Historical Events
Music History
May 1 Elton John performs for 1st time in Israel, kicking off a mini-tour of 5 shows in six nights
- May 1 Home rule introduced to Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)
- May 1 Marshall Islands (in Pacific) become self-governing
- May 2 "Quadrophenia" premieres in London
- May 2 -May 10] Vivekananda (Sri Lanka) begins nonstop ride, cycling 187 hrs, 28 min, around Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Academy of Country Music Awards
May 2 14th Academy of Country Music Awards: Kenny Rogers and Barbara Mandrell win
- May 3 1979 NFL Draft: Tom Cousineau from Ohio State first pick by Buffalo Bills
- May 3 Martin Sherman's "Bent" premieres in London
Baseball Record
May 3 MLB Cleveland Indian Bobby Bonds hits his 300th HR (2nd to have 300 HRs & 300 stolen bases)
Election of Interest
May 4 Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- May 4 NASA launches Fltsatcom-2
- May 5 105th Kentucky Derby: Ron Franklin on Spectacular Bid wins in 2:02.4
- May 5 Masterpiece Radio Theater begins broadcasting
- May 5 Voyager 1 fly-bys Jupiter
- May 6 American Fred Markham (22) sets a bicycle speed record of 81.8 kph (50.8 mph) over 200 meter course
- May 6 Louis LaRusso II's stage drama "Knockout", starring Danny Aiello, opens at the Helen Hayes Theater, NYC: runs for 154 performances
- May 6 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- May 7 5th UNCTAD-conference opens in Manila
- May 7 Gary Roenicke hits into Orioles 13th triple play (Oakland)
- May 8 Radio Shack releases TRSDOS 2.3
- May 9 Iranian-Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is the 1st Jew executed by the Islamic government firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000-strong Jewish community of Iran
- May 10 Federated States of Micronesia becomes self-governing
- May 10 John McMullen becomes CEO of Houston Astros
- May 10 Vivekananda (Sri Lanka) completes nonstop cycle ride of 187 hrs, 28 min, around Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka [From May 2]
Sports History
May 12 Chris Evert's 125-match winning streak on clay comes to an end
- May 13 "Utter Glory... Morrissey Hall" opens & closes at Mark Hellinger NYC
Event of Interest
May 13 Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and family sentenced to death in Tehran
- May 14 "Kids Are All Right" rockumentary film featuring The Who premieres at the Cannes Film Festival
Stalker
May 14 "Stalker", Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, starring Alexander Kaidanovsky and Anatoli Solonitsyn, is released
- May 16 FC Barcelona of Spain wins 19th European Cup Winner's Cup against Fortuna Düsseldorf of West Germany 4-3 in Basel
- May 16 MLB National League approves sale of Houston Astros by Ford Motors to John J McMullen for $19M
- May 17 Coldest temperature ever recorded in Hawaii - 12°F (-11°C), on top of Mauna Kea
- May 17 Emmy 6th Daytime Award presentation, "Ryan's Hope" wins Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
- May 17 Phillies beat Cubs, 23-22, on 50 hits with 11 HRs
- May 19 "In The Navy" by Village People hits #3
- May 19 104th Preakness: Ron Franklin aboard Spectacular Bid wins in 1:54.2
- May 20 Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart's musical "I Love My Wife" closes at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC, after 857 performances
- May 20 Elton John is the 1st western pop star to tour USSR
White Night Riots
May 21 Dan White convicted of the voluntary manslaughter of San Francisco mayor George Moscone and openly gay councilor Harvey Milk. The conviction on a lesser charge outraged the gay community and led to the White Night riots.
- May 21 National Volksraad installed in Namibia
- May 21 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: 4 consecutive titles for Montreal Canadiens; beat NY Rangers, 4-1 for a 4 games to 1 series win
Film & TV History
May 22 1st ACE Cable Awards: "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas" by Jim Henson and HBO
Election of Interest
May 22 Canadians elect conservatives, Joseph Clark replaces Pierre Trudeau as the 16th Prime Minister of Canada
- May 22 Commencement of 1st ICC Trophy (PNG v East Africa & Singapore v Argentina)
- May 23 1st edition of "Wisden Cricket Monthly"
- May 23 West-Germany elects Karl Carstens president
Cannes Film Festival
May 24 32nd Cannes Film Festival: "Apocalypse Now" directed by Francis Ford Coppola and "Die Biechtrommel" directed by Volker Schlondorff jointly awarded the Palme d'Or
Sports History
May 24 Billy Martin issues a public apology to Reno sportswriter Ray Hagar
- May 24 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- May 25 American Airlines DC-10 crashes on takeoff from Chicago killing 273 including 2 on the ground
Alien
May 25 Horror film "Alien", directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver is released
- May 25 Israel begins to return Sinai to Egypt
- May 25 Raul Gonzales of Mexico completes 50,000 m walk in record 3:41:38.4
Lodger
May 25 RCA releases David Bowie's 13th studio album, "Lodger"; his third collaboration with Brian Eno in what becomes known as his 'Berlin trilogy' features contributions from guitarist Adrian Belew
Dancin' Fool
May 26 CBS Records releases Frank Zappa's "Dancin' Fool" single from his album "Sheik Yerbouti"; it peaks at #45, his biggest hit at the time
- May 27 Indianapolis 500: Polesitter Rick Mears takes lead for the final time with 18 laps to go, to win his first of four Indy 500 races
Event of Interest
May 27 Pope John Paul II ordains John J O'Connor as a bishop
The House on Garibaldi Street
May 28 ABC premiere of TV's "The House on Garibaldi Street", based on the 1960 capture of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina
- May 28 European Market accepts Greece as member
- May 29 CBS premiere of Melissa Anderson's modern "Survival of Dana", her first "bad girl" role, in which Anderson's title character leaves her North Dakota town for Los Angeles after her parents' divorce
- May 29 Radio's 1st rock network "Source" premieres
- May 30 23rd European Cup: Nottingham Forest beats Malmo FF 1-0 at Munich
- May 30 Percom Data Company Inc release Microdos for Radio Shack's TRS-80
- May 30 Ted Coombs begins a 5,193 mile roller skate from LA to NYC
- May 31 Radio City Music Hall (NYC) reopens
I Remember Mama
May 31 Richard Rodgers, Martin Charnin and Raymond Jessel's musical "I Remember Mama" opens at Majestic Theater, NYC; runs for 108 performances
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Ben Easter, American actor
- May 1 Daniel Letterle, American actor (Camp), born in Northfield, Ohio
- May 1 Jennifer Botterill, Canadian ice hockey forward (Olympic gold 2002, 06, 10; Toronto Aeros, Harvard), born in Ottawa, Canada
- May 1 Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby union flanker (Italy 106 caps; Benetton Treviso, Stade Français), born in Padova, Italy
- May 2 Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- May 2 Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player, born in Murmansk, Russia (d. 2003)
- May 3 Genevieve Nnaji, Nigerian actress and director (Lionheart), born in Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria
- May 3 Monsta Mack [Steven Carrasquillo], American professional wrestler, born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 4 Lance Bass, American pop singer (NSYNC - "Bye, Bye, Bye"), born in Laurel, Mississippi
- May 4 Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan rugby union winger (5 Tests England; Gloucester Rugby, La Rochelle) and rugby league winger (12 Tests NZ; Canberra Raiders, Bradford Bulls), born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
- May 4 Ryan Shamrock [Alicia Webb], American professional wrestling valet, born in Houston, Texas
- May 4 Wes Butters, British broadcaster, born in Salford, England
- May 5 Bodek Janke, Polish jazz drummers, percussionist, and tabla player, born in Warsaw Poland
- May 5 Vincent Kartheiser, American actor (Mad Men), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- May 7 Katie Douglas, American basketball player
- May 7 Nikki Hayes [Eimear O' Keeffe], Irish radio personality, born in Bray, Ireland
- May 9 Andrew W.K. [Wilkes-Krier], American rock singer, musician, songwriter ("Party Hard"), motivational speaker, and advice columnist, born in Stanford, California
- May 9 Brandon Webb, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 2006, 07, 08; NL Cy Young Award 2006; NL wins leader 2006, 08; Arizona Diamondbacks), born in Ashland, Kentucky
- May 9 Pierre Bouvier, Canadian singer and bass player (Simple Plan - "Perfect"; "Welcome To My Life"), born in Montreal, Quebec
- May 9 Rosario Dawson, American actress
- May 10 Lee Hyori, South Korean R&B and K-pop singer, born in Cheongwon, South Korea
- May 11 Erin Lang, Canadian alternative rock musician (Feral & Stray; The Tail Lights), born in Montreal, Quebec
- May 11 Laphonza Butler, American politician (Senator-D-California 2023-), born in Magnolia, Mississippi
- May 12 Andre Carter, American football player and coach, born in Denver, Colorado
- May 12 Steve Smith, American football player, orn in Los Angeles, California
- May 13 Carl Philip, Prince of Sweden, son of Carl XVI Gustaf, born in Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden
- May 13 Michael Madden, American rock bassist (Maroon 5, 1994-2020), born in Austin, Texas
- May 14 Carlos Tenorio, Ecuadorian soccer forward (50 caps; LDU Quito, Al-Sadd), born in Esmeraldas, Ecuador
- May 14 Clinton Morrison, English-born Irish footballer
- May 15 Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista, Mexican professional footballer, 1998-2016, born in Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico
- May 16 Barbara Nedeljakova, Slovak horror movie actress (Hostel), born in Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
- May 16 Evan Ferrante, American actor (Owen-Swan's Crossing), born in Armonk, New York
- May 17 Kristóf Baráti, Hungarian classical violinist, born in Budapest, Hungary
- May 17 Wayne Thomas, English footballer, born in Gloucester, England
- May 18 (Jens) "Jeb" Bergensten, Swedish video game designer (Minecraft), born in Orebro, Sweden
- May 18 Julián Speroni, Argentine footballer (Crystal Palace), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- May 18 Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer (Shakhtar Donetsk), born in Legnica, Poland
- May 18 Milivoje Novakovič, Slovenian footballer, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia
- May 19 Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
- May 19 Diego Forlán, Uruguayan footballer
- May 21 Damián Ariel Álvarez, Argentinian Mexican footballer, born in Morón, Argentina
- May 21 Fayçal Salhi, French-Algerian jazz guitarist and oud player, born in Khenchela, Algeria
- May 21 Gaspard Augé, French electronic-rock musician (Justice), born in Besançon, France
- May 21 James Clancy Phelan, Australian novelist, born in Melbourne, Australia
- May 21 Jamie Hepburn, Scottish politician, Member of the Scottish Parliament, born in Glasgow, Scotland
- May 21 Scott Smith, mixed martial arts fighter, born in Reno, Nevada
- May 22 Maggie Q [Margaret Quigley], American actress (Mission Impossible III, Nikita), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- May 22 Nadia Khan, TV Presenter
- May 23 Ivo Kahánek, Czech concert pianist, born in Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic)
- May 23 Josh Cooley, American animator, screenwriter (Inside Out), and Academy Award-winning director (Toy Story 4), born in Berkeley, California
- May 23 Kirk Saarloos, American baseball player
- May 24 Frank Mir, American UFC fighter and professional wrestler, born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- May 24 Joe Kennedy, American MLB baseball pitcher. 2001-07 (Tampa Bay Devil Rays and 4 other teams), born in La Masa, California (d. 2007)
- May 24 Tracy McGrady, American Basketball Hall of Fame forward (NBA All-Star 2001–07; NBA scoring champion 2003, 04; Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets), born in Bartow, Florida
- May 25 Carlos Bocanegra, American sports executive and footballer, born in Alta Loma, California
- May 25 Caroline Ouellette, French Canadian ice hockey player, born in Montreal, Quebec
Jonny Wilkinson (44 years old)
May 25 English international and Newcastle Falcons rugby player, born in Frimley, England
- May 25 Sam Sodje, Nigerian footballer, born in Greenwich, London
- May 26 Ashley Massaro, American model and professional wrestler
- May 26 Elisabeth Harnois, American actress (CSI), born in Detroit, Michigan
- May 26 Mehmet Okur (Memo), Turkish basketball player
- May 27 Mile Sterjovski, Australian footballer
- May 28 Jesse Bradford, American actor
- May 28 Joeri Jansen, Belgian athlete
- May 28 Monica Keena, American actress
- May 29 Arne Friedrich, German soccer defender, coach (Germany 82 caps, Hertha BSC), born in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany
- May 29 Brian Kendrick, American pro wrestler (WWE cruiserweight tag team champion), born in Fairfax, Virginia
- May 29 Casey Sheehan, American soldier; son of Cindy Sheehan (d. 2004)
- May 30 Kugimiya Rie, Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)
- May 30 Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player
- May 31 Vir Das, Indian comedian and actor, born in Dehradun, India
Famous Weddings
Edward W. Brooke
May 12 US Senator Edward W. Brooke (59) weds second wife Anne Lee Fleming
Eric Clapton & Pattie Boyd
May 19 British guitarist Eric Clapton (34) marries model and George Harrison's ex-wife Pattie Boyd (35); divorce in 1989
Famous Deaths
- May 1 Taisto Mäki, Finnish athlete (WR 2 miles, 5,000m and 10,000m simultaneously 1939-42), dies at 68
- May 2 Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and Nobel laureate, dies at 76
- May 3 Erin O'Brien-Moore, actress (Nurse Choate-Peyton Place), dies at 76
- May 5 Shirley O'Hara, actress (Wild Party), dies at 68
- May 8 Talcott Parsons, American sociologist, dies at 76
Cyrus Eaton (1883-1979)
May 9 Canadian-American financier, industrialist and steel magnate, dies at 95
- May 9 Eddie Jefferson, American jazz vocalese singer and lyricist ("Moody's Mood for Love"), shot to death by a disgruntled former employee at 60
- May 9 Lan Adomian, Russian-born American composer, dies at 73
- May 10 J.B. Morton, British satirist under pen name of Beachcomber (Daily Express "By the Way" column, 1924-75), dies at 85
- May 10 Louis Paul Boon, Belgian writer (Eros & the Lonely Man), dies at 67
- May 11 Barbara Hutton 'poor little rich girl', American heiress (Woolworth fortune), dies at 66
- May 11 Joan Chandler, American actress, dies at 55
- May 11 Lester Flatt, American bluegrass guitarist (Flatt & Scruggs - "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"; "Ballad of Jed Clampett"), dies at 64
- May 14 Paul van 't Veer, Dutch journalist and writer (Vrije Volk), dies at 57
- May 15 Curtis Stevens, American bobsledder (Olympic gold 2-man [with brother Hubert] 1932), dies at 80
- May 16 A. Philip Randolph, American labor leader (Railroad Porter's Union), dies at 90
- May 17 Donyale Luna [Peggy Ann Freeman], American model and actress "the first Black supermodel", dies of a heroin overdose at 33 [1]
- May 21 (Richard Allen) "Blue" Mitchell, American jazz trumpeter (Horace Silver Quintet; Riverside; Blue Note), dies of cancer at 49
- May 23 Hubert van Doorne, auto manufacturer (DAF Trucks), dies at 79
- May 24 Jan Arvan, actor (Red Skelton Show, Zorro), dies
- May 25 John Arthur Spenkelink, American murderer (b. 1949)
- May 26 George Brent, American actor (Baby Face, Dark Victory, 42nd St), dies at 75
- May 28 William Edmonson, American bass harmony and gospel vocalist (Southernaires), radio, stage and screen actor (Thirty Years Later), dies at 76
- May 29 John H. Wood, Jr., American federal judge (b. 1916)
Mary Pickford (1892-1979)
May 29 Canadian actress (Poor Little Rich Girl, Suds, Secrets), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 87
