Events in History
- May 1 American Equal Rights Association forms
- May 2 Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao
- May 4 Woodward's Gardens opens to the public in San Francisco
Assassination Attempt
May 7 German premier Otto von Bismarck seriously wounded in assassination attempt
Birthdays in History
- May 5 Thomas B. Thrige, Danish industrialist, born in Odense, Denmark (d. 1938)
- May 9 Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian social reformer and leader of Indian Independence Movement, born in Kotluk, Dist. Ratnagiri, Bombay Presidency, British India (d. 1915)
- May 10 Léon Bakst, Russian painter and scene and costume designer, born in Grodno, Belarus (d. 1924)
- May 16 Ernest Burgess, American urban sociologist (ecological school), born in Tilbury, Ontario (d. 1966)
- May 23 Gustav Aschaffenburg, German psychiatrist (pioneer in criminology and forensic pathology), born in Zweibrücken (d. 1944)
- May 24 Armando Frid, Argentinian horse tamer and centenarian, (reportedly lived to 124 years), born in Vega de Maipu, Argentina (d. 1990)
- May 26 John Eigenhuis, Dutch writer (Tough Workers), born in Aalsmeer, Netherlands (d. 1944)
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists