Historical Events
- May 4 Italy & Spain sign military covenant
- May 7 Édouard Lalo's opera "Le roi d'Ys" premieres in Paris
- May 11 16th Preakness: F Littlefield aboard Refund wins in 2:49
- May 12 Crouching start 1st used in track and field by Charles Sherrill of Yale
- May 13 DeWolf Hooper 1st recites "Casey at Bat"
- May 13 Princess Isabel of Brazil signs "Lei Auréa" abolishing slavery
- May 14 14th Kentucky Derby: George Covington aboard MacBeth II wins in 2:38.00
- May 16 CPR opens Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia
- May 22 Leroy Buffington patents a system to build skyscrapers
Famous Birthdays
- May 6 Emanuel Celler, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1981)
- May 9 Rolf de Maré, Swedish art collector and museum director, born in Stockholm (d. 1964)
- May 10 Max Steiner, Austrian composer (Gone With the Wind), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1971)
Irving Berlin
May 11 Irving Berlin [Israel Isidore Baline], American composer and lyricist considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history (God Bless America, White Xmas), born in Tyumen, Russian Empire (d. 1989)
Irving Berlin
- May 11 P A J Losecaat Vermeer, leader of Dutch High Council
- May 11 Willis Augustus Lee, American World War II admiral (Guadalcanal) and sport shooter (5 Olympic golds 1920), born in Natlee, Kentucky (d. 1945)
- May 13 Inge Lehmann, Danish geophysicist and seismologist and geophysicist, born in Østerbro, Denmark (d. 1993)
- May 14 Miles Mander, British actor (Tower of London, Wuthering Heights, Murder!), born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England (d. 1946)
- May 15 Jean Wahl, French philosopher
- May 17 Tich Freeman, English cricket leg-spin bowler (12 Tests, 66 wickets; Kent), born in Lewisham, England (d. 1965)
- May 17 Selmer Jackson, American actor (The Grapes of Wrath, Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp), born in Lake Mills, Iowa (d. 1971)
- May 21 May Aufderheide, American ragtime composer (Dusty Rag), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 1972)
- May 23 Adrian Roland Holst, Dutch poet (Raged & Tired)
- May 23 Zack Wheat, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (NL batting champion 1918; Brooklyn Superbas / Dodgers / Robins 1909–26), born in Hamilton, Missouri (d. 1972)
- May 25 Miles Malleson, British writer and actor (Phantom of the Opera, Postman's Knock), born in Croydon, Surrey, England (d. 1969)
- May 27 Louis Durey, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1979)
- May 30 James A Farley, postmaster general (1932-38)
- May 31 Jack Holt, American golddigger and actor (Cat People, San Francisco, Brimstone), born in NYC, New York (d. 1951)
Famous Deaths
- May 17 Giacomo Zanella, Italian poet (b. 1820)
