Historical Events
- May 2 Territory of Oklahoma created
- May 12 First official County Cricket Championship match begins; Yorkshire beats Gloucestershire by 8 wickets at Bristol; James Cranston scores first century (101) in the competition
- May 12 Louisiana legalizes prize fighting
- May 13 18th Preakness: W Martin aboard Montague wins in 2:36.75
Britain, Germany Trade African Territories
May 13 British PM Lord Salisbury offers Heligoland islands to Germany in exchange for Zanzibar, Uganda & Equatoria (becomes Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty that July)
- May 14 16th Kentucky Derby: Isaac Murphy aboard Riley wins in 2:45
Beatty a Sub-Lieutenant
May 14 British sailor David Beatty is promoted to sub-lieutenant
Beau Brummel
May 17 Clyde Fitch's play "Beau Brummel" premieres in NYC
- May 17 Comic Cuts, 1st weekly comic paper, published in London
- May 17 Pietro Mascagni's opera "Rustic Chivalry" premieres in Rome at the Teatro Costanzi
- May 24 Geo Train & Sam Wall circle world in record 67 days, Tacoma-Tacoma
Leo von Caprivi Chancellor
May 24 Leo von Caprivi succeeds Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor of Germany
- May 24 Tivoli Theater of Varieties opens in London
- May 30 First baseman Dave Foutz hits Brooklyn Bridegrooms' (later Dodgers) first ever home run during doubleheader defeats to Chicago Colts at Washington Park, Brooklyn
- May 31 Ulm Minster, in Ulm, Germany, the tallest church in the world with a steeple 161.5m high, is finally completed (begun 1377)
Famous Birthdays
- May 2 E. E. Smith, American food engineer and sci-fi author (Triplanetary), born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (d. 1965)
- May 3 Alex Pompez, American Baseball HOF executive (owner NgL Cuban Stars [East] 1923-28; NY Cubans 1935-51), born in Key West, Florida (d. 1974)
- May 5 Christopher Morley, American author (Kitty Foil), born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (d. 1957)
- May 6 Claire Whitney, American silent film actress (Blind Fools, Haunted Mine), born in New York City (d. 1969)
- May 7 Billy House, American actor (Imitation of Life; Bedlam: The Egg and I), born in Mankato, Minnesota (d. 1961)
Alfred Jodl (1890-1946)
May 10 German general during World War II (head of the German High Command, signed unconditional Nazi surrender), born in Würzburg, German Empire
- May 15 Katherine Anne Porter, American writer (Ship of Fools), born in Indian Creek, Texas (d. 1980)
- May 17 Philip James, American composer, and conductor (New Jersey Symphony, 1922-29; Bamberger Little Symphony, 1929-36), and educator (NYU, 1934-56), born in Jersey City, New Jersey (d. 1975)
- May 18 Mary Charleson, Irish-American silent film actress (Upstairs And Down), born in Dungannon, Ireland (d. 1961)
Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969)
May 19 Vietnamese communist revolutionary and President of North Vietnam (1946-69), born in Nghệ An Province, French Indochina
- May 20 Beniamino Gigli, Italian lyric tenor (La Gioconde - "Enzo"; Metropolitan Opera, 1920-32), born in Recanati, Marche, Italy (d. 1957)
- May 21 Albert van Raalte, Dutch conductor (AVRO - Dutch Radio Orchestra, 1928-40), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1952)
- May 23 Herbert Marshall, English actor (Trouble in Paradise; The Little Foxes), born in London (d. 1996)
- May 26 Kurt Edzard, German sculptor (nudes/portraits), born in Bremen, Germany (d. 1972)
- May 27 Fritzi Brunette, American actress, born in Savannah, Georgia (d. 1943)
- May 29 Francis de Bourguignon, Belgian composer, born in Brussels (d. 1961)
- May 29 Martin Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan author (Gamperaliya - The Uprooted/Changing Village), born in Koggala, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) (d. 1976)
Famous Deaths
- May 6 Hubert Léonard, Belgian violinist, and pedagogue (Brussels Conservatoire, 1848-67), dies at 71
- May 7 James Nasmyth, Scottish engineer and inventor of the steam hammer, dies at 81
- May 19 Gus Kempis, South African cricketer (South Africa's 1st Test), dies of fever at 24
- May 28 Viktor Nessler, Alsatian composer, dies at 49
