What Happened in May 1855

Historical Events

May 1 Cecilia Beaux, American portrait painter, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1942)
May 2 Theodore Moses Tobani, German composer, born in Hamburg, German Confederation (now Germany) (d. 1933)
May 7 Willie Fernie, Scottish golfer (British Open 1883), born in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland (d. 1924)
May 8 John Gates ("Bet-a-million" Gates), American inventor and industrialist who established the market for barbed wire fencing, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1911)
May 9 Julius Röntgen, German-Dutch composer, born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 1932)
May 12 Anatoly Lyadov, Russian composer (From the Apocalypse; Bewitched Lake), conductor, and pedagogue (St. Petersburg Conservatory, 1878-1914), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1914)
May 15 Eduard von Keyserling, Baltic German writer (Dritte Stiege), born in Schloss Tels-Paddern, Courland Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1918)
May 21 Emile Verhaeren, Belgian poet and writer (Les Flammes Hautes), born in Sint-Amands, Belgium (d. 1916)
May 24 Arthur Wing Pinero, English actor and playwright, born in London (d. 1934)

May 4 Camille Pleyel, Austrian pianist, piano manufacturer, and music publisher, dies at 66
May 5 Robert Inglis, English Conservative politician known for his staunch high church views, dies at 69
May 15 Jan Mazereeuw, Frisian farmer/sect leader, dies at 75
May 23 Charles Robert Malden, British naval officer (discoverer of Malden Island, central Pacific), dies at 57
May 27 Nikolaj Bestuzhev, Russian Navy officer, writer and painter (Decembrist revolt), dies at 64
May 30 Ahmad Pasha Bey, 10th Husainid Bey of Tunis, (1837–1855) who abolished slavery, dies at 49