Historical Events
Dictator Yuan Shikai
May 1 Yuan Shikai's cabinet replaces China's provisional constitution with a constitutional compact granting the President dictatorial powers over China's military, finances, foreign policy, and the rights of Chinese citizens
Mother's Day Proclaimed
May 9 US President Woodrow Wilson proclaims Mother's Day
- May 14 Chic Jim Scott no-hits Cleve, gives up 2 hits in 10th & loses 1-0
- May 15 Bolivia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- May 15 Henri Rabaud's opera "Marouf, savetier de Caire" premieres in Paris
- May 15 US Colonel Edward House sails for Europe to persuade major powers to reduce armies and navies; from Germany, House reports: 'Everybody's nerves are tense; it only needs a spark to set the whole thing off'
- May 16 American Horseshoe Pitchers Association organizes in Kansas City
- May 16 Ewing Field baseball park opens near Masonic Street, San Francisco. Relocated a year later.
- May 21 39th Preakness: Andy Schuttinger aboard Holiday wins in 1:53.8
- May 21 Greyhound Bus Co begins in Minnesota
- May 23 Dutch socialist Henk Sneevliet co-founds The Indies Social Democratic Association (Communist Party) in Dutch Indonesia
- May 25 British House of Commons passes the Irish Home Rule Bill
- May 29 Norwegian ship Storstad collides with Canadian ship Empress of Ireland on St Lawrence River; 1,024 die
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Frenchman René Thomas driving for Louis Delâge wins ahead of Arthur Duray of Belgium
- May 30 The new and then largest Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.
- May 31 Chicago White Sox Joe Benz no-hits Cleveland Indians, 6-1
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 John Henry Lewis, American boxer (World Light-Heavyweight champion 1935-38), born in Phoenix, Arizona (d. 1974)
- May 2 Dennis Dyer, South African cricketer (opened batting for South Africa v England 1947), born in Durban, Natal (d. 1990)
- May 4 Abd al-Karīm Qāsim, Prime Minister of Iraq (1958-63), born in Baghdad, Iraq (d. 1963)
- May 4 Emmanuel Roblès, Algerian-French novelist and playwright (Lesson Hauteurs), born in Oran, Algeria (d. 1995)
- May 5 Frank Carlson, American jazz and session drummer (Woody Herman, 1937-42 - "The Golden Wedding"), born in New York City (d. 1996)
- May 5 Tyrone Power, American actor (The Mark of Zorro; Nightmare Alley), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1958)
- May 7 Sir Arthur Snelling, British Ambassador (d. 1996)
- May 8 Romain Gary, Polish writer (d. 1980)
- May 9 Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor, born in Barletta, Italy (d. 2005)
- May 9 Frank Chacksfield, English easy listening pianist, arranger and orchestra leader ("Ebb Tide"), born in Battle, England (d. 1995)
- May 9 Josef Muller-Brockmann 'Father of Swiss Graphic Design', Swiss graphic designer and writer, born in Rapperswil, Switzerland (d. 1996) [1]
- May 9 Theodore W. Kheel, American labor negotiator (Fair Employment Practices, 1962-63, New York City newspaper strike), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2010)
- May 9 [Clarence] Hank Snow, Canadian country singer (I'm Moving On; I Went to Your Wedding), born in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia (d. 1999)
- May 10 Charles McGraw [Butters], American actor (Spartacus, The Birds, The Killers, Smith Family), born in Des Moines, Iowa (d. 1980)
- May 11 Haroun Tazieff, French volcanologist (d. 1998)
- May 12 Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet and writer, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1993)
- May 12 Dan Daniel, American politician (Rep-D-VA, 1969-88), born in Chatham, Virginia (d. 1988)
- May 12 Howard K. Smith, American TV newsman and journalist (ABC, Moderated Kennedy-Nixon debate), born in Ferriday, Louisiana (d. 2002)
- May 13 (Louis Charles) "L. C. Robinson, American blues singer, guitarist, fiddler, and electric steel guitar player, born in Brenham, Texas (d. 1976)
Joe Louis (1914-1981)
May 13 American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1937-49), born in Lafayette, Alabama
- May 15 Jack Pepys, South African British immunologist (allergy and allergic diseases), born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 1996)
- May 15 Norman "Norrie" Paramor, British composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and record producer (Cliff Richard: The Shadows; Helen Shapiro), born in London, England (d. 1979)
- May 15 Pierre Froidebise, Belgian organist, composer, and musicologist, born in Chey, Belgium (d. 1962)
- May 15 Walter "Turk" Broda, Canadian ice hockey goaltender, 5x Stanley Cup, 2x Vezina Trophy (Toronto Maple Leafs, 1935-51), born in Brandon, Manitoba (d. 1972)
- May 16 Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist (introduced Anthropology of Space), born in Webster Groves, Missouri (d. 2009)
- May 17 Guido Masanetz, German composer (In Frisco ist der Teufel Los), born in Friedeck, Austria-Hungary (d. 2015)
- May 18 Boris Christoff, Bulgaria Italian bass opera singer (Boris Godunov), born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria (d. 1993)
- May 18 Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, born in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, France (d. 1982)
- May 19 Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
- May 19 Go Seigen [Wu Qingyuan], Chinese-born Japanese Go master considered the greatest Go player in the 20th century, born in Minhou County, Fujian, Republic of China (d. 2014)
- May 19 Max Perutz, Austrian-born molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (d. 2002)
- May 20 Corneliu Coposu, Romanian politician (Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party), born in Bobota, Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 1995)
- May 20 Hideko Maehata, Japanese swimmer (d. 1995)
- May 22 Sun Ra [Herbert Blount], American jazz pianist (The Arkestra), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 1993)
- May 22 Vance Packard, American journalist and author (The Hidden Persuaders), born in Granville Summit, Pennsylvania (d. 1996)
- May 23 Alec Dickson, British founder of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), born in Ruislip, London (d. 1994)
- May 23 Barbara Ward, English economist and writer (Only One Earth), born in Heworth, England (d. 1981)
- May 23 Leo Lerman, American writer and editor (Condé Nast Publications), born in New York City (d. 1994)
- May 23 Travis Kemp, British ballet dancer and teacher, born in Nottingham, England (d. 1995)
- May 24 George Tabori, Hungarian writer, born in Budapest (d. 2007)
- May 24 Lilli Palmer [Peiser], German actress (Cloak and Dagger, Anastasia: The Czar's Last Daughter), born in Posen, Prussia (d. 1986)
- May 25 Dorothy Sarnoff, American operatic soprano, Broadway actress (Rosalinda), author and pioneer of the self-help movement (Speech Can Change Your Life, Speech Dynamics), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2008)
- May 26 Archie Duncan, Scottish actor (The Adventures of Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1979)
- May 26 Ziggy Elman [Harry Finkelman], American big band jazz trumpeter (Benny Goodman; Tommy Dorsey), bandleader, and klezmer musician, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1968)
- May 27 Frederick Erroll, 1st Baron Erroll of Hale, British Conservative politician, born in London (d. 2000)
- May 27 Hugh Le Caine, Canadian physicist and composer, born in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Ontario (d. 1977)
- May 27 Ross Stainton, CEO (British Airways), born in Whitstable, England (d. 2011)
- May 28 W. G. G. Duncan Smith, British WWII flying ace, born in Madras, British India (d. 1996)
- May 29 Stacy Keach, Sr., American actor (Pretty Woman; The Parallax View), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2003)
Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986)
May 29 Tibetan climber who was the 1st to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953 with Edmund Hillary (exact date of birth unknown, but he celebrated on the 29th), born in either northeastern Nepal or Tibet
Famous Weddings
- May 7 28th US President Woodrow Wilson's daughter Eleanor marries in The White House
Famous Deaths
- May 3 Daniel E. Sickles, American lawyer, politician (US Representative from New York, 1857-61 and 1893-95), diplomat, and Major General (Union Army), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 94 [1]
- May 7 Edward Mollenhauer, American composer, dies at 87
- May 9 C. W. Post, American food manufacturer of breakfast cereals, commits suicide at 59
- May 10 Augustine Sackett, American inventor of drywall, dies at 73 [1]
- May 10 Sir William Alexander Smith, Scottish founder of the Boys' Brigade, dies at 59
- May 13 R. E. Foster, English cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 287 on debut 1903; Worcestershire CCC) and soccer forward (5 caps; Corinthian FC, Old Malvernians FC; only man to captain England in both sports), dies of diabetes at 36
- May 17 Peter Leyten, Bishop of Breda (1885-1914), dies at 79
- May 25 Paolo Giorza, Italian-Australian composer, dies at 81
- May 26 Jacob Riis, Danish-American social reformer and "muck raking" reporter (NY Tribune, NY Evening Sun), dies at 65
- May 27 Joseph Swan, English physicist and chemist (incandescent light bulb), dies at 85
- May 28 Adolf Sonnenfeld, Polish violinist and composer, dies at 76
- May 29 Paul von Mauser, German weapon designer, dies at 75
- May 31 Angelo Moriondo, Italian inventor (patented earliest known espresso machine, 1884), dies at 62
