The following events occurred in May 1904:
May 1, 1904 (Sunday) 19-year-old duck hunter John Mortensen of Wairoa, New Zealand, drowned in about of water on the Whare-o-Maraenui reserve in Napier, New Zealand, apparently having fallen while suffering a seizure. Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of the Yalu River, the war's first major land battle, ended in a Japanese victory. International Workers' Day: Russian railway workers held a protest in Tashkent, Russian Empire. The Armenian Social-Democratic Labour Organization organized a strike of between 4,000 and 5,000 Armenian workers in Balakhani, Russian Empire. 70,000 anarchist workers marched in the streets of La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina, in memory of the Haymarket defendants. 18-year-old sailor Juan Ocampo was killed in a crackdown by authorities.
The Belgian and French national association football teams made their debuts in the Évence Coppée Trophy, a match at the Stade du Vivier d'Oie in Uccle, Brussels, Belgium. The game ended in a 3–3 draw; therefore, the trophy itself was not awarded. Colonel Ismael Montes was elected President of Bolivia. The construction of Orchestra Hall began in Chicago, Illinois. At a drinking party in Duncan, Iowa, James Banda died after drinking carbolic acid. A coroner's jury concluded that someone handed Banda the acid. It remains unclear whether or not Banda was murdered. Born: John Abt, American lawyer and politician; in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1991) Carlos J. Anderson (a.k.a. Carlos Andreson), American painter and illustrator; in Midvale, Utah (d. 1978) José Bonifácio Lafayette de Andrada, Brazilian lawyer and politician; in Barbacena, Brazil (d. 1986) Emil Augsburg, German SS functionary and war criminal; in Łódź, Kingdom of Poland, Russian Empire (d. 1981) Wally Downer (born Alfred Wallace Downer), Canadian politician and Anglican priest, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; in Lefaive's Corners (near Penetanguishene in Simcoe County), Ontario, Canada (d. 1994) Katherine Grant, American actress; in Los Angeles, California (d. 1937, pulmonary tuberculosis with dementia praecox psychosis) M. Donald Grant, Canadian American businessman, chairman and minority owner of the New York Mets; in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (d. 1998) Donn Greenshields, National Football League tackle; in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1961, suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning) Anton Janda, Austrian footballer and coach; in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1985) Joel (born Joel de Oliveira Monteiro), Brazilian footballer; in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 1990) Sigmund Neumann, German American political scientist and sociologist; in Leipzig, German Empire (d. 1962) Tom Oswald, Scottish Member of Parliament; in Leith, Scotland (d. 1990) Lucia Pamela, American musician and bandleader; in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2002, cardiac arrest) M. P. Paul, academic and literary critic of Malayalam; in Puthenpally Varapuzha, Ernakulam district, Kerala, India (d. 1952) Fred Spencer, American animator (Walt Disney Productions); in Missouri (d. 1938, automobile accident) Paul Sterian, Romanian poet and civil servant; in Bucharest, Romania (d. 1984) Died: William Collett, English cricketer (b. 1839) Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer, stroke (possibly pulmonary embolism) (b. 1841) Charles N. Fox, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California, paralysis of the brain (b. 1829) Wilhelm His Sr., Swiss anatomist (b. 1831) Andrew Kiefer, German American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota (b. 1832) James Massie, Canadian businessman and politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (b. 1833) Mary McDonald, 32, first victim of the Cumminsville murders John Jenks Shonk, American coal operator, member of the Pennsylvania State Legislature (b. 1815) Edith Sutherland, daughter of former Surgeon General of the United States Army Charles Sutherland, suicide by laudanum poisoning
May 2, 1904 (Monday)
The horse Elwood, ridden by jockey Frank Prior, won the 1904 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Elwood was the first Kentucky Derby winner to be owned by a woman, Lasca Durnell. Born: Bruno Bianchi, Italian Olympic champion sailor; in Genoa, Province of Genoa, Italy (d. 1988) Bill Brandt (born Hermann Wilhelm Brandt), German-born British photographer; in Hamburg, Germany (d. 1983) Maurice Estève, French painter; in Culan, Cher, France (d. 2001) Died: Émile Duclaux, French microbiologist (b. 1840) Edgar Fawcett, American poet and novelist (b. 1847) Alexander Wade, American educator, obstruction of the stomach (b. 1832)
May 3, 1904 (Tuesday)