Historical Events
- May 4 25th Kentucky Derby: Fred Taral aboard Manuel wins in 2:12
Alpha and Beta Rays
May 8 Ernest Rutherford publishes his discovery of two different kinds of radiation (Alpha and Beta Particles)
- May 8 The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens
- May 9 John Burr patents an improved rotary blade lawn mower in the US
- May 17 Victoria & Albert Museum foundation laid, London, England
- May 18 World Goodwill Day: 26 nations meet in 1st Hague Peace Conference
- May 20 First speeding infraction by a New York cabbie driving an electric car - 12mph down Lexington Street
- May 24 1st auto repair shop opens (Boston)
- May 25 33rd Belmont: R. Clawson aboard Jean Beraud wins in 2:23
- May 30 24th Preakness: R Clawson aboard Half Time wins in 1:47
- May 31 -June 5] Conference of Bloemfontein fails
- May 31 Bronx acquires Keltch Memorial Park
Famous Birthdays
- May 2 George Hamilton Combs, American politician and TV and radio commentator (Through the Curtain), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1977)
- May 3 Aline MacMahon, American actress (Backdoor to Heaven), born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania (d. 1991)
- May 5 (Adolphe) Paul Barbarinan American jazz drummer (King Oliver; Red Allen Sextet; Onward Brass Band), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1969)
- May 5 Freeman Gosden, American writer and actor (The Amos 'n' Andy Show, Calvin and the Colonel), born in Richmond, Virginia (d. 1982)
- May 6 Billy Cotton, British bandleader and entertainer, born in Smith Square, London (d. 1969)
- May 8 Arthur Q Bryan, American voice actor, comedian and radio personality (Beulah, The Devil Bat), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1959)
- May 8 Friedrich August von Hayek, Austrian-British economist (Road to Serfdom, 1974 Nobel Prize for Economics ), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1992) [1]
- May 8 Frits van Hall, Dutch sculptor (Monument Indië-Nederland (originally known as Van Heutsz monument), 1935), and WWII resistance fighter, born near Semarang, Dutch East Indies (d. 1945)
Fred Astaire (1899-1987)
May 10 American stage and screen tap dancer, singer ("Night And Day"; "Cheek To Cheek"; "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off"), and actor (Royal Wedding; Easter Parade; Swingtime), born in Omaha, Nebraska
- May 11 Paulino Masip, Spanish playwright (d. 1963)
- May 12 Indra Devi, Latvian Yoga Instructor (d. 2002)
- May 14 Earle Combs, American Baseball HOF center fielder (9 × World Series 1927, 28, 32, 36–39, 41, 43; New York Yankees), born in Richmond, Kentucky (d. 1976)
- May 14 Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (d. 1993)
- May 14 Stelios Perpiniadis, Greek folk singer, songwriter and guitarist, born in Tinos, Greece (d. 1977)
- May 15 Jean-Etienne Valluy, French general (d. 1970)
- May 17 Ralf Harolde, American actor (Framed, Smart Money, Tip-off), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1974)
- May 20 Alexander Deyneka, Ukrainian painter (d. 1969)
- May 20 Estelle Taylor, American actress (The Ten Commandments), born in Wilmington, Delaware (d. 1958)
- May 20 John Marshall Harlan II, American lawyer, jurist and 91st Supreme Court Justice (1955-71), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1971)
- May 20 Lydia Cabrera, Cuban anthropologist and ethnographer of Cuban folklore and Afro-Cuban culture, born in Havana, Cuba (d. 1991) [1]
- May 21 Ralph Sanford, American actor (Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 1963)
- May 24 Henri Michaux, Belgian-born French poet and writer (Miserable Miracle), born in Namur, Belgium (d. 1984)
Suzanne Lenglen (1899-1938)
May 24 French tennis player (French C'ships 1925-26, Wimbledon 1919-23, 25), born in Paris, France
- May 25 Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, musician, revolutionary and philosopher, born in Asansol, Burdwan, Bengal Presidency, British India (d. 1976)
- May 26 Antonio J. Barrette, French Canadian politician, premier of Quebec, born in Joliette, Quebec, Canada (d. 1968)
- May 26 Otto E. Neugebauer, Austrian-American mathematician and historian, born in Innsbruck, Austria-Hungary (d. 1990)
Pieter Menten (1899-1987)
May 26 Dutch war criminal, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Famous Deaths
- May 1 Ludwig Büchner, German philosopher and physician, dies at 75
- May 15 Francisque Sarcey, French writer (Le Temps), dies at 70
- May 25 Marie-Rosalie "Rosa" Bonheur, French animalière painter (The Horse Fair; Buffalo Bill), and sculptor, dies at 68
- May 29 Frantz Jehin-Prume, Canadian violinist and composer, dies at 60
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