Today in history
Today is Friday, May 1, the 122nd day of 2020. There are 244 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
1517 — ‘‘Evil May Day’’ riots occur in London as mobs attack foreign residents. Between 13 and 20 of the rioters were convicted of treason and executed, but after pleas of mercy from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII pardons the remainder.
1707 — The union between England and Scotland goes into effect under the name of Great Britain.
1840 — Lieutenantgovernor William Hobson takes possession of land at Okiato, for use as New Zealand’s first capital, Russell.
1842 — Government House and offices at Russell are destroyed by fire. It spells the end for the Okiato settlement, which was never rebuilt.
1863 — Dunedin’s Evening Star newspaper begins publication.
1884 — Work begins on the Home Insurance Building, a 10storey building in Chicago, using a unique steelframed interior, making it the world’s first skyscraper. The building opened in 1885 and was demolished 46 years later in 1931.
1889 — May 1 is chosen by a socialist congress meeting in Paris as the date on which to demonstrate for the eighthour working day.
1890 — Bishop Julius is consecrated as Bishop of Christchurch.
1893 — Richard John Seddon (Liberal) assumes office as premier, following the death of John
Ballance five days earlier. Seddon will hold office for 13 years and during that time the position will be officially retitled prime minister. His five consecutive election victories have never been matched.
1926 — The New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition in Dunedin is officially closed by Prime Minister Gordon Coates. The final day’s attendance was 83,935 people.
1931 — The 102storey Empire State Building in
New York is officially opened.
1940 — The New Zealand Government buys the copyright to God Defend New Zealand . It becomes the national hymn. God Save The
King remains the national anthem.
1948 — Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe erupt
simultaneously.
1955 — The New Zealand Special Air Service (SAS) is formed and by November will depart for active service in Malaya, where it will act to counter communist insurgents in jungle warfare; five Vampire aircraft of No14 Squadron carry out the RNZAF’s first combat strike since World War 2 when called into action in Malaya.
1960 — The Soviet Union shoots down a US U2 plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers, who is jailed for spying. He is exchanged in an EastWest spy swap in February 1962.
1969 — Blood and breathalcohol limits are introduced for drivers on New Zealand roads and the Breathalyser is used for the first time.
1979 — Auckland University students rehearsing a parody of a haka are assaulted by a Maori protest group, who later call themselves He Taua. The incident leads to the report ‘‘Race Against Time’’ by the Race Relations Conciliator.
1981 — In a precursor to a tour by the South African rugby team, protest groups in 27 towns and cities around the country stage an evening of antitour demonstrations. The issues of sport, politics and South Africa will divide New Zealand throughout the tour.
1999 — The body of British mountaineer George Mallory is found on Mt Everest, almost 75 years after he disappeared on a climbing expedition.
2007— President Hugo Chavez’s government
takes over Venezuela’s last privately run