Events in History
- May 6 1st African American Masonic Lodge (African # 459) forms Prince Hall, Boston
- May 8 First US prison reform society formed, the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons led by Dr. Benjamin Rush
- May 10 British Parliament impeaches Warren Hastings, Governor-General of Bengal
Historic Event
May 13 Arthur Phillip sets sails with 11 ships of criminals to Botany Bay, Australia
Constitution of the United States
May 14 Delegates gather in Philadelphia to draw up US constitution
- May 17 English slave ship Sisters, en route from Africa to Cuba, capsizes killing hundreds
Historic Event
May 25 Constitutional convention opens at Philadelphia, George Washington presiding
Historic Event
May 29 "Virginia Plan" by James Madison and Edmund Randolph proposed to the Constitutional Convention advocating for a national government with three branches - legislative, executive, and judicial [1]
Birthdays in History
- May 7 Jacques Viger, French Canadian politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (1833-36), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1858)
Deaths in History
- May 10 William Watson, English physician and scientist, dies at 72
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists