What Happened in May 1976

Historical Events

Event of Interest

May 1 102nd Kentucky Derby: Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr.wins aboard Bold Forbes, the second of 3 Derby successes

Event of Interest

May 3 Pulitzer prize awarded to Saul Bellow (Humboldt's Gift)

Novelist Saul Bellow — Novelist
Saul Bellow

May 4 Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner's musical "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" opens at Mark Hellinger, NYC; runs for 7 performances
May 5 Train collision at Schiedam, Netherlands, kills 24
May 6 An earthquake strikes Friuli in Northern Italy, causes 989 deaths and the destruction of entire villages
May 8 Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner's musical "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue" closes at Mark Hellinger, NYC, after 7 performances
May 8 The rollercoaster Revolution (roller coaster), the first steel coaster with a vertical flip, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain
May 9 "So Long 174th St" closes at Harkness Theater NYC after 16 performances
May 11 Emmy 3rd Daytime Award presentation
May 11 Last broadcast of "Marcus Welby, MD" on ABC-TV
May 12 20th European Cup: Bayern Munich beats Saint-Etienne 1-0 at Glasgow
May 13 9th & final ABA championship: NY Nets beat Denver Nuggets, 4 games to 2
May 14 Lowell Thomas ends 46 years as radio network reporter
May 14 Oil tanker Urqui Ola explodes off Spanish coast

May 15 101st Preakness: John Lively aboard Elocutionist wins in 1:55
May 15 Fonz Song by Heyettes hits #91
May 15 Kentucky Moonrunner by Cledus Maggard hits #85
May 15 The Ulster Volunteer Force launch gun and bomb attacks on 2 pubs in County Armagh, killing 4 Catholic civilians and wounding many more; a British Army soldier is later convicted for taking part in the attacks
May 15 The Provisional Irish Republican Army kill 3 Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers in County Fermanagh and 1 in County Down

Event of Interest

May 16 Stanley Cup Final, The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA: Guy Lafleur and Pete Mahovlich each have a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Philadelphia Flyers, 5-3 for a 4 games series sweep

NHL Legend Guy Lafleur — NHL Legend
Guy Lafleur

Emmy Awards

May 17 28th Emmy Awards: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Jack Albertson & M Learned win

Actress Mary Tyler Moore — Actress
Mary Tyler Moore

May 17 Earthquake in Uzbekistan: thousands killed
May 19 Gold ownership legalized in Australia
May 19 Senate establishes permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
May 19 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
May 20 USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan USSR
May 22 NASA launches space vehicle S-179
May 22 St Louis Cardinal Reggie Smith hits 3 HR
May 24 1st commercial SST flight to North America (Concorde to Washington, D.C.)

Boxing Title Fight

May 24 Muhammad Ali TKOs Richard Dunn in 5 for heavyweight boxing title in Munich

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali — Heavyweight Boxing Champion
Muhammad Ali

May 24 In the Judgment of Paris, wine testers rate wines from California higher than their French counterparts, challenging the notion of France being the foremost producer of the world's best wines
May 27 "Something's Afoot" opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 61 performances

Event of Interest

May 28 29th Cannes Film Festival: "Taxi Driver" directed by Martin Scorsese wins the Palme d'Or

Film Director Martin Scorsese — Film Director
Martin Scorsese

Event of Interest

May 29 "One Piece At A Time" by Johnny Cash hits #29

Country Singer Johnny Cash — Country Singer
Johnny Cash

May 29 Only HR of Joe Niekro's 22-year career, comes off brother Phil
May 30 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Pine Ridge GC: Betty Burfeindt wins her only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Judy Rankin
May 30 Indianapolis 500: Johnny Rutherford wins in 1:42:52.466 (239.350 km/h)
May 31 The Who set the record for the loudest concert of all time, 120 decibels at 50 metres, at The Valley in Charlton

Famous Birthdays

May 1 Darius McCrary, actor (Edward Winslow-Family Matters)
May 3 Jeff Halpern, American ice hockey player, born in Potomac, Maryland
May 4 Heather Kozar, playmate (Jan, 1998), born in Akron, Ohio
May 4 Ben Grieve, American baseball player, born in Arlington, Texas
May 4 Jason Michaels, American baseball player, born in Tampa, Florida
May 5 Sage Stallone, American actor (Rocky V) and the eldest son of Sylvester Stallone, born in Los Angeles, California
May 5 Anastasios Pantos, Greek footballer, born in Korydallos, Greece
May 5 Juan Pablo Sorín, Argentine footballer (Argentine national team FIFA World Cups), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
May 6 Lindsay Page, figure skater (1997 E Great Lakes Sr-3rd), born in Madison, Wisconsin
May 7 Nicholas Butcher, field hockey midfielder/forward (Olympics 1996), born in Los Angeles, California
May 8 Oleg Tverdovsky, Donetsk Ukr, NHL defenseman (Winnipeg Jets)
May 8 Martha Wainwright, Canadian-American musician and songwriter, born in Montréal, Quebec
May 8 Ian "H" Watkins, Welsh pop singer (Steps - "Heartbeat"; "Stomp"), actor, and television personality, born in Llwynypia, Wales
May 10 Stuart Braithwaite, Scottish musician (Mogwai)
May 10 Rob Malda, American internet writer/editor (Slashdot)
May 10 Udo Mechels, Belgian singer
May 10 Aggeliki Tsiolakoudi, Greek javelin thrower
May 11 Lloyd Pierce, American basketball head coach (Atlanta Hawks 2019), born in San Jose, California
May 12 Matt Mangano, American country-rock bass player (Zac Brown Band), born in Visalia, CA
May 13 Mark Delaney, Welsh footballer
May 14 Terrance Cauthen, lightweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1996), born in Trenton, New Jersey
May 14 Hunter Burgan, American musician (AFI)
May 14 Brian Lawrence, American baseball player
May 14 Martine McCutcheon, British actress
May 15 Adolfo Bautista, Mexican footballer
May 15 Jacek Krzynówek, Polish footballer
May 15 Ryan Leaf, American football player
May 17 Anna Windsor, Australian swimmer (Olympics 1996), born in Sydney, New South Wales
May 17 Daniel Komen, Nyaru Kenya, 5k runner
May 17 Peter Devine, American fencer-foil (Olympics 1996), born in NYC, New York
May 17 Lee-Hom Wang, American-born Taiwanese musician and composer
May 19 Kevin Garnett, American basketball forward (15-time NBA All Star), born in Greenville, South Carolina
May 20 Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
May 20 Tomoya Satozaki, Japanese baseball player
May 21 Deron Miller, American rock musician
May 21 Kardinal Offishall, Canadian rapper
May 22 Christian Vande Velde, cyclist (Olympics 1996), born in Chicago, Illinois
May 23 Kelly Marie Monaco, playmate (April, 1997), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 23 Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer
May 24 Alessandro Cortini, Italian musician (Nine Inch Nails), born in Bologna, Italy
May 24 Catherine Cox, Australian netballer, born in Whangarei, New Zealand
May 24 Bob Maesen, Belgian flatwater canoer, born in Neerpelt, Pelt, Belgium
May 25 Tarik Glenn, American football offensive tackle (Indianapolis Colts), born in Cleveland, Ohio
May 25 Cillian Murphy, Irish actor (28 Days Later), born in Douglas, County Cork, Ireland
May 25 Ethan Suplee, American actor (American History X), born in Manhattan, New York
May 25 Sandra Nasić, German singer (Guano Apes), born in Göttingen, Germany
May 26 Benji Gregory, American actor (Brian Tanner-Alf), born in Encino, California
May 26 Scott Humphries, Greely Colo, tennis star (1995 doubles Binghampton)
May 26 Justin Pierre, American singer (Motion City Soundtrack)
May 27 Richard Park, Seoul Kor, NHL center (Pitts Penguins)
May 27 RJD2, American hip-hop producer
May 28 Liam O'Brien, American voice actor
May 28 Alexei Nemov, Russian gymnast
May 28 Glenn Morrison, Rugby League Player
May 29 David Buckner, American musician (Papa Roach)
May 29 Caçapa, Brazilian soccer defender (Brazil 3 caps, Lyon), born in Lavras, Brazil
May 29 Jerry Hairston Jr., American baseball infielder/outfielder, broadcaster (Baltimore Orioles), born in Des Moines, Iowa
May 29 Yūsuke Iseya, Japanese model and actor
May 29 Yegor Titov, Russian soccer midfielder, coach (Russia 41 caps), born in Moscow, Russia
May 30 Omri Hairi Katz, actor (Marshall Teller-Eerie Indiana), born in Los Angeles, California
May 30 Magnus Norman, Swedish tennis player

Colin Farrell

May 31 Colin Farrell, Irish actor (In Bruges, Minority Report), born in Dublin, Ireland

May 31 Matt Harpring, American basketball player

Famous Weddings

May 10 "KISS" former lead guitarist Ace Frehley (25) weds Janette Trerotola

Famous Deaths

May 1 Rex O'Malley, British actor (Camille, Zara, Midnight, Thief), dies at 75
May 1 Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet who fought the military junta in Greece (b. 1939)
May 1 T.R.M. Howard, civil rights leader, entrepreneur, surgeon (b. 1908)
May 3 David Bruce [Marden Andrew McBroom], American actor (The Mad Ghoul, Flying Tigers), dies from a heart attack at 60
May 3 Ernie Nevers, American College, Pro Football Hall of Fame fullback, coach (Stanford, Chicago Cardinals), dies of heart & kidney ailments at 72
May 4 Henri Bosco, French author and poet (Gogol), dies at 87
May 5 Thomas Burnett Swann, American sci-fi author (Day of Minotaur), dies at 47
May 6 Karel M J F Cruysberghs, Flemish author (On the Pulpit), dies at 85
May 7 Alan Baxter, American actor (Big Town Girl, Rags to Riches), dies at 67
May 8 Ulrike Meinhof, lead Germany Red Army Faction, dies
May 8 Fred McLeod, Scottish golfer (US Open 1908), dies at 94
May 9 Raymond Chevreuille, Belgian composer, dies at 74
May 9 Valentino Bucchi, Italian composer, dies at 59
May 9 Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian poet & writer (Dikt, Jonas), dies at 55
May 10 George Curzon, dies at 77
May 10 Elias Aslaksen, Leader of Smith's Friends (b. 1888)
May 11 Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (Finlandia House), dies at 78
May 11 Camille Schmit, Belgian composer, dies at 68
May 12 Rudolf Kempe, German conductor (Tonhalle Orch 1965-72), dies at 65
May 14 Keith Relf, British blues-rock singer and harmonica player (The Yardbirds - "For Your Love"; Renaissance, 1969-71), electrocuted while playing an improperly earthed electric guitar at 33
May 15 Samuel Eliot Morison, American historian (Admiral of the Ocean Sea), dies at 88
May 20 Syd Howe, Canadian ice hockey player, dies at 64
May 20 Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan politician, member of the Christian-Democrat party, and Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz "disappeared"
May 21 Sulo Nikolai Salonen, Finnish composer, dies at 77
May 21 Harold Blair, Australian tenor and Aboriginal activist, dies at 51
May 24 Henk [Hendrik Johannes] Lankhorst, Dutch politician (PSP), dies at 62
May 24 Melle Oldeboerrigter, Dutch painter and cartoonist, dies at 65

Martin Heidegger

May 26 Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (Being & Time), dies at 86

May 26 Juan Maino, Chilean leader of MAPU, "disappeared"
May 26 Edgar Moon, Australian tennis player (Australian C'ships 1930), dies at 71
May 27 Ruth McDevitt, actress (Jo-All in the Family), dies at 80
May 28 Steffan Danielsen, Faroese painter (b. 1922)
May 30 Max Carey, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (World Series 1925; 10 × NL stolen base leader; Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn Robins) and manager (Brooklyn Dodgers), dies at 86
May 30 Vic Ghezzi, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1941), dies of cancer at 65
May 31 Jacques Monod, French biochemist, dies
May 31 Martha Mitchell [nee Beall], wife of Attorney General John Mitchell, dies of multiple myeloma at 57