Vintage News · Odd history for May 1

What Happened On May 1

Q: What happened on May 1?

1884: Moses Fleetwood Walker (pictured), the last African American in Major League Baseball until Jackie Robinson, played his first game for the Toledo Blue Stockings. 1891: On Labor Day in Catania, Sicily, workers establish the first successful Fascio Siciliano, launching a movement of peasants and laborers protesting poverty, landlordism, taxation, and economic hardship across Sicily. 2010: Faisal Shahzad attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, New York City, but it failed to explode. 1991: In Major League Baseball, Rickey Henderson broke the record for stolen bases on the same night that Nolan Ryan broke his own record for no-hitters. 2010: Faisal Shahzad attempts to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, but the bomb fails to go off. 1894: Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C. 1866: The Memphis Race Riots begin. Over three days, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 1820: Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool. 1950: Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. 1945: World War II: German radio broadcasts news of Adolf Hitler's death, falsely stating that he has "fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany". The Soviet flag is raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin. Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army.

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10 odd things that happened on May 1

1884 First ever
Moses Fleetwood Walker (pictured), the last African American in Major League Baseball until Jackie Robinson, played his first game for the Toledo Blue Stockings.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1891 First ever
On Labor Day in Catania, Sicily, workers establish the first successful Fascio Siciliano, launching a movement of peasants and laborers protesting poverty, landlordism, taxation, and economic hardship across Sicily.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2010 Oddly true
Faisal Shahzad attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, New York City, but it failed to explode.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1991 Oddly true
In Major League Baseball, Rickey Henderson broke the record for stolen bases on the same night that Nolan Ryan broke his own record for no-hitters.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2010 Weird
Faisal Shahzad attempts to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, but the bomb fails to go off.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1894 First ever
Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1866 Oddly true
The Memphis Race Riots begin. Over three days, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1820 Oddly true
Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1950 First ever
Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1945 Oddly true
World War II: German radio broadcasts news of Adolf Hitler's death, falsely stating that he has "fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany". The Soviet flag is raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin. Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2026After a ransomware attack by the group ShinyHunters, the education platform Canvas operated by private company Instructure, goes offline, affecting thousands of educational institutions. Wikipedia →
2024The 2024 Loblaw boycott, a Canadian boycott against retail corporation and grocer Loblaw Companies, begins. Wikipedia →
2019Naxalite attack in Gadchiroli district of India: Sixteen army soldiers, including a driver, killed in an IED blast. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team. Wikipedia →
2019Naruhito ascends to the throne of Japan succeeding his father Akihito, beginning the Reiwa period. Wikipedia →
2018Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) resumes the Deir ez-Zor campaign in order to clear the remnants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the Iraq–Syria border. Wikipedia →
2011Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. Wikipedia →
2010Faisal Shahzad attempts to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, but the bomb fails to go off. Wikipedia →
2009Same-sex marriage in Sweden is legalized. Wikipedia →
2004Cyprus, 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. Wikipedia →
2003Invasion 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". Wikipedia →
1997The Labour Party wins the 1997 General Election and Tony Blair is elected as Prime Minister. Wikipedia →
1994Three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix. Wikipedia →
1993Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated in Colombo in a suicide bombing carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Wikipedia →
1991Angolan Civil War: The MPLA and UNITA agree to the Bicesse Accords, which are formally signed on May 31 in Lisbon. Wikipedia →
1982Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during the Falklands War. Wikipedia →
1970Vietnam War: A student anti-war strike erupts in response to U.S. and South Vietnamese forces attacking Vietnamese communists in a Cambodian Campaign. Wikipedia →
1960Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Sverdlovsk Oblast, Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis. Wikipedia →
1957A Vickers VC.1 Viking crashes while attempting to return to Blackbushe Airport in Yateley, killing 34. Wikipedia →
1947Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 persons are killed and 33 wounded. Wikipedia →
1946Start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: German radio broadcasts news of Adolf Hitler's death, falsely stating that he has "fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany". The Soviet flag is raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin. Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army. Wikipedia →
1929The 7.2 Mw Kopet Dag earthquake shakes the Iran–Turkmenistan border region with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing up to 3,800 and injuring 1,121. Wikipedia →
1921The Jaffa riots begin. Wikipedia →
1900The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history. Wikipedia →
1898Spanish–American War: Battle of Manila Bay: The Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy destroys the Pacific Squadron of the Spanish Navy after a seven-hour battle. Spain loses all seven of its ships, and 381 Spanish sailors die. There are no American vessel losses or combat deaths. Wikipedia →
1896While on a pilgrimage of Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine in Ray, Tehran, Naser al-Din Shah of Qajar Persia, was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani. Wikipedia →
1894Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C. Wikipedia →
1891The 1891 New Orleans Lynchings: 11 Italian immigrants are lynched by a mob in Louisiana, USA after the acquittal of several defendants in a murder case, the largest mass lynching in U.S. history. Wikipedia →
1891On Labor Day in Catania, Sicily, workers establish the first successful Fascio Siciliano, launching a movement of peasants and laborers protesting poverty, landlordism, taxation, and economic hardship across Sicily. Wikipedia →
1886Rallies are held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 is celebrated as International Workers' Day in many countries. Wikipedia →
1866The Memphis Race Riots begin. Over three days, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Wikipedia →
1865The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance. Wikipedia →
1863American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville between Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac under Joseph Hooker begins. Wikipedia →
1863American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant win the Battle of Port Gibson and establish a firm presence on the east side of the Mississippi River. Wikipedia →
1851Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London. Wikipedia →
1820Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool. Wikipedia →
1807The Slave Trade Act 1807 takes effect, abolishing the slave trade within the British Empire. Wikipedia →
1753Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Wikipedia →
1707The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain takes effect. Wikipedia →
1669Henry Morgan's raid on Lake Maracaibo: the Spanish Armada de Barlovento is defeated by an English Privateer fleet led by Captain Henry Morgan. Wikipedia →
1492The Edict of Expulsion is officially proclaimed in Castile, requiring all Jewish residents to leave within three months. Wikipedia →
1455Scottish Royal forces loyal to King James II defeat a rebel army of the Black Douglases in the battle of Arkinholm. Wikipedia →
1328Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, England recognises Scotland as an independent state. Wikipedia →
1169Norman mercenaries land at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland. Wikipedia →
418A synod in Carthage condemns Pelagianism. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.