May 1 in History

After a ransomware attack by the group ShinyHunters, the education platform Canvas operated by private company Instructure, goes offline, affecting thousands of educational institutions.

The 2024 Loblaw boycott, a Canadian boycott against retail corporation and grocer Loblaw Companies, begins.

Naxalite attack in Gadchiroli district of India: Sixteen army soldiers, including a driver, killed in an IED blast. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team.

Naruhito ascends to the throne of Japan succeeding his father Akihito, beginning the Reiwa period.

Syrian 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.

Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.

Faisal Shahzad attempts to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, but the bomb fails to go off.

Same-sex marriage in Sweden is legalized.

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.

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".

The Labour Party wins the 1997 General Election and Tony Blair is elected as Prime Minister.

Three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix.

Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated in Colombo in a suicide bombing carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Angolan Civil War: The MPLA and UNITA agree to the Bicesse Accords, which are formally signed on May 31 in Lisbon.

Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during the Falklands War.

Vietnam War: A student anti-war strike erupts in response to U.S. and South Vietnamese forces attacking Vietnamese communists in a Cambodian Campaign.

Cold 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.

A Vickers VC.1 Viking crashes while attempting to return to Blackbushe Airport in Yateley, killing 34.

Portella 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.

Start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.

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.

The 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.

The Jaffa riots begin.

The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history.

Spanish–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.

Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C.

The 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.

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.

Rallies 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.

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.

The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance.

American 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.

American 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.

Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London.

Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool.

The Slave Trade Act 1807 takes effect, abolishing the slave trade within the British Empire.

Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.

The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain takes effect.

Henry Morgan's raid on Lake Maracaibo: the Spanish Armada de Barlovento is defeated by an English Privateer fleet led by Captain Henry Morgan.

The Edict of Expulsion is officially proclaimed in Castile, requiring all Jewish residents to leave within three months.

Scottish Royal forces loyal to King James II defeat a rebel army of the Black Douglases in the battle of Arkinholm.

Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, England recognises Scotland as an independent state.

Norman mercenaries land at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland.

A synod in Carthage condemns Pelagianism.

Lewis Miley, English footballer

Linda Fruhvirtová, Czech tennis player

Charli D'Amelio, American social media influencer and dancer

Lizzy Greene, American actress

Chet Holmgren, American basketball player

Rema, Nigerian singer-songwriter and rapper

YNW Melly, American rapper

Tiffany Stratton, American wrestler

Miles Sanders, American football player

William Nylander, Canadian-Swedish ice hockey player

Madeline Brewer, American actress

Hani, South Korean singer and actress

Bradley Roby, American football player

Marcus Stroman, American baseball player

Scooter Gennett, American baseball player

Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress

Victoria Monét, American singer-songwriter

Anushka Sharma, Indian actress and film producer

Leonardo Bonucci, Italian footballer

Amir Johnson, American basketball player

Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player

Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (died 2013)

Jesse Klaver, Dutch politician

David Backes, American ice hockey player

Alain Bernard, French swimmer

Park Hae-jin, South Korean actor

Craig Williams, American wrestler

Beto, Portuguese footballer

Jamie Dornan, Northern Irish model and actor

Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player

Darijo Srna, Croatian footballer

Katya Zamolodchikova, American drag queen

Alexander Hleb, Belarusian footballer

Wes Welker, American football player and coach

Jan Heylen, Belgian race car driver

Jay Reatard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2010)

Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player

James Badge Dale, American actor

Michael Russell, American tennis player

James Murray, American comedian

Alexey Smertin, Russian international footballer

Curtis Martin, American football player

Oliver Neuville, German footballer

Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Yemeni terrorist

Julie Benz, American actress

Ethan Albright, American football player

Stuart Appleby, Australian golfer

Ajith Kumar, Indian actor and race car driver

Bernard Butler, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Wes Anderson, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Mary Lou McDonald, Irish politician

Billy Owens, American basketball player

Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer

D'arcy Wretzky, American bass player and singer

Tim McGraw, American singer-songwriter and actor

Olaf Thon, German footballer

Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater

Maia Morgenstern, Romanian actress

Clint Malarchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Marilyn Milian, American judge

Yasmina Reza, French actress and playwright

Rick Darling, Australian cricketer

Martin O'Donnell, American composer

Ray Parker Jr., American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Joel Rosenberg, Canadian-American author and activist (died 2011)

Richard Blundell, English economist and academic

Gordon Greenidge, Barbadian cricketer and coach

Sally Mann, American photographer

Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer and coach

Tim Hodgkinson, English saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer

Patricia Hill Collins, American sociologist and scholar

Joanna Lumley, English actress, voice-over artist, author, and activist

John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer, and screenwriter

Rita Coolidge, American singer-songwriter

Judy Collins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Una Stubbs, English actress and dancer (died 2021)

Laura Betti, Italian actress (died 2004)

Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Mexican politician

Shirley Horn, American singer and pianist (died 2005)

S. M. Krishna, Indian politician and statesman, Minister of External Affairs, 10th Chief Minister of Karnataka, 19th Governor of Maharashtra (died 2024)

Sandy Woodward, English admiral (died 2013)

Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (died 2011)

Richard Riordan, American lieutenant and politician, 39th Mayor of Los Angeles and publisher (died 2023)

Little Walter Jacobs, American blues harp player and singer (died 1968)

Ralf Dahrendorf, German-English sociologist and politician (died 2009)

Sonny Ramadhin, Trinidadian cricketer (died 2022)

Sonny James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2016)

Greta Andersen, Danish swimmer (died 2023)

Bernard Vukas, Yugoslav-Croatian footballer (died 1983)

Albert Zafy, Malagasy politician, 3rd President of Madagascar (died 2017)

Peter Lax, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic (died 2025)

Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (died 2015)

Scott Carpenter, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (died 2013)

Evelyn Boyd Granville, American mathematician, computer scientist, and academic (died 2023)

Terry Southern, American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter (died 1995)

Joseph Heller, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (died 1999)

Marcel Rayman, Polish militant (died 1944)

Vladimir Colin, Romanian journalist and author (died 1991)

Manna Dey, Indian singer and composer (died 2013)

Mohammed Karim Lamrani, Moroccan businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Morocco (died 2018)

Dan O'Herlihy, Irish actor (died 2005)

Jack Paar, American comedian, author and talk show host (died 2004)

John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (died 1996)

Ulric Cross, Trinidadian navigator, judge, and diplomat (died 2013)

Danielle Darrieux, French actress and singer (died 2017)

Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor and producer (died 2006)

Hanns Martin Schleyer, German business executive (died 1977)

Louis Nye, American actor (died 2005)

Otto Kretschmer, German admiral (died 1998)

Raya Dunayevskaya, Ukrainian-American philosopher and activist (died 1987)

J. Allen Hynek, American astronomer and ufologist (died 1986)

Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet and playwright (died 1990)

Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist and author (died 1968)

Morris Kline, American mathematician and academic (died 1992)

Kate Smith, American singer and actress (died 1986)

Henry Koster, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1988)

Sterling Allen Brown, American poet, academic, and critic (died 1989)

Antal Szerb, Hungarian scholar and author (died 1945)

Ignazio Silone, Italian journalist and politician (died 1978)

Aleksander Wat, Polish poet and writer (died 1967)

Alfred Schmidt, Estonian weightlifter (died 1972)

Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (died 1947)

Mark W. Clark, American general (died 1984)

J. Lawton Collins, American general (died 1987)

May Hollinworth, Australian theatre producer and director (died 1968)

Nikolai Yezhov, Soviet secret police official, head of the NKVD (died 1940)

Lillian Estelle Fisher, American historian of Spanish America (died 1988)

Clelia Lollini, Italian physician (died 1963 or 1964)

Alan Cunningham, Anglo-Irish general and diplomat, High Commissioners for Palestine and Transjordan (died 1983)

Clément Pansaers, Belgian poet (died 1922)

Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (died 1964)

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French priest, palaeontologist, and philosopher (died 1955)

Dave Hall, American runner, coach, and professor (died 1972)

Romaine Brooks, American-French painter and illustrator (died 1970)

Paul Van Asbroeck, Belgian sport shooter (died 1959)

Hugo Alfvén, Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter (died 1960)

Sidónio Pais, Portuguese soldier and politician, 4th President of Portugal (died 1918)

Seakle Greijdanus, Dutch theologian and scholar (died 1948)

Anna Jarvis, American founder of Mother's Day (died 1948)

Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (died 1941)

Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, French painter and sculptor (died 1955)

Theo van Gogh, Dutch art dealer (died 1891)

Cecilia Beaux, American painter and academic (died 1942)

Jacob Mikhailovich Gordin, Ukrainian-American journalist, actor, and playwright (died 1909)

Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and professional scout (died 1903)

Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish neuroscientist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1934)

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (died 1942)

Adelsteen Normann, Norwegian painter (died 1919)

Henry Demarest Lloyd, American journalist and politician (died 1903)

James C. Corrigan, Canadian-American businessman (died 1908)

Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (died 1903)

Guido Gezelle, Belgian priest and poet (died 1899)

José de Alencar, Brazilian author and playwright (died 1877)

Frederick Sandys, English painter and illustrator (died 1904)

Jules Breton, French painter (died 1906)

Johann Jakob Balmer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (died 1898)

George Inness, American painter and educator (died 1894)

Alexander William Williamson, English chemist and academic (died 1904)

Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (died 1897)

Andreas Laskaratos, Greek satirical poet and writer (died 1901)

James Clarence Mangan, Irish poet and author (died 1849)

Phoebe Hinsdale Brown, American hymnwriter (died 1861)

Tabitha Moffatt Brown, officially designated as the “Mother of Oregon” (died 1858)

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Irish-English field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1852)

Benjamin Henry Latrobe, English-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (died 1820)

Judith Sargent Murray, American poet and playwright (died 1820)

Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Dutch admiral and philanthropist (died 1819)

Joseph Addison, English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician (died 1719)

William Lilly, English astrologer (died 1681)

John Haynes, English-American politician, 1st Governor of the Colony of Connecticut (died 1653)

Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (died 1666)

Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (died 1612)

Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (died 1643)

Wolphert Gerretse, Dutch-American farmer, co-founded New Netherland (died 1662)

Franciscus Junius, French theologian (died 1602)

Johannes Stadius, German astronomer, astrologer, mathematician (died 1579)

Edmund FitzAlan, 2nd Earl of Arundel, English nobleman (died 1326)

John I, Count of Hainaut, Flemish nobleman (died 1257)

Rudolf I of Germany, King of Germany 1273–1291 (died 1291)

Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1938)

Olympia Dukakis, American actress (born 1931)

Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (born 1923)

Vafa Guluzade, Azerbaijani political scientist, academic, and diplomat (born 1940)

María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (born 1940)

Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (born 1930)

Adamu Atta, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Kwara State (born 1927)

Radhia Cousot, French computer scientist and academic (born 1947)

Assi Dayan, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1945)

Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican footballer and coach (born 1951)

Chris Kelly, American rapper (born 1978)

James Kinley, Canadian engineer and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (born 1925)

Mordechai Virshubski, German-Israeli lawyer and politician (born 1930)

Henry Cooper, English boxer (born 1934)

Ted Lowe, English sportscaster (born 1920)

Helen Wagner, American actress (born 1918)

Anthony Mamo, Maltese judge and politician, 1st President of Malta (born 1909)

Philipp von Boeselager, German soldier and economist (born 1917)

Kenneth Clark, American psychologist and academic (born 1914)

Miss Elizabeth, American wrestler and manager (born 1960)

Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (born 1923)

Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder and actor (born 1926)

Eldridge Cleaver, American author and activist (born 1935)

Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (born 1927)

Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (born 1960)

Pierre Bérégovoy, French metallurgist and politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1925)

Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sri Lankan politician, 3rd President of Sri Lanka (born 1924)

Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (born 1896)

Sergio Franchi, Italian-American tenor and actor (born 1926)

Sally Kirkland, American journalist (born 1912)

V. M. Panchalingam, Sri Lankan civil servant (born 1934)

Patrice Tardif, Canadian farmer and politician (born 1904)

Ben Lexcen, Australian sailor and architect (born 1936)

Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (born 1905)

Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and producer (born 1916)

Denise Robins, English journalist and author (born 1897)

Jüri Lossmann, Estonian long-distance runner (born 1891)

William Primrose, Scottish viola player and educator (born 1903)

Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer and conductor (born 1903)

T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (born 1908)

Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (born 1939)

Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (born 1914)

Yi Un, Korean crown prince (born 1897)

Jack Adams, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1895)

Harold Nicolson, English author and politician (born 1886)

Spike Jones, American singer and bandleader (born 1911)

Lope K. Santos, Filipino lawyer and politician (born 1879)

Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (born 1875)

LeRoy Samse, American pole vaulter (born 1883)

William Thomson Sloper, American stockbroker and survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic (born 1883)

Everett Shinn, American painter and illustrator (born 1876)

Joseph Goebbels, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (born 1897)

Magda Goebbels, German wife of Joseph Goebbels (born 1901)

Napoleon Soukatzidis, Greek communist and trade unionist (born 1909)

Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (born 1889)

Princess Margaret of Connaught, Crown Princess of Sweden (born 1882)

John Barclay Armstrong, American Texas ranger (born 1850)

Grigorios Maraslis, Greek philanthropist (born 1831)

Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (born 1841)

David Livingstone, Scottish-English missionary and explorer (born 1813)

Antoine Louis Dugès, French obstetrician and naturalist (born 1797)

Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French general (born 1768)

Gottfried Achenwall, Polish-German historian, economist, and jurist (born 1719)

Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (born 1669)

Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (born 1677)

François de Troy, French painter and engraver (born 1645)

Frans Luycx, Flemish painter (born 1604)

Pope Pius V (born 1504)

Pope Marcellus II (born 1501)

Isabella of Portugal (born 1503)

Albert I of Germany (born 1255)

William II of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea from 1246 to 1278

Walter de Gray, English prelate and statesman

Roger de Moulins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller

Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster from 1127 to 1171 (born 1110)

Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England from 1100 to 1118 (born 1080)

Wang Zongji, Chinese prince and pretender

Marcouf, Christian abbot and saint

Arcadius, Byzantine emperor from 383 to 408 (born 377)