Historical Events
- May 4 War of Reform (Mexico); Liberals establish capital at Vera Cruz
John Brown's Antislavery Convention
May 8 American abolitionist John Brown holds a secret antislavery convention in Canada
Foul Play
May 28 Dion Boucicault's play "Foul Play" premieres in London
- May 30 Hudson's Bay Company's rights to Vancouver Island revoked
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Anthony Johnson Showalter, American composer, born in Cherry Grove, Virginia (d. 1924)
- May 6 Georges Hüe, French composer, born in Versailles, France (d. 1948)
- May 8 John Meade Falkner, English novelist (Moonfleet), born in Manningford, England (d. 1932)
- May 10 Frederick Zech Jr, American composer and pianist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1926)
- May 11 Carl Hauptmann, German writer, born in Obersalzbrunn (d. 1921)
- May 16 Frank Lynes, American composer, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 1913)
- May 16 Hanus Trnecek, Czech composer and conductor, born in PraguePrague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czech Republic) (d. 1914)
- May 19 Roland Napoléon Bonaparte, French prince and president of the Société de Géographie, born in Paris, France (d. 1924)
- May 21 José Batlle y Ordóñez, President of Uruguay (1899, 1903-7, 1911-15), born in Montevideo, Urguay (d. 1929)
- May 24 Johan Braakensiek, Dutch political cartoonist (Green Amsterdammer), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1940)
- May 28 Carl Richard Nyberg, Swedish inventor (blowtorch), born in Arboga, Sweden (d. 1939)
Famous Deaths
Aimé Bonpland (1773-1858)
May 4 French explorer and botanist who traveled with Alexander von Humboldt, dies at 84 (date disputed)
