Historical Events
- May 11 1st US fire insurance policy issued, in Philadelphia
Famous Birthdays
- May 2 Ludwig August Lebrun, German composer, born in Mannheim, Electorate of the Palatinate, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1790)
- May 3 Braz Francisco de Lima, Portuguese composer, organist, mestre de capela, and pedagogue, born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1813)
- May 4 John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (1816-23), born in Medford (d. 1825)
- May 11 Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German anthropologist (d. 1840)
- May 14 Albrecht Thaer, German agronomist (d. 1828)
- May 14 Timothy Dwight, American theologian (d. 1817)