2026 Canvas data breach
After a ransomware attack by the group ShinyHunters, the education platform Canvas operated by private company Instructure, goes offline, affecting thousands of educational institutions.
What happened on May 1
39 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1576 to 2026.
Standout on May 1
2026
2026 Canvas data breach
After a ransomware attack by the group ShinyHunters, the education platform Canvas operated by private company Instructure, goes offline, affecting thousands of educational institutions.
About May 1
May 1 is the 121st day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 121 of 365 (122 in leap years)244 days left in the year (244 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Friday in 2026, Saturday in 2027, Monday in 2028, Tuesday in 2029, Wednesday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 18 of 2026 · Q2
- Zodiac sign
- ♉ Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
- Season
- Spring in the north · Autumn in the south
- May birthstone
- Emeraldrebirth, love and wisdom
- May birth flower
- Lily of the valley / Hawthornsweetness, humility and hope
- Next occurrence
- In 186 days
- Roman numerals
- I.Vday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 450thStephen Báthory1576
- 80thPilbara strike1946
- 30thWilliam Nylander1996
- 20thLewis Miley2006
- 10th2016 Fort McMurray wildfire2016
- 5thOlympia Dukakis2021
May 1 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire
- 25 years ago2001
- Nothing recorded
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on May 1 — ages this year
- 2006Lewis Mileyturns 20
- 2005Linda Fruhvirtováturns 21
- 2004Charli D'Amelioturns 22
- 2003Lizzy Greeneturns 23
- 2002Chet Holmgrenturns 24
- 2000Rema (musician)turns 26
Historical events 39
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Loblaw Companies
The 2024 Loblaw boycott, a Canadian boycott against retail corporation and grocer Loblaw Companies, begins.
Naxalism
Naxalite attack in Gadchiroli district of India: Sixteen army soldiers, including a driver, killed in an IED blast. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team.
Naruhito
Naruhito ascends to the throne of Japan succeeding his father Akihito, beginning the Reiwa period.
Syrian civil war
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) resumes the Deir ez-Zor campaign in order to clear the remnants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the Iraq–Syria border.
2016 Fort McMurray wildfire
The evacuation of nearly 88,000 people began when a wildfire swept through Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, and burned for another 14 months, becoming the costliest disaster in Canadian history.
Beatification of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.
Faisal Shahzad
Faisal Shahzad attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, New York City, but it failed to explode.
Same-sex marriage in Sweden
Same-sex marriage in Sweden is legalized.
Cyprus
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.
2003 invasion of Iraq
Invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended".
Horncastle boar's head
The Horncastle boar's head (pictured), which probably once formed part of the crest of an Anglo-Saxon helmet, was found.
1997 United Kingdom general election
The Labour Party wins the 1997 General Election and Tony Blair is elected as Prime Minister.
Formula One
Three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix.
President of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated in Colombo in a suicide bombing carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Angolan Civil War
Angolan Civil War: The MPLA and UNITA agree to the Bicesse Accords, which are formally signed on May 31 in Lisbon.
Major League Baseball
In Major League Baseball, Rickey Henderson broke the record for stolen bases on the same night that Nolan Ryan broke his own record for no-hitters.
Operation Black Buck
Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during the Falklands War.
Juan Perón
Argentine president Juan Perón expelled Montoneros from a demonstration in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, forcing the group to become a clandestine organization.
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: A student anti-war strike erupts in response to U.S. and South Vietnamese forces attacking Vietnamese communists in a Cambodian Campaign.
Cold War
Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Sverdlovsk Oblast, Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
Vickers VC.1 Viking
A Vickers VC.1 Viking crashes while attempting to return to Blackbushe Airport in Yateley, killing 34.
Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Portella della Ginestra massacre
Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 persons are killed and 33 wounded.
Salvatore Giuliano
Sicilian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a crowd of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, killing 11 and wounding 33.
Pilbara strike
Start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
World War II
Second World War: British and Indian forces conducted a successful airborne assault on a Japanese artillery battery during the advance to liberate Rangoon, Burma.
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane, a widely acclaimed film by actor and director Orson Welles, premiered.
Empire State Building
New York City's Empire State Building (pictured), at the time the tallest building in the world, opened.
Dust explosion
A dust explosion at a coal mine near Scofield, Utah, U.S., killed at least 200 miners.
Ramakrishna Mission
The Ramakrishna Mission was founded by Swami Vivekananda to serve as the humanitarian counterpart to the Hindu monastic order Ramakrishna Math.
Chicago Board of Trade Building
The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opened for business.
Moses Fleetwood Walker
Moses Fleetwood Walker (pictured), the last African American in Major League Baseball until Jackie Robinson, played his first game for the Toledo Blue Stockings.
War of the Pyrenees
War of the Pyrenees: France regained nearly all the land it lost to Spain the previous year with its victory in the Second Battle of Boulou.
The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro (audio featured), an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna.
Acts of Union 1707
Under the terms of the Acts of Union, the Kingdoms of England and Scotland merged to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, with a single parliament and government based in Westminster.
Francis Nicholson
Francis Nicholson and James Blair organize five May Day orations given by students of the College of William & Mary, leading to the establishment of Williamsburg as Virginia's new capital.
Dutch–Portuguese War
Dutch–Portuguese War: Portuguese and Spanish forces recaptured the Brazilian city of Bahia, which had previously been captured by the Dutch Republic.
Stephen Báthory
Stephen Báthory and Anna Jagiellon were crowned as the elected rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1938)
Vafa Guluzade
Vafa Guluzade, Azerbaijani political scientist, academic, and diplomat (born 1940)
María Elena Velasco
María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (born 1940)
Adamu Atta
Adamu Atta, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Kwara State (born 1927)
James Kinley
James Kinley, Canadian engineer and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (born 1925)
Mordechai Virshubski
Mordechai Virshubski, German-Israeli lawyer and politician (born 1930)
Anthony Mamo
Anthony Mamo, Maltese judge and politician, 1st President of Malta (born 1909)
Philipp von Boeselager
Philipp von Boeselager, German soldier and economist (born 1917)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Aldebrandus
Christian feast day: Aldebrandus
Andeolus
Christian feast day: Andeolus
Benedict of Skalka
Christian feast day: Benedict of Szkalka
Saint Asaph
Christian feast day: Asaph
Aredius of Gap
Christian feast day: Aredius of Gap
Amator
Christian feast day: Amator
Augustin Schoeffler
Christian feast day: Augustin Schoeffler, Jean-Louis Bonnard (part of Vietnamese Martyrs)
Bertha of Val d'Or
Christian feast day: Bertha of Val d'Or
Spread across the centuries
- 16th century1
- 17th century2
- 18th century3
- 19th century4
- 20th century32
- 21st century37
Earliest: Stephen Báthory (1576). Most recent: 2026 Canvas data breach (2026).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about May 1
What day of the year is May 1?
May 1 is the 121st day of the year, with 244 days left after it.
What star sign is May 1?
May 1 falls under Taurus (April 20 – May 20), a earth sign ruled by Venus. The birthstone for the month is Emerald.
How many things happened on May 1?
We record 87 entries for May 1: 39 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1576 to 2026.
Who was born on May 1?
Lewis Miley (2006) is among the notable births on May 1. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the May 1 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like May 1
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.