Historical Events
Siege of Seringapatam
May 4 Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam ends the Siege of Seringapatam when the city is assaulted and the Sultan of Mysore Tipu Sultan is killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris
Famous Birthdays
- May 11 John Lowell, American philanthropist, born in Massachusetts (d. 1836)
- May 20 Honoré de Balzac, French novelist (La Comédie Humaine), born in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France (d. 1850)
- May 21 Mary Anning, British fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist (Jurassic marine fossil beds of Lyme Regis), born in Lyme Regis, Dorset (d. 1847)
- May 23 Thomas Hood, English poet and composer (The Song of the Shirt), born in London (d. 1845)
- May 27 Fromental Halévy, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1862)
Famous Deaths
- May 2 Henri-Joseph Rigel, German composer, dies at 58
Tipu Sultan (1750-1799)
May 4 Indian ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore (1782-99) and pioneer of rocket artillery known as the "Tiger of Mysore", killed by British forces in the Battle of Seringapatam at 48
- May 9 Claude-Bénigne Balbastre, French organist, harpsichordist, and composer, dies at 74
- May 18 Pierre de Beaumarchais, French polymath & dramatist (The Marriage of Figaro, Barber of Seville), dies at 67
- May 26 James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish judge (b. 1714)
- May 31 Pierre Lemonnier, French astronomer (b. 1715)
