kate Smith begins her long-running radio program on CBS
- 1931 The 102-story Empire State Building is dedicated today in New York City
- 1931 The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
- 1932 Death - Paul Doumer President of France (1931-32), assassinated by Russia's Paul Gargalov
- 1932 First Suriname union congress at Paramaribo
- 1933 Birth - Joan Hackett East Harlem New York NY, actress (Defenders, Another Day)
- 1933 Birth - Uwe Gremann writer
- 1934 "Der Sturmer's" special 14-page issue accuses Jews of using Christian blood in their Passover baking and in other Judaic rituals.
- 1934 Austria signs pact with Vatican
- 1934 Birth - Alette Beaujon Curaaos poet (Gedichten on the Bay & Elsewhere)
- 1934 Death - Alexander Alexandrovich Davidenko composer, dies at 35
- 1934 Philippine legislature accepts US proposal for independence
- 1935 Boulder Dam completed
- 1935 Canada's first silver dollar is circulated
- 1935 Royal Canadian Mint circulates Canada's first silver dollar, to commemorate the silver jubilee of the reign of George V
- 1936 FBI's J Edgar Hoover arrests Alvin Karpis
- 1937 Birth - Bo Nilsson Swedish composer (Doppelspiel)
- 1937 Death - Snitz Edwards actor (Phantom of the Opera, College), dies at 75
- 1937 FDR signs act of neutrality
- 1939 Batman Comics hit the street
- 1939 Birth - Judy Collins Seattle WA, singer (Send in the Clowns, Both Sides Now, Clouds)
- 1939 Birth - Max Robinson Richmond VA, black news anchor (ABC Evening News)
- 1939 Birth - Ray Aranha Miami FL, actor (Nick-Married People)
- 1939 Death - Wilhelm Normann German chemist (harden van olin), dies
- 1939 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (The Yearling)
- 1940 140 Palestinian Jews die as German planes bomb their ship
- 1940 The 1940 Olympics are cancelled
- 1940 The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled due to war.
- 1941 "Citizen Kane", directed by & starring Orson Welles, premieres in New York
- 1941 Allied evacuation from Greece completed
- 1941 Birth - Barbara Barendrecht [BHM Wurfbain], actress (Dirty Picture)
- 1941 Birth - Juraj Hatrick composer
- 1941 Death - John R Locksmith de Brown vicar/CHU-politician, dies at 71
- 1941 General Mills introduces Cheerios
- 1941 German assault on Tobruk
- 1941 Orson Welles stars in Citizen Kane, premiering today in New York, NY
- 1941 Orson Welles's Citizen Kane premieres in New York City.
- 1942 Birth - Stephen Macht Philadelphia PA, actor (Joe-Knots Landing, Cagney & Lacey)
- 1942 Japanese forces take Mandalay, Burma, in World War II while British retreat along Chindwin Valley to India.
- 1942 Radio Orange calls to defy order to wear "Jewish star"
- 1942 Townsville put on invasion alert
- 1943 Birth - Joy Harmon St Louis MO, actress (Cool Hand Luke)
- 1943 Final assault on Tunis by Allied troops begins.
- 1943 Food rationing begins in US
- 1943 German Wehrmacht deployed in order to break Dutch strikes
- 1943 German plane sinks boat loaded with Palestinian Jews bound for Malta
- 1944 Birth - Rita Coolidge Nashville TN, singer (Higher & Higher, We're All Alone)
- 1944 Pulitzer prize awarded to Martin Flavin (Journey in the Dark)
- 1944 Surprise attack on Weteringschans Amsterdam, fails
- 1945 900 occupiers of Demmin Vorpommeren commit suicide
- 1945 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".
- 1945 Admiral Karl Doenitz forms German government
- 1945 Australia's 26th Brigade troops invade Tarakan on Borneo's east coast
- 1945 Australian & Dutch troops lands on Tarakan
- 1945 Death - Desider Antalffy-Zsiross Hungarian organist/composer, dies at 59
- 1945 Death - Paul Josef Goebbels Nazi minister on propoganda, commits suicide
- 1945 General Belgian Labor Union (ABVV) party forms
- 1945 Radio Budapest, Hungary re-enters shortwave broadcasting after WWII
- 1945 Seys-Inquart flees to Flensburg
- 1945 Soviet army reach Rostock
- 1945 Soviet troops raise the Soviet Flag over the Reichstag, in Berlin.
- 1946 Birth - Bruce Robinson actor (Story of Adele H)
- 1946 Birth - Jerry Weiss New York NY, rocker (Blood Sweat & Tears)
- 1946 Birth - Joanna Lumley Kashmir India, actress (Ab Fab, On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
- 1946 Birth - Nick Fortune [Nicholas Fortuna], rock bassist (Buckinghams Chicago)
- 1946 Birth - Tony Ashton rocker
- 1946 Death - Edward Cuthbert Bairstow composer, dies at 71
- 1946 Death - Percy William Whitlock composer, dies at 42
- 1946 Fieldmarshal Montgomery appointed British supreme commander
- 1946 Mrs Emma Clarissa Clement named "American Mother of the Year"
- 1946 Start of 3 year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
- 1946 The Paris Peace Conference decided that the islands of the Dodecanese are to return to Greece by the Italians.
- 1947 Birth - Carlos Ward rocker (B T Express)
- 1947 Birth - Ghulam Abbas cricketer (scored 12 & 0 in only Test for Pakistan 1967)
- 1947 Death - Sanner leader of Norger blood bath, executed
- 1947 Lieutenant General Hoyt S Vandenberg, USA, ends term as 2nd head of CIA
- 1947 Radar for commercial & private planes first demonstrated
- 1947 Rear Admiral Roscoe H Hillenkoetter, USN, becomes 3th director of the CIA
- 1948 Birth - James Wise US soul singer (Archie Bell & the Drells)
- 1948 Death - Christos Ladas Greek minister of Justice, murdered
- 1948 Glenn Taylor, Idaho Senator, arrested in Birmingham AL for trying to enter a meeting through a door marked "for Negroes"
- 1948 North Korea proclaims itself People's Democratic Republic of Korea
- 1948 The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is established, with Kim Il-sung as president.
- 1949 Birth - Douglas Barr Cedar Rapids IA, actor (Howie-The Fall Guy)
- 1949 Birth - Margo Miller San Fransisco CA, fencer-epee (Olympics-96)
- 1949 Gerard Kuiper discovers Nereid, (2nd satellite of Neptune)
- 1950 Birth - Marina Stepanova Russian hurdler (world record 1986)
- 1950 Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth.
- 1950 Mayor of Brussels reluctantly bans May Day parade
- 1950 New marriage laws enforced in People's Republic China
- 1951 600,000 march for peace & freedom in Germany
- 1951 Birth - Gordon Greenidge cricketer (great West Indian opener 1974-91)
- 1951 Dutch Reformed Church introduces new church choir
- 1951 Mickey Mantle's first homerun
- 1951 The 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade Group sent to join United Nations forces in Korea.
- 1952 Death - William Fox [Fried] US film pioneer (Nickelodeon), dies at 73
- 1952 Marines take part in an atomic explosion training in Nevada
- 1952 Mr Potato Head, introduced
- 1952 TWA introduces tourist class
- 1953 Birth - Elquemedo Willett cricketer (West Indies lefty spinner early 70's)
- 1953 Birth - Felix Hanemann rocker (Zebra)
- 1953 Birth - Mindy Moore LPGA golfer
- 1954 Birth - Michael Scott reporter (Entertainment Tonight)
- 1954 Birth - Ray Parker Jr Detroit MI, rock guitarist/vocalist (Ghostbusters-Who You Gonna Call?)
- 1954 Birth - Taslim Arif cricketer (Pakistan keeper/batsman, 210 vs Australia 1980)
- 1954 Death - Tom Tyler actor (Lost Ranch, Coyote Trails), dies at 50
- 1954 HSA-UWC Established (Unification Church) (The Moonies)
- 1955 Birth - Julien Wiener cricketer (Australian opening batsman 1979-80)
- 1956 A doctor in Japan reports an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.
- 1956 Birth - Byron Stewart Baxter Springs KS, actor (Warren Coolidge-St Elsewhere)
- 1956 The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
- 1957 Birth - Dick Swett (Representative-D-NH)
- 1957 Birth - Paul D Ronney Los Angeles CA, ScD/astronaut (STS 83 alternate)
- 1957 Birth - Rick Darling cricketer (accident-prone/dashing Aussie opener 1978-79)
- 1957 Birth - Steve Farris rock guitarist (Mr Mister)
- 1957 Death - Grant Mitchell actor (Great Lie, Laura, Cairo, Conflict), dies at 82
- 1957 Larry King's first radio broadcast
- 1957 US give Poland credit of $95 million
- 1957 Vanguard TV-1 booster test reaches 195 km
- 1958 Ambonese rebellion bombed Ambon/conquer Morotai
- 1958 Arturo Frondizi sworn in as President of Argentina
- 1958 Birth - John Diehl Cincinnati OH, actor (Detective Zito-Miami Vice)
- 1959 Birth - Eddie Johnson NBA guard/forward (Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers)
- 1959 Birth - Paul Smith rock saxophonist (Haircut 100)
- 1959 Death - Oscar Torp Norwegian premier, dies
- 1959 Floyd Patterson KOs Brian London in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
- 1959 Streetcars in Ottawa replaced by buses.
- 1959 West Germany introduces 5 day work week
- 1960 Birth - Albert McDonald Dartmouth Nova Scotia, US canoe (alternate-Olympics-96)
- 1960 CIA agent Francis Gary Powers, piloting an American U-2 reconnaissance plane, is shot down over the Soviet Union near Sverdiovsk
- 1960 Cold War: U-2 Crisis Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking off a diplomatic crisis.
- 1960 Formation of western Indian state,Maharashtra.
- 1960 India's Bombay state split into Gujarat & Maharashtra states
- 1960 Pancho Gonzalez retires from tennis
- 1961 Birth - Charlie O'Brien Tulsa OK, catcher (Brewers, Mets, Braves, Blue Jays)
- 1961 Birth - Steven Cauthen jockey (1978 Kentucky Derby-Affirmed)
- 1961 Fidel Castro announces there will be no more elections in Cuba
- 1961 Tanganyika granted full internal self-government by Britain
- 1961 The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
- 1962 Birth - Gary Clark NFL wide receiver (Miami Dolphins)
- 1962 Birth - Paula Weishoff Hollywood CA, volleyballer (Olympics-silver-84, bronze-92, 96)
- 1962 Birth - Reggie Pleasant CFL cornerback (Edmonton Eskimos)
- 1962 JFK authorizes Area Redevelopment Act (ARA)
- 1962 The first French underground nuclear experiment in the Sahara
- 1963 Birth - Robert Seguso Minneapolis MN, tennis star
- 1963 Indonesia takes control of Irian Jaya (west New Guinea) from Netherlands
- 1963 The first American (James Whittaker) conquers Mount Everest
- 1964 Birth - Bruno Ravel Paris France, rocker (Danger Danger-Screw It)
- 1964 Birth - Carlos Aalbers Dutch soccer player (NEC)
- 1964 Birth - Ruth Picardie journalist
- 1964 Birth - Sarah FE Armstrong-Jones daughter of princess Margaret & Lord Snowdon
- 1964 The first BASIC program runs on a computer (Dartmouth)
- 1965 Battle of Dong-Yin, a naval conflict between ROC and PRC.
- 1965 Birth - Jon Warren Akron OH, 1.5k runner
- 1965 Death - Leo Spies composer, dies at 65
- 1965 Death - Spike Jones composer (Spike Jones Show), dies at 53
- 1965 USSR launches Luna 5; later impacts on Moon
- 1966 Birth - Armando Reynoso San Luis Potosi Mxico, pitcher (Colorado Rockies)
- 1966 Birth - Charlie Schlatter New York NY, actor (18 Again, Heartbreak Hotel)
- 1966 Birth - Johnny Colt Cherry Point NC, rock bassist (Black Crowes-Shake Your Money Maker)
- 1966 Birth - Mark Coogan Manhaset NY, marathoner (Olympics-96)
- 1966 First tournament of the Society for Creative Anachronism.
- 1966 Last British concert by the Beatles (Empire Pool in Wembley)
- 1966 Radio RSA, South Africa begins shortwave transmitting
- 1966 US troops shooting targets in Cambodia
- 1967 Anastasio Somoza Debayle becomes President of Nicaragua
- 1967 Birth - Bill Schultz NFL/WLAF offensive tackle (Denver Broncos, Scot Claymores)
- 1967 Birth - Marvcus Patton NFL linebacker (Washington Redskins)
- 1967 Birth - Scott Coffey Hawaii, actor (Satisfaction, Shout)
- 1967 Birth - Tawni Cable Salem OR, playmate (June 1989)
- 1967 Birth - Yael Arad Israel, Women's half middleweight judoka (Olympics-1996)
- 1967 Elvis Presley & Pricilla Beaulieu wed in Las Vegas
- 1967 In Greece a 5.75-6.0 earthquake in the mountainous area of northern Arta Province, 9 were killed, 56 injured, and over 100 houses destroyed
- 1967 Jelle Zijlstra becomes president of Netherlands Bank
- 1967 Singer Elvis Presley marries Priscilla Beaulieu in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 1968 Birth - Anton Scheutjens soccer player (Roda JC)
- 1968 Birth - Lisa Campbell Victoria Australia, badminton player (Olympics-96)
- 1968 Birth - Mark Scott Paramus NJ, rock drummer (Trixter-Give It To Me Good)
- 1968 Death - Harold G Nicolson English author (English sense of humor), dies at 71
- 1969 43 Unification church couples wed in NYC
- 1969 Birth - Billy Owens NBA forward/guard (Sacramento Kings)
- 1969 Birth - Bryan Marchment Scarborough, NHL defenseman (Edmonton Oilers)
- 1969 Birth - Carrie Stevens Buffalo NY, playmate (June 1997)
- 1969 Birth - Roy Rosello singer (Menudo-Cannonball)
- 1969 Death - Ella Logan actress (52nd Street, Woman Chases Man), dies at 56
- 1969 Death - George Parker cricketer (2 Tests for South Africa 1924), dies
- 1969 Pirate Radio Station 259 (England/France) begins transmitting
- 1970 Birth - Alex Van Pelt NFL quarterback (Buffalo Bills)
- 1970 Birth - Allen DeGraffenreid WLAF wide receiver (Scotland Claymores)
- 1970 Birth - Alundis Brice NFL cornerback (Dallas Cowboys)
- 1970 Birth - Damon Diletti Australian field hockey goal keeper (Olympics-silver-92, 96)
- 1970 Protests erupt in Seattle, Washington, following the announcement of 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) is formed to take over U.S. passenger rail service.
- 1971 Amtrak railroad begins operation
- 1971 Amtrak, the U S passenger railroad system that combines the operations of 18 intercity railroads, goes into service
- 1971 Birth - Ethan Albright NFL tackle (Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills)
- 1971 Birth - Jamie Marie Swenson Miss USA-South Dakota (1997)
- 1971 Birth - Renee Poetschka Australian 200 meter/400 meter (Olympics-92, 96)
- 1971 Birth - Stuart Appleby Cohuna Australia, Nike golfer (1994 Victorian PGA)
- 1971 Death - Edith Day actress (Romance of Air), dies at 75
- 1971 Death - Glenda Farrell actress (Grand Slam, Exposed), dies at 66
- 1971 Number one hit on UK music charts - Dave & Ansil Collins - Double Barrel
- 1972 "Different Times" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 24 performances
- 1972 Birth - Bobby Chouinard Manilla Phillipines, pitcher (Oakland A's)
- 1972 Death - Fernand Ansseau Belgian operator (Orfeo), dies at 82
- 1972 Radio's Mutual Black Network premieres
- 1973 Birth - Curtis Martin NFL running back (New England Patriots)
- 1973 Birth - Frank Beede NFL center (Seattle Seahawks)
- 1974 Birth - Keri Phebus Laguna Beach CA, tennis star
- 1974 Birth - Matthew Hatchette NFL wide receiver (Minnesota Vikings)
- 1974 Birth - Vladimir Zavyalov hockey forward (Team Kazakhstan Olympics-1998)
- 1974 Visitor posting - May 1 1974 William Arthur Bradley is born..... woo hoo
- 1975 Birth - Austin Croshere NBA forward (Indiana Pacers)
- 1975 Canada to bring 3,000 South Vietnamese refugees to Canada.
- 1976 Birth - Darius McCrary Walnut CA, actor (Edward Winslow-Family Matters)
- 1976 Death - Rex O'Malley actor (Camille, Zara, Midnight, Thief), dies at 75
- 1977 36 people was killed in Istanbul, Taksim Square during the Labour Day celebrations.
- 1977 Birth - Anna Louise Wilson Dunedin New Zealand, 100 meter breast stroke (Olympics-96)
- 1977 Debbie Austin wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic
- 1978 Death - Aram Katchaturian Russian composer (The Earth), dies at 74
- 1978 Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
- 1978 Naomi Uemura became first to reach North Pole overland alone
- 1978 The first unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail (which would later become known as "spam") was sent by a DEC marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States.
- 1978 Visitor posting - Jason McDowell was born @Castle Air Force Base California - USA
- 1979 Birth - Jennifer Botterill ice hockey forward (Canada, Olympics-98)
- 1979 Birth - Kimberly Grigsby Miss Virginia Teen USA (1997)
- 1979 Death - Berkeley Bertram McGarrell Gaskin cricketer (2 Tests for West Indies), dies
- 1979 Elton John becomes first pop star to perform in Israel
- 1979 Home rule introduced to Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)
- 1979 Marshall Islands (in the Pacific) become self-governing
- 1980 15th Academy of Country Music Awards: Barbara Mandrell wins
- 1980 American Book Award: William Styron (Sophie Choice)/T Wolfe (Right Stuff)
- 1981 Billie Jean King admits to a lesbian affair with Marilyn Barnett
- 1981 Death - Dr Clarence A Bacote historian & political scientist, dies at 75
- 1981 Death - Peter Huchel writer, dies at 78
- 1981 Ottawa imposes special tax of $1.15 per barrel to pay for Petro-Canada's purchase of Petrofina, and are Albertans happy NOT
- 1981 Visitor posting - Brad Sandercock is born!! - Canada
- 1981 Visitor posting - May 01 1981 R.Sathish Kumar is born
- 1981 Visitor posting - Anh Vinh Nguyen was born !! - USA
- 1981 Visitor posting - Vinh Nguyen Tuat born - USA
- 1981 Radio Shack releases Model III TRSDOS 1.3
- 1982 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville TN opens
- 1982 Baptism by fire of Argentine Air Force during Falklands War.
- 1982 Death - Gene Sheldon actor (Bernardo-Zorro), dies at 72
- 1982 The 1982 World's Fair opens in Knoxville, Tennessee.
- 1983 Death - V N Swamy Indian cricket pace bowler (without distinction), dies
- 1983 The Sydney Entertainment Centre opens
- 1984 Death - Gordon Jenkins orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at 73
- 1984 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1984 Mick Fleetwood (of Fleetwood Mac) files for bankruptcy
- 1985 "Communist" bomb attack kills 2 firemen in Brussels
- 1985 US President Reagan ends embargo against Nicaragua
- 1986 Bill Elliott sets stock car speed record of 212.229 mph
- 1986 Tass reports Chernobyl nuclear power plant mishap
- 1986 Will Stegers expedition reaches North Pole
- 1987 British Customs seizes Air Canada jet at Heathrow Airport after discovering a major hashish shipment from India; plane released after Air Canada pays substantial fine.
- 1987 Visitor posting - Jason Brochhausen Is born 05/01/1987 - USA
- 1987 Visitor posting - Katie Ebbecke was born, revolutionizing the world with her magnificance - USA
- 1988 Death - Carroll Righter astrologer, dies at 88 of postate cancer
- 1988 Death - Paolo Stoppa actor (Garibaldi, Visit, Freedom Fighters), dies
- 1988 IRA attack in Roermond, kills 3
- 1989 135 acre Disney's MGM studio officially opens to the public
- 1989 Death - David Webster South African white anti-apartheids activist, murdered
- 1989 Death - Douglass Watson actor (Mac Cory-Another World), dies at 68
- 1989 Death - Marion Mack actress (General), dies
- 1989 Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
- 1989 The coat of arms of Greenland is adopted.
- 1990 Death - Sunset Carson cowboy actor (El Paso Kid, Oregon Trail), dies at 62
- 1991 A's Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brocks record with his 939th steal (vs Yankees)
- 1991 Actor Robert Duvall weds Sharon Brophy
- 1991 Angola's civil war ends
- 1991 Death - Richard Thorpe director (Jailhouse Rock, Night Must Fall), dies
- 1991 Rickey Henderson steals an all time record 939th base
- 1991 Rickey Henderson would steal his 939th base, making him the all-time leader in this category. However, his accomplishment would be overshadowed later that evening by Nolan Ryan, who would pitch his seventh career no-hitter (breaking his own record).
- 1991 Skin-Spit-Skin featuring lesbian, homosexual & heterosexual nude couples caressing, is seen by 5,000 in NYC
- 1992 Eric Houston kills 4 in a California HS where he failed history 4 years prior
- 1992 On the third day of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, African American criminal Rodney King appeared in public before television news cameras to appeal for calm and plead for peace, asking, "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?".
- 1993 Bomb attack on Sri Lankan President (26 die)
- 1993 Death - Hans [Henri EA] Tuynman provo (Full-time Provo), dies at 50
- 1993 Death - Pierre Brgovoy PM of France (1992-93), commits suicide at 67
- 1993 Death - Ranasinghe Premadasa President (Sri Lanka, 1989-93), assassinated at 68
- 1994 Charles Kuralt retires as CBS newsman (On the Road)
- 1994 Death - Ayrton Senna Brazilian Grand prix driver, dies in crash at 34
- 1994 Death - Imre Gyngyssy Hungarian director, dies at 64
- 1994 Last day of the standing Spion Kop Grandstand for Liverpool F.C., perhaps the most famous stand in English Football; Three time F1 Drivers' World Champion Ayrton Senna was killed in an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix.
- 1994 Tornado & hail storms hit Jiangxi China, 95 killed
- 1995 Croatian forces launch Operation Flash during the Croatian War of Independence
- 1995 Visitor posting - William Mobley was born - USA
- 1995 Steve Waugh scores 200 for Australia vs West Indies at Sabina Park
- 1995 Visitor posting - Amber R was born! - USA
- 1995 Visitor posting - Tina Guenter was born :) - Canada
- 1996 Death - Asher Wallfish journalist, dies at 67
- 1996 Death - Ivo Rudolph Jarosy film scholar/exhibitor, dies at 74
- 1996 Death - William Mitchell Byers musician, dies on 79th birthday
- 1997 Death - Bebe AKA Flipper, dolphin, dies at 40
- 1997 Tasmania becomes the last state in Australia to decriminalize homosexuality.
- 1997 Toni Blair elected PM of UK
- 1997 Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister as the Labour Party wins the British General Election
- 1998 Former Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver dies today in Pomona, California, at age 62
- 1999 The body of British mountaineer George Mallory is found on Mount Everest almost 75 years after he disappeared on a climbing expedition.
- 1999 Visitor posting - Candela Controls, Inc. of Winter Garden, FL opened it's doors - USA
- 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.
- 2004 Visitor posting - May 01 2004 Christopher and Stephanie Campbell got married in Chattanooga TN
- 2006 The Puerto Rican government closes the Department of Education and 42 other government agencies due to significant shortages in cash flows.
- 2007 The Los Angeles May Day mle occurred, in which the police response to a May Day pro-immigration rally became a matter of controversy.
- 2008 Visitor posting - May 1 2008 Johnathan is born, Port Saint Lucie- Florida
- 2009 Visitor posting - jAZZMYN && NAEEM - bACk tOGEthER fOR thE 4th tiME
- 2009 Visitor posting - Joshua Bruce McPhatter was sworn in as president of Brewton-Parker SGA. - USA
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