- May 1 Folies Bergère opens in Paris
- May 2 The Folies Trévise (later cabaret hall Folies Bergère) opens as an opera house in Paris, France
- May 4 Cincinnati Reds play their 1st baseball game, win 45-9 against the Great Western Base Ball Club
- May 4 Cincinnati Red Stockings play their first official game as the sport's first professional side against the Great Western Base Ball Club winning 45-9
- May 4 The Naval Battle of Hakodate takes place in Japan.
The Golden Spike
May 10 Golden Spike driven, completing the 1st US Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah and connecting the Central Pacific Railroad with the Union Pacific
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Event of Interest
May 15 National Woman Suffrage Association forms in New York, founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Susan B. Anthony