Born On This Day:

• King Rudolph I Germany, 1218
• Joseph Addison, 1672
• Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington, 1769
• Mother Jones (Mary Harris Jones), 1830
• Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Canary), 1852
• General Mark Clark, 1896
• Kate Smith, 1909
• Louis Nye, 1913
• Glenn Ford, 1916
• Joseph Heller, 1923
• Terry Southern, 1924
• Scott Carpenter, 1925
• Judy Collins, 1939
• Rita Coolidge, 1944
• Joanna Lumley, 1946

Died On This Day:

• Pope Pius V, 1572
• John Dryden, 1700
• David Livingstone, 1873
• Antonin Dvorak, 1904
• Joseph Goebbels suicide, 1945
• Spike Jones, 1965
• Aram Khachaturian , 1978
• Gordon Jenkins, 1984
• Sergio Franchi, 1990
• Eldridge Cleaver, 1998

Today's Events:

• AD 305 - Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian abdicate; Galerius and Constantius succeed them.
• 1169 - Normans invade Ireland at the behest of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster.
• 1704 - Print advertising first appears in the Boston News-Letter.
• 1707 - England and Scotland joined under the name 'United Kingdom.' Union Jack adopted.
• 1786 - Mozart's opera 'The Marriage of Figaro' first performed in Vienna.
• 1819 - Freedom of the Press in France.
• 1840 - World's first postage stamp, the Penny Black, goes on sale in England; invented by Rowland Hill.
• 1851 - Great Exhibition opened by Queen Victoria at the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London. first trade fair.
• 1863 - Union forces defeated by Confederates at Battle of Chancellorsville.
• 1865 - Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay form alliance against Paraguay.
• 1873 - America's first postcard with stamp printed on it issued - value 1¢.
• 1876 - Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India.
• 1884 - World's first skyscraper begins construction in Chicago-Home Insurance Co.
• 1886 - National strikes in the US and Canada for an 8-hour day - origin of Mayday as working class holiday.
• 1893 - 3/4 of entire population of Chicago (70,000) attend opening of Columbian Exposition World's Fair.
• 1898 - Victory of U.S. Navy under George Dewey over Spanish fleet at Battle of Manila Bay.
• 1902 - In Paris, Georges Melies exhibits unique movie 'A Trip to the Moon'; first with special effects.
• 1912 - Beverly Hills Hotel opens for business.
• 1931 - First Baha'i temple opens at Wilmette, Ill.
• 1931 - Empire State Building, world's largest, opens; Pres Hoover lights lobby from button in Oval Office.
• 1939 - Batman Detective Comics launched.
• 1941 - Orson Welles' 'Citizen Kane' premieres at Radio City Music Hall.
• 1945 - Berlin captured by Russians WWII.
• 1960 - U.S. spy Francis Gary Powers shot down over Russia in a U2 spy plane over Sverdlovsk.
• 1961 - First airplane skyjack by Antillo Ortiz. National Airlines twin-engine Convair flown to Havana.
• 1965 - Beatles give their last live performance in England at Wembley Stadium.
• 1967 - Elvis Presley marries Priscilla Beaulieu at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas; honeymoon in Palm Springs.
• 1971 - Amtrak, the U.S. railroad passenger service, goes into service.
• 1975 - A year after he beat Babe Ruth's homer record, Hank Aaron breaks RBI record of 2,209.

Feast Day of Saint:

• James the Less and Philip
• Peregrine Laziosi
• Ultan
• Brieuc
• Joseph

Holiday:

• Central American Tree Ceremony
• Law Day and Loyalty Day in U.S
• Day of Bona Dea
• May Day
• Morris Danegins
• International Labor Day
• Day of German Labor
• Constitution Day in Austria
• Day of Flowers in Greece
• Maharashtra Day in India

Non-Specific Holiday:

• VESAK (Commemoration of birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha) celebrated Southeast Asia.
• MOTHER'S DAY (U.S.), second Sunday in May
• FESTIVAL OF JOAN OF ARC in France, second Sunday in May
• MEMORIAL DAY (U.S.), Last Monday in May
• PROCESSION OF THE HOLY BLOOD in Belgium on first Monday after May 2.
• TANO FESTIVAL (Korea) on 5th day of 5th lunar month.
• TUAN WU CHIEH or Dragon Boat Festival (China) 5th day of 5th lunar month.
• ASCENSION DAY (Christian) 40th day after Easter.
• PENTACOST (Christian) or Whitsunday (Anglican) 50 days after Easter.
• TRINITY SUNDAY (Christian), Sunday after Pentecost.
• CORPUS CHRISTI (Christian), Thursday after Trinity Sunday.
• I'D AL-HAJJ, Muslim Festival
• ARANYA SHASHTI, Hindu Festival honoring god of the forest
• BUDDHA PURNIMA, Hindu Festival, celebrated early May
• GANGA DASSHERA, Hindu Festival, celebrated end of May
• ARMED FORCES DAY in US - third Saturday in May
• NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER in US - first Thursday in May
• NATIONAL DEFENSE TRANSPORTATION DAY - third Friday in May in US
• NATIONAL TEACHER'S DAY - Tuesday in the first full week in May in US
• VICTORIA DAY - first Monday before May 25, celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday in Canada
• WESAK FESTIVAL celebrated in the eastern hemisphere at the Taurus full moon, beginning of May
• GOODWILL FESTIVAL celebrated at the Gemini full moon, end of May