Historical Events
Bradman scores 236
May 1 Cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 236 for Australia v Worcestershire in his first 1st class innings in England
- May 1 The planet Pluto is officially named by 11-year-old Venetia Burney
- May 2 Des Moines (Western League) defeats Wichita 13-6 to open 1st ballpark with permanently installed lights
Amy Johnson's Pioneering Flight
May 5 Amy Johnson takes off - first woman to fly solo from England to Australia
- May 5 Australian cricket batting prodigy Don Bradman scores an unbeaten 185 in a tour match for Australia v Leicestershire at Aylestone Road, Leicester
- May 7 Duleepsinhji scores 333 for Sussex v Northants in 330 mins
55th Preakness
May 9 55th Preakness: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:00.6
- May 10 1st US planetarium opens (Adler-Chicago)
- May 10 Clarrie Grimmett takes 10 for 37 v Yorkshire at Sheffield
Pulitzer for Marc Connelly
May 12 Pulitzer Prize for Drama awarded to Marc Connelly for "Green Pastures)"
- May 14 US Congress designates Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico a National Park [1]
- May 15 Ellen Church becomes 1st female airline stewardess aboard a United flight from San Francisco to Cheyenne
- May 16 6th Walker Cup: US, 10-2
- May 17 56th Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:07.6
- May 19 White women win voting rights in South Africa
- May 20 1st airplane catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot
- May 20 University of California dedicates $1,500 to research on prevention & cure of athlete's foot
Gehrig's Third Triple HR
May 22 Yankees' future Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman Lou Gehrig becomes first to hit 3 HRs three times as NY outscores Philadelphia A's, 20-13; teams combine for then-record 10 homers
- May 24 21-year-old Australian cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 252 not out in a tour match for Australia v Surrey at Kennington Oval, London
- May 24 Amy Johnson becomes the 1st woman to fly solo from United Kingdom to Australia
- May 24 NY Yankees' legendary slugger Babe Ruth homers in both games of a doubleheader (beat Philadelphia A's 10-6 & 11-1); gives him 9 HR's in one week
- May 26 Supreme Court rules buying liquor does not violate the Constitution
- May 27 Richard Drew invents masking tape
- May 28 Georges Forbes succeeds Joseph Ward as premier of New Zealand
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Polesitter Billy Arnold takes lead on lap 3 and never gives it up; total 198 laps stands as all-time Indy 500 race record; accompanied by riding mechanic Spider Matlock
- May 30 Shedd Aquarium, one of the first inland aquariums in the world, opens in Chicago, Illinois
British Amateur Championship
May 31 British Amateur Championship, Men's Golf, St. Andrews Links: Bobby Jones scores a 7 & 6 win over Englishman Roger Wethered for the first leg of his Grand Slam
- May 31 Building begins on Albert Canal in Belgium
- May 31 Comet 73P/1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3) approaches 0.0617 AUs of Earth
- May 31 Don Bradman batting for Australia v Hampshire at Southampton is 47 not out at stumps, bringing his aggregate to 1,001 runs, the first cricket touring overseas batsman to complete 1,000 runs by end of May
- May 31 Philadelphia Athletics's Max Bishop draws 8 walks in a doubleheader to set MLB record
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Little Walter [Marion Walter Jacobs], blues singer-songwriter and harmonica player, born in Marksville, Louisiana (d. 1968)
Ollie Matson (1930-2011)
May 1 Pro/College Football Hall of Fame halfback (First-team All-Pro 1952, 54–59; Pro Bowl 1952, 54–58; NFL 1950s All Decade Team), born in Trinity, Texas
- May 1 Richard Riordan, American politician (Mayor of Los Angeles (R) 1993-2001), born in New York City (d. 2023) [1]
- May 2 Bernard Slade [Newbound], Canadian screenwriter (The Flying Nun; The Partridge Family), and playwright (Same Time, Next Year; Romantic Comedy), born in St. Catherines, Ontario (d. 2019)
- May 2 Marco Pannella, Italian politician and activist, born in Teramo (d. 2016)
- May 3 Juan Gelman, Argentine poet, born in Buenos Aires (d. 2014)
- May 4 Katherine Jackson [Kattie B Screws], American matriarch of the Jackson family, born in Clayton, Alabama
- May 4 Roberta Peters, American operatic soprano (NY Metropolitan Opera, 1950-85), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2017)
- May 4 Ron Pickering, British athletics coach (GB 1964 Summer Olympics) and broadcaster (BBC), born in Hackney, England (d. 1991)
- May 5 Joyce Collins, American jazz and film and television session pianist, singer, and educator, born in Battle Mountain, Nevada (d. 2010)
- May 5 Michael J. Adams, USAF pilot (X-15), born in Sacramento, California (d. 1967)
- May 7 Horst Bienek, German writer and director (The First Polka), born in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany (d. 1990)
- May 7 Totie Fields [Sophie Feldman], American comedienne, born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1978)
- May 8 Alex Shigo, American Biologist and Plant Pathologist known for his study of tree decay and contributions to modern arboricultural practices, born in Duquesne, Pennsylvania (d. 2006)
- May 8 Doug Atkins, American College/Pro Football HOF defensive end (Uni of Tennessee; NFL C'ship 1954, 63; First-team All-Pro 1963; 8×Pro Bowl; Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, NO Saints), born in Humbolt Tennessee (d. 2015)
- May 8 Gary Snyder, American beat poet (Turtle Island - Pulitzer Prize, 1975; Rip Rap and Cold Mountain Poems), born in San Francisco, California
- May 8 Heather Harper, Northern Irish operatic soprano (Britten's War Requiem), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2019)
- May 9 Joan Sims, British actress ("Carry on" films, As Time Goes By), born in Laindon, Essex, England (d. 2001)
- May 10 June Knox-Mawer, British radio host/novelist (World of Islands)
Pat Summerall (1930-2013)
May 10 American NFL player (NY Giants) and CBS sportscaster, born in Lake City, Florida
- May 10 Scott Muni, American radio DJ (d. 2004)
- May 11 Bud Ekins, American stuntman (d. 2007)
- May 11 Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (d. 2002)
- May 11 Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Caribbean poet (Born to Slow Horses) and academic, born in Bridgetown, Barbados (d. 2020)
- May 11 Gordon Langford [Colman], British composer and arranger of brass, choral, and orchestral music (Facets of Glass; Rhapsody for Trombone), born in Edgware, England (d. 2017)
- May 11 M J Hamlin, Principal/Vice-Chancellor (Dundee University)
- May 11 Stanley L Elkin, American writer/professor (Living End), born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 11 William Carey, American businessman and philanthropist (W.P. Carey & Co. LLC), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2012)
- May 12 Pat McCormick, American diver (4 x Olympic gold women's springboard & platform 1952, 56), born in Seal Beach, California (d. 2023)
- May 13 Mike Gravel, American politician (US Senator (D) - Alaska, 1969-81), and peace activist (Pentagon Papers), born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2021)
- May 13 Vernon Shaw, President of Dominica (1998-2003) (d. 2013)
- May 14 Edward Regan, American Republican politician and Comptroller of New York (1979-93), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2014)
- May 14 Phillipo Seed, social work academic
- May 14 Władysław Słowiński, Polish contemporary classical composer, born in Sadlno, Poland
- May 15 Jasper Johns, American painter and sculptor (Green Target), born in Augusta, Georgia
- May 16 Brian Davies, Australian rugby league forward (27 Tests, 6 World Cup; Queensland 31 games; Brothers, Canterbury-Bankstown), born in Brisbane, Australia (d. 2012)
- May 16 Desmond Langley, British army officer and Governor of Bermuda, born in London (d. 2008)
- May 16 Don Conicannon, government minister
- May 16 Friedrich Gulda, Austrian classical and jazz pianist and composer (Ineffable; Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2000)
- May 18 Barbara Goldsmith, American author (Little Gloria Happy At Last), born in New York City (d. 2016)
- May 18 Don Leslie Lind, American USN Commander, and pilot, and NASA astronaut (STS-51-B), born in Midvale, Utah
- May 18 Fred[erick Thomas] Saberhagen, American sci-fi author (Book of Swords)
- May 18 Warren Rudman, American politician (Sen-R-NH, 1980-93), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2012)
- May 19 Hans Kox, Dutch composer (Dorian Gray; Symphony No. 4 - "Tasmanian"), and educator, born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 2019)
- May 19 Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright (A Raisin in the Sun), and writer (To Be Young Gifted And Black), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1965)
- May 20 James McEachin, American actor and author (Perry Mason, Harry-Tenafly), born in Rennert, North Carolina
- May 20 Robert Bunyard, Commandant (British Police Staff College)
Malcolm Fraser (1930-2015)
May 21 Australian Prime Minister (Liberal, 1975-83), born in Toorak, Victoria
Harvey Milk (1930-1978)
May 22 American politician, gay activist and first openly gay person elected to public office, born in Woodmere, New York
- May 22 Kenny Ball, English jazz musician, born in Ilford, Essex (d. 2013)
- May 22 LaSalle Leffall Jr., American surgeon, medical educator, and 1st black president of the American Cancer Society (1978), and the American College of Surgeons (1995), born in Tallahassee, Florida (d. 2019)
- May 22 Marisol (Maria Sol) Escobar, Venezuelan sculptor, born in Paris, France (d. 2016)
- May 23 Friedrich Achleitner, German poet
- May 23 Richard Anuszkiewicz, American artist 'new wizard of op', born in Erie, Pennsylvania (d. 2020)
- May 24 Hans-Martin Linde, German flute and recorder virtuoso, born in Werne, Germany
- May 24 Ivor Richardson, New Zealand judge (NZ Court of Appeals), born in Ashburton, New Zealand (d. 2014)
- May 24 Robert Bateman, Canadian naturalist, painter, teacher, and environmentalist, born in Toronto, Ontario
- May 25 Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer, born in Paris, France (d. 2016)
- May 27 Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer (Joanna tentata), born in Tallinn, Estonia (d. 2010)
- May 27 John Barth, novelist (Sot-Weed Factor)
- May 27 William S. Sessions, American director of FBI (1987-93), born in Fort Smith, Arkansas (d. 2020)
- May 28 Edward Seaga, PM (Jamaica)
- May 28 Julian Slade, English popular composer (Salad Days), born in London (d. 2006)
- May 28 Lawrence "Tricky" Lofton, American jazz trombonist, born in Houston, Texas
- May 29 Eddy Choong, Malaysian badminton player (Thomas Cup 1955), born in Penang, British Malaya (d. 2013)
- May 30 David Evatt Tunley, Australian composer, born in Australia
- May 30 Mark Birley, British nightclub owner (d. 2007)
- May 30 Robert Ryman, American painter
Clint Eastwood (93 years old)
May 31 American actor (Dirty Harry)/mayor (Carmel, California), born in San Francisco, California
- May 31 William Taylor, British Chairman of Convocation (London University)
Famous Deaths
Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930)
May 13 Norwegian Arctic explorer and advocate for refugees (Nobel Peace Prize 1922), dies of a heart attack at 68
- May 13 Helene Lange, German feminist (honoured with the Grand Prussian State Medal), dies at 82
- May 14 Władysław Orkan [Franciszek Ksawery Smaciarz], Polish author (Nowele Zebrane), dies at 54
- May 17 Herbert David Croly, US founder (New Republic), dies at 61
- May 18 João Marcelino Arroio, Portuguese composer (Amor de Perdiçâo), dies at 68
- May 23 R. D. Banerji, Indian archaeologist and historian (discovered ancient Indus city of Mohenjo-daro), dies at 45 [1]
- May 25 Randall Thomas Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1848)
