Historical Events
- May 5 Dutch 2nd Chamber passes child labor law
- May 9 London's Victoria Embankment opens
- May 9 The first horse-drawn bus makes its début in the city of Mumbai, plying two routes
- May 12 US Assay Office in Helena, Montana, authorized
- May 13 Pope Pius IX encyclical "On Greek-Ruthenian rite"
- May 14 1st admission charge at a football game, Harvard beats Uni of McGill (Montreal) 3-0
- May 16 1st recorded dam disaster in US (Williamsburg, Massachusetts)
- May 26 2nd Preakness: William Donohue aboard Culpepper wins in 2:56.5
- May 29 Present constitution of Switzerland takes effect
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Romaine Brooks [Beatrice Romaine Goddard], American painter, born in Rome, Italy (d. 1970)
- May 3 François Coty, French perfume manufacturer, born in Ajaccio, Corsica, France (d. 1934)
- May 3 V. Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer, born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1954)
- May 10 Moses Schorr, Polish rabbi, senator, historian and orientalist (d. 1941)
- May 12 Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician (Pirquet’s skin test for tuberculosis, coined the word 'allergy'), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1929)
- May 13 Henry Clough-Leiter, American composer, born in Washington D.C. (d. 1956)
- May 19 Gilbert Jessop, English cricket batsman (18 Tests; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1898), born in Cheltenham, England (d. 1955)
- May 22 Daniel François Malan, Prime Minister of South Africa (1948-54) who began the implementation of apartheid, born in Riebeek-Wes, Cape Colony (d. 1959)
- May 22 Francesco Paolo Neglia, Italian composer, born in Enna, Italy (d. 1932)
Henri Farman (1874-1958)
May 26 British-French aviator who broke several aviation records, born in Paris
- May 27 Dustin Farnum, American actor (Squaw Man, Virginian, The Flaming Frontier), born in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (d. 1929)
- May 27 Richard von Schaukal, Moravian-Austria poet and writer (Eros Thanatos), born in Brno, Czech Republic (d. 1942)
- May 29 G. K. Chesterton [Gilbert Keith], English writer (Father Brown; The Everlasting Man), born in London (d. 1936)
