May 1

in History

Diocletian Abdicates — The only Roman emperor to retire

Nicomedia, Roman Empire (modern Turkey)Classical

305

Diocletian Abdicates

The only Roman emperor to retire

In a ceremony without precedent in Roman history, Emperor Diocletian voluntarily removed his purple robes and abdicated the throne, accompanied by his co-ruler Maximian. The man who had rescued the empire from the Crisis of the Third Century, reformed its government, and invented the Tetrarchy chose retirement in his palace at Split over the intoxication of power. It was the only voluntary abdication by a Roman emperor, and Diocletian spent his remaining years famously tending his cabbages.

305 AD

Scofield Mine Explosion — Two hundred miners never come home

Scofield, Utah, United StatesEarly 20th Century

1900

Scofield Mine Explosion

Two hundred miners never come home

Deep beneath the mountains of Scofield, Utah, a catastrophic dust explosion ripped through a coal mine, killing at least two hundred miners in one of America's worst industrial disasters. The blast, triggered when coal dust was ignited by a blasting charge, sent shockwaves through the mining community and the nation. The tragedy became a catalyst for mine safety reform, though decades would pass before meaningful protections were enacted for the workers who fueled America's industrial growth.

1900 AD

Salvatore Giuliano — Sicilian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a crowd of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi.

Early 20th Century

1947

Salvatore Giuliano

Sicilian separatist Salvatore Giuliano and his gang fired into a crowd of May Day marchers near Piana degli Albanesi.

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.

1947 AD