Today in history...
May 1 1751
The first cricket match is played in America.
May 1 1834
The British colonies abolish slavery.
May 1 1884
Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States.
May 1 1927
The first cooked meals on a scheduled flight are introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris.
May 1 1930
The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named.
May 1 1931
The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
May 1 1956
The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
May 1 1960
Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
May 1 1961
The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
May 1 1989
Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
May 1 1991
Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics steals his 939th base, making him the all-time leader in this category. However, his accomplishment is overshadowed later that evening by Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers, when he pitches his seventh career no-hitter, breaking his own record.
May 1 1992
On the third day of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, African-American activist, criminal, and victim of police beating Rodney King appears 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?".
May 1 1997
Tasmania becomes the last state in Australia to decriminalize homosexuality.
May 1 2003
2003 invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended".
What a f*cking douche.
Birthdays today...
* 1218 – John I, Count of Hainaut (d. 1257)
* 1218 – Rudolph I of Germany, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1291)
* 1285 – Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1326)
* 1582 – Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (d. 1643)
* 1594 – John Haynes, Massachusetts colonial magistrate
* 1672 – Joseph Addison, English politician and writer (d. 1719)
* 1738 – King Kamehameha I, King of Hawaii (d. 1819)
* 1769 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Anglo-Irish statesman (d. 1852)
* 1804 – Aleksey Khomyakov, Russian poet (d. 1860)
* 1829 – José de Alencar, Brazilian novelist (d. 1877)
* 1831 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and suffragist (d. 1903)
* 1850 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Governor General of Canada (d. 1942)
* 1851 – Laza Lazarević, Serbian writer and psychiatrist (d. 1891)
* 1852 – Calamity Jane, American Wild West performer (d. 1903)
* 1852 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish neuroscientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1934)
* 1857 – Theo Van Gogh, Dutch art dealer (d. 1891)
* 1872 – Sidónio Pais, Portuguese military and politician (d. 1918)
* 1881 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French palaeontologist and philosopher (d. 1955)
* 1884 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, British politician, naval officer and racing driver (d. 1964)
* 1885 – Ralph Stackpole, American sculptor, painter (d. 1973)
* 1887 – Alan Gordon Cunningham, British army officer (d. 1983)
* 1896 – Herbert Backe, German Nazi politician (d. 1947)
* 1896 – Mark Wayne Clark, American general (d. 1984)
* 1896 – J. Lawton Collins, American general (d. 1987)
* 1901 – Heinz Eric Roemheld, American film composer (d. 1985)
* 1901 – Antal Szerb, Hungarian author and historian (d. 1945)
* 1905 – Henry Koster, German film director (d. 1988)
* 1905 – Paul Desruisseaux, French Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician (d. 1982)
* 1906 – Horst Schumann, Nazi physician (d. 1983)
* 1907 – Oliver Hill, civil rights attorney (d. 2007)
* 1907 – Kate Smith, American singer (d. 1986)
* 1908 – Giovanni Guareschi, Italian journalist (d. 1968)
* 1909 – Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet, winner of the Lenin Peace Prize, 9 times candidate for the Nobel Prize (d. 1990)
* 1910 – Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Astronomer/Astro-physicist. Noted UFO investigator (d. 1986)
* 1912 – Otto Kretschmer, German U-Boat commander (d. 1998)
* 1913 – Louis Nye, American comedian and actor (d. 2005)
* 1913 – Walter Susskind, Czech conductor (d. 1980)
* 1915 – Archie Williams, American athlete (d. 1993)
* 1916 – Glenn Ford, Canadian actor (d. 2006)
* 1917 – John Beradino, American actor and baseball player (d. 1996)
* 1917 – Danielle Darrieux, French singer and actress
* 1917 – Ahron Soloveichik, Orthodox Jewish rabbi (d. 2001)
* 1918 – Gersh Budker, Russian physicist (d. 1977)
* 1918 – Jack Paar, American television host (d. 2004)
* 1919 – Lewis Hill, American pacifist and founder of Pacifica Radio (d. 1957)
* 1919 – Manna Dey, Indian singer
* 1919 – Dan O'Herlihy, Irish film actor (d. 2005)
* 1923 – Joseph Heller, American novelist (d. 1999)
* 1924 – Art Fleming, American game show host (d. 1995)
* 1924 – Karel Kachyňa, Czech film director (d. 2004)
* 1924 – Terry Southern, American screenwriter (d. 1995)
* 1925 – Chuck Bednarik, American football player
* 1925 – Scott Carpenter, American astronaut
* 1926 – Peter Lax, Hungarian Mathematician
* 1928 – Desmond Titterington, Northern Irish racer (d. 2002)
* 1929 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-born sociologist and politician
* 1929 – Sonny James, American country music singer and songwriter
* 1930 – Richard Riordan, American politician, former mayor of Los Angeles
* 1930 – Little Walter, American blues singer (d. 1995)
* 1934 – Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Mexican politician
* 1934 – Joan Hackett, American actress (d. 1983)
* 1934 – Shirley Horn, American jazz singer and pianist (d. 2005)
* 1935 – Ann Robinson, American actress
* 1937 – Una Stubbs, English actress
* 1939 – Judy Collins, American folk singer
* 1939 – Max Robinson, American broadcast journalist (d. 1988)
* 1940 – Elsa Peretti, Italian jewelry designer
* 1943 – Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan poltician (d. 2004)
* 1944 – Suresh Kalmadi, Indian politician
* 1945 – Rita Coolidge, American singer
* 1946 – Joanna Lumley, English actress
* 1946 – John Woo, Hong Kong director
* 1947 – Sergio Infante, Chilean poet and writer
* 1949 – Tim Hodgkinson, English composer and musician (Henry Cow)
* 1949 – Paul Teutul, Sr., founder of Orange County Choppers
* 1950 – Dann Florek, American actor
* 1950 – Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer
* 1951 – Antony Worrall Thompson, English celebrity chef
* 1953 – Glen Ballard, American songwriter and record producer
* 1954 – Ray Parker Jr., American singer and songwriter
* 1954 – Joel Rosenberg, science fiction author
* 1955 – Martin O'Donnell, American composer
* 1955 – Nick Feldman, English musician
* 1956 – Catherine Frot, French actress
* 1957 – Ko Otani, Japanese composer
* 1959 – Lawrence Seeff, South African cricketer
* 1960 – Steve Cauthen, American jockey
* 1961 – Marilyn Milian, current judge on The People's Court
* 1962 – Maia Morgenstern, Romanian actress
* 1962 – Ted Sundquist, General Manager of the Denver Broncos
* 1964 – Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater
* 1966 – Olaf Thon, German football player
* 1967 – Tim McGraw, American musician
* 1968 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer
* 1968 – Sol Kyung-gu, South Korean actor
* 1968 – Denise Masino, American Female Bodybuilder
* 1968 – D'arcy Wretzky, American musician (The Smashing Pumpkins)
* 1969 – Wes Anderson, American director and writer
* 1969 – Billy Owens, American basketball player
* 1971 – Ajith Kumar, Indian film actor
* 1972 – Julie Benz, American actress
* 1973 – Curtis Martin, American football player
* 1973 – Oliver Neuville, German footballer
* 1974 – Darius McCrary, American actor
* 1975 – Austin Croshere, American basketball player
* 1975 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2003)
* 1975 – Jodhi May, British actress
* 1975 – Alexei Smertin, Russian footballer
* 1977 – Vera Lischka, Austrian swimmer, politician
* 1978 – Sachie Hara, Japanese actress
* 1978 – Nick Traina, American singer, Link 80 (d. 1997)
* 1979 – Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
* 1979 – Ben Easter, American actor
* 1979 – MC Harvey (Michael Harvey), British musical artist
* 1980 – Jan Heylen, Belgian racing driver
* 1980 – Jay Reatard, American musician
* 1980 – Ana Claudia Talancón, Mexican actress
* 1981 – Derek Asamoah, Ghanaian Footballer
* 1981 – Aliaksandr Hleb, Belarusian footballer
* 1981 – Wes Welker, American football player
* 1982 – Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player
* 1983 – The Human Tornado (Craig Williams), American professional wrestler
* 1984 – David Backes, American ice hockey player
* 1984 – Patrick Eaves, American ice hockey player
* 1984 – Alexander Farnerud, Swedish footballer
* 1984 – Farah Fath, American actress
* 1984 – Keiichiro Koyama, Japanese musician (NEWS)
* 1984 – Mark Seaby, Australian Rules footballer
* 1985 – Drew Sidora, American actress
* 1986 – Adam Casey, Australian footballer
* 1986 – Cristian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer
* 1987 – Marcus Drum, Australian Rules Football
* 1987 – Matt Di Angelo, English Actor
* 1987 – Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player
* 1988 – Graeme Owens, English footballer
* 1988 – Anushka Sharma, Indian Actress and Model
* 1988 – Nicholas Braun, American actor
* 1990 – Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress
* 1991 – Creagen Dow, American actor
* 1997 – Ariel Gade, American actress
Famous deaths...
* 408 – Arcadius, Eastern Roman emperor (b. 337/338)
* 1118 – Edith of Scotland, first wife of Henry I of England (b. c.1080)
* 1240 – Jacques de Vitry, Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati and dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals
* 1308 – Albert I of Habsburg (murdered) (b. 1255)
* 1539 – Isabella of Portugal, queen of Spain and empress of Germany (b. 1503)
* 1555 – Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
* 1572 – Pope Pius V (b. 1504)
* 1731 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German composer (b. 1677)
* 1738 – Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English statesman (b. c.1669)
* 1772 – Gottfried Achenwall, German statistician (b. 1719)
* 1813 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French marshal (killed in combat) (b. 1768)
* 1873 – David Livingstone, Scottish missionary (b. 1813)
* 1899 – Ludwig Büchner, German philosopher and physician (b. 1824)
* 1904 – Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (b. 1841)
* 1913 – John Barclay Armstrong, Texas Ranger and U.S. Marshal (b. 1850)
* 1935 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (b. 1889)
* 1937 – Snitz Edwards, American actor (b. 1868)
* 1943 – Johan Oscar Smith, Norweigian Christian leader and founder of Brunstad Christian Church (b. 1871)
* 1945 – Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda (suicide with his wife Magda Goebbels) (b. 1897)
* 1963 – Lope K. Santos, Filipino writer, Father of the Philippine National Language and Grammar (b. 1879)
* 1965 – Spike Jones, American band leader, musician, and comedian (b. 1911)
* 1968 – Harold Nicolson, British diplomat, author and politician (b. 1886)
* 1968 – Jack Adams, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (b. 1895)
* 1970 – Crown Prince Euimin, Crown Prince Korea (b. 1897)
* 1976 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet who fought the military junta in Greece (b. 1939)
* 1976 – T.R.M. Howard, civil rights leader, entrepreneur, surgeon (b. 1908)
* 1978 – Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer (b. 1903)
* 1982 – William Primrose, Scottish violist (b. 1903)
* 1985 – Denise Robins (aka Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray, Julia Kane) British romance novelist (b. 1897)
* 1986 – Hylda Baker, English comedy actress (b. 1905)
* 1986 – Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and record producer (b. 1916)
* 1989 – Sally Kirkland, fashion editor at LIFE (b. 1912)
* 1989 – Douglass Watson, American actor (b. 1921)
* 1990 – Sergio Franchi, Italian tenor (b. 1926)
* 1992 – Sharon Redd, American house music and urban contemporary singer (b. 1945)
* 1993 – Pierre Bérégovoy, French Prime Minister (b. 1925)
* 1993 – Ranasinghe Premadasa, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (b. 1924)
* 1994 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver and three-time F1 world champion (b. 1960)
* 1998 – Eldridge Cleaver, American activist (b. 1935)
* 2000 – Steve Reeves, American actor (b. 1926)
* 2003 – Miss Elizabeth, American wrestler (b. 1960)
* 2006 – Big Hawk, American rapper (b. 1969)
* 2006 – Johnny Paris, American saxophonist (Johnny and the Hurricanes) (b. 1940)
* 2006 – Rob Lacey, Christian Author. (b. 1962)
* 2008 – Anthony Mamo, Malta's first President (b. 1909)
* 2008 – Deborah Jeane Palfrey, Washington, D.C. prostitution service owner (b. 1956)
* 2008 – Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager, last surviving member of the July 20 Plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944 (b. 1917)
Holidays and observances...
* May Day, Labour Day, International Workers' Day, Day of the International Solidarity of Workers.
* Czech Republic – "National Love Day" – couples tend to flock to the memorial of the poet Karel Hynek Mácha in Prague and kiss.
* Lei Day – Hawaiian holiday for the Lei.
* Beltane, Lá Bealtaine, the first day of Summer in modern Ireland was celebrated by the Celts, and is now also celebrated by Neopagans and Wiccans.
* Kazakhstan - Unity Day.
* Maharashtra Day (Maharashtra Divas) – Maharastra, India.
* Marshall Islands - Constitution Day.
* Northern Europe – Walpurgis Night.
* Roman Empire – all-female festival in honour of Bona Dea.
* Roman Empire – fourth and last day of the Floralia in honour of Flora.
* United States – Law Day, U.S.A., Loyalty Day.
Have a great Friday.
~Brian
