TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS MONDAY, MAY 1, 2017

It is International Workers’ Day or Labour Day (International)

On this day in history:

408 - Theodosius II succeeded to the throne of Constantinople.

1308 - King Albert was murdered by his nephew John, because he refused his share of the Habsburg lands. 1486 - Christopher Columbus convinced Queen Isabella to fund an expedition to the West Indies.

1707 - England, Wales and Scotland were united to form Great Britain.

1751 - America’s first cricket tournament was held in New York City.

1770 - Forby Sutherland becomes the first Englishman to be buried on Australian soil.

1891 - Australia’s first May Day marches are held in support of the shearers’ strike in Barcaldine.

1912 - In London’s Kensington Gardens, a statue of Peter Pan was erected.

1915 - A German submarine sank the U.S. ship Gulflight. 1948 - The People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was proclaimed.

1950 - Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry called Annie Allen.

1952 - Production of Mr. Potato Head began.

1961 - Fidel Castro announced there would be no more elections in Cuba.

1967 - Anastasio Somoza Debayle became president of Nicaragua.

1981 - The Japanese government announced that it would limit passenger car exports to the United States over the next three years. 1986 - The Tass News Agency reported the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. 1999 - On Mount Everest, a group of US mountain climbers discovered the body of George Mallory. Mallory had died in June of 1924 while trying to become the first person to reach the summit of Everest. At the time of the discovery it was unclear whether or not Mallory had actually reached the summit. 2011 - US President Barack Obama announced that U.S. soldiers had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.