Historical Events
- May 1 China and Russia sign $15 billion dollar trade deal
- May 1 Guggenheim Partners make the largest ever purchase of a sports franchise after buying the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2.1 billion
The Scream
May 2 A pastel version of "The Scream", by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch sells at auction for $119,922,500
Sports History
May 2 Barcelona football player Lionel Messi breaks the European goal-scoring record with 68 goals
- May 3 59th National Film Awards (India): "Deool" wins the Golden Lotus
- May 4 14 decapitated bodies and 9 hung from a bridge are found in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
- May 5 138th Kentucky Derby: Mario Gutierrez aboard Ill Have Another wins in 2:01.83
- May 5 17 people are killed and 47 missing after a flash flood in Nepal
FA Cup Final
May 5 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (89,102): Chelsea beats Liverpool, 2–1; Didier Drogba scores winner for Blues' 7th title
- May 5 Japan shuts down its nuclear reactors leaving the country without nuclear power for the first time since 1970
Election of Interest
May 6 François Hollande elected 24th President of France
- May 6 Greek parliamentary election results in 60% support for parties opposed to austerity measures
- May 7 NATO air strike kills 14 and woulds 6 civilians in Afghanistan's Badghis Province
- May 7 Paeleoclimatological research claims dinosaur flatulence may have warmed the earth
Event of Interest
May 7 Vladimir Putin sworn in for third six-year term as President of Russia
Appointment of Interest
May 8 Dmitry Medvedev is confirmed as Russian Prime Minister by the State Duma, after being nominated by Vladimir Putin
- May 9 A Russian passenger jet disappears with 45 people on board
- May 9 Mark Rothko's "Orange, Red, Yellow" becomes the most expensive contemporary art piece to be sold at auction for $86.9 million dollars
Event of Interest
May 9 United States President Barack Obama officially states his support for same-sex marriage
- May 10 Peeter Vähi's "Antarctic Concerto" world première, with guitar soloist Rémi Boucher and the Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta led by Andres Mustonen, at Nordea Concert Hall in Tallinn, Estonia
Canonization
May 10 Pope Benedict XVI signs decree of canonization of Benedictine nun and composer Hildegard von Bingen, completing sainthood process started in 1228
- May 10 The Red Cross suspends all humanitarian work in Pakistan after a worker was kidnapped and killed
- May 10 Two bombings in Damascus, Syria, kill 55 people and injure 370
- May 11 Chinese scientists break world record by transferring photons over 97 kilometers using quantum teleportation
Music History
May 12 American songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David receive Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the White House in Washington, D.C.
- May 12 The discovery of a missing Mayan calendar piece disproves 2012 Armageddon
- May 13 49 dismembered bodies are found on a Mexican highway as part of the Mexican drug war
- May 13 Manchester City beats QPR 3-2 at City of Manchester Stadium to win English Premier League title on goal difference from Manchester United; Citizens recover from 2–1 down with 2 stoppage-time goals; first EPL title decided on goal difference
- May 13 Manchester City win the English Premier League for the first time
- May 13 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Matt Kuchar wins by 2 strokes ahead of Ricky Fowler, Zach Johnson, Martin Laird and Ben Curtis
- May 13 Torrential rain in Hunan Province, China, destroys a bridge, 3,500 homes and displaces 28,000 people
- May 14 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons agree to end mass hunger strike
- May 14 Stanford University scientists develop prototype bionic eye
- May 15 Eurozone economy narrowly avoids recession
- May 15 Greece's fifth attempt to a form a coalition government fails and new June elections are scheduled
- May 19 137th Preakness: Mario Gutierrez aboard Ill Have Another wins in 1:55.94
UEFA Champions League Final
May 19 UEFA Champions League Final, Munich: Chelsea beats Bayern Munich, 4-3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra time; Blues' first title
Billboard Music Awards
May 20 19th Billboard Music Awards: Adele, wins 12; LMFAO, Coldplay, and Lil Wayne also win
- May 20 6.0 magnitude earthquake kills 6 and injures dozens in northern Italy
- May 20 Tomislav Nikolić elected president of Serbia
- May 21 120 people are killed and 350 injured by a suicide bomb in Sana'a, Yemen
- May 21 13 people are killed and 22 people injured after a bus falls 80 metres off a cliff in Albania
- May 22 14 people die and 30 are injured in train collision in India
- May 22 NHL Western Conference Finals: Los Angeles Kings beat Phoenix Coyotes, 4 games to 1
- May 22 Philip Philips is crowned the eleventh American Idol
- May 25 NHL Eastern Conference Finals: New Jersey Devils beat New York Rangers, 4 games to 2
- May 25 Up to 116 people are massacred, including women and children, by the Syrian army in Houla, in the Homs province
- May 26 57th Eurovision Song Contest: Loreen for Sweden wins singing "Euphoria" in Baku
- May 26 A gunman in the Finnish town of Hyvinkaa kills 2, wounds 7
Event of Interest
May 26 Pope Benedict XVI's butler is arrested for allegedly leaking confidential documents
- May 27 58th British Academy Television Awards: "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle" Best Comedy, "The Fades" Best Drama
- May 27 65th Cannes Film Festival: "Amour" directed by Michael Haneke wins the Palme d'Or
- May 27 A NATO airstrike kills a family of eight, including six children, in Afghanistan
- May 27 Indianapolis 500: Dual champion (2007, 10) Dario Franchitti of Scotland wins his record tying 3rd title; teammate Scott Dixon finishes second, sweeping a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing
- May 27 IPL Cricket Final, M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets; Manvinder Bisla top scores, 89 (48)
- May 27 Senior PGA Championship, The GC at Harbor Shores: Englishman Roger Chapman wins first of 2 Champions Tour major titles of the year by 2 strokes from John Cook
- May 29 A 5.9 magnitude earthquake kills 24 people near Bologna, northern Italy
- May 29 Facebook's problematic public listing could cost those involved $115 million from technical glitches
- May 29 Indonesian police make the biggest drug bust in ten years after seizing over a million ecstasy pills valued at $45 million
- May 29 Thousands march in protest in Johannesburg against Brett Murray's controversial painting The Spear
- May 30 A number of nations including Germany, Turkey and Canada, expel Syrian diplomats following the Houla massacre
- May 30 Vishwanathan Anand wins his fifth World Chess Championship
- May 31 Egypt formally ends its 31 year state of emergency
Famous Weddings
- May 5 Actress Julie Benz (40) weds marketing executive Rich Orosco (39) at the historic John Sowden house in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles
- May 10 Food Network chef Robert Irvine (46) weds "TNA" pro wrestler Gail Kim (35) in California
- May 12 "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress Mercedes McNab (30) weds real estate developer Mark Henderson at the CostaBaja resort in La Paz, Mexico
- May 12 McFly guitarist Tom Fletcher (27) weds actress Giovanna Falcone (27) at One Marylebone in London
Mark Zuckerberg
May 19 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (28) weds his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan at a small ceremony in Palo Alto, California
- May 23 Grammy-winning Spanish pop star Alejandro Sanz (43) weds longtime girlfriend Raquel Perera (37) in Barcelona
Cynthia Nixon
May 27 Actress Cynthia Nixon (46) weds education activist Christine Marinoni in New York City
Famous Divorces
- May 25 Actress Halina Mlynkova (35) divorces actor Lukasz Nowicki (39) after 9 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- May 1 Charles "skip" Pitts, American soul and blues guitarist, dies from lung cancer at 65
- May 2 Junior Seau, American Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker (12 x Pro Bowl; 6 × First-team All-Pro; NFL Defensive Player of the Year 1992; SD Chargers), commits suicide at 43
- May 2 Zvi Zeitlin, Russian-American classical violinist and music professor (Eastman School, 1967-2012), dies at 90
Adam Yauch (1964-2012)
May 4 American rap-rock vocalist (Beastie Boys -"(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)"), dies from cancer at 47
- May 4 Mort Lindsey [Lippman], American pianist, arranger, musical director (Judy Garland, 1961-64; Merv Griffin Show, 1962-86; Barbra Streisand, 1968), and composer, dies at 89
- May 5 "Sweet Joe" Russell, American a cappella singer (The Persuasions - "Slip Sliding Away"), dies at 72 [1]
- May 5 Raman Surendranath, Indian cricket fast bowler (11 Tests, 26 wickets), dies at 75
- May 6 George Lindsey, American actor (Andy Griffith Show -"Goober"), dies at 83
- May 8 Maurice Sendak, American author and illustrator, dies at 83
- May 8 Nicholas Katzenbach, American Attorney General, dies at 90
Vidal Sassoon (1928-2012)
May 9 British-American hair stylist and CEO of Vidal Sasson, dies from leukemia at 84
- May 10 Carroll Shelby, American auto racer who won LeMans 1959; and automobile designer Ford Shelby Mustang, Shelby GT, Dodge Shelby Charger, Dodge Viper, dies at 89
- May 10 Evelyn Johnson, American pilot (most flying hours - 57,685), dies at 102
- May 13 Donald "Duck" Dunn, American bassist (Booker T & The MG's; Stax Records house band; The Blues Brothers), dies at 70
- May 14 Derek Hammond-Stroud, English operatic baritone, dies at 86
- May 15 Carlos Fuentes, Mexican author (The Death of Artemio Cruz), dies from a haemorrhage at 83
- May 15 Jean Craighead George, American writer (Julie of the Wolves), dies at 92
- May 16 Doug Dillard, American country rock musician (The Dillards, Gene Clark, Dillard & Clark) and actor (Clem-Popeye), dies of a lung infection caused by a collapsed lung at 75
- May 16 James Abdnor, American senator, dies at 89
Donna Summer (1948-2012)
May 17 American disco and pop singer-songwriter ("Love to Love You, Baby"; "On The Radio"; "Last Dance"), dies from lung cancer at 63
- May 18 Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German baritone (Doktor Faust), dies at 86
- May 19 Bob Boozer, College/Basketball Hall of Fame forward (Olympic gold 1960), dies of a brain aneurysm at 75
- May 20 Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi, convicted bomber (Pan Am 103), dies from prostate cancer at 60
- May 20 Robert Nix, American drummer and songwriter (Roy Orbison; Atlanta Rhythm Section - "So Into You"; "Imaginary Lover"), dies at 67
Robin Gibb (1949-2012)
May 20 English rock-pop-disco singer-songwriter and producer (Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever), dies from colon and liver cancer at 62
- May 22 Wesley Brown, 1st African American US Naval Academy graduate, dies at 85
- May 23 Joseph Lesniewski, American Easy Company, soldier in 101st Airborne, dies at 91
- May 23 Paul Fussell, American historian, dies from natural causes at 88
- May 25 Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer, dies at 93
- May 28 Dieter Schönbach, German composer, and music director (Bochum Theater, 1959–73), dies at 81
- May 29 (Arthel) "Doc" Watson, American Grammy Award-winning bluegrass, folk, and blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer, dies from complications following surgery at 89
- May 29 Mark Minkov, Russian/Soviet theater and film score composer, dies at 67
- May 30 Andrew Huxley, British physiologist and Nobel laureate, dies at 94
- May 30 Jack Twyman, American Hall of Fame basketball player, dies from complications from blood cancer at 78
- May 31 Christopher Challis, British cinematographer (worked with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger), dies at 93
