Historical Events
- May 1 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in San Diego CA on KIOZ 105.3 FM
- May 1 Tasmania becomes the last state in Australia to decriminalize homosexuality
Election of Interest
May 1 Tony Blair elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
May 2 "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery", starring Mike Myers and Elizabeth Hurley, is released
- May 2 Mercury Mail announces its 1 millionth internet subscriber
Film & TV History
May 2 Police arrest transsexual prostitute Atisone Seiuli with Eddie Murphy
- May 2 Republic of Texas security chief Robert Scheidt surrenders
- May 3 123rd Kentucky Derby: Gary Stevens aboard Silver Charm wins in 2:02.3
- May 3 42nd Eurovision Song Contest: Katrina and the Waves for United Kingdom wins singing "Love Shine a Light" in Dublin
Sports History
May 3 Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov begins chess match with IBM supercomputer Deep Blue
- May 5 "Married With Children" final episode on Fox TV
- May 5 Iridium-1 Delta 2 Launch, Successful
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
May 6 12th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Bee Gees; Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills & Nash; The Jackson Five; Joni Mitchell; Parliament-Funkadelic; The (Young) Rascals; Mahalia Jackson; Bill Monroe; and Syd Nathan
- May 6 NHL Hartford Whalers become Carolina Hurricanes
- May 6 Rick Pitino becomes coach of Boston Celtics
- May 6 The Bank of England is given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank's 300-year history
- May 6 US Army Staff Sgt Delmar Simpson gets 25-year sentence in military prison for 18 counts of rape, and other offenses (part of the Aberdeen Scandal)
- May 7 Expos scores 13 in 6th at Giants
- May 7 Galileo, 4th Ganymede Flyby (Orbit 8)
The Fifth Element
May 7 Science fiction film "The Fifth Element" written and directed by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich is released. Then the most expensive European film ever made.
Music History
May 11 Cheryl L. West and Shelden Epp's musical "Play On!", an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" set in 1940s Harlem, featuring music of Duke Ellington, closes at Brooks Atkinson Theatre ,NYC. after 61 performances
- May 11 Chess-playing computer Deep Blue developed by IBM defeats Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov 3.5-2.5 in chess
- May 11 NY Mets C Everett & Butch Huskey are 9th to hit consecutive pinch HRs
It's Your Love
May 12 "It's Your Love" single released by Time McGraw and Faith Hill
- May 12 14 North Koreans defect to South Korea
- May 12 Angels scores 13 in 7th vs White Sox
- May 12 Australian Susie Maroney becomes first to swim from Cuba to Florida
- May 12 Russia & Chechnya sign peace deal after 400 years of conflict
- May 12 Tornado narrowly misses downtown Miami
Sports History
May 13 Eddie Murray is 6th baseball player to play in 3,000 games
Sports History
May 14 Baseball's Executive Council suspends NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for his suing other team owners
- May 14 FC Barcelona of Spain win 37th European Cup Winner's Cup against Paris Saint-Germain of France 1-0 in Rotterdam
- May 15 ABC News & Starwave Corp launch ABCNEWS.com
Music Premiere
May 15 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 4 ("Heroes"), based loosely on David Bowie's 1977 album "Heroes" premieres with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields conducted by Martn Brabbins. at the Crouch End Festival in North London, England
- May 15 STS 84 (Atlantis 19), launches, 6th Shuttle-Mir Mission
- May 16 Atlanta Braves beat St Louis Cardinals, 1-0 in 13 innings
- May 16 Brandi Sherwood (Miss Idaho) replaces Brook Lee as Miss USA when Brook is crowned Miss Universe
- May 16 Brook Mehealani Lee, 26, of USA crowned 46th Miss Universe
- May 16 Final agreement creating Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) signed by project participants, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Chevron Corp and others
- May 16 MLB Montreal Expos trailing San Francisco Giants by 9 runs comeback to win 14-13
- May 16 MLB St Louis Cardinal Gary Gaetti records his 2,000th hit
- May 17 122nd Preakness: Gary Stevens aboard Silver Charm wins in 1:54
Event of Interest
May 17 Troops loyal to Laurent-Désiré Kabila march into Kinshasa and seize power, ending the First Congo War
- May 17 WIBC Bowling Queens won by Sandra Jo Shiery-Odom
- May 18 "King David" opens at New Amsterdam Theater NYC
- May 18 50th Cannes Film Festival: "Taste of Cherry" directed by Abbas Kiarostami and "Unagi" directed by Shohei Imamura jointly awarded the Palme d'Or
LPGA Championship
May 18 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, DuPont CC: Christa Johnson wins her only major title on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff over Leta Lindley
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
May 19 "The Lost World: Jurassic Park", directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Moore, premieres in the US
- May 20 Cosmos Zenit-2 Launch (Russia), Failed
- May 20 Thor-2A Delta 2 Launch (Norway/USA), Successful
Event of Interest
May 20 US President Clinton signs an executive order barring new US investment in Burma (also known as Myanmar), effective May 21 and renewable annually
- May 20 White Sox Frank Thomas reaches base safely for 15th straight time
Sports History
May 21 Blue Jays pitcher Roger Clemens beats the Yankees for his 200th win
Daytime Emmy Awards
May 21 Emmy 24th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 17th time
- May 22 "Closer" play by Patrick Marber starring Clive Owen, opens at the Royal National Theatre in London
- May 22 Kelly Flinn, US Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court martial
- May 23 "King David" closes at New Amsterdam Theater NYC
- May 23 Mel Karmazin replaces Peter Lund as CEO of CBS TV
- May 24 STS 84 (Atlantis 19), lands
- May 24 Telstar-5 Proton Launch, Successful
- May 25 A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah
Sports History
May 25 Minnesota Twins retire Kirby Puckett's uniform #
- May 25 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Philadelphia Flyers beat New York Rangers, 4 games to 1
Sports History
May 25 Todd and Mel Stottlemyre become 1st father and son to win 100 games in Major League Baseball
- May 26 NHL Western Conference Final: Detroit Red Wings beat Colorado Avalanche, 4 games to 2
Baseball Record
May 26 Sammy Sosa (Cubs) & Tony Womack (Pirates) hit inside the park HRs
- May 27 1st all female (20 British women) team reach the North Pole
- May 27 Indianapolis 500: Dutchman Arie Luyendyk wins from pole position for his second Indy victory; Treadway Racing finishes 1-2 with Luyendyk's teammate Scott Goodyear runner-up
- May 27 Judge finds Pamela Lee not guilty of breaking a contract
- May 27 Major league revenue sharing begins, NY Yanks pay out most $28M
- May 27 Marv Albert pleads innocent to charges of sexual assault
Treaty of Interest
May 27 Russian President Boris Yeltsin signs a historic treaty with NATO
- May 28 5th UEFA Champions League Final: Borussia Dortmund beats Juventus 3-1 at Munich
- May 28 American aviator Linda Finch completes Amelia Earhart's ill-fated attempted around-the-world flight
- May 28 Tornado in Jarrell, Texas kills at least 28
- May 28 Wallace Berg, 42, is 4th American to scale Mt Everest for 3rd time
- May 29 70th National Spelling Bee: Rebecca Sealfon wins spelling euonym
- May 29 Jesse Timmedequas found guilty of rape and murder of Megan Kanka, 7
- May 29 Span scientists announce new human species in 780,000 year old fossil
Event of Interest
May 30 Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, set on fire by 12-year old grandson
NHL History
May 30 Ken Dryden becomes president of NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs
- May 31 Super Rugby Final, Eden Park, Auckland: Blues win second straight title with a 23-7 victory over ACT Brumbies; fullback Adrian Cashmore lands 3 penalties & 2 conversions for the winners
- May 31 The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Ariel Gade, American actress
- May 7 Cameron Young, American golfer (British Open 2022 runner-up), born in Scarborough, New York
- May 8 [Xiaoyu] Bruce Liu, Chinese-Canadian classical pianist (International Chopin Piano Competition, 2021), born in Paris, France
- May 11 Coi Leray [Collins], American rapper (No More Parties), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- May 11 Lana Condor, American actress (To All the Boys I've Loved Before), born in Cần Thơ, Vietnam
- May 12 Frenkie de Jong, Dutch football player (Barcelona), born in Gorinchem, Netherlands
- May 14 Jennifer Kupcho, American golfer (Chevron Championship 2022; Evian Championship 2019 runner-up), born in Littleton, Colorado
- May 18 Alana Etheridge, American actress, born in San Diego, California
- May 20 Alexandre Kantorow, French concert pianist (International Tchaikovsky Competition, 2019), born in Clermont-Ferrand, France
- May 20 Omar Apollo, American singer-songwriter (Ivory), born in Hobart, Indiana
- May 24 Exzavier Whitley, American folk singer ("Finally Happy"), born in Omaha, Nebraska
- May 27 Soccer Mommy {Sophia Allison], American singer-songwriter ("Circle the Drain"), born in Zürich, Switzerland
Famous Weddings
- May 3 "Port Charles" soap opera actor Jon Lindstrom (39) weds "The Young and The Restless" actress Eileen Davidson (38) in Cambria, California; divorce in 2000
Dwayne Johnson
May 3 American wrestler and actor The Rock [Dwayne Johnson] (25) weds American business woman and future body builder and film producer Dany Garcia (28); divorce in 2008
- May 6 "The X-Files" actor David Duchovny (36) weds actress Tea Leoni (31) in the garden of the Grace Church School
Sylvester Stallone
May 17 Actor Sylvester Stallone weds actress Jennifer Flavin in London
Matthew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker
May 19 Film and stage actor Matthew Broderick (35) weds Sex and the City actress Sarah Jessica Parker (32) in New York
Famous Divorces
Donald Trump & Marla Maples
May 2 Donald Trump and Marla Maples announce they are separating
Famous Deaths
- May 1 Bebe, AKA Flipper, dolphin, dies at 40
- May 2 John Eccles, Australian neurologist (1963 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for work on the synapse), dies at 94
- May 2 Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher (critical pedagogy), dies at 75
- May 2 Queen Mother Moore, African-American civil rights activist and humanitarian, dies at 98
- May 3 Narciso Yepes, Spanish classical guitarist (b. 1927)
- May 3 Sébastien Enjolras, French racing driver, killed in a practice crash at 21
- May 4 Alvin "Alvy" Moore, American comic actor (Green Acres, Scream, Intruder), dies of heart failure at 75
- May 4 Vijayananda Dahanayake, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (1959-60), dies
- May 5 Tolia Nikiprowetzky, French composer, ethno-musicologist and broadcaster of Russian heritage, dies at 80
- May 5 Walter Gotell, German actor (James Bond, From Russia With Love), dies at 73
- May 8 Brian Wenham, British journalist (BBC), and media consultant, dies at 60
- May 8 Kai-Uwe Von Hassel, German politician (President of Bundestag 1969-72), dies at 84
- May 9 Bob Devaney, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (National C'ship, University of Nebraska 1970, 71; University of Wyoming; career record 136–30–7), dies at 82
- May 9 Marco Ferreri, Italian film director, dies at 68
- May 9 Willy Hess, Swiss musicologist, composer and famous Beethoven scholar, dies at 90
- May 10 Joan [Joanie] Weston, American roller derby queen (Bay Bombers), dies at 61
- May 11 Brenda Carlin, American television producer & wife of comedian George Carlin, dies at 57
- May 13 Laurie Lee, English poet and author (I Can't Stay Long), dies at 82
- May 14 Harry Blackstone, Jr., American stage magician (Blackstone Book of Magic & Illusion), dies of cancer at 62
- May 14 Princess Caradja-Kretzulesco, descendant of Dracula, dies at 76
- May 14 Thelma Carpenter, American radio and jazz band singer (Coleman Hawkins; Count Basie), and stage and screen actress (Hello, Dolly!; Barefoot In The Park (TV); The Wiz (film)), dies of cardiac arrest at 76
- May 16 Elbridge Durbrow, American diplomat (b. 1903)
- May 16 Horace "Bones" McKinney, American basketball forward, coach and broadcaster (Washington Capitols, Wake Forest), dies at 78
- May 18 Bridgette Andersen, American actress, dies at 21
- May 19 Millie, dog of US President George H. W. Bush (Millie's Book), dies at 12
- May 20 Virgilio Boat, president of Colombia (1986-90), dies
- May 22 A. D. Hershey, American biologist, worked with bacteriophages (Nobel 1969), dies at 88
- May 23 Lovie Lee [Edward Lee Watson], American electric blues pianist, singer, and songwriter, dies at 88
- May 24 Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (Knight Rider), dies of lung cancer at 74
- May 25 Jay Hebert, American golfer (PGA Championship 1960), dies at 74
- May 25 Muhammad Fadhel, Iraqi politician, Prime Minister of Iraq (1953-54), dies at 94
- May 26 Erik Pausin, Austrian figure skater (Olympic silver pairs 1936; World C'ship silver x 5 [with sister Ilse Pausin]), dies at 77
- May 26 Jack Jersey, Indonesian-Dutch singer and producer, dies at 55
- May 26 Manfred Von Ardenne, German scientific pioneer, dies at 90
- May 29 George Fenneman, American radio and TV announcer (You Bet Your Life), dies at 77
- May 29 Jeff Buckley, American musician and singer ("Hallelujah"), drowns at 30
- May 29 John Sengstacke, publisher (Defender), dies at 84
- May 30 West Arkeen, American musician, best known for co-writing several Guns N' Roses songs (It's So Easy, The Garden), dies of a drug overdose at 36
- May 31 Anton Zischka, Austrian writer (Lebendiges Europa), dies at 92
- May 31 James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist, dies at 92
- May 31 Rosie Will Monroe, American WW II icon (Rosie the riveter), dies at 76
Abolitionists
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
Spies