A Day in the Past

On this day: 1 May

160 things happened on 1 May, from AD 305 to 2026. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 10

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1699 327 years ago

UK story

Francis Nicholson and James Blair organize five May Day orations given by students of the College of William & Mary, leading to the establishment of Williamsburg as Virginia's new capital.

War & peace Find out more: Francis Nicholson (Wikipedia)

Around the world 29

AD 880 1,146 years ago

The Nea Ekklesia church in Constantinople, on which many later cross-in-square Eastern Orthodox churches were based, was consecrated.

Find out more: Nea Ekklesia (Wikipedia)
1891 135 years ago

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.

Find out more: Fasci Siciliani (Wikipedia)
2003 23 years ago

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".

War & peace Find out more: 2003 invasion of Iraq (Wikipedia)
2018 8 years ago

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.

War & peace Find out more: Syrian civil war (Wikipedia)
2026 this year

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

Find out more: 2026 Canvas data breach (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “Under the terms of the Acts of Union, the Kingdoms of England and Scotland”?

    1. 1672
    2. 1769
    3. 1707
    Show the answer

    C: 1707. 1707 — that’s 319 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London”?

    1. 1328
    2. 1851
    3. 1807
    Show the answer

    B: 1851. 1851 — that’s 175 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London
    2. Norman mercenaries landed at Bannow Bay in Leinster, beginning the Norman
    3. Under the terms of the Acts of Union, the Kingdoms of England and Scotland
    Show the answer

    B: Norman mercenaries landed at Bannow Bay in Leinster, beginning the Norman. 1851: Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London · 1169: Norman mercenaries landed at Bannow Bay in Leinster, beginning the Norman · 1707: Under the terms of the Acts of Union, the Kingdoms of England and Scotland Find it on the page

  4. “Norman mercenaries landed at Bannow Bay in Leinster, beginning the Norman” happened in 1169. How many years ago was that?

    1. 867 years
    2. 847 years
    3. 857 years
    Show the answer

    C: 857 years. 2026 − 1169 = 857. Find it on the page

Born on this day 38

Famous people whose birthday is 1 May.

Remembering 18

Well-known people who died on 1 May.

Special days 38

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 1 May somewhere in the world.

For older readers 27 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “May 1” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.