May 1930 in History

Events in History

May 1 The planet Pluto is officially named by 11 year-old Venetia Burney
May 2 Des Moines (Western League) defeats Wichita 13-6 to open 1st ballpark with permanently installed lights

Amy Johnson's Pioneering Flight

May 5 Amy Johnson takes off - first woman to fly solo from England to Australia

May 7 Duleepsinhji scores 333 for Sussex v Northants in 330 mins

Poet Laureate John Masefield

May 9 John Masefield is appointed British Poet Laureate by King George V

May 10 1st US planetarium opens (Adler-Chicago)
May 10 Clarrie Grimmett takes 10 for 37 v Yorkshire at Sheffield

Pulitzer for Marc Connelly

May 12 Pulitzer prize awarded to Marc Connelly (Green Pastures)

May 14 US Congress designates Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico a National Park [1]
May 15 Ellen Church becomes 1st female airline stewardess aboard a United flight from San Francisco to Cheyenne
May 19 White women win voting rights in South Africa
May 20 1st airplane catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot
May 24 Amy Johnson becomes the 1st woman to fly solo from England to Australia
May 26 Supreme Court rules buying liquor does not violate the Constitution
May 27 Richard Drew invents masking tape

Event of Interest

May 27 The 1,046-foot (319-meter) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public

Automobile Pioneer and Founder of Chrysler Walter Chrysler

May 28 Georges Forbes succeeds Joseph Ward as premier of New Zealand
May 31 Building begins on Albert Canal in Belgium
May 31 Comet 73P/1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3) approaches 0.0617 AUs of Earth

Birthdays in History

May 1 Richard Riordan, American politician (Mayor of Los Angeles (R) 1993-2001), born in NYC, New York (d. 2023) [1]
May 2 Marco Pannella, Italian politician and activist, born in Teramo (d. 2016)
May 3 Juan Gelman, Argentine poet, born in Buenos Aires (d. 2014)
May 4 Katherine Jackson [Kattie B Screws], American matriarch of the Jackson family, born in Clayton, Alabama
May 5 Michael J. Adams, USAF pilot (X-15), born in Sacramento, California (d. 1967)
May 7 Totie Fields [Sophie Feldman], American comedienne, born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1978)
May 8 Alex Shigo, American Biologist and Plant Pathologist known for his study of tree decay and contributions to modern arboricultural practices, born in Duquesne, Pennsylvania (d. 2006)
May 8 Gary Snyder, American beat poet (Turtle Island - Pulitzer Prize, 1975; Rip Rap and Cold Mountain Poems), born in San Francisco, California
May 10 June Knox-Mawer, British radio host/novelist (World of Islands)
May 10 Scott Muni, American radio DJ (d. 2004)
May 11 Bud Ekins, American stuntman (d. 2007)
May 11 Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (d. 2002)
May 11 Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Caribbean poet (Born to Slow Horses) and academic, born in Bridgetown, Barbados (d. 2020)
May 11 M J Hamlin, Principal/Vice-Chancellor (Dundee University)
May 11 Stanley L Elkin, American writer/professor (Living End), born in Brooklyn, New York
May 11 William Carey, American businessman and philanthropist (W.P. Carey & Co. LLC), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2012)

May 13 Mike Gravel, American politician (US Senator (D) - Alaska, 1969-81), and peace activist (Pentagon Papers), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2021)
May 13 Vernon Shaw, President of Dominica (1998-2003) (d. 2013)
May 14 Edward Regan, American Republican politician and Comptroller of New York (1979-93), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2014)
May 14 Phillipo Seed, social work academic
May 15 Jasper Johns, painter/sculptor (Green Target), born in Augusta, Georgia
May 16 Desmond Langley, British army officer and Governor of Bermuda, born in London (d. 2008)
May 16 Don Conicannon, government minister
May 18 Barbara Goldsmith, American author (Little Gloria Happy At Last), born in NYC, New York (d. 2016)
May 18 Don Leslie Lind, American USN Commander, and pilot, and NASA astronaut (STS-51-B), born in Midvale, Utah
May 18 Fred[erick Thomas] Saberhagen, American sci-fi author (Book of Swords)
May 18 Warren Rudman, American politician (Sen-R-NH, 1980-93), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2012)
May 19 Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright (A Raisin in the Sun), and writer (To Be Young Gifted And Black), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1965)
May 20 Robert Bunyard, Commandant (British Police Staff College)

Malcolm Fraser (1930-2015)

May 21 Australian Prime Minister (Liberal, 1975-83), born in Toorak, Victoria

May 21 Stanley Wells, English scholar of Shakespeare (Shakespeare Institute U of Birmingham), born in Hull, England
May 22 Dieuwke de Graaff-Nauta, Dutch politician (State Secretary for the Interior 1986-94), born in Sneek, Netherlands (d. 2008)

Harvey Milk (1930-1978)

May 22 American politician, gay activist and first openly gay person elected to public office, born in Woodmere, New York

May 22 LaSalle Leffall Jr., American surgeon, medical educator, and 1st black president of the American Cancer Society (1978), and the American College of Surgeons (1995), born in Tallahassee, Florida (d. 2019)
May 22 Marisol (Maria Sol) Escobar, Venezuelan sculptor, born in Paris, France (d. 2016)
May 23 Friedrich Achleitner, German poet
May 23 Richard Anuszkiewicz, American artist 'new wizard of op', born in Erie, Pennsylvania (d. 2020)
May 24 Ivor Richardson, New Zealand judge (NZ Court of Appeals), born in Ashburton, New Zealand (d. 2014)
May 24 Robert Bateman, Canadian naturalist, painter, teacher, and environmentalist, born in Toronto, Ontario
May 25 Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer, born in Paris, France (d. 2016)
May 27 John Barth, novelist (Sot-Weed Factor)
May 27 William S. Sessions, American director of FBI (1987-93), born in Fort Smith, Arkansas (d. 2020)
May 28 Edward Seaga, PM (Jamaica)
May 30 Mark Birley, British nightclub owner (d. 2007)
May 30 Robert Ryman, American painter
May 31 William Taylor, British Chairman of Convocation (London University)

Deaths in History

May 10 Edward Stratemeyer, American author (The Rover Boys), dies at 67
May 12 Pieter Jelles Troelstra, Dutch politician (SDAP), dies at 70

Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930)

May 13 Norwegian Arctic explorer and advocate for refugees (Nobel Peace Prize 1922), dies of a heart attack at 68

May 13 Helene Lange, German feminist (honoured with the Grand Prussian State Medal), dies at 82
May 14 Władysław Orkan [Franciszek Ksawery Smaciarz], Polish author (Nowele Zebrane), dies at 54
May 17 Herbert David Croly, US founder (New Republic), dies at 61
May 23 R. D. Banerji, Indian archaeologist and historian (discovered ancient Indus city of Mohenjo-daro), dies at 45 [1]
May 25 Randall Thomas Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1848)