Historical Events
Plans for Pulitzer Prize
May 7 Columbia University approves plans for awarding the Pulitzer Prize in several categories, after established by Joseph Pulitzer
- May 18 Maurits Binger establishes 2 Dutch movie companies
- May 18 Philadelphia Athletics rout Detroit Tigers, 24-2 at Shibe Park; Tigers use amateurs in protest at Ty Cobbs suspension from the game
- May 19 AL President Ban Johnson tells Tigers if they continue protest of Ty Cobb's suspension, they will be banned from baseball
- May 28 Australian cricket spin bowler Jimmy Matthews takes 2 hat-tricks on same day in Triangular Tournament v South Africa at Old Trafford (3/16, 3/38); only player to achieve the feat
- May 29 15 young women are fired by Curtis Publishing in Philadelphia for dancing the "Turkey Trot" during their lunch break
- May 29 Ballets Russes premieres their ballet L'après-midi d'un faune (The Afternoon of a Faun) in Paris, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Joe Dawson in the American-manufactured, 4-cylinder National, wins in race record 6:21:06; time is 21:02 faster than previous 1911 record
- May 30 US Marines sent to Nicaragua
- May 31 US marines land on Cuba
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Anna Pollak, English mezzo-soprano, born in Manchester (d. 1996)
- May 1 Felipe Padilla de León, Filipino composer, born in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija, Philippine Islands (d. 1992)
- May 1 Otto Kretschmer, German U-Boat commander, born in Heidau, Neisse, Province of Silesia, Prussia, German Empire (d. 1998)
- May 2 Axel Springer, German newspaper magnate (Bild Zeitung), born in Altona, Hamburg, German Empire (d. 1985)
- May 2 Marten Toonder, Dutch comic writer and cartoonist (Tom Puss), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 2005)
- May 2 Nigel Patrick, British actor and director (Sapphire, Prize of Gold), born in London, England (d. 1981)
- May 3 Eleanore "May" Sarton, Belgian-American writer (Land of Silence), born in Wondelgem, Belgium (d. 1995)
- May 3 Virgil Fox, American organist, born in Princeton, Illinois (d. 1980)
- May 4 Lou Brown, American orchestra leader (Jerry Lewis Show), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2007)
- May 5 Fenton Morley, British parish priest who chaired the Church of England Morley Commission, born in Wales (d. 1995)
- May 6 B. Roest Crollius, Dutch painter and writer (Chronicle Sins of Youth), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 2000)
- May 6 Hugh Martell, British Vice Admiral, born in Penzance, Cornwall, England (d. 1998)
- May 6 William "Bill" Quinn, American actor (Star Trek, The Birds, Rifleman, All in the Family), born in New York City (d. 1994)
- May 7 Paul Brenneker, Dutch missionary, ethnologist, photographer and folklorist, born in Venlo, Netherlands (d. 1996)
- May 8 George Woodcock, Canadian writer of political biography and history (Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (d. 1995)
- May 8 Gertrud Fussenegger, Austrian writer (Mohrenlegende), born in Pilsen, Austria-HUngary (d. 2009)
- May 9 Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican actor (From Russia With Love, Fort Apache), born in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico (d. 1963)
- May 9 Per Imerslund, "The aryan idol" (d. 1943)
- May 10 Edward Gardner, British barrister and Conservative Party politician (British Nationality Act 1981), born in Preston, Lancashire, England (d. 2001)
- May 10 Erik Jorgensen, Danish composer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 2005)
- May 10 Harold Myers, British film journalist (Variety), born in Russia (d. 1994)
- May 11 Doodles Weaver [Winstead Sheffield Weaver], American comedian (Spike Jones & City Slickers, The Zodiac Killer), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1983)
- May 11 Foster Brooks, American comedian and actor (The Villain, Oddballs, Mork & Mindy), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 2001)
Phil Silvers (1912-1985)
May 11 American comedian and actor (Sgt Bilko-Phil Silvers Show), born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 12 Archibald Cox, U.S. Solicitor General (d. 2004)
- May 12 Marshall Royal, American jazz alto saxophonist and clarinetist (Count Basie Orchestra), born in Sapulpa, Oklahoma (d. 1995)
- May 13 Gil Evans, Canadian-American jazz pianist, composer and arranger (Miles Davis; Absolute Beginners, Out of the Cool), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1988)
- May 13 Helen Craig, American actress (Snake Pit, They Live by Night), born in San Antonio, Texas (d. 1986)
- May 13 Judah Nadich, American rabbi (d. 2007)
- May 14 Marguerite Fawdry, English museum curator (started Pollocks Toy Museum), born in Bexleyheath, England (d. 1995)
- May 15 Alexis Kagame, Rwandan philosopher, historian, poet and Tutsi intellectual and cultural leader, born in Kiyanza, Rwanda, German East Africa (d. 1981)
- May 15 Arthur Berger, American composer (Ideas of Order), music critic, and educator (Brandeis, 1953-80; New England Conservatory of Music, 1980-99), born in New York City (d. 2003)
- May 16 Studs Terkel, American writer, historian and radio host (Stud's Place, Working), born in New York City (d. 2008)
- May 17 Archibald Cox, American lawyer and special prosecutor (Watergate), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2004)
- May 17 Clarence "Ace" Parker, American NFL quarterback (Brooklyn, Boston Yanks), born in Portsmouth, Virginia (d. 2013)
- May 17 Sándor Végh, Hungarian-French violinist teacher and conductor, born in Kolozsvár, Transylvania, Austria-Hungary (d. 1997)
- May 18 Richard Brooks, American film director (Blackboard Jungle; In Cold Blood; Key Largo), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1902)
- May 18 [Pierino] Perry Como, American singer ("Catch A Falling Star") and TV personality (The Perry Como Show), born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (d. 2001)
- May 20 Joseph Proce, American murder victim (3rd person attacked by NYC's Zodiac killer), (d. 1990)
- May 21 John Curtis Gowan, American psychologist (d. 1986)
- May 21 Monty Stratton, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1937 Chicago WS; played minor leagues with prosthetic leg; 1949 film The Stratton Story), born in Palacios, Texas (d. 1982)
- May 23 John Payne, American actor (The Restless Gun; Miracle on 34th Street), born in Roanoke, Virginia (d. 1989)
- May 23 Marius Goring, British actor (Stairway to Heaven; The Red Shoes), born in Isle of Wight, England (d. 1998)
- May 23 Samuel Churran, British physicist (invented scintillation counter, 1st Vice Chancellor Strathclyde University - UK's 1st technological university), born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland (d. 1998)
- May 24 Dame Joan Hood Hammond, Australian operatic soprano, born in Christchurch, New Zealand (d. 1996)
- May 24 Joseph Anthony [Deuster], American playwright, actor, and director (Matchmaker, Tomorrow), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1993)
- May 25 Eddie Maxwell [Cherkose], American lyricist (Breathless) and actor, born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1999)
- May 25 Princess Deokhye of Korea, last princess of the Korean Empire, born in Changdeok Palace, Keijo, Japanese Korea (d. 1989)
- May 26 Janos Kádár, 46th Prime Minister of Hungary 5th Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary (1956-58), born in Fiume, Austria-Hungary (d. 1989)
- May 26 Jay Silverheels [Harold J. Smith], Canadian actor (The Lone Ranger, Key Largo), born in Ontario, Canada (d. 1980)
- May 27 John Cheever, American writer (Wapshot Chronicle, Pulitzer), born in Quincy, Massachusetts (d. 1982)
Sam Snead (1912-2002)
May 27 American golfer (US Masters 1949, 52, 54; British Open 1946; PGA C'ship 1942, 49, 51; Vardon Trophy x 4), born in Ashwood, Virginia
- May 27 Terry Moore, American baseball outfielder (World Series 1942, 46; 4 x MLB All Star; St. Louis Cardinals) and manager (Philadelphia Phillies 1954), born in Vernon, Alabama (d. 1995)
- May 28 Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist and politician (d. 1992)
- May 28 Patrick White, Australian novelist and playwright (Happy Valley, Nobel Prize for Literature 1973), born in London, England (d. 1990)
- May 29 Iris Adrian, American actress (Blue Hawaii, Bluebeard), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1994)
- May 29 Jan Hanlo, Dutch poet (Go to the Mosque), born in Bandung, Dutch East Indies (d. 1969)
- May 29 Lucie Aubrac [Bernard], history teacher and French resistance member, born in Paris, France (d. 2007)
- May 30 Alexander Langsdorf, American physicist (worked on the Manhattan Project), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 1996)
- May 30 Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (Ben-Hur, Mutiny on the Bounty, Oliver!), born in Marian Glas, Anglesey, Wales (d. 1980)
- May 30 Joseph Stein, American dramatist and playwright (Fiddler on the Roof), born in New York City (d. 2010)
- May 30 Julian Symons, English crime writer and poet, born in London, England (d. 1994)
- May 31 Alfred Deller, British countertenor, born in Margate, England (d. 1979)
- May 31 Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American experimental physicist (conducted the Wu experiment), born in Liuhe, China (d. 1997)
- May 31 Dave O'Brien [Fronabarger], American actor and writer (Reefer Madness, Kiss Me Kate, 1st Aid), born in Big Spring, Texas (d. 1969)
- May 31 Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson, American politician (Sen-D-Wash), born in Everett, Washington (d. 1983)
- May 31 Martin Schwarzschild, German-American astronomer (book Structure and Evolution of the Stars), born in Potsdam, Germany (d. 1997)
Famous Deaths
- May 4 Nettie Stevens, American geneticist (discovered sex chromosomes), dies of cancer at 51 [1]
- May 14 August Strindberg 'Father of modern Swedish Literature', Swedish dramatist and writer (Miss Julie), dies at 63
- May 14 Frederik VIII, King of Denmark (1906-12), dies at 68
- May 19 Bolesław Prus, Polish writer (The Outpost), dies at 64
- May 19 Eduard Adolf Strasburger, German botanist who discovered that the nucleus of plant cells divides during cell division, dies at 68
- May 25 Austin Lane Crothers, American politician (Governor of Maryland, 1908-12), dies at 52
- May 26 Jan Blockx, Belgian opera composer (Bride of the Sea), dies at 61
- May 28 Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, French scientist, dies at 74
