- May 1 French runner Chantal Langlacé sets female world marathon record (2:35:15.4) in Oyarzun, Spain
- May 1 American golfer Debbie Austin wins the Birmingham Classic, the first of 5 LPGA Tour victories in a 4-month span
- May 1 36 people are killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations.
- May 1 American golfer Gene Littler wins the Houston Open, his 29th and final PGA title
- May 2 "The King & I" opens at Uris Theater NYC for 719 performances
- May 3 1977 NFL Draft: Ricky Bell from USC first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- May 4 US Catholic bishops rescind automatic excommunications for divorced and remarried Catholics (receiving communion still outlawed if the previous marriages were not annulled by Church tribunals)
- May 6 "Beatles at Hollywood Bowl" released in UK
- May 7 "Happy End" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 75 performances
- May 7 103rd Kentucky Derby: Jean Cruguet on Seattle Slew wins in 2:02.2
- May 7 22nd Eurovision Song Contest: Marie Myriam for France wins singing "L'oiseau et l'enfant" in London
- May 9 Hotel Poland in Amsterdam destroyed by fire, 33 killed
- May 9 Mabel Murphy Smythe confirmed as ambassador to Rep of Cameroon
- May 9 Patty Hearst let out of jail
Event of Interest
May 11 Ted Turner manages an Atlanta Braves game
Ted Turner
- May 12 Emmy 4th Daytime Award presentation
Event of Interest
May 13 Howard Stern begins broadcasting at WRNW, Briarcliff Manor NY
Howard Stern
- May 14 English football international Bobby Moore retires
- May 14 KC Royals Jim Colborn no-hits Texas Rangers, 6-0
- May 14 Netherlands State Delta Kappa Gamma Society forms
- May 14 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Jacques Lemaire scores twice as Montreal Canadiens edge Boston Bruins, 2-1 in OT for a 4 game sweep and back-to-back titles
- May 16 5 die as NY Airway helicopter topples on Pan Am building in NYC
Boxing Title Fight
May 16 Muhammad Ali beats Alfredo Evangelist in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
Muhammad Ali
- May 16 TV drama “Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn”, starring Leigh McCloskey, follow up to "Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway" premieres on US network NBC, focusing on what happened to him after Dawn left L.A. to return to her hometown
Election of Interest
May 17 Menachem Begin's Likoed party wins election in Israel
Menachem Begin
- May 18 Menachem Begin becomes Prime Minister of Israel
- May 18 US, USSR and other nations sign the Environmental Modification Convention which prohibits weather warfare having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects
Film Premier
May 19 Film "Smokey & the Bandit" starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Jackie Gleason premieres in NYC
Burt Reynolds
Sally Field
- May 21 "Fiddler on the Roof" closes at Winter Garden NYC after 167 performances
- May 21 102nd Preakness: Jean Cruguet aboard Seattle Slew wins in 1:54.4
- May 21 Albert Innaurato's "Gemini" premieres in NYC
- May 21 Fire in hotel Duc de Brabant Brussels, kills 19
- May 21 San Diego Padres beat Mont Expos, 11-8, in 21 innings
- May 21 Electric Light Orchestra releases "Telephone Line" in the UK; it would peak in the Top 10 in the UK and US
The Orient Express
May 22 Final European scheduled run of the Orient Express (after 94 years)
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Event of Interest
May 23 US Supreme Court refuses to hear appeals of Watergate wrong doers H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman & John Mitchell
H. R. Haldeman
Event of Interest
May 25 "Brady Bunch Hour" last airs on ABC-TV
Maureen McCormick
Film Release
May 25 Original "Star Wars" movie (Episode IV – A New Hope), directed by George Lucas and starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford first released
- May 25 21st European Cup: Liverpool beats Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 at Rome
- May 26 George Willig climbs the South Tower of NYC's World Trade Center, famously fined 1 cent for each of 110 stories he climbed
- May 27 30th Cannes Film Festival: "Padre Padrone" directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani wins the Palme d'Or
Event of Interest
May 27 The Sex Pistols release "God Save the Queen", sparking major controversy and leading to a ban on the song by the BBC
Malcolm McLaren
Steve Jones
- May 28 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky kills 168
Event of Interest
May 29 Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt wins for a record 4th time
A. J. Foyt
- May 29 NBC News & Information Service (24 hr news) ends on radio
- May 29 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- May 29 Janet Guthrie becomes 1st woman to drive in Indianapolis 500
- May 29 Australian Sue Prell first female golfer to hit consecutive holes-in one; 13th and 14th holes at Chatswood Golf Club, Sydney
- May 30 Cleveland Indian Dennis Eckersley no-hits California Angels, 2-0
- May 31 "Beatlemania" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 920 performances
- May 31 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani becomes heir apparent to throne of Qatar
- May 31 Trans Alaska oil pipeline completed