Historical Events
- May 2 Goethe visits Ettersberg (Buchenwald)
Beethoven's 9th Symphony
May 7 Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th (Choral) Symphony, often regarded as his greatest work, premieres at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna, Austria [1]
- May 10 The National Gallery in London opens to the public in its temporary home in a townhouse on Pall Mall
The Greatest Crime in Literary History
May 17 The diaries of Lord Byron are burnt by six of the poet's friends at the office of John Murray in London, sometimes described as “the greatest crime in literary history”
Famous Birthdays
- May 8 William Walker, American physician and president of Nicaragua (1856-57), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1860)
- May 9 William Edmonson "Grumble" Jones, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Washington County, Virginia (d. 1864)
- May 10 Charles Henry Van Wyck, American politician and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Poughkeepsie, New York (d. 1895)
- May 11 Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor, born in Rome, Italy (d. 1904)
- May 16 Edmund Kirby Smith, American military officer (Confederate Army General), born in St Augustine, Florida (d. 1893)
- May 16 Levi Parsons Morton, American ambassador and politician (R) (Vice President of the United States 1889-93, Governor of New York 1895-96), born in Shoreham, New York (d. 1920) [1]
Ambrose Burnside (1824-1881)
May 23 American soldier, industrialist and politician (Governor of Rhode Island, 1866-69) who popularized sideburns, born in Liberty, Indiana
- May 29 Cadmus M. Wilcox, American Major General (Confederate Army - American Civil War), born in Wayne County, North Carolina (d. 1890)
Authors
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
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