Historical Events
- May 6 Suriname sold to Great Britain (until Feb 1816)
Addington Replaced by Pitt the Younger
May 10 British Prime Minister Henry Addington resigns, replaced by William Pitt the Younger
Lewis and Clark Set Out
May 14 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's expedition commissioned by Thomas Jefferson sets out from St Louis for Pacific Coast
Napoléon Proclaimed Emperor
May 18 Napoléon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Aleksey Stepanovich Khomyakov, Russian poet, born in Moscow (d. 1860) [NS 13/05]
- May 5 Jacob Kats, Flemish writer (Earthly Paradise), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1886)
- May 12 Robert Baldwin, Canadian politician (popularizer of responsible government in Canada), born in York, Upper Canada (d. 1858)
- May 16 Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, American educator, founder of first English-language kindergarten in the US, born in Billerica, Massachusetts (d. 1894)
- May 17 Ottho Gerhard Heldring, Dutch preacher and reformer (Heldring Institutions), born in Zevenaar, Netherlands (d. 1876)
- May 22 John William Livingston, American Commander (Union Navy), born in New York City (d. 1885)
- May 31 Louise Farrenc (née Dumont), French pianist, composer and only female professor at the Paris Conservatory during the 19th century, born in Paris, France (d. 1875)
