What are the important events that happened on May 1? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

May 1: Facts & Myths About This Day

May 1 is the 121^st day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 244 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is April 18, 2025 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 485,016 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘hectaicosahenagon’ day.

Taurus is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 292 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,514 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

May 1 Historical Events

• 1846 –
  The few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicate the Nauvoo Temple.
• 1863 –
  American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins.
• 1869 –
  The Folies Bergère opens in Paris.
• 1884 –
  Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States.
• 1941 –
  World War II: German forces launch a major attack on Tobruk.
• 1946 –
  Start of 3 year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
• 1948 –
  The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) is established, with Kim Il-sung as leader.
• 1971 –
  Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) takes over operation of U.S. passenger rail service.
• 1990 –
  The former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) is granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church of the Philippines.
• 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.

Who were born on May 1?

• 1285 –
  Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1326)
• 1825 –
  George Inness, American painter (d. 1894)
• 1827 –
  Jules Breton, French painter (d. 1906)
• 1829 –
  José de Alencar, Brazilian novelist (d. 1877)
• 1887 –
  Alan Gordon Cunningham, British army officer (d. 1983)
• 1909 –
  Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet, winner of the Lenin Peace Prize, 9 times nominee for the Nobel Prize (d. 1990)
• 1912 –
  Otto Kretschmer, German U-Boat commander (d. 1998)
• 1934 –
  Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Mexican politician
• 1978 –
  Sachie Hara, Japanese actress
• 1997 –
  Ariel Gade, American actress

Who died on May 1?

• 1539 –
  Isabella of Portugal, queen of Spain and empress of Germany (b. 1503)
• 1738 –
  Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English statesman (b. c.1669)
• 1943 –
  Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian Christian leader and founder of Brunstad Christian Church (b. 1871)
• 1945 –
  Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda (b. 1897)
• 1968 –
  Jack Adams, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (b. 1895)
• 1970 –
  Crown Prince Euimin, Crown Prince of Korea (b. 1897)
• 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 –
  Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager, last surviving member of the 20 July Plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944 (b. 1917)