1707– Acts of Union comes into force, uniting England and Scotland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain 1753– Publication of Species Plantarum by Carolus Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature 1841– First emigrant wagon train leaves Independence, Missouri, for California 1886 - US general strike for 8-hour working day begins 1989 –May Day—traditionally a celebration of the return of spring, marked by dancing around a Maypole—was first observed as a labour holiday, designated as such by the International Socialist Congress. 1931 – Empire State Building opens in New York City 1961– The first major airplane hijacking within the United States occurred when a man forced a commercial airliner en route from Miami to Key West, Florida, to detour to Cuba. 2004 – The European Union was enlarged to include the new member states of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Births & Deaths: 1909 – American singer Kate Smith, known as the “first lady of radio,” was born.
Film: 1941– “Citizen Kane”, directed by Orson Welles and starring himself, Joseph Cotten and Dorothy Corningore, premieres at the Palace Theater in New York City
Music: 1786– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera “Marriage of Figaro” premieres in Vienna with Mozart himself directing
