Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/May 1
May 1: Beltane in Ireland and Scotland, May Day in various countries.
- 1786 - The Marriage of Figaro, an opera buffa composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna.
- 1840 - The Penny Black (pictured), the first official adhesive postage stamp, was issued in the United Kingdom.
- 1893 - The World's Columbian Exposition, a World's Fair to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, opened in Chicago, United States.
- 1931 - The Empire State Building, at the time the tallest building in the world, opened in New York City.
- 1941 - Citizen Kane, a widely acclaimed film by Orson Welles, premiered.
- 1960 - Bombay State, India was partitioned into Gujarat and Maharashtra along linguistic lines.