Historical Events
- May 7 Japanese Emperor Kōkaku abdicates in favour of his son Emperor Ninkō
- May 15 Ambonese uprising against Dutch authority (modern Indonesia), under Thomas Matulesia (aka Kapitan Pattimura)
- May 15 First private mental health hospital opens in the US, Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- May 16 Mississippi River steamboat service begins
Famous Birthdays
- May 2 Zikmund Kolešovský, Czech composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czech Republic) (d. 1868)
- May 5 George Washington Julian, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana, born in Centerville, Indiana (d. 1899)
- May 11 (Francesca) "Fanny" Cerrito, Italian ballerina and choreographer (Rosida), born in Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (d. 1909)
- May 14 Alexander Kaufmann, German poet (d. 1893)
- May 15 Debendranath Tagore, Indian religious reformer (d. 1905)
- May 18 James William Denver, American lawyer, politician and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Winchester, Virginia (d. 1892)
- May 31 Édouard Deldevez, French violinist and composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1897)
- May 31 Georg Herwegh, German poet, born in Stuttgart (d. 1875)
Famous Deaths
- May 21 Johann Friedrich Christmann, German composer, dies at 64
