Historical Events
Event of Interest
May 2 Congo Free State formed by King Leopold II of Belgium
Battle of Batoche
May 12 Battle of Batoche: Louis Riel and the Metis defeated by Frederick Middleton, leads to collapse of Provincial Government of Saskatchewan and surrender of Riel
- May 14 11th Kentucky Derby: Babe Henderson aboard Joe Cotton wins in 2:37.25
- May 15 Canadian Métis insurgent Louis Riel captured in the aftermath of the Battle of Batoche in Saskatchewan
- May 19 1st mass production of shoes (Jan Matzeliger's Consolidated Lasting Machine Company in Lynn, Massachusetts)
Germany Colonizes Cameroon and Togoland
May 19 German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck takes possession of Cameroon and Togoland
- May 22 13th Preakness: Jim McLaughlin aboard Tecumseh wins in 2:49
Kellogg's Flaked Cereal
May 31 Dr John Harvey Kellogg of Battle Creek, Michigan files application for patent for "flaked cereal, and process of making same", controversially excluding his younger brother Will Keith Kellogg
Famous Birthdays
- May 2 Hedda Hopper [Elda Furry], American gossip columnist, born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania (d. 1966)
- May 5 Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Paraguayan classical guitarist and composer (La Catedral), born in San Juan Bautista, Paraguay (d. 1944)
- May 5 Henri Velge, 1st chairman (Belgian Council of State) (d. 1951)
- May 5 Louis Diat, French-American chef (Ritz-Carlton Hotel NYC, 1910-51), culinary writer and cookbook author credited with inventing vichyssoise soup, born in Bourbon-l'Archambault, France (d. 1957)
- May 7 George "Gabby" Hayes, American actor (In Old Santa Fe, El Paso), born in Wellesvile, New York (d. 1969)
- May 10 Fritz von Unruh, German writer, (d. 1970)
- May 11 [Joe] King Oliver, American jazz musician (Dippermouth Blues), born in Aben, Louisiana (birth date disputed - could be Dec. 19) (d. 1938)
- May 14 Otto Klemperer, German-American conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic, 1933-39), and composer (Das Ziel), born in Breslau, Prussia (now Wrocław, Poland) (d. 1973)
- May 18 Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian leader, President of Brazil (1945-50), born in Cuiabá, Brazil (d. 1974)
- May 20 Faisal I, Arab statesman, King of Syria (1920) and King of Iraq (1921-33), born in Mecca, Ottoman Empire (d. 1933)
- May 21 Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg, wife of Prince William of Wied (d. 1936)
- May 22 Giacomo Matteotti, Italian Socialist Party leader, born in Fratta Polesine, Italy (d. 1924)
- May 22 Julio Fonseca, Costa Rican composer, born in San José, Costa Rica (d. 1950)
- May 22 Soemu Toyoda, Japanese admiral during World War II, born in Kitsuki, Ōita, Japan (d. 1957)
- May 24 Susan Sutherland Isaacs, English educational psychologist and psychoanalyst, born in Turton, Lancashire (d. 1948)
- May 29 Erwin Finlay-Freundlich, British astronomer (theory of relativity), born in Biebrich, Germany (d. 1964)
- May 31 Alois Hudal, Austrian bishop who helped Nazi war criminals escape trial, born in Graz, Austria-Hungary (d. 1963)
Famous Weddings
Gerhart Hauptmann
May 5 German author and future Nobel Laureate Gerhart Hauptmann (22) weds Marie Thienemann in Radebeul, Saxony; separate in 1893, divorce in 1904
Famous Deaths
- May 4 Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia (1842-58), dies at 78
- May 5 Lauro Rossi, Italian composer (I falsi monetari), dies at 73
- May 8 Pavel Křížkovský, Czech choral composer and conductor (Sts. Cyril and Methodius), dies at 65
- May 10 Edward Stephen, Welsh musician and composer, dies at 62
- May 10 Ferdinand Hiller, German pianist, composer and conductor, dies at 73
- May 13 Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German pathologist, dies at 75
- May 13 Juliana Horatia Ewing [Gatty], English children's author (Lob Lie-by-the-Fire), dies at 43
- May 19 Peter W. Barlow, English engineer (b. 1809)
- May 21 Gavril Yakimovich Lomakin, Russian composer and teacher, dies at 73
Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
May 22 French author (Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables), dies at 83
- May 29 Alfred Meissner, Austrian poet (Ziska), dies at 62
