Historical Events
- May 26 Bank of North America incorporates in Philadelphia
Famous Birthdays
- May 4 Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher, born in Eisenberg, Germany (d. 1832)
- May 14 Friedrich von Raumer, German historian, travel writer (Italy and the Italians) and politician, born in Wörlitz (d. 1873)
- May 24 Louis François Dauprat, French composer and horn player, born in Paris (d. 1868)
- May 25 Ferdinand Karl Joseph, Archduke of Austria-Este, born in Milan (d. 1850)
- May 29 John Walker, English inventor and chemist who invented the friction match, born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England (d. 1859)
Famous Deaths
- May 8 Richard Jago, English poet (b. 1715)
- May 18 Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian-Indian revolutionary, a descendant of the last Inca ruler Túpac Amaru, dies at 43
- May 22 Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, Anglo-Irish composer, dies at 45
- May 27 Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist, dies at 64
