Historical Events
"Fire When you are Ready"
May 1 US Admiral George Dewey commands "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley" as US rout Spanish fleet at Manila
- May 3 Camp Merriman forms at Presidio San Francisco (see 0517)
- May 4 24th Kentucky Derby: Willie Simms aboard Plaudit wins in 2:09
- May 8 The first games of the Italian Football League are played
- May 12 Louisiana adopts new constitution with "grandfather clause" designed to eliminate black voters
- May 17 Camp Merritt forms in Presidio [see 0503]
- May 19 US Congress passes the Private Mailing Card Act, allowing private publishers and printers to produce postcards, had to be labelled "Private Mailing Cards" until 1901, known as "souvenir cards"
- May 21 US Assay Office in Seattle, Washington, authorized
- May 23 1st Philippine Expeditionary Troops sail from San Francisco
- May 26 32nd Belmont: F Littlefield aboard Bowling Brook wins in 2:32
- May 26 San Francisco approves City Charter, allows Municipal ownership of utilities
- May 27 Arthur Pinero's "Trelawney of the Wells" premieres in London
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 David Tobey, American Basketball Hall of Fame referee (1918-45; first game with a 3-man officiating crew), born in New York, New York (d. 1988)
- May 1 Eugene R. Black, American President of World Bank (1953-62), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1992)
- May 2 Henry Hall, British bandleader (BBC Dance Orchestra), born in Peckham, South London, England (d. 1989)
- May 2 Jef Last, Dutch poet and writer, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1972)
Golda Meir (1898-1978)
May 3 Israeli teacher, stateswoman and 4th Prime Minister of Israel (1969-74) known as the "Iron Lady" of Israeli politics, born in Kyiv, Ukraine
- May 3 Septima Poinsette Clark, American educator and civil rights activist, born in CHarleston, South Carolina (d. 1987)
- May 6 Daniel Frank Gerber, American manufacturer of baby food, born in Fremont, Michigan (d. 1974)
- May 6 Jascha Horenstein, Russian-born American conductor, born in Kiev, Russian Empire (d. 1973)
- May 8 Vera Chapman, English writer and Tolkien Society founder, born in Bournemouth, England (d. 1996)
Ariel Durant (1898-1981)
May 10 Russian-born American writer (Story of Civilization), born in Proskurov, Russian Empire
- May 10 Herbert Elwell, American composer (Happy Hypocrite), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 1974)
- May 13 Justin Tuveri, Italian veteran of the First World War (d. 2007)
- May 14 Bonifacio Gil Garcia, Spanish composer and folklorist, born in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Spain (d. 1964)
- May 14 [Arthur] Zutty Singleton, American jazz drummer (Louis Armstrong's Hot Five), born in Bunkie, Louisiana (d. 1975)
- May 15 "Arletty" Arlette-léonie Bathiat, French actress (Maxime), born in Courbevoie, France (d. 1992)
- May 15 (Giovanni) John Abriani, Italian jazz violinist and bandleader, born in Lusiana, Italy (d. 1960)
- May 16 Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-born painter (d. 1980)
- May 17 A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (member of Group of Seven), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1992)
- May 18 Juan José Domenchina, Spanish poet and interpreter (sombra desterrada), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1959)
- May 19 Julius Evola, Italian philosopher (d. 1974)
- May 21 Armand Hammer, American industrialist (Occidental Petroleum), born in New York City (d. 1990)
- May 21 Karel Haba, Czech composer and violinist, born in Vizovice, Moravia (d. 1972)
- May 22 René de Vos, Dutch actor and composer (Jij Bent Mijn Leven), born in Denmark (d. 1977)
- May 23 Frank McHugh, American actor (Going My Way, Front Page, Gold Diggers 1935, Mighty Joe Young), born in Homestead, Pennsylvania (d. 1981)
- May 23 Joseph H. Hazen, Hollywood lawyer (Warner Brothers), born in Kingston, New York (d. 1996)
- May 23 Scott O'Dell, American author (d. 1989)
- May 24 Kathleen Hale, British children book writer and illustrator (Orlando), born in Lanarkshire, Scotland (d. 2000)
- May 25 Bennett Cerf, American publisher (Random House) and panelist (What's My Line), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1971)
- May 25 Gene Tunney, American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1926-30), born in New York City (d. 1978)
- May 25 Gustav Regler, German writer, born in Merzig (d. 1963)
- May 25 Mischa Levitzki, Russian-born American pianist and composer (The Enchanted Nymph), born in Kremenchuk, Russian Empire (d. 1941)
- May 26 Ernst Bacon, American composer, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1990)
- May 26 Gérard Bertouille, Belgian composer, born in Tournai, Belgium (d. 1981)
- May 28 Andy Kirk, American jazz drummer and bandleader (Clouds Of Joy - "I Won't Tell a Soul (I Love You)"), born in Newport, Kentucky (d. 1992)
- May 31 Johan Brouwer, Dutch writer, Hispanist, and anti-Nazi resistance fighter, born in Delfshaven, Netherlands (d. 1943)
- May 31 Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman, broadcaster (The Art Of Living), and author (The Power of Positive Thinking), born in Bowersville, Ohio (d. 1993)
Famous Weddings
Milton S. Hershey
May 25 Chocolatier Milton S. Hershey (40) weds Catherine Sweeney at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City
Famous Deaths
William Gladstone (1809-1898)
May 19 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Liberal: 1868-74, 1880-86, 1892-94), dies of heart failure at 88
- May 22 Edward Bellamy, American author (Looking Backward) and socialist, dies of tuberculosis at 48
