May 1st
1707
The Kingdom of Great Britain was created as a treaty merging England and Scotland took effect.
1751
The first cricket match is played in America.
1915
The RMS Lusitania departs from New York City on her two hundred and second and final crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives, including 128 Americans, rousing American sentiment against Germany.
1930
The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named.
1931
The Empire State Building opened in New York City. At 102 stories, it would be the world's tallest building for the next 41 years. Click to see the current tallest.
1941
Orson Welles's Citizen Kane, considered by many the greatest film ever made, premiered in New York.
1948
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was established with Kim Il Sung as president.
1950
Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth.
1951
Mickey Mantle hit his first home run.
1960
The Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane over Soviet territory.
1961
The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
1967
Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu. (They divorced in 1973.)
1971
Amtrak went into service, combining and streamlining the operations of 18 intercity passenger railroads.
1988
The final episode of "Magnum, p.i." aired.
1991
44-year-old Texas fireballer Nolan Ryan hurled his seventh and final no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. That same day, Oakland's Rickey Henderson broke Lou Brock’s stolen base record.
1992
On the third day of the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King appeared in public to appeal for calm, asking "Can we all get along?"
2008
Deborah Jeane Palfrey, convicted of being the "D.C. Madam," hanged herself in Tarpon Springs, Fla.
Birthdays
84 Chuck Bednarik Football Hall of Famer
80 Sonny James Country singer
67 Stephen Macht Actor
64 Rita Coolidge Singer
63 Nick Fortuna Rock musician (The Buckinghams)
60 Douglas Barr Actor, director
60 Paul Teutul, Sr. Founder of Orange County Choppers
58 Dann Florek Actor ("Law and Order: SVU")
48 Marilyn Milian Judge on The People's Court
47 Maia Morgenstern Actress
44 Wayne Hancock Country singer
43 Charlie Schlatter Actor
42 Tim McGraw Country singer
41 Johnny Colt Rock musician (Train)
41 D'Arcy Rock musician (Smashing Pumpkins)
40 Wes Anderson Director
37 Julie Benz Actress ("Dexter," "Angel")
37 Cory Morrow Country singer
33 Darius McCrary Actor
51 Calamity Jane 5/1/1852 - 8/1/1903 Frontierswoman and professional scout best known for her claim of being a pal of Wild Bill Hickok
79 Kate Smith 5/1/1907 - 6/17/1986 American radio and television singer