Historical Events
- May 1 The planet Pluto is officially named by 11 year-old Venetia Burney
Event of Interest
May 1 Cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 236 for Australia v Worcestershire in his first 1st class innings in England
Donald Bradman
- May 2 Des Moines (Western League) defeats Wichita 13-6 to open 1st ballpark with permanently installed lights
Event of Interest
May 5 Amy Johnson takes off - first woman to fly solo from England to Australia
Amy Johnson
- May 5 Australian cricket batting prodigy Don Bradman scores an unbeaten 185 in a tour match for Australia v Leicestershire at Aylestone Road, Leicester
- May 7 Duleepsinhji scores 333 for Sussex v Northants in 330 mins
- May 9 55th Preakness: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:00.6
Event of Interest
May 12 Pulitzer prize awarded to Marc Connelly (Green Pastures)
Marc Connelly
- May 15 Ellen Church becomes 1st female airline stewardess aboard a United flight from San Francisco to Cheyenne
- May 16 6th Walker Cup: US, 10-2
- May 17 56th Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:07.6
- May 19 White women win voting rights in South Africa
- May 20 1st airplane catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot
- May 20 University of California dedicates $1,500 to research on prevention & cure of athlete's foot
- May 21 Max Bishop draws 8 walks in a doubleheader
Baseball Record
May 22 Yankees' future Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman Lou Gehrig becomes first to hit 3 HRs three times as NY outscores Philadelphia A's, 20-13; teams combine for then-record 10 homers
Lou Gehrig
- May 24 Amy Johnson becomes the 1st woman to fly solo from England to Australia
- May 24 21 year old Australian cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 252 not out in a tour match for Australia v Surrey at Kennington Oval, London
Event of Interest
May 27 The 1,046-foot (319-meter) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public
Walter Chrysler
- May 28 Georges Forbes succeeds Joseph Ward as premier of New Zealand
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Bill Arnold wins (161.6 kph)
- May 31 Don Bradman batting for Australia v Hampshire at Southampton is 47 not out at stumps, bringing his aggregate to 1,001 runs, the first cricket touring overseas batsman to complete 1,000 runs by end of May
- May 31 Building begins on Albert Canal in Belgium
- May 31 Comet 73P/1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3) approaches 0.0617 AUs of Earth
Event of Interest
May 31 British Amateur Championship, Men's Golf, St. Andrews Links: Bobby Jones scores a 7 & 6 win over Englishman Roger Wethered for the first leg of his Grand Slam
Bobby Jones
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Little Walter [Marion Walter Jacobs], blues singer-songwriter and harmonica player, born in Marksville, Louisiana (d. 1968)
- May 1 Ollie Matson, Pro/College Football Hall of Fame halfback (First-team All-Pro 1952, 54–59; Pro Bowl 1952, 54–58; NFL 1950s All Decade Team), born in Trinity, Texas (d. 2011)
- May 1 Richard Riordan, mayor of Los Angeles (R, 1993-2001), born in NYC, New York
- May 2 Marco Pannella, Italian politician and activist, born in Teramo (d. 2016)
- May 3 Juan Gelman, Argentine poet, born in Buenos Aires (d. 2014)
- May 4 Roberta Peters, American operatic soprano (NY Met), born in NYC, New York (d. 2017)
- May 4 Ronald "Ron" Pickering, British athletics coach and BBC sports commentator, born in Hackney, England (d. 1991)
- May 4 Katherine Jackson [Kattie B Screws], American matriarch of the Jackson family, born in Clayton, Alabama
- May 5 Michael J. Adams, USAF pilot (X-15), born in Sacramento, California (d. 1967)
- May 7 Horst Bienek, German writer and director (The First Polka), born in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany (d. 1990)
- May 7 Totie Fields [Sophie Feldman], American comedienne, born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1978)
- May 8 Doug Atkins, NFL hall of famer (Browns, Bears, Saints), born in Humbolt Tennessee (d. 2015)
- May 8 Gary Snyder [Japhy Ryder], beat poet (Rip Rap & Cold Mountain Poems)
- May 8 Heather Harper, Northern Irish operatic soprano (Britten's War Requiem), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2019)
- May 8 Alex L. Shigo, Duquesne Pennsylvania, American Biologist and Plant Pathologist known for his study of tree decay and contributions to modern arboricultural practices
- May 9 Joan Sims, British actress ("Carry on" films, As Time Goes By), born in Laindon, Essex, England (d. 2001)
- May 10 June Knox-Mawer, British radio host/novelist (World of Islands)
Pat Summerall
May 10 Pat Summerall, American NFL player (NY Giants) and CBS sportscaster, born in Lake City, Florida (d. 2013)
Pat Summerall
- May 10 Scott Muni, American radio DJ (d. 2004)
- May 11 Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Caribbean poet (Born to Slow Horses) and academic, born in Bridgetown, Barbados (d. 2020)
- May 11 M J Hamlin, Principal/Vice-Chancellor (Dundee University)
- May 11 Stanley L Elkin, American writer/professor (Living End), born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 11 Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (d. 2002)
- May 11 Bud Ekins, American stuntman (d. 2007)
- May 11 William Carey, American businessman and philanthropist (W.P. Carey & Co. LLC), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2012)
- May 12 Pat McCormick, American diver (4 x Olympic gold women's springboard & platform 1952, 56), born in Seal Beach, California
- May 13 Mike Gravel, (Sen-R-Alaska)
- May 13 Vernon Shaw, former president of Dominica
- May 14 Edward V "Ned" Regan, Planfield NJ, (Controller-R-NY, 1978- )
- May 14 Phillipo Seed, social work academic
- May 15 Jasper Johns, painter/sculptor (Green Target), born in Augusta, Georgia
- May 16 Desmond Langley, British army officer and Governor of Bermuda, born in London (d. 2008)
- May 16 Don Conicannon, government minister
- May 16 Friedrich Gulda, Austrian classical and jazz pianist and composer (Ineffable; Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2000)
- May 16 Brian Davies, Rugby League player, born in Brisbane, Australia (d. 2012)
- May 18 Barbara Goldsmith, American author (Little Gloria Happy At Last), born in NYC, New York (d. 2016)
- May 18 Don Leslie Lind, American astronaut (STS 51-B), born in Midvale, Utah
- May 18 Fred[erick Thomas] Saberhagen, American sci-fi author (Book of Swords)
- May 18 Geoffrey Littler, CEO (County NatWest Group)
- May 18 Warren B Rudman, (Sen-R-NH, 1980- )
- May 19 Hans Kox, Dutch composer (Dorian Gray), born in Arnhem
- May 19 Lorraine Hansberry, playwright (Raisin in the Sun)
- May 20 James McEachin, American actor and author (Perry Mason, Harry-Tenafly), born in Rennert, North Carolina
- May 20 Robert Bunyard, Commandant (British Police Staff College)
- May 21 David Smith, principal/vice chancellor (Edinburgh University)
Malcolm Fraser
May 21 Malcolm Fraser, Prime Minister of Australia (Liberal, 1975-83), born in Toorak, Victoria
Malcolm Fraser
- May 21 Stanley Wells, English scholar of Shakespeare (Shakespeare Institute U of Birmingham), born in Hull, England
- May 22 Dieuwke de Graaff-Nauta, Dutch politician (State Secretary for the Interior 1986-94), born in Sneek, Netherlands (d. 2008)
- May 22 Kenny Ball, English jazz musician, born in Ilford, Essex (d. 2013)
Harvey Milk
May 22 Harvey Milk, American politician and gay activist, born in Woodmere, New York (d. 1978)
Harvey Milk
- May 22 Marisol (Maria Sol) Escobar, Venezuelan sculptor, born in Paris, France (d. 2016)
- May 22 LaSalle Leffall Jr., American surgeon, medical educator, and 1st black president of the American Cancer Society (1978), and the American College of Surgeons (1995), born in Tallahassee, Florida (d. 2019)
- May 23 Richard Anuszkiewicz, American artist 'new wizard of op', born in Erie, Pennsylvania (d. 2020)
- May 23 Friedrich Achleitner, German poet
- May 24 Hans-Martin Linde, German composer, born in Iserlohn, Germany
- May 24 Ivor Richardson, New Zealand judge (NZ Court of Appeals), born in Ashburton, New Zealand (d. 2014)
- May 25 Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer, born in Paris (d. 2016)
- May 27 Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer (Joanna tentata), born in Tallinn, Estonia (d. 2010)
- May 27 John Barth, novelist (Sot-Weed Factor)
- May 27 William S. Sessions, American director of FBI (1987-93), born in Fort Smith, Arkansas (d. 2020)
- May 28 Edward Seaga, PM (Jamaica)
- May 28 Julian Slade, English popular composer (Salad Days), born in London (d. 2006)
- May 29 Eddy Choong, Malaysian badminton player (Thomas Cup 1955), born in Penang, British Malaya (d. 2013)
- May 30 David Evatt Tunley, Australian composer, born in Australia
- May 30 Mark Birley, British nightclub owner (d. 2007)
- May 30 Robert Ryman, American painter
Clint Eastwood
May 31 Clint Eastwood, American actor (Dirty Harry)/mayor (Carmel, California), born in San Francisco, California
Clint Eastwood
- May 31 William Taylor, British Chairman of Convocation (London University)
Famous Deaths
Fridtjof Nansen
May 13 Fridtjof Nansen, Arctic explorer and diplomat (Nobel Peace Prize 1922), dies at 68
Fridtjof Nansen
- May 13 Helene Lange, German feminist (honoured with the Grand Prussian State Medal), dies at 82
- May 14 Władysław Orkan [Franciszek Ksawery Smaciarz], Polish author (Nowele Zebrane), dies at 54
- May 17 Herbert David Croly, US founder (New Republic), dies at 61
- May 18 João Marcellino Arroyo, Portuguese composer, dies at 68
- May 25 Randall Thomas Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1848)
