Friday, May 1, 2026

The evacuation of nearly 88,000 people began when a wildfire swept through Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, and burned for another 14 months, becoming the costliest disaster in Canadian history.

Faisal Shahzad attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, New York City, but it failed to explode.

The Horncastle boar's head (pictured), which probably once formed part of the crest of an Anglo-Saxon helmet, was found.

In Major League Baseball, Rickey Henderson broke the record for stolen bases on the same night that Nolan Ryan broke his own record for no-hitters.

Argentine president Juan Perón expelled Montoneros from a demonstration in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, forcing the group to become a clandestine organization.

Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Sicilian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a crowd of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, killing 11 and wounding 33.

Second World War: British and Indian forces conducted a successful airborne assault on a Japanese artillery battery during the advance to liberate Rangoon, Burma.