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Historical Events on May 1
- 1759: The Wedgwood Pottery Co. is founded by Josiah Wedgwood in Great Britain.
- 1776: Adam Weishaupt establishes the Illuminati in Upper Bavaria.
- 1778: The Battle of Crooked Billet starts during the American Revolution in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
- 1840: The first official adhesive stamp – the Penny Black – is issued in the U.K.
- 1844: The Hong Kong Police Force is established on this day. It would be the first modern police force in Asia and the second modern police force in the world.
- 1862: The capture of New Orleans is completed by the Union Army during the American Civil War.
- 1863: During the American Civil War, the Battle of Chancellorsville starts.
- 1866: The Memphis Race Riots start on this day. Almost 50 black and 2 white are killed during the incident. Reports of the atrocities would help the 14th Amendment to the U.S Constitution get passed.
- 1875: After burning down in 1873, the Alexandra Palace reopens on this date.
- 1930: Pluto is officially given its name on this day.
- 1931: In New York City, the Empire State Building is dedicated.
- 1941: German forces attack Tobruk during World War II.
- 1944: In retailiation for General Franz Krech being killed by partisans in Malaoi, German soldiers shoot 200 Communist prisoners at Kaisariani.
- 1945: The Soviet Flag is raised over the Reich Chancellery during World War II.
- 1945: After having killed their children by inserting cyanide pills into their mouths, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda Goebbels commit suicide in the Reich Garden.
- 1945: In the wake of the Soviet advance in Demmin in Germany, approximately twenty-five hundred people die in a mass suicide.
Famous Birthdays on May 1
- Irish-English 1st Duke of Wellington and Prime Minister of the U.K., Arthur Wellesley is born in 1769.
- Irish poet and author, James Clarence Mangan is born in 1803.
- American frontierswoman and scout, Calamity Jane is born in 1852.
- Spanish neuroscientist and Nobel Prize laureate, Santiago Ramon y Cajal is born in 1852.
- American actress Julie Benz is born in 1972.
- American actor James Badge Dale is born in 1978.
- American NHL hockey player, David Backes is born in 1984.