Historical Events
- May 1 Admiral Paul Koundouriotis becomes President of Greece
Mercedes-Benz
May 1 German automobile manufacturers Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie begin their first joint venture (later merge into Mercedes-Benz)
Chinese Military Academy
May 1 Sun Yat Sen establishes the Republic of China Military Academy on Changzhou Island in Guangdong, first classes held on June 16
- May 2 Netherlands refuses to recognize USSR
Event of Interest
May 2 US President Calvin Coolidge proclaims ancient lava fields in Idaho as Craters of the Moon National Monument, in order to "preserve the unusual and weird volcanic formations." [1]
- May 3 Aleph Zadik Aleph is formed in Omaha, Nebraska by Sam Beber
- May 4 German Republic election: fascists & communists win
- May 4 VIII Summer Olympic Games open at Olympic Stadium of Colombes, Paris, France
- May 5 Unions terminate Twentse textile strike
- May 7 Peruvian Torre forms APRA, Alianza Popular Revolutionaria Americana
Pacifica 231
May 8 Arthur Honegger's orchestral tribute to steam locomotives "Pacifica 231" premieres
- May 8 Memel territories given to Lithuania
- May 8 Workers at Werkspoor in Amsterdam strike against 3rd wage cut
Hoover Heads FBI
May 10 J. Edgar Hoover appointed head of FBI
- May 11 Cartel des Gauches wins French parliamentary election
Pulitzer to Robert Frost
May 11 Pulitzer Prize for poetry awarded to Robert Frost for "New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes"
- May 12 49th Preakness: John Merimee aboard Nellie Morse wins in 1:57.2
- May 16 108°F (42°C) in Blitzen, Oregon
- May 17 50th Kentucky Derby: John Mooney aboard Black Gold wins in 2:05.2
- May 21 Nathan Leopold & Richard Loeb kidnap and kill Bobby Franks to demonstrate their supposed intellectual superiority by committing a "perfect crime"
- May 24 Canada grants women the right to vote in federal elections, though First Nations women still unable to without giving up their status [1]
- May 26 US President Calvin Coolidge signs Immigration law restricting immigration
- May 29 AEK Athens FC is established on the anniversary of the siege of Constantinople by the Turks
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Lora Lawrence Corum starts the race and is relieved midway by Joe Boyer who drives to victory; both drivers credited as "co-winners"
- May 30 Socialist Matteotti falls in Italian parliament by fascists
- May 31 China recognizes the USSR
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Art Fleming [Fazzin], American actor, and TV game show host (Jeopardy, 1964-75, 1978-79), born in New York City (d. 1995)
- May 1 Big Maybelle [Mabel Smith], American R&B singer (A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On; Candy), born in Jackson, Mississippi (d. 1972)
- May 1 Dennis Main-Wilson, British TV and radio producer (Marty, Till Death Us Do Part), born in Dulwich, London (d. 1997)
- May 1 Earl George, American composer and pedagogue, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1994)
- May 1 Enriko Josif, Serbian composer and pedagogue (Lyric Symphony), born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (d. 2003)
- May 1 Terry Southern, American writer and screenwriter (Dr. Strangelove, Easy Rider), born in Alvarado, Texas (d. 1995)
- May 2 Aafje Heynis, Dutch singer (contralto), born in Krommenie, Netherlands (d. 2015)
- May 2 Jamal Abro, Sindhi writer, born in Dadu, Pakistan (d. 2004)
- May 2 Lynn Evans [Carolyn Hargate], American pop vocalist (The Chordettes - "Mr. Sandman"; "Lollipop"), born in Youngstown, Ohio (d. 2020)
- May 2 Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American stage and screen singer and actor (The Sound of Music; Fiddler On The Roof; The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming; 200 Motels), folk singer (co-founder Newport Folk Festival), and political activist, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2015)
- May 3 Jane Morgan [Florence Currier], American singer ("The Day The Rains Came"; "Fascination"), stage and television actress, born in Newton, Massachusetts
- May 3 Ken Tyrrell, English race driver and founder of Tyrrell Racing, born in East Horsley, Surrey, England (d. 2001)
- May 3 Mary Carver [Carvellas], American actress (Simon & Simon; Star Trek: Enterprise), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)
- May 3 Tom O'Horgan, American musical theater director (Hair; Jesus Christ Superstar), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2009)
- May 3 Yehuda Amichai, Israeli poet (Now and In Other Days), born in Würzburg, Germany (d. 2000)
- May 4 Tatiana Nikolayeva, Russian pianist and composer, born in Bezhitsa, Russia (d. 1993)
- May 5 Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, Argentine film director (Monday's Child), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1978)
- May 5 Theo Olof, German-Dutch violinist and concert master, born in Bonn, Germany (d. 2012)
- May 6 Denny Wright, British jazz guitarist, born in Bromley, Kent, England (d. 1992)
- May 6 Mimi Benzell, American operatic soprano (Gilda-Rigoletto), born in Bridgeport, Connecticut (d. 1970)
- May 7 Albert Band, American film director, born in Paris (d. 2002)
- May 8 Tristan Jones, British sailor and author, born off Tristan da Cunha (d. 1995)
- May 9 Bulat Okudzhava, Russian poet-bard and founder of author's song genre (Student!), born in Moscow, Soviet Union (d. 1997)
- May 9 Connie Russell, American singer (Club Embassy; Garroway at Large), born in New York City (d. 1990)
- May 9 Gerard Wernars, Dutch graphic designer (Library stamps 1991), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 2003)
- May 9 Jean J A Girault, French director and screenwriter (l'Amour), born in Villenauxe-la-Grande, France (d. 1982)
- May 11 Antony Hewish, English radio astronomer (led team that discovered pulsars, Nobel Prize for Physics 1974), born in Fowey, England (d. 2021) [1]
- May 11 Eugene Dynkin, Russian mathematician(The Dynkin diagram), born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (d. 2014)
- May 11 Jackie Milburn, English soccer striker (13 caps; Newcastle United 353 games), born in Ashington, England (d. 1988)
- May 11 Tim Flock, American auto racer (Winston Cup 1952, 55), born in Fort Payne, Alabama (d. 1998)
- May 12 Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian mathematician (ultrafinitism) and human rights activist, born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (d. 2016)
Tony Hancock (1924-1968)
May 12 English comedian and actor (Hancock's Half Hour), born in Birmingham, England
- May 13 Harry Glickman, American journalist, promoter and sports executive (co-founder NBA Portland Trail Blazers, President 1987-94), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2020)
- May 13 Harry Schwarz, South African MP, Ambassador to the US and anti-apartheid activist, born in Cologne, Germany (d. 2010)
- May 13 Theodore Mann, American theatre producer and director (co-founded Circle in the Square Theatre), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2012) [1]
- May 14 Brad Anderson, American cartoonist (Marmaduke), born in Jamestown, New York (d. 2015)
- May 14 Joly Braga Santos, Portuguese composer and conductor, born in Lisbon (d. 1988)
- May 14 Sonia d’Artois, British Canadian WWII resistance agent, born in Eastchurch, Kent (d. 2014)
- May 15 Andrea Gyarmati, Hungary water polo player (Olympics, 1948-60), (d. 2013)
- May 15 Don Kenyon, English cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 50; Worcestershire CCC), born in Wordsley, Staffordshire, England (d. 1996)
- May 15 Jaime Garcia Terrés, Mexican poet and essayist, born in Mexico City (d. 1996)
- May 15 Maria Koepcke, German ornithologist (d. 1971)
- May 15 Ursula Thiess [Schmidt], German actress (Monsoon, Bengal Brigade, Americano), born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 2010)
- May 16 Dawda Kairaba Jawara, Gambian Prime Minister (1962-70) and 1st President of the Gambia (1970-94), born in Barajally, British Gambia (d. 2019)
- May 16 Frank Mankiewicz, American journalist, president of National Public Radio and Democratic political adviser, born in New York City (d. 2014) [1]
- May 17 Francis Tombs, Lord Tombs, British engineer and businessman (CEO of Rolls Royce), born in Walsall, England (d. 2020) [1]
- May 17 Frantisek Kovaricek, Czech composer (Ukradeny mesic (The Stolen Moon)), born in Liteniny, Czechoslovakia (d. 2003)
- May 18 Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (ABC, CBS), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2019)
- May 18 Maya Kopitseva, Russian painter of the Leningrad school, born in Gagry, USSR (d. 2005)
- May 18 Priscilla Pointer, American actress (Carrie; Mommie Dearest), born in New York City
- May 19 (Alexander) "Sandy" Wilson, British theatrical composer and lyricist (The Boy Friend; Divorce Me, Darling!), born in Sale, Cheshire, England (d. 2014)
- May 20 Peter Shore, British politician (Labour), born in Great Yarmouth, England (d. 2001)
- May 21 Jack Twyman, American basketball player (Rochester/Cincinnati Royals), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
- May 21 Mary Margaret "Peggy" Cass, American actress, comedian, game show panelist and announcer (To Tell The Truth), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1999)
- May 21 Robert Parris, American composer (Book of Imaginary Beings), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1999)
- May 22 Cecilia Robinson, English cricket batsman (14 Tests, 2 x 100s; Kent WCT), born in Canterbury, England (d. 2021)
- May 22 Charles Aznavour [Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian], French-Armenian singer (Monsieur Carnavel; She; Tin Drum), born in Paris, France (d. 2018)
- May 22 Claude André François Ballif, French composer, born in Paris (d. 2004)
- May 22 Rita Vidaurri, American Ranchera singer, born in San Antonio, Texas (d. 2019)
- May 22 Wayne Mack, American sportscaster (New Orleans Saints, Tulane University) and actor (Storyville), born in Pekin, Illinois (d. 1993)
- May 23 Clyde King, American baseball pitcher, coach, manager and executive (Brooklyn Dodgers; New York Yankees), born in Goldsboro, North Carolina (d. 2010)
- May 23 Desmond Carrington, British radio host (The Music Goes Round), born in Bromley (d. 2017)
- May 23 Michael McCrum, English academic and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, born in Alverstoke, England (d. 2005)
- May 24 Philip Pearlstein, American abstract landscape and Modernist Realist figure painter, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)
- May 25 István Nyers, Hungarian footballer, born in Freyming-Merlebach, Moselle, France (d. 2005)
- May 26 T. Cooper Evans, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa), born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (d. 2005)
- May 28 Edward du Cann, British politician and Chairman of the Conservative Party (1965-67), born in Beckenham, London (d. 2017)
- May 28 Geoffrey Rippon, British MP, born in Penn, Buckinghamshire (d. 1997)
- May 29 Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball coach (Czech Women's team, German Men's team), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2013)
- May 29 Pepper Paire, American National Women's Baseball Hall of Fame catcher (1948 AAGPBL All-Star Team), born in Los Angeles, CA (d. 2013)
- May 30 Armando Peraza, Cuban jazz, Latin jazz, and rock percussionist (George Shearing; Cal Tjader; Santana, 1972-90), born in Lawton Batista, Havana, Cuba (d. 2014) [birth year disputed]
- May 30 Norbert Schemansky, American weightlifter (Olympic gold heavyweight 1952, silver 1948, bronze 1960, 64), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2016)
- May 31 Patricia Roberts Harris, American politician (Rep-D),1st African American woman cabinet member, born in Mattoon, Illinois (d. 1985)
- May 31 Russell Endean, South African cricket wicketkeeper (28 Tests, 3 x 100, HS 162no, 41 dismissals; Transvaal, MCC), born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 2003)
Famous Deaths
- May 1 August Cuppens, Flemish author (Limburgs Driemanschap), dies at 62
- May 4 Edith Nesbit, British children books author (The Story of the Treasure Seekers, Five Children and It), dies at 65
- May 6 Carel S Adama van Scheltema, poet/writer (socialism), dies at 47
- May 8 Lev Lunts, Russian writer (Outside the Law, City of Truth), dies at 23
- May 10 Adolfo Albertazzi, Italian writer (Amore & Amore, Top), dies at 58
- May 11 Moses Walker, American baseball catcher (first African-American open about his heritage to play MLB; Toledo Blue Stockings), dies at 66
- May 12 Henri Maréchal, French composer and music critic, dies at 82
- May 15 Paul Henri Balluet d'Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and pacifist (Nobel 1909), dies at 71
- May 16 William "Candy" Cummings, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (credited with creating the curveball), dies at 75
- May 19 Billy Zulch, cricketer (South African batsman scored 2 Test centuries), dies
- May 21 Bobby Franks, American school boy killed by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, at 14
- May 21 Charley Barrett, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Cornell undefeated National C'ship 1915), dies from effects of war injuries at 30
- May 25 Ashutosh Mukherjee, Bengali educator, jurist, barrister and mathematician described as the "Banglar Bagh" (Tiger of Bengal), dies abruptly at 59
- May 25 Lyubov Popova, Russian avant-garde artist and painter, dies at 35
- May 25 Theodore F. Morse, American composer, dies at 51
- May 26 Johann Heinrich Beck, American composer, dies at 67
- May 26 Victor Herbert, American cellist, composer, and conductor (Babes in Toyland; Eileen), dies of a heart attack at 65
- May 29 Pierre-Paul Cambon, French diplomat (negotiated Entente Cordiale), dies at 81
