Calendar date · May

What happened on May 1

On May 1, 305: Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.

Events

61

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Taurus

Featured moment · 305

Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.

Diocletian, nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia. As with other Illyrian soldiers of the period, Diocles rose through the ranks of the military early in his career, serving under Aurelian and Probus, and eventually becoming a cavalry commander for the army of Emperor Carus.

People

Born on May 1

Lewis Miley 2006– English footballer (born 2006)
Linda Fruhvirtová 2005– Czech tennis player (born 2005)
Charli D'Amelio 2004– American social media personality (born 2004)
Lizzy Greene 2003– American actress (born 2003)
Chet Holmgren 2002– American basketball player (born 2002)
Rema 2000– Nigerian singer-songwriter and rapper (born 2000)
YNW Melly 1999– American rapper (born 1999)
Tiffany Stratton 1999– American professional wrestler (born 1999)
Miles Sanders 1997– American football player (born 1997)
Show 9 more — notable births on May 1
William Nylander 1996– Swedish ice hockey player (born 1996)
Madeline Brewer 1992– American actress (born 1992)
Hani 1992– South Korean singer and actress (born 1992)
Bradley Roby 1992– American football player (born 1992)
Marcus Stroman 1991– American baseball player (born 1991)
Scooter Gennett 1990– American baseball player (born 1990)
Caitlin Stasey 1990– Australian actress and singer (born 1990)
Victoria Monét 1989– American singer-songwriter (born 1989)
Anushka Sharma 1988– Indian actress (born 1988)

People

Died on May 1

Gordon Lightfoot Canadian singer-songwriter (1938–2023)
Olympia Dukakis American actress (1931–2021)
Geoff Duke British motorcycle racer (1923–2015)
Vafa Guluzade Azerbaijani diplomat (1940–2015)
María Elena Velasco Mexican actress, comedian, singer-songwriter and dancer (1940–2015)
Grace Lee Whitney American actress and singer (1930–2015)
Adamu Atta Governor of Kwara State, Nigeria, 1979–1983
Radhia Cousot French computer scientist (1947–2014)
Assi Dayan Israeli film director, actor, screenwriter and producer (1945–2014)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on May 1
Juan de Dios Castillo Mexican footballer and manager (1951–2014)
Chris Kelly American hip hop group
James Kinley Lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia from 1994 to 2000
Mordechai Virshubski Israeli lawyer and politician (1930–2012)
Henry Cooper British boxer (1934–2011)
Ted Lowe English snooker commentator (1920–2011)
Helen Wagner American actress (1918–2010)
Anthony Mamo President of Malta from 1974 to 1976
Philipp von Boeselager German Wehrmacht officer, failed assassin of Adolf Hitler (1917–2008)

Timeline

Every May 1 on record

  1. 305 Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.

    Roman emperor from 284 to 305

    Diocletian, nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia. As with other Illyrian soldiers of the period, Diocles rose through the ranks of the military early in his career, serving under Aurelian and Probus, and eventually becoming a cavalry commander for the army of Emperor Carus.

  2. 418 A synod in Carthage condemns Pelagianism.

    3rd–5th century church synods held in Africa

    The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below.

  3. 880 The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.

    Byzantine church in Constantinople (now Istanbul) from 880 to 1490

    The Nea Ekklēsia was a church built by Byzantine Emperor Basil I the Macedonian in Constantinople between 876 and 880. It was the first monumental church built in the Byzantine capital after the Hagia Sophia in the 6th century, and marks the beginning of the middle period of Byzantine architecture. It continued in use until the Palaiologan period.

  4. 1169 Norman mercenaries land at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland.

    European ethnic group

    The Normans were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Francia followed a series of raids on the French northern coast mainly from what is now Denmark, although some also sailed from Norway and Sweden. These settlements were finally legitimized when Rollo, a Scandinavian Viking leader, agreed to swear fealty to King Charles III of West Francia following the siege of Chartres in 911, leading to the formation of the County of Rouen.

  5. 1328 Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, England recognises Scotland as an independent state.

    War of national liberation between Scotland and England

    The Scottish wars were a series of military campaigns in the late 13th and 14th centuries in order to protect the independence and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Scotland which had been threatened by the Kingdom of England. The wars were part of a great crisis for Scotland, and the period became one of the most defining times in its history. At the end of both extended wars, Scotland retained its status as an independent, sovereign country.

  6. 1455 Scottish Royal forces loyal to King James II defeat a rebel army of the Black Douglases in the battle of Arkinholm.
  7. 1486 Christopher Columbus presents his plans for discovering a western route to the Indies to the Spanish Queen Isabella I of Castile.
  8. 1492 The Edict of Expulsion is officially proclaimed in Castile, requiring all Jewish residents to leave within three months.
  9. 1669 Henry Morgan's raid on Lake Maracaibo: the Spanish Armada de Barlovento is defeated by an English Privateer fleet led by Captain Henry Morgan.
  10. 1707 The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain takes effect.
  11. 1753 Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
  12. 1807 The Slave Trade Act 1807 takes effect, abolishing the slave trade within the British Empire.
  13. 1820 Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool.
  14. 1840 The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom.
  15. 1844 Hong Kong Police Force, the world's second modern police force and Asia's first, is established.
Show 15 earlier entries from May 1
  1. 1846 The few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicate the Nauvoo Temple.
  2. 1851 Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London.
  3. 1863 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.
  4. 1863 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.
  5. 1865 The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance.
  6. 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.
  7. 1885 The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opens for business.
  8. 1886 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.
  9. 1894 Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C.
  10. 1896 Naser al-Din, Shah of Iran, is assassinated in Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine by Mirza Reza Kermani, a follower of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani.
  11. 1898 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.
  12. 1900 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.
  13. 1915 RMS Lusitania departs from New York City on her 202nd, 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.
  14. 1919 German troops enter Munich to suppress the Bavarian Soviet Republic.
  15. 1921 The Jaffa riots commence.

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