Historical Events
- May 1 Howard University chartered
- May 1 Reconstruction of South begins, black voter registration
- May 3 The Hudson's Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island.
- May 7 Blacks stage ride-in to protest segregation in New Orleans
Nobel Patents Dynamite
May 7 Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel patents dynamite in England, the first of three patents he would receive for the explosive material
- May 11 Treaty of London drawn, granting Luxembourg full independence and neutrality
Women's Suffrage Proposal Rejected
May 20 British parliament rejects John Stuart Mills' proposals on women's suffrage
Royal Albert Hall
May 20 Royal Albert Hall of Arts & Sciences foundation laid by Queen Victoria in London
Jesse James Robs Bank
May 23 Jesse James gang robs bank in Richmond, Missouri (2 die, $4,000 taken)
Famous Birthdays
- May 3 Jack Hearne, English cricket spin bowler (12 Tests, 49 wickets; England's first hat-trick vs Australia 1899), born in Chalfont St Giles, England (d. 1944)
- May 4 Dynam-Victor Fumet, French composer and organist, born in Toulouse, France (d. 1949)
- May 5 T. Tertius Noble, English composer, born in Bath, England (d. 1953)
- May 7 Philippine "Pine" Belder [Mary de Klerk], Flemish actress (Hope of Blessing), born in Amsterdam (d. 1961)
- May 10 Jim Kelly, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (Australian 1896-1905), born in Port Melbourne, Australia (d. 1938)
- May 12 Hugh Trumble, Australian cricket spin bowler and captain (32 Tests, 141 wickets; 2 x Test hat-tricks), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1938)
- May 13 Frank Brangwyn, Welsh painter, muralist and cartoonist (Official War Artist First World War), born in Bruges, Belgium (d. 1956)
- May 14 Kurt Eisner, German socialist politician, revolutionary and journalist (President of the People's State of Bavaria 1918-19), born in Berlin, Prussia (d. 1919)
- May 17 Gerrit Mannoury, Dutch mathematician and philosopher, born in Wormerveer, Netherlands (d. 1956)
- May 21 Désiré Pâque, Belgian organist, composer, and pedagogue, born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1939)
- May 21 J. J. Ferris, Australian cricket fast bowler (9 Tests, 61 wickets, BB 7/37; NSWCA, Gloucestershire CCC), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1900)
- May 26 Mary of Teck, Queen of Great Britain and consort of George V, born in Kensington Palace, London (d. 1953)
- May 27 Arnold Bennett, English novelist (Anna of the Five Towns), born in Hanley, Staffordshire, England (d. 1931)
- May 30 Arthur Vining Davis, American industrialist and CEO (Alcoa-1910-57), born in Sharon, Massachusetts (d. 1962)
