What happened on May 1

45 documented historical events happened on May 1, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: Diocletian and Maximian retired as co-rulers of the Roman Empire, being succeeded by Galerius and Constantius Chlorus. On the same day, in another year: The Nea Ekklesia church in Constantinople, on which many later cross-in-square Eastern Orthodox churches were based, was consecrated. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.

160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on May 1, including Andreas Laskaratos, Alexander William Williamson, Johann Jakob Balmer. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.

79 people with a Wikipedia article died on May 1, including Arcadius, Marculf, Matilda of Scotland. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.

40 observances are celebrated on May 1 around the world: Christian feast day: Aldebrandus, Christian feast day: Amator, Christian feast day: Andeolus, Christian feast day: Aredius of Gap, Christian feast day: Asaph, Christian feast day: Augustin Schoeffler, Jean-Louis Bonnard (part of Vietnamese Martyrs). The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.