Historical Events
Attack on Bismarck
May 7 German premier Otto von Bismarck seriously wounded in assassination attempt
- May 16 US Congress authorizes the nickel 5 cent piece (replaces silver half-dime)
- May 18 Netherlands government of Isaäc Dignus Fransen De Putte resigns
- May 21 1st-class debut of cricketer Fred Grace aged 15 years 159 days at the Magdalen Ground, Oxford
- May 24 Berkeley, California named (for George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne)
- May 28 Dutch government of Zuylen van Nijevelt/Heemskerk forms
- May 30 Opera "Die Verkaufte Braut" premieres (Prague)
Famous Birthdays
- May 5 Thomas B. Thrige, Danish industrialist, born in Odense, Denmark (d. 1938)
- May 9 Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian social reformer and leader of Indian Independence Movement, born in Kotluk, Dist. Ratnagiri, Bombay Presidency, British India (d. 1915)
- May 10 Léon Bakst, Russian painter and scene and costume designer, born in Grodno, Belarus (d. 1924)
- May 12 Lafayette "Lave" Cross [Vratislav Kriz], American MLB baseball infielder, 1892-1907 (Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, and 5 other teams), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1927)
- May 13 Ottokar Eugen Novacek, Hungarian composer and violinist of Czech descent, born in Weißkirchen, Austrian Empire (d. 1900)
- May 16 David Werner Amram, American lawyer, legal and Talmudic scholar, Zionist, and author (The Makers of Hebrew Books in Italy), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1939)
- May 16 Ernest Burgess, American urban sociologist (ecological school), born in Tilbury, Ontario (d. 1966)
- May 17 Erik Satie, French composer (Gymnopédies), born in Honfleur, Normandy (d. 1925)
- May 23 Gustav Aschaffenburg, German psychiatrist (pioneer in criminology and forensic pathology), born in Zweibrücken (d. 1944)
- May 24 Armando Frid, Argentinian horse tamer and centenarian, (reportedly lived to 124 years), born in Vega de Maipu, Argentina (d. 1990)
- May 26 John Eigenhuis, Dutch writer (Tough Workers), born in Aalsmeer, Netherlands (d. 1944)
- May 31 Vladimir Rebikov, Russian pianist and composer, born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia (d. 1920)
Famous Deaths
- May 13 Nikolai Brashman, Russian mathematician, dies at 69
- May 17 Adolf Bernhard Marx [Samuel Moses Marx], German music theorist and pedagogue, dies at 71
- May 17 Adolf Bernhard Marx, German composer, dies at 70
- May 29 Henry Darwin Rogers, American Geologist (theory of mountain building, first geological mapping of Pennsylvania), dies at 57
- May 29 Winfield Scott, American army general (Union) and presidential candidate, dies at 79
