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”.

The “Mission Accomplished” speech was a televised address given by President George W. Bush on May 1, 2003, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which was returning from combat operations in the Persian Gulf.

The speech was significant because it marked the end of major combat operations in the Iraq War, which had begun in March 2003. President Bush used the occasion to declare that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended” and to praise the efforts of U.S. military personnel in the region.

However, the speech became controversial in the years that followed, as the conflict in Iraq continued and the insurgency grew. Critics argued that the speech was premature and that it gave the false impression that the war had been won, when in fact it was far from over.

Furthermore, the “Mission Accomplished” banner that was displayed behind President Bush during the speech became a symbol of the administration’s overly optimistic and misguided approach to the war, and it was widely criticized for its hubris.

The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain takes effect.

Joseph Goebbels who was was a German Nazi politician and then Hitlers Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 1945 takes his own life.

Joseph Goebbels was a prominent figure in Nazi Germany and served as Adolf Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda from 1933 until the end of World War II in 1945. He was born on October 29, 1897, in Rheydt, Germany, and died on May 1, 1945, in Berlin. Goebbels was a key architect of Nazi propaganda, using media and communications to manipulate public opinion and promote Nazi ideology.

Early Life and Education: Goebbels was born into a Catholic family and initially wanted to become a priest. However, he was rejected by the seminary due to a clubfoot condition. He went on to study literature and philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1921.

Early Involvement in Politics: Goebbels joined the Nazi Party in 1924, shortly after Adolf Hitler’s release from prison. He quickly rose through the ranks due to his effective public speaking and writing skills. He became the Gauleiter (regional leader) of Berlin in 1926.

Minister of Propaganda: In 1933, after Hitler came to power, Goebbels was appointed as the Reich Minister of Propaganda and Enlightenment. In this role, he had control over all forms of media, including newspapers, radio, film, and literature. He used these platforms to spread Nazi propaganda and anti-Semitic messages.

Anti-Semitic Propaganda: Goebbels played a significant role in promoting and disseminating Nazi anti-Semitic propaganda. He orchestrated campaigns that portrayed Jews as enemies of the German people and scapegoats for the country’s problems.

Total War Propaganda: During World War II, Goebbels intensified his propaganda efforts, using the concept of “total war” to justify extreme measures and rally the German population. He encouraged civilians to support the war effort through various means, including rationing and participating in the war economy.

Downfall and Suicide: As Allied forces closed in on Berlin in 1945, Goebbels remained loyal to Hitler until the end. When it became clear that Germany would lose the war, he and his wife, Magda Goebbels, poisoned their six children and then committed suicide in the Führerbunker on May 1, 1945, shortly before Hitler’s own suicide.

SpongeBob SquarePants premieres on Nickelodeon.

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The 3-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident whilst leading the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

Brazil’s three-time Formula One world champion Senna was killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola on May 1st, 1994. The circuit is being opened to the public from the 20th anniversary on Thursday through to May 4th.

Roland Ratzenberger, the Austrian driver who died the day before Senna in a crash on the same track during qualifying, will also be remembered.

Past and current figures from F1 are set to be present for a series of events, from which a part of each day’s proceeds will go towards the Ayrton Senna Institute’s charitable works.

Around the Imola site – where the paddock and pits will be open and people will be able to either drive, cycle or travel on foot around the track – there will be a commemorative ceremony, as well as exhibitions and talks, including a presentation on safety in F1.

A lasting legacy of the deaths of Senna and Ratzenberger was the impact they had on the attitudes towards driver safety in the sport. It is testament to the measures implemented since, that Senna, who was 34, remains the last driver to die over the course of an F1 weekend.

The Sao Paulo native was truly a sporting superstar at the time of his death, and has attained almost demigod status in his home country. He made his F1 debut in 1984 with Toleman and, after moving to Lotus, secured two fourth-placed championship finishes and then third spot in 1987.

In 1988 he joined McLaren as team-mate to Alain Prost, and from there, one of the greatest rivalries in F1 history played out.

Senna pipped the Frenchman to the title that year, saw Prost take it ahead of him in 1989, and was then crowned champion in each of the following two seasons, becoming the then-youngest three-time champion in history in 1991 at the age of 31.

In 1992 he came fourth and was then second in 1993 as Prost, who had moved to Williams, claimed his fourth title.

Senna finally joined Williams himself for the 1994 campaign, with Prost deciding to retire as he refused to be his team-mate again. The Brazilian made his worst start to a season with two retirements in the opening two races. The third race, which proved to be his last, was at Imola.

Senna, who was leading at the time, crashed on lap seven, smashing into a wall at the Tamburello Curve and sustaining fatal head injuries.

Brazil’s president Itamar Franco ordered three days of national mourning, and when Senna’s body was flown back to his home city, an estimated three million people lined the streets to pay their respects as it made a 20-mile journey from the airport to the building where he lay in state.

Once there, the queue of those who wished to pay their last respects is understood to have stretched for three miles, some suggesting it was seven hours before the last of the 200,000 mourners shuffled past.

The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.

On this day in 1 May 1931, President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates New York City’s Empire State Building, pressing a button from the White House that turns on the building’s lights. Hoover’s gesture, of course, was symbolic; while the president remained in Washington, D.C., someone else flicked the switches in New York.

The idea for the Empire State Building is said to have been born of a competition between Walter Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation and John Jakob Raskob of General Motors, to see who could erect the taller building. Chrysler had already begun work on the famous Chrysler Building, the gleaming 1,046-foot skyscraper in midtown Manhattan. Not to be bested, Raskob assembled a group of well-known investors, including former New York Governor Alfred E. Smith. The group chose the architecture firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates to design the building. The Art-Deco plans, said to have been based in large part on the look of a pencil, were also builder-friendly: The entire building went up in just over a year, under budget at $40 million and well ahead of schedule. During certain periods of building, the frame grew an astonishing four-and-a-half stories a week.

At the time of its completion, the Empire State Building, at 102 stories and 1,250 feet high 1,454 feet to the top of the lightning rod, was the world’s tallest skyscraper. The Depression-era construction employed as many as 3,400 workers on any single day, most of whom received an excellent pay rate, especially given the economic conditions of the time. The new building imbued New York City with a deep sense of pride, desperately needed in the depths of the Great Depression, when many city residents were unemployed and prospects looked bleak. The grip of the Depression on New York’s economy was still evident a year later, however, when only 25 percent of the Empire State’s offices had been rented.

In 1972, the Empire State Building lost its title as world’s tallest building to New York’s World Trade Center, which itself was the tallest skyscraper for but a year. Today the honor belongs to Dubai’s Burj Khalifa tower, which soars 2,717 feet into the sky.

Queen Victoria opens London’s Great Exhibition.

The 1940 Summer Olympics planned for Tokyo are cancelled due to war.

Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor.