On This Day: May 1

Updated April 30, 2012, 2:28 pm

On May 1, 1960, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane near Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
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On May 1, 1907, Kate Smith, the American singer who was considered the “first lady of radio,” was born. Following her death on June 17, 1986, her obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1707 The Kingdom of Great Britain was created as a treaty merging England and Scotland took effect.

1786 Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro” premiered in Vienna.

1941 The Orson Welles film “Citizen Kane” premiered in New York.

1948 The People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was proclaimed.

1960 The Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane near Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

1962 The first Target discount store opened in Roseville, Minn.

1967 Singer Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu in Las Vegas.

1971 Amtrak went into service, combining and streamlining the operations of 18 intercity passenger railroads.

1992 On the third day of the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King appeared in public to appeal for calm, asking “Can we all get along?”

2003 President George W. Bush landed in a jet on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the California coast and, in a speech to the nation, declared major combat in Iraq over.

2011 Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II, moving his predecessor a step closer to sainthood.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Country singer Tim McGraw turns 45 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Actress Julie Benz (“No Ordinary Family”) turns 40 years old today.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

1925 Chuck Bednarik, Football Hall of Famer, turns 87

1925 Scott Carpenter, Former astronaut, turns 87

1939 Judy Collins, Folk singer, turns 73

1945 Rita Coolidge, Singer, turns 67

1951 Dann Florek, Actor (“Law and Order: SVU”), turns 61

1954 Ray Parker Jr., R&B singer, turns 58

1969 Wes Anderson, Director, turns 43

Historic Birthdays

Kate Smith 5/1/1907 – 6/17/1986 American radio and television singer.Go to obituary »

47 Joseph Addison 5/1/1672 – 6/17/1719
English essayist, poet and dramatist

56 Benjamin Latrobe 5/1/1764 – 9/3/1820
British-born American architect and civil engineer

83 Arthur Wellesley 5/1/1769 – 9/14/1852
English general; defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo (1815)

48 Jose Alencar 5/1/1829 – 12/12/1877
Brazilian journalist, novelist and playwright

100 Mary Harris Jones 5/1/1830 – 11/30/1930
American labor organizer known as “Mother Jones”

87 Cecilia Beaux 5/1/1855 – 9/17/1942
American portrait painter

73 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 5/1/1881 – 4/10/1955
French philosopher and paleontologist

87 Mark Clark 5/1/1896 – 4/17/1984
American army general during World War II and the Korean War

93 Eugene Black 5/1/1898 – 2/20/1992
American financier; president of the World Bank (1949-62)

60 Winthrop Rockefeller 5/1/1912 – 2/22/1973
American philanthropist and governor of Arkansas (1967-71)

71 Terry Southern 5/1/1924 – 10/29/1995
American novelist and screenwriter

1707	The Kingdom of Great Britain was created as a treaty merging England and Scotland took effect.
1786	Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro” premiered in Vienna.
1941	The Orson Welles film “Citizen Kane” premiered in New York.
1948	The People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was proclaimed.
1960	The Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane near Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
1962	The first Target discount store opened in Roseville, Minn.
1967	Singer Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu in Las Vegas.
1971	Amtrak went into service, combining and streamlining the operations of 18 intercity passenger railroads.
1992	On the third day of the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King appeared in public to appeal for calm, asking “Can we all get along?”
2003	President George W. Bush landed in a jet on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the California coast and, in a speech to the nation, declared major combat in Iraq over.
2011	Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II, moving his predecessor a step closer to sainthood.

1925	Chuck Bednarik, Football Hall of Famer, turns 87
1925	Scott Carpenter, Former astronaut, turns 87
1939	Judy Collins, Folk singer, turns 73
1945	Rita Coolidge, Singer, turns 67
1951	Dann Florek, Actor (“Law and Order: SVU”), turns 61
1954	Ray Parker Jr., R&B singer, turns 58
1969	Wes Anderson, Director, turns 43

47	Joseph Addison 5/1/1672 – 6/17/1719 English essayist, poet and dramatist
56	Benjamin Latrobe 5/1/1764 – 9/3/1820 British-born American architect and civil engineer
83	Arthur Wellesley 5/1/1769 – 9/14/1852 English general; defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo (1815)
48	Jose Alencar 5/1/1829 – 12/12/1877 Brazilian journalist, novelist and playwright
100	Mary Harris Jones 5/1/1830 – 11/30/1930 American labor organizer known as “Mother Jones”
87	Cecilia Beaux 5/1/1855 – 9/17/1942 American portrait painter
73	Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 5/1/1881 – 4/10/1955 French philosopher and paleontologist
87	Mark Clark 5/1/1896 – 4/17/1984 American army general during World War II and the Korean War
93	Eugene Black 5/1/1898 – 2/20/1992 American financier; president of the World Bank (1949-62)
60	Winthrop Rockefeller 5/1/1912 – 2/22/1973 American philanthropist and governor of Arkansas (1967-71)
71	Terry Southern 5/1/1924 – 10/29/1995 American novelist and screenwriter