Historical Events
- May 7 The settlement of Mayagüez elevates Puerto Rico to the royal status of villa by the government of Spain
- May 15 Francis Baily observes "Baily's Beads" during annular solar eclipse
Music History
May 22 Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio "St Paul" premieres in Dusseldorf
- May 31 HMS Beagle anchors in Simons Bay, Cape of Good Hope
Famous Birthdays
- May 8 Bryan Morel Thomas, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Milledgeville, Georgia (d. 1905)
- May 14 James Patrick Major, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1877)
- May 17 Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian world chess champion (1866-94), born in Prague, Bohemia, Austrian Empire (d. 1900)
- May 17 Virginie Loveling, Flemish writer (Sophie) and poet, born in Nevele, East Flanders, Belgium (d. 1923)
- May 17 Sir Norman Lockyer, English physicist, co-founder of helium gas, founder and editor of "Nature" magazine, born in Rugby, Warwickshire (d. 1920)
- May 18 Sydir Vorobkevych, Ukrainian composer, poet, newspaper editor, and Orthodox priest, born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine (d. 1903)
- May 24 Joseph Rowntree, British social reformer, born in York, England (d. 1925)
- May 27 Edwin Gray Lee, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Shepherdstown, Virginia (d. 1870)
- May 27 Jay Gould, American railroad developer and speculator, born in Roxbury, New York (d. 1892)
- May 28 Alexander Mitscherlich, German chemist and son of Eilhard Mitscherlich, born in Berlin (d. 1918)
Famous Weddings
Edgar Allan Poe
May 16 American writer Edgar Allan Poe (26) marries his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm
