MAY 1
Daily Historical Chronicle UPSC CSE • State PSC • SSC CGL Matrix

1 May: What Happened On This Day in History

Curated historical timeline of momentous political pacts, freedom struggle uprisings, constitutional developments, scientific breakthroughs, and prominent birthdays recorded on 1 May.

Observances & Special Days
Gujarat Day
Maharashtra Day
International Workers' Day or Labour Day (International)
Historic Milestones

Major Events on 1 May

Year 1707

The Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland merged and formed the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Year 1840

The Penny Black, the first adhesive postage stamp, was issued in the United Kingdom.

Year 1844

Hong Kong Police Force became the second modern police force in the world and the first in Asia.

Year 1886

International Labor Day celebrated for the first time at the second meeting of the Communist Internation

1890, 1st May: World Labor Day celebrated for the first time in the world.

Year 1897

Swami Vivekanand established Ramkrishna Mission.

Year 1886

May Day was first observed in Chicago, USA. Work, Social activities, Rest, for 8 Hours.

Year 1902

Tornodo hit Dhaka part of Bengal, claims 416 lives.

Year 1908

Praful Chaki committed suicide after he threw a bomb on Judge Kingsford of Mujaffarpur, killing two inocent women.

Year 1909

Madame Bhikaji Cama secretly left London and went to France where she was wrote and spoke about the cruelty of Britishers.

Year 1923

Under the leadership of Singaravelu Chettiar, the first May day was celebrated in India.

Year 1926

Jim Corbett killed the notorious man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag at Gulabrai village, who had attacked and killed about 125 people.

Year 1927

World Labor Day celebrated in India for the first time.

Year 1930

The ninth planet in the solar system named Pluto.

Year 1940

Marathi magzine `Digdarshan' was published.

Year 1940

Olympic Games were canceled due to war.

Year 1947

Congress Working Committee accepts Partition in principle.

Year 1948

Baroda State merged into Bombay Province.

Year 1958

Bell, 47 G3, the flight was upgraded to a helicopter unit with a Sqn Ldr as its Commanding Officer.

Year 1960

Establishment of the Gujrat High Court.

Year 1960

Old Bombay province was divided between Maharashtra and Gujrat States.

Year 1961

Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro declared Cuba a socialist nation and canceled elections.

Year 1964

Ravishankar University was established at Raipur in Madhya Pradesh.

Year 1966

Marathi becomes the official language of Maharashtra.

Year 1972

All fuel coal mines were nationalised.

Year 1973

All non-fuel Coal Mines fields were nationalised.

Year 1977

Janata Party was established.

Year 1978

Japan’s Naomi Uemura became the first man to reach the North Pole alone.

Year 1981

Sindhudurga district was formed in Maharashtra State.

Year 1993

Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadas died in bombing.

Year 1994

Political party Shiromani Akali Dal was established.

Year 1996

Ban imposed (through a Delhi high court judgment) on the film 'Bandit Queen', based on the life of Phoolan Devi, lifted by Supreme Court.

Year 1996

International women's master Anupama Gokhale of Bharat Petroleum becomes the first woman in the history of Indian chess to win an all-India level international rating tournament with her bagging the Mohammed Hassan memorial title.

Year 1996

P. Shiv Shanker, Kerala Governor, resigns in view of the ongoing CBI investigation against him in the hawala case.

Year 1997

Anand wins all three categories in Amber chess tournament in Monte Carlo.

Year 1998

The Konkan Railway running for 760-km is dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This was an extention from Ratnagiri.

Year 2000

Bidyut Ganguly (64), veteran CPI(M) leader and West Bengal Commerce and Industry Minister, died of severe burns in Calcutta.

Year 2011

United States President BarackObama confirmed that al-Qaeda leader OsamabinLaden had been killed in his compound in Abbottabad, northeastern Pakistan.

National & Global Icons

Prominent Births & Anniversaries

Born 1867

Sri Kasinadhuni Nageswara Rao Pantulu, great freedom fighter, journalist, nationalist, politician, pioneer in library movement and litterateur, was born at Elakurru village in Gudivada Taluk, District Krishna.

Born 1913

Balraj Sahani, famous film actor, was born.

Born 1915

Rameshwar Shukla 'Anchal', modern Hindi poet, novelist and essay writer, was born.

Born 1919

Manna Dey, an internationally acclaimed Indian playback singer, music director, musician, and Indian classical vocalist.

Born 1922

Madhu Limaye, great politician, freedom fighter, writer and national leader, was born at Pune, Maharashtra.

Born 1927

Dr. Namwar Singh was born.

Born 1931

Rajkumar Singhajit Singh, a leading exponent, choreographer, and guru of the Indian classical dance form of Manipuri.

Born 1932

S. M. Krishna, an Indian politician and the 16th Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Born 1944

Suresh Kalmadi, Indian businessman and politician

Born 1946

Joanna Lumley, actress (Abs Fab, OHM's Secret Service), was born in Kashmir, India.

Born 1955

Anand Mahindra, an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman of Mahindra Group

Born 1971

Ajith Kumar, Indian actor, F2 Racer

Born 1988

Anushka Sharma, an Indian actress, and producer.

Legacy & Remembrance

Death Anniversaries & Tributes

Died 1945

Paul Joseph Goebbels, a German Nazi politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany.

Died 1972

Kamalnayan Bajaj was an Indian businessman and politician.

Died 1983

V. N. Swamy, pace bowler without distinction in one Test for India, passed away.

Died 1992

C. Arjun, famous music director, passed away.

Died 1993

Narayan Ganesh Goray, socialist stalwart, 86, passed away in Pune.

Died 2002

Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh, Indian poet and author (b. 1908)