Local history

50 years ago: May 1, 1976

About 230 people attended the first annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast at the Penn Alto Hotel. Altoona Mayor William C. Stouffer gave testimony to his faith in God, and Arthur S. DeMoss, president of the National Liberty Corp. of Valley Forge, was the main speaker.

25 years ago: May 1, 2001

Family Services of Blair County held a memorial service at Zion Lutheran Church, then held a march in front of the Blair County Courthouse to honor victims of crime on Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

10 years ago: May 1, 2016

Penn State Entomology Professor Michael Saunders said that the cicada insect was due to emerge in the Blair County area after 17 years underground in the tens of thousands, and would also emerge in parts of Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.

— Compiled by Tim Doyle

World history

Today is Friday, May 1, the 121st day of 2026. There are 244 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden during a U.S. commando operation, which took place in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

On this date:

– In 1866, three days of race-related rioting erupted in Memphis, Tennessee, as white mobs targeted Black people, 46 of whom were killed, along with two whites.

– In 1963, Jim Whittaker, joined by Sherpa mountaineer Nawang Gombu, became the first American to summit Mount Everest.

– In 1971, the national passenger rail service Amtrak went into operation to bolster the declining privately-run intercity rail market.

— The Associated Press