Historical Events
- May 1 1st African American mayor of New Orleans, Ernest Nathan Morial, inaugurated
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow
May 1 Jackie Chan's breakthrough film "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" directed by Yuen Woo-ping, is released in Hong Kong
- May 1 Naomi Uemura became 1st to reach North Pole overland alone
- May 2 1978 NFL Draft: Earl Campbell from University of Texas first pick by Houston Oilers
- May 3 "Sun Day" - solar energy events are held in US
- May 3 First unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail ("spam") is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the US west coast
- May 3 Last cricket test match appearance for Bobby Simpson, at Kingston
- May 3 WI all set to lose cricket test v Aust at Kingston till riots end game
- May 4 Russian leader Brezhnev visits West-Germany
Event of Interest
May 9 American publishing heiress Patty Hearst returns to jail, after legal appeals to her bank robbery conviction fail
- May 9 Fee Waybill of Tubes breaks a leg falling off stage
Ain't Misbehavin
May 9 Musical review of Fats Waller songs "Ain't Misbehavin'" starring Nell Carter and Irene Cara, opens at Longacre Theater, NYC; runs for 1604 performances, winning 3 Drama Desk and 3 Tony Awards
- May 10 "Angel" opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 5 performances
- May 10 22nd European Cup: Liverpool beats Club Brugge 1-0 at London
- May 11 Margaret A Brewer is 1st female general in the US Marine Corps
- May 12 US Commerce Department says hurricane names will no longer be only female
- May 13 "Angel" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 5 performances
- May 13 Henry Rono of Kenya sets record for 3,000 m steeplechase (8:05.4)
- May 13 Joie Chitwood drives a Chevette 5.6 miles on just 2 wheels
- May 13 Musical "Runaways" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 199 performances, with Elizabeth Swados
- May 14 "Working" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 25 performances
- May 14 First round of the presidential elections in Upper Volta
- May 17 Los Angeles Dodgers Lee Lacy hits record 3rd consecutive pinch-hit home run
- May 18 Italy legalizes abortion
- May 18 Russian dissident Yuri Orlov exiled to compulsory work
- May 20 103rd Preakness: Steve Cauthen wins aboard Affirmed for the 2nd-leg of the Triple Crown
- May 20 3 PFLP members kill a police officer near El Al airlines in Orly Airport, Paris
- May 20 US launches Pioneer Venus 1; produces 1st global radar map of Venus
- May 21 118 Unification church couples wed in England
- May 21 Yamada Mumon Roshi appointed head of Zen Rinzai Sect
- May 23 AL approves transfer of Red Sox to Jean Yawkey for $15M
- May 23 General strike in Peru
- May 24 American management consultant Marilyn Loden first coins the term "glass ceiling" to describe invisible career barriers for women
- May 24 Dutch Investment bill (WIR) law goes into effect
- May 25 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: 3-peat for Montreal Canadiens; beat Boston Bruins, 4-1 as Mario Tremblay scores twice; 4-2 series victory
- May 26 1st legal gambling casino opens in Atlantic City
- May 28 Second round of the presidential elections in Upper Volta. The election is won by incumbent Sangoulé Lamizana.
- May 29 US 1st class postage rises to 15 cents (13 cents for 3 years)
- May 29 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- May 30 31st Cannes Film Festival: "The Tree of Wooden Clogs" directed by Ermanno Olmi wins the Palme d'Or
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 James Badge Dale, American actor (24; The Departed; Parkland; The Pacific), born in Manhattan, New York
- May 1 Sachie Hara, Japanese actress
- May 2 Steve Bays, Canadian rock musician (Hot Hot Heat - "In The Middle Of Nowhere"), and record producer, born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- May 3 Lawrence Tynes, Scottish-American football player, born in Greenock, Scotland
- May 3 Paul Banks, English-American vocalist (Interpol), born in Clacton-on-Sea, England
- May 4 Shaenon K. Garrity, American webcomics writer and artist (creator of Narbonic)
- May 5 Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer, born in Suresnes, France
- May 5 Marcus Lewis, American jazz trombonist, composer, arranger, and bandleader, born in Augusta, Georgia
- May 5 Morgan Pehme, American filmmaker (Get Me Roger Stone), born in New York City
- May 5 Ola Gjeilo, Norwegian composer (Dreamweaver), born in Skui, Norway
- May 5 Santiago Cabrera, Venezuelan-Chilean-British actor (Isaac Mendez - Heroes), born in Caracas, Venezuela
- May 6 Alexander Fedorov, Russian bodybuilder
- May 6 John Abraham, American football player, born in Timmonsville, South Carolina
- May 7 Brian Clevinger, American author (Atomic Robo)
- May 7 Nagash [Stian Hinderson], Norwegian black metal musician (Dimmu Borgir; Troll), born in Hamar, Norway
- May 7 Shawn Marion, American basketball player
- May 8 Cindy Parlow, American soccer midfielder (158 caps; Olympic gold 1996, 2004; silver 2000; FIFA Women's World Cup gold 1999) and executive (President US Soccer 2020-), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- May 8 Jang Woo Hyuk, Korean singer, rapper, and dancer (HOT; JTL), and actor, born in Daegu, South Korea
- May 8 Josie Maran, American model, born in Menlo Park, California
- May 8 Lúcio [Lucimar Ferreira da Silva], Brazilian footballer (Inter Milan), born in Planaltina, Brazil
- May 8 Matthew Davis, American actor (Legally Blonde, Vampire Diaries), born in Salt Lake City, Utah
- May 8 Sandra Kleinova, Czech tennis star (1995 Futures-Turku-FIN), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
- May 9 Aaron Harang, American baseball player
- May 9 Leandro Damián Cufré, Argentine footballer
- May 10 Kenan Thompson, American actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live), born in Columbus, Ohio
- May 11 Laetitia Casta, French supermodel and actress, born in Pont-Audemer, France
- May 11 Perttu Kivilaakso, Finnish cellist (Apocalyptica), born in Helsinki, Finland
- May 11 Richard Spencer, American white supremacist, born in Boston, Massachusetts
- May 12 Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer (formerly Morning Musume), born in Sopporo, Japan
- May 12 Hossein Reza Zadeh, Iranian weightlifter and politician, born in Ardabil, Iran
- May 12 Jason Biggs, American actor (American Pie), born in Pompton Plains, New Jersey
- May 12 Josh Phelps, American baseball player, born in Anchorage, Alaska
- May 12 Wilfred [Le Bouthillier], Acadian singer, born in Tracadie-Sheila, New Brunswick
- May 13 Barry Zito, American baseball player (Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- May 13 Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach, born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
- May 14 André Macanga, Angolan footballer
- May 14 Brent Harvey, Australian footballer
- May 14 Eddie House, American basketball player
- May 14 Gustavo Varela, Uruguayan footballer
- May 15 Amy Chow, American gymnast (Olympics-gold/silver, 1996), born in San Jose, California
- May 15 Caroline Dhavernas, Canadian actress (Niagra Motel; Mary Kills People), born in Montreal, Quebec
David Krumholtz (45 years old)
May 15 American actor (Numb3rs; Harold and Kumar films), born in New York City
- May 15 Dwayne DeRosario, Canadian footballer
- May 15 Edu, Brazilian footballer
- May 15 Krissy Taylor, American model, born in Miami, Florida (d. 1995)
- May 15 Zoltan Bathory, Hungarian-born American musician and martial artist (Five Finger Death Punch), born in Szentendre, Hungary
- May 16 David Ford, English singer-songwriter (Songs for the Road), born in Dartford, Kent, England
- May 16 Jim Sturgess, British actor ("Across the Universe"; "The Way Back"), and singer-songwriter, born in Wandsworth, London, England
- May 16 Lionel Scaloni, Argentine soccer wing-back (7 caps; Deportivo La Coruña, Lazio) and manager (Argentina; Copa América 2021), born in Rosario, Argentina
- May 16 Vincent Larusso, American actor (Mighty Ducks; D2; D3), born in Livingston, New Jersey
- May 17 Carlos Peña, Dominican MLB baseball infielder, 2001-14 (Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and 6 other teams), and broadcaster, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- May 17 Paddy Kenny, Irish goalkeeper
- May 18 Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer (Chelsea, Real Madrid), born in Amarante, Portugal
- May 19 Marcus Bent, English footballer
- May 21 Jamaal Magloire, Canadian professional basketballer
- May 22 Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
Katie Price (45 years old)
May 22 English model and media personality (Being Jordan), born in Brighton, England
- May 23 Carolyn Moos, American model and professional basketball player
- May 23 Mike González, American baseball player, born in Corpus Christi, Texas
- May 23 Scott Raynor, American drummer (Blink-182, 1992-1998), born in Poway, California
- May 24 Brad Penny, American baseball pitcher (World Series 2003 Florida Marlins; MLB All Star 2006, 07; NL wins leader 2006 LA Dodgers), born in Blackwell, Oklahoma
- May 24 Brian Ching, American footballer (U.S. National Team), born in Hale'iwa, Hawaii
- May 24 Bryan Greenberg, American actor (How to Make It in America), born in Omaha, Nebraska
- May 24 Johan Holmqvist, Swedish hockey player, born in Tolfta, Sweden
- May 25 Adam Gontier, Canadian rock singer-songwriter (Three Days Grace), born in Peterborough, Ontario
- May 25 Brian Urlacher, American football player (Chicago Bears), born in Pasco, Washington
- May 26 Jaheim [Hoagland], American R&B singer ("Put That Woman First"), born in New Brunswick, New Jersey
- May 26 Phil Elverum (né Elvrum), American singer-songwriter (The Microphones), born in Anacortes, Washington
- May 27 Adin Brown, American soccer player
- May 28 Jake Johnson [Weinberger], American actor (New Girl - "Nick"), film producer, and screenwriter, born in Evanston, Illinois
- May 29 Adam Rickitt, English actor (Coronation Street), born in Crewe, England
- May 29 Per "Howlin' Pelle" Almqvist, Swedish musician (The Hives - "Hat To Say I Told You So"; "Walk Idiot, Walk"), born in Fagersta, Sweden
- May 29 Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player (Davis Cup 2001; world #4 2002), born in Marseille, France
- May 30 Lyoto Machida, Brazilian mixed martial artist
Famous Weddings
Lee Hsien Loong
May 20 Soldier and later politician Lee Hsien Loong marries first wife doctor Wong Ming Yang
Jerry West
May 28 NBA legend Jerry West (40) weds cheerleader Karen Bua
Ben Bernanke
May 29 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (24) weds school teacher Anna Friedmann
Famous Divorces
Mick Jagger
May 1 Actress and model Bianca Jagger (32) files for divorce from Rolling Stone singer Mick Jagger (34) after 7 years of marriage on the grounds of his adultery with model Jerry Hall
Famous Deaths
Ethelda Bleibtrey (1902-1978)
May 6 American swimmer (Olympic gold 100m, 300m, 4x100m freestyle relay 1920; first US female champion), dies at 76
- May 6 Ko van Dijk Jr, Dutch actor (Zaak M P), dies at 61
Aldo Moro (1916-1978)
May 9 Italian Prime Minister (1963-68 and 1974-76), assassinated by the Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization Red Brigades at 61
Robert Menzies (1894-1978)
May 15 12th Prime Minister of Australia (United Australia Party: 1939-41, Liberal: 1949-66) and its longest-serving, dies of a heart attack at 83
- May 16 William Steinberg, German-American conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony, 1952-76; Boston Symphony, 1969-71), dies at 78
- May 17 Armin T. Wegner, German medic, photographer, writer, and civil rights activist (documented the Armenian Genocide), dies at 92 [1]
- May 17 Selwyn Lloyd, British politician (Foreign Secretary, 1955-60; Exchequers, 1960-62; Leader of the House of Commons, 1963–64; Speaker of the House of Commons, 1971-76), dies of a brain tumor at 73
- May 19 George Gladstone, cricketer (one Test WI v England 1930), dies
- May 20 Ivan Harold Browning, American stage and screen actor and singer (Shuffle Along - "I'm Just Wild About Harry"), dies at 87
- May 21 Jo Spier [Joseph Spier], Dutch cartoonist and water color painter, dies at 77
- May 22 Bjarne Brustad, Norwegian composer, dies at 83
- May 26 Cybele, Greek actress (b. 1887)
- May 28 Arthur Brough, English actor (b. 1905)
- May 29 Carl Reynolds, American baseball outfielder who was 2nd player in MLB history to hit HRs in 3 consecutive innings 1930; Chicago White Sox, dies at 75
- May 31 József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (Budapest Honvéd), dies at 52 due to heart failure
