What Happened in May 1906

Historical Events

Event of Interest

May 2 Tsar Nicolas II of Russia dismisses his moderate Prime Minister Witte and appoints Ivan Goremykin, a conservative bureaucrat

May 3 British-controlled Egypt takes Sinai peninsula from Turkey
May 6 "Temporary" permit to erect overhead wires on Market Street, San Francisco allows United Railroads to run electric streetcars
May 6 Tsar Nicolas II of Russia claims right to legislate by decree and restricts the power of the Duma (Russian Parliament)
May 8 Philadelphia A's pitcher Albert Bender is deployed to left field in 6th inning and responds with 2 HRs in A's 11-4 win over Boston Americans at Huntington Avenue Grounds, Boston
May 10 Russian Duma (Parliament) meets for 1st time
May 13 Bezalel Art School opens in Jerusalem
May 14 Flagpole at the White Sox ballpark breaks during pennant-raising
May 15 MLB New York Giants pitcher George "Hooks" Wiltse strikes out 4 Reds batters in 1 inning, as catcher dropped a third strike (Palace of the Fans, in Cincinnati, Ohio)
May 19 Federated Boys' Club (Boys' Club of America) organizes
May 19 Italian King Victor Emmanuel & Swiss President Ludwig Forrer open Simplon Tunnel; the railroad tunnel trough the Alps is world's longest until 1982
May 19 Portugal's King Carlos I names Joao Franco premier
May 21 Louis H. Perlman patents a demountable tire carrying rim for cars
May 21 The US and Mexico sign an agreement over distribution of the waters of the Rio Grande, increasingly diverted to the US for irrigation
May 22 31st Preakness: Walter Miller aboard Whimsical wins in 1:45
May 22 A British garrison leaves Esquimalt, on the Pacific coast, after a military occupation that began in 1858: the last British soldiers stationed in Canada
May 22 Wright Brothers are granted a patent for their "flying machine," having applied for one 3 years earlier (patent no. 821,393)
May 25 After 20 straight wins, Boston Pilgrims lose to Chicago White Sox 3-0
May 26 Archaeological Institute of America forms
May 26 Vauxhall Bridge is opened in London, England

Mahler's 6th Symphony

May 27 1st outlining of Gustav Mahler's 6th symphony, in Essen, Germany

May 28 Shields and Cobbs' musical "His Honor, The Mayor" premieres in NYC
May 30 40th Belmont: Lucien Lyne aboard Burgomaster wins in 2:20

Hersheypark Opens

May 30 Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey for the exclusive use of his employees, is opened

Attempt to Assassinate Alfonso XII

May 31 Assassination attempt on King Alfonso XIII & Victoria of Battenberg in Madrid during the procession after their marriage in Madrid by a Catalan anarchist kills 30

Events in 1906

Famous Birthdays

May 1 Horst Schumann, Nazi physician, born in Halle, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia (now Germany) (d. 1983)
May 2 Aileen Riggin, American diver (Olympic gold 3m springboard 1920, 24), born in Newport, Rhode Island (d. 2002)
May 2 Maurice Thiriet, French composer, born in Meulan, Yvelines, France (d. 1972)
May 2 Philippe Halsman, American portrait photographer, born in Riga, Latvia (d. 1979)

Mary Astor (1906-1987)

May 3 American Academy Award-winning actress (The Great Lie; Meet Me In St Louis; The Maltese Falcon), born in Quincy, Illinois

May 4 Esmond Knight, British actor (Hamlet, Sleeping Murder), born in East Sheen, England (d. 1987)
May 5 Frances "Fran" Lee, American actress (Reckless Rosie), born in Eagle Grove, Iowa (d. 2000)
May 5 Ursula Jeans, British actress (Cavalcade, Over the Moon, I Lived With You), born in Simla, British India (d. 1973)
May 6 André Weil, French mathematician (foundational work in number theory and algebraic geometry), born in Paris (d. 1998)
May 6 Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican writer (La Llamarada), born in Moca, Puerto Rico (d. 2005)
May 8 David Van Vactor, American classical composer (Chaconne), born in Plymouth, Indiana (d. 1994)

Roberto Rossellini (1906-1977)

May 8 Italian film director (General della Rovere, Open City), born in Rome, Italy

May 9 Eleanor Estes, American children's author and illustrator (Ginger Pye, Moffats), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1988)
May 11 Jacqueline Cochran, US pilot and 1st woman to break the sound barrier, born in Muscogee, Florida (d. 1980)
May 12 Maurice Ewing, US pioneering geologist and geophysicist, born in Lockney, Texas (d. 1974)
May 13 Thomas Mitchell, British architect and engineer, (d. 1996)
May 14 Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Prime Minister then 1st President of Malawi (1964-94), born near Kasungu, British Central Africa (d. 1997)
May 14 James Flavin, American actor (King Kong, In Cold Blood, Man With a Camera), born in Portland, Maine (d. 1976)
May 16 Alfred Pellan, French Canadian painter (d. 1988)
May 16 Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer, historian and politician (Lanzas Coloradas), born in Caracas, Venezuela (d. 2001)
May 16 Ernie McCormick, Australian cricket fast bowler (12 Tests, 36 wickets, BB 4/101; Victoria), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1991)
May 16 Margret Rey, author and illustrator (d. 1996)
May 16 Nicholas Beriozoff, Lithuanian-British dancer, choreographer and ballet master, born in Kaunus, Lithuania (d. 1996)
May 17 Eric Mensforth, British pioneer in the development of the helicopter in Britain, born in Stretford, Manchester (d. 2000)
May 17 Horace McMahon, American actor (Detective Story, Martin Kane Private Eye), born in South Norwalk, Connecticut (d. 1971)
May 17 Zinka Milanov (née Kunc), Croatian soprano (Ljubljana Opera, 1927-34; NY Metropolitan Opera, 1937-66), born in Zagreb, Croatia (d. 1989)
May 19 Bruce Bennett, American athlete and actor (Before I Hang, Sahara), born in Tacoma, Washington (d. 2007)
May 19 Gerd Bucerius, German lawyer, newspaper publisher (Die Zeit, 1946-95), and politician, born in Hamm, Germany (d. 1995)
May 20 Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1989)
May 21 Dorothy Tree [Triebitz], American actress (Abe Lincoln in Illinois; Confessions Of A Nazi Spy; The Asphalt Jungle), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1992)
May 21 Keith Rigg, Australian cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 127; Victoria), born in Melbourne, Victoria (d. 1995)
May 23 Hellmuth Christian Wolff, German composer, teacher, musicologist, and painter, born in Zürich, Switzerland (d. 1988)

Mauri Rose (1906-1981)

May 26 American auto racer and three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 (1941, 1947-48), born in Columbus, Ohio

May 27 Robert Shone, British economist and director-general (NEDC), born in Birkenhead, Cheshire (d. 1992)
May 28 Phil Regan, American actor and singer ("My Wild Irish Rose"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1996)

T. H. White (1906-1964)

May 29 English novelist (England Have My Bones) and author of the King Arthur novels, born in Bombay, British India

May 30 Bruno Gröning, German faith healer (d. 1959)
May 31 Hans Schaeuble, Swiss composer, born in Arosa, Switzerland (d. 1988)

Born in 1906

Famous Weddings

James F. Byrnes

May 2 US Secretary of State James F. Byrnes marries Maude Busch

Nancy Astor

May 3 American-English businessman Waldorf Astor (26) weds fellow American-English socialite Nancy Langhorne Shaw (26) at All Souls Church in London, England, until his death in 1952

Famous Deaths

May 1 Carlos Calvo, Argentine historian, diplomat and human rights scholar (Calvo Clause), dies at 82
May 12 Gabriel C. Wharton, American civil engineer and Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 81
May 14 Carl Schurz, German revolutionary and statesman (b. 1829)
May 19 Gabriel Dumont, Metis political and military leader (Louis Riel’s commander during North-West rebellion against Canadian government), dies at 68

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)

May 23 Norwegian playwright (A Doll's House, Peer Gynt), dies at 78

May 30 William Hurlstone, English composer, dies of bronchial asthma at 30
May 31 Hermann Schell, German theologist and philodopher (Gott und Geist), dies at 56

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