Historical Events
- May 1 1st Suriname union congress at Paramaribo
Radio Premiere
May 2 American comedian Jack Benny's 1st radio show premieres (NBC Blue Network)
Event of Interest
May 2 Pulitzer Prize for Literature awarded to novelist Pearl S. Buck (The Good Earth), the first American woman to win
- May 3 24 tourists begin 1st air-charter holiday (London, England to Basel, Switzerland)
- May 5 Japan & China sign a peace treaty
- May 7 58th Kentucky Derby: Eugene James aboard Burgoo King wins in 2:05.2
- May 9 57th Preakness: Eugene James aboard Burgoo King wins in 1:59.8
- May 9 Piccadilly Circus, London, first lit by electricity
- May 9 WOC-AM in Davenport Iowa merges with WHO to become WHO-WOC
- May 10 Government declares "Wilhelmus" as the Netherlands' national anthem
- May 10 Senate chairman Albert Lebrun becomes President of France
Lindbergh Kidnapping
May 12 Body of kidnapped son of Charles Lindbergh is found in Hopewell, New Jersey
- May 14 "We Want Beer!" parade in NY
- May 15 The 15th May Incident: in an attempted coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is shot and killed by Navy officers in his home
- May 16 Yanks 4th straight shutout to equal record set by Cleveland & Boston
- May 17 US Congress changes name "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico"
Amelia Earhart Departs Newfoundland
May 20 Amelia Earhart leaves Newfoundland on her journey to become the 1st woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic
- May 20 Engelbert Dollfuss becomes chancellor of Austria
- May 21 1st Curtis Cup for Women's team amateur golf: US wins, 5½-3½ at Wentworth Club (Wentworth, England)
Earhart Crosses the Atlantic
May 21 After flying for 17 hours from Newfoundland, Amelia Earhart lands near Londonderry, Northern Ireland, becoming the 1st transatlantic solo flight by a woman
- May 23 Australian cyclist Hubert Opperman sets paced world records 1,384km in 24 hours, and 1,609km (1,000 miles) in 28 hours, 55 minutes, 39 seconds at Melbourne Motordrome
- May 25 Goofy, aka Dippy Dawg, 1st appears in 'Mickey's Revue' by Walt Disney
- May 26 Admiral Makoto Saito forms parliament in Tokyo
- May 28 Netherlands closes off the Zuiderzee - a new system of dams and dykes to reclaim land and provide flood protection. The country's largest hydraulic engineering project of the 20th century.
- May 29 The Bonus Army of World War I veterans begins to assemble in Washington, D.C. to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Fred Frame takes lead for good on lap 152, winning from 27th on starting grid; accompanied by riding mechanic Jerry Houck
- May 30 Yankees dedicate a plaque to Miller Huggins
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Sandy Woodward [John Forster], English admiral (British Naval Task Force, Falklands War), born in Penzance, Cornwall (d. 2013)
- May 2 Bruce Glover, American actor (Diamonds are Forever), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 2 Kees de Galan, Dutch economist, born in Zaandam, Netherlands (d. 1987)
- May 2 Malcolm Lipkin, English composer, born in Liverpool, England (d. 2017)
- May 2 Maury Allen, American sportswriter and columnist (New York Post), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2010)
- May 3 Maria Itkina, Russian athlete (9 sprint world records, 60m-400m), born in Roslavl, Russia (d. 2020)
- May 3 Robert Osborne, American film historian and television host (Turner Classic Movies), born in Colfax, Washington (d. 2017)
- May 4 Fausto Razzi, Italian composer, born in Rome
- May 5 Aurel Stroe, Romanian composer, born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 2008)
- May 5 Will Hutchins, American actor (Sugarfoot, Hey Landlord), born in Atwater, California
- May 6 Günther Hauk, German composer, born in Chemnitz, Germany (d. 1979)
- May 6 John Bond, English cricketer (Lancashire), born in Kearsley, Lancashire, England
- May 6 Konrad Ragossnig, Austrian classical guitarist and lutenist, born in Klagenfurt, Austria. (d. 2018)
- May 6 Leon Hughes, American pop-rock singer (The Coasters - "Young Blood"), born in Dallas, Texas
- May 7 Derek Taylor, English publicist for the Beatles, born in Liverpool, Merseyside (d. 1997)
- May 7 Hans Boskamp [Johannes Hendricus Gerardus Hoelscher], Dutch actor and producer (Oh My Papa), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 2011)
- May 8 Julieta Campos, Cuban-Mexican writer (d. 2007)
- May 8 Phyllida Law, Scottish actress (Much Ado About Nothing, The Time Machine), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- May 9 Conrad Hunte, cricketer (great West Indian opener 1958-66)
- May 9 David Plastow, CEO (Medical Research Council)
- May 9 Gavin Lyall, British author (Conduct of Major Maxim, The Secret Servant), born in Birmingham, Warwickshire (d. 2003)
- May 9 Geraldine McEwan, British actress (Agatha Christie's Miss Marple), born in Old Windsor Berkshire (d. 2015)
- May 9 J. Alex McMillan, American politician (Rep-R-NC, 1985-95), born in Charlotte, North Carolina
- May 10 Francoise Fabian, French actress (Happy New Year), born in Algiers, French Algeria
- May 10 Ian Leslie, 21st Earl of Rothes, Scottish nobleman
- May 11 Henriette Santer, Dutch-English clinical psychologist, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1994)
- May 11 Valentino [Garavani], Italian fashion designer and founder of the Valentino company, born in Milan, Italy
- May 14 Loek Elfferich, Dutch journalist and historian (Treason in Rotterdam), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1992)
- May 14 Richard Estes, American artist and photorealist painter (Telephone Booths), born in Kewanee, Illinois
- May 14 Robert Bechtle, American painter
- May 14 [Donald William] Bob Johnston, American music producer (Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Simon & Garfunkel), born in Hillsboro, Texas (d. 2015)
- May 16 (Isaac) "Redd" Holt, American jazz and soul drummer (Ramsey Lewis Trio, 1956-66 - "The In Crowd"; Young-Holt Unlimited - "Soulful Strut"), born in Rosedale, Mississippi (d. 2023)
- May 17 Arthur Jones, principal (Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester)
- May 17 Colin Hope, British industrialist (Turner and Newall), born in Birkenhead (d. 2015)
- May 17 Peter Burge, Australian cricket batsman (42 Tests, 4 x 100, HS 181; Queensland CA), born in Brisbane, Australia (d. 2001)
- May 17 Rodric Braithwaite, British ambassador to USSR
- May 19 Alma Cogan, British pop singer ("Dreamboat"; "I Can't Tell a Waltz from a Tango"), born in Whitechapel, London, England (d. 1966)
- May 19 Bill Fitch, American Basketball HOF coach (NBA C'ship 1981, Boston Celtics; NBA Coach of the Year 1976, 80; NBA All-Star coach 1982; Cleveland Cavaliers; NJ Nets, Houston Rockets, LA Clippers), born in Davenport, Iowa (d. 2022)
- May 19 Claude Blanchard, French Canadian singer, comedian and actor, born in Joliette, Canada (d. 2006)
- May 19 Paul Erdman, American economist and author (d. 2007)
- May 21 Dan Wakefield, American novelist (Going All The Way; New York In The Fifties), journalist (The Atlantic, 1968-81), and screenwriter, born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- May 21 Gabriele Wohmann, German writer, born in Darmstadt, Germany (d. 2015)
- May 21 Robert Sherlaw Johnson, British composer and music scholar, born in Sunderland
- May 23 John Lyons, Master (Trinity Hall), born in Cambridge, England
- May 24 Arnold Wesker, British playwright (Bratkartoffeln Inbegriffen), born in London (d. 2016)
- May 24 Elaine Malbin, American opera singer, born in New York City
- May 24 Graham Arnold, British artist (Brotherhood of Ruralists), born in Sydenham, London (d. 2019)
- May 24 James Anderton, British Chief constable (Manchester England), born in Wigan, Lancashire
- May 24 Terence Heiser, British senior civil servant
- May 25 Georgy Grechko, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 17, 26, T-14), born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (d. 2017)
- May 25 John Gregory Dunne, American writer (Up Close & Personal, True Confessions), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2003)
- May 25 K. C. Jones, American Basketball Hall of Fame point guard (Olympic gold 1956; NBA C'ship 1959–66, Boston Celtics) and coach (NBA C'ship 1984, 86; Boston Celtics), born in Taylor, Texas (d. 2020)
- May 25 Roberto Fleitas, Uruguayan soccer coach (Uruguay: Copa América 1987; Nacional FC: Copa Libertadores & South American Coach of the Year 1988), born in Montevideo, Uruguay (d. 2024)
- May 26 "Grishata" Grigor Vachkov, Bulgarian actor (At Each Kilometer), born in Tranchovitsa, Bulgaria (d. 1980)
- May 26 Alvin Ing, American stage and screen singer and actor (Flower Drum Song), born in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaiʻi (d. 2021)
- May 26 Joe Altobelli, American baseball utility (Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins) and manager (SF Giants, World Series Baltimore Orioles 1983, Chicago Cubs), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2021)
- May 27 Jeffrey Bernard, British writer (Spectator Magazine - Low Life), born in Hampstead, london (d. 1997)
- May 28 Henning Christiansen, Danish experimental composer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 2008)
- May 28 Neil Black, British oboist, and educator, born in Birmingham, England (d. 2016)
- May 28 Tim Renton, British politician (Conservative Minister under Thatcher and Major - came up with National Lottery), born in London, England (d. 2020)
- May 29 Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist and author who founded the group Zero Population Growth, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- May 29 Richie Guerin, American basketball Hall of Fame guard (6-time NBA All Star), born in New York City
- May 30 Pauline Oliveros, composer (Sound Patterns), born in Houston, Texas (d. 2016)
- May 30 Seppo Nummi, Finnish composer and music critic, born in Oulu, Finland (d. 1981)
- May 31 Elizabeth Southey, British CEO (National Fed of Women's Institutes)
- May 31 George Vallings, British Vice Admiral
- May 31 Jay Miner, American microchip designer (d. 1994)
- May 31 Ronald Hampel, British CEO (ICI)
Famous Weddings
Dmitri Shostakovich
May 13 Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (25) weds Russian physicist Nina Varsar (23), mostly until her death in 1954
Famous Deaths
- May 1 Paul Doumer, French politician (Governor-General of French Indochina 1897-1902, President of France 1931-32), assassinated by Russian Paul Gorguloff at 75
- May 3 Anton Wildgans, Austrian poet and playwright (Armut), dies at 51
- May 3 Charles Fort, American writer and researcher (specialized in anomalous phenomena), dies at 57
- May 7 Albert Thomas, French socialist politician (Minister of Armament WW1), dies at 53
- May 15 Inukai Tsuyoshi, Japanese politician (Prime Minister of Japan 1931-32), assassinated by Navy officers at 76
- May 15 Ki Inukai, premier Japan (1931-32), murdered
- May 16 Ki Imukai, premier of Japan (1931-32), murdered
- May 16 William Pember Reeves, politician/poet, dies
- May 20 Bipin Chandra Pal, Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, dies at 73
- May 20 James "Bubber" Miley, American jazz trumpet and cornet player (Duke Ellington, 1923-29 - "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"; "Black And Tan Fantasy"), dies of tuberculosis at 29
- May 22 Augusta Gregory [Lady Gregory], Irish playwright (Gold Apple) theatre manager (co-founded Abbey Theatre) and patron of Yeats, dies at 80
