May 27 Habeas Corpus Act passes in England, strengthening a person's right to challenge unlawful arrest and imprisonment
Famous Birthdays
May 12 Giovanni Antonio Ricieri, Italian composer and castrato (d. 1746)
May 14 Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer who invented the Horrebow-Talcott Method, a method to determine a location's latitude from the stars, born in Løgstør, Jutland, Denmark (d. 1764)
Famous Deaths
May 1 Esaias Reusner, German lutenist and composer, dies at 43
May 3 James Sharp, English archbishop (assassinated) (b. 1613)
May 26 Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (1651-79), dies at 42
Abolitionists
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
Spies