- May 6 Chinese Exclusion Act: US Congress ceases Chinese immigration
Historic Event
May 6 Epping Forest, England, dedicated by Queen Victoria
- May 6 Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish are stabbed and killed during the Phoenix Park Murders in Dublin
- May 8 David Belasco's "La Belle Russe" premieres in NYC
- May 9 Telegraph Hill RR Co (Cable Cars) in San Francisco organized
- May 13 Toba indians kill 20 members of French expedition in Argentina, including explorer Jules Nicolas Crevaux
Historic Event
May 15 May Laws-Tsar Alexander III bans Jews from living in rural Romania
Theater Premiere
May 20 Henrik Ibsen's play "Ghosts" (Gengangere) premieres in Chicago
