By Day: Historical Events on May 1st

According to legend, the city of Rome is founded by Romulus.

The Battle of Issus takes place between Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Darius III of Persia, resulting in a decisive victory for Alexander.

The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, granting freedom of worship to Protestant nonconformists.

The Union between England and Scotland is proclaimed. Whales had already been part of England since the 1500's.

The Ford Motor Company becomes one of the first companies to adopt a five-day, 40-hour workweek for workers in their factories. A move that help change the way companies in America operated. Before this change, factory workers at Ford and other companies typically worked six days a week for up to 60 hours. This left workers with little time for rest or leisure, and they often struggled to balance work with family and personal commitments. It wasn't until 1940 that the 40 hour work week became law. More

The New York City’s Empire State Building was dedicated, 45 five days ahead of its original projected opening date. President Herbert Hoover , pressed a button in the White House that turned on the building’s lights for the first time, Construction costs were about $41M ($550M in 2023 money) and $20M under budget. The Site was previously occupied by the Waldorf -Astoria Hotel which opened in 1890. Official records indicate that 5 workers died during construction, although 14 deaths were reported by local News. More

An American U-2 spy plane flying at 60,000 feet was shot down over Sverdlovsk in central Russia. The pilot, CIA agent Francis Gary Powers, survived the crash, and was tried, convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. More

United States President George W. Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq, marking the conclusion of the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces.

Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, along with the island of Malta and the Greek portion of the island of Cyprus joined the EU.