On This Day in History

May 1

Historical Events

1707 Acts of Union comes into force, uniting England and Scotland "into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain".

1753 Publication of "Species Plantarum" by Carl Linnaeus - the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.

The Penny Black stamp featured Queen Victoria

1840 "Penny Black", the world's first adhesive postage stamp issued by Great Britain.

1886 US general strike for an 8-hour working day begins.

1924 German automobile manufacturers Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie begin their first joint venture (later merge into Mercedes-Benz).

1931 Empire State Building opens in New York City - world's tallest building until the World Trade Center in 1970.

More Historical Events

Famous Birthdays

Kamehameha I 1738 - 1819 Arthur Wellesley 1769 - 1852

Calamity Jane 1852 - 1903 Tim McGraw 57th Birthday

Also Jack Paar, Scott Carpenter and Max Robinson.

More Famous Birthdays

Famous Deaths

Pius V 1504 - 1572 David Livingstone 1813 - 1873

Also Joseph Goebbels and Ayrton Senna.

More Famous Deaths

Strike A Light! I've Created Flames

John Walker liked to experiment with the chemicals in his pharmacy. To his surprise, one mixture he scraped up burst into flames – and the match was born.

The Invention of Matches