Al Smith and Empire State Building Replica

1931

Empire State Building dedicated

Born on This Day

ABC News Correspondent Max Robinson Promotional Photo

Max Robinson

1939 - 1988

TV journalist who in 1983 became the first Black man to anchor a nightly network newscast, ABC's "World News Tonight."

Opening Ceremony - The 15th Film Festival Lumiere In Lyon

Wes Anderson

1969 -

American filmmaker noted for quirky storytelling and symmetrical imagery in films like "The Royal Tenenbaums."

65th GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals

Judy Collins

1939 -

Folk-pop singer-songwriter and activist best known for covers like "Both Sides Now" and "Send in the Clowns."

Max Robinson

Disney General Entertainment Con

Wes Anderson

WireImage

Judy Collins

Getty Images for The Recording A

1851

MAY

1

The Great Exhibition launches in London, drawing 6 million visitors to marvel at global art and innovations. The Victorian spectacle parades steam engines, the world's largest diamond—and the debut of public toilets.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on May 1st

1851

First-ever “Great Exhibition” opens in London

On May 1, 1851, the Great Exhibition opens to wide acclaim in the Crystal Palace in London. Inside the Crystal Palace, a giant glass-and-iron hall designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, more than 10,000 exhibitors set up eight miles of tables. Technological wonders from around the world were on display, but the exposition was clearly dominated […]

0:30m read read

1852

Adventurer and performer Calamity Jane is born

On May 1, 1852, the adventurer and performer Calamity Jane is born near Princeton, Missouri. The myths and fabrications concerning the life of Calamity Jane are so numerous it is difficult to discover her true story. Legend has it that at various times Jane worked as a dishwasher at Fort Bridger, a laborer on the […]

3:22m read read

1898

The U.S. destroys Spanish Pacific fleet in Battle of Manila Bay

At Manila Bay in the Philippines, the U.S. Asiatic Squadron destroys the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first battle of the Spanish-American War. Nearly 400 Spanish sailors were killed and 10 Spanish warships wrecked or captured at the cost of only six Americans wounded. The Spanish-American War had its origins in the rebellion against Spanish […]

3:16m read read

1915

International Congress of Women adopts resolutions on peace, women’s suffrage

On May 1, 1915 in The Hague, Netherlands, the International Congress of Women adopts its resolutions on peace and women’s suffrage. The congress, also referred to as the Women’s Peace Conference, was the result of an invitation by a Dutch women’s suffrage organization to women’s rights activists around the world to gather in peaceful assemblage […]

2:40m read read

Members of the Women's Peace Party arrive for the International Congress of Women, a four-day antiwar protest held at The Hague. Frieda Lawrence and Jane Addams have their names written above them.

1926

Ford factory workers get 40-hour week

On May 1, 1926, Ford Motor Company becomes one of the first companies in America to adopt a five-day, 40-hour week for workers in its automotive factories. The policy would be extended to Ford’s office workers the following August. Henry Ford’s Detroit-based automobile company had broken ground in its labor policies before. In early 1914, […]

1941

“Citizen Kane” released

Citizen Kane, now revered as one of the greatest movies in history, makes its debut at the RKO Palace Theater on May 1, 1941. It had originally been intended to open at Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall. But months before its release, Orson Welles’ landmark film began generating such controversy that the venue eventually refused […]

2:36m read read

1955

Babe Didrikson Zaharias wins final LPGA tournament of her career

On May 1, 1955, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, one of the greatest athletes in sports history, wins the Peach Blossom LPGA Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C. The victory, the 41st LPGA title of her career, comes as a Didrikson Zaharias continues her battle with colon cancer. After a strong start to the tournament, Didrikson falters in the […]

1:16m read read

1958

First “Law Day” observed

On May 1, 1958, the United States celebrates its first “Law Day,” one day after President Eisenhower announces the observance to honor the role of law in the creation of the U.S. Three years later, Congress followed suit by passing a joint resolution establishing May 1 as Law Day. The idea of a Law Day […]

1960

American U-2 spy plane shot down over Soviet Union

An American U-2 spy plane is shot down while conducting espionage over the Soviet Union. The incident derailed an important summit meeting between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that was scheduled for later that month. The U-2 spy plane was the brainchild of the Central Intelligence Agency, and it was a […]

Francis Gary Powers holds a model of a U-2 spy plane as he testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Powers' plane was shot down by the Soviets, and he was tried and convicted of spying in the USSR.

1963

Gloria Steinem publishes first half of her undercover Playboy exposé “A Bunny’s Tale”

After enduring a brief but grueling stint as a Bunny in Manhattan’s Playboy Club, feminist writer Gloria Steinem publishes the first half of her landmark account, “A Bunny’s Tale,” in SHOW magazine on May 1, 1963. Steinem’s undercover reporting increased her profile and stripped back the glamorous facade of Hugh Hefner‘s empire to reveal a world of […]

2:22m read read

1967

Elvis Presley marries Priscilla Beaulieu

On the morning of May 1, 1967, in an intimate wedding before only 14 guests, music sensation Elvis Presley marries non-celebrity Priscilla Beaulieu in an eight-minute civil ceremony in a private suite at Las Vegas’ famed Aladdin Hotel. The couple wants to keep the nuptials very private, so they ditch reporters by flying on a […]

1:24m read read

1997

Labour Party returns to power in Britain

After 18 years of Conservative rule, British voters give the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, a landslide victory in British parliamentary elections. In the poorest Conservative Party showing since 1832, Prime Minister John Major was rejected in favor of Scottish-born Blair, who at age 43 became the youngest British prime minister in more than […]

1:06m read read

2002

Former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams indicted for manslaughter

On May 1, 2002, former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams was indicted on a series of charges, including aggravated manslaughter, in connection with the shooting death of limousine driver Costas Christofi at Williams’ estate on February 14. Williams enjoyed a successful NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets from 1990 to 1999, when […]

2:18m read read

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