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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on May 1st. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The Act of Union, uniting the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland into a single political state, becomes effective on May 1, 1707 and Scotland and England formally became the single Kingdom of Great Britain. 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
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The New York City’s Empire State Building was dedicated and officially open, 45 five days ahead of its original projected opening date, becoming the tallest building in the world at the time. 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.
The EU's largest enlargement in its history takes place as, 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 European Union (EU). This expansion unified Europe after decades of division and strengthened the EU politically, economically, and culturally.
