Historical Events
- May 3 Chicago's Sears Tower, world's tallest building (443 m), topped out
- May 4 1st TV network female nudity-Steambath (PBS)-Valerie Perrine
- May 4 BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Millie Martorella
- May 4 Longest baseball game in Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, Phillies beat Braves 5-4 in 20 innings
- May 4 Patriarch Shenuda II of Kopitisch church visits the pope
- May 4 Wings release "Red Rose Speedway" in UK
Kentucky Derby
May 5 99th Kentucky Derby: Ron Turcotte aboard Secretariat wins in 1:59.4 - fastest Kentucky Derby ever
There Goes Rhymin' Simon
May 5 Columbia Records releases "There Goes Rhymin' Simon", the third solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon; it features songs "Loves Me Like a Rock", "Kodachrome", and "American Tune"
Baseball History
May 8 Ernie Banks fills in for Cubs managerr Whitey Lockman who is ejected during the game, technically becoming baseball's 1st African American manager
Wounded Knee Occupation Ends
May 8 Wounded Knee Occupation ends after 10 weeks as 200 Oglala Lakota of the American Indian Movement surrender the South Dakota hamlet
Baseball History
May 9 For 2nd time, Johnny Bench hits 3 HRs in a game
- May 10 27th NBA Championship: NY Knicks beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 1
- May 10 Establishment of Frente Polisario in Mauritania
- May 10 Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Yvan Cournoyer has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 6-4 to take title, 4 games to 2
- May 11 Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has his charges for his involvement in releasing the "Pentagon Papers" to The New York Times dismissed
- May 11 Dutch government of Uyl forms
Zanjeer
May 11 Ground-breaking Indian crime film "Zanjeer" directed by Prakash Mehra and starring "The Angry Young Man" Amitabh Bachchan released
Sports History
May 13 Bobby Riggs beats Margaret Smith Court in Mother's Day match in California
- May 14 French film "Day for Night" written and directed by François Truffaut, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Léaud premieres at Cannes (Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film)
- May 14 Gold hits record $102.50 an ounce in London
- May 14 Skylab launched, 1st Space Station
- May 14 US Supreme court approves equal rights to females in military
Sports History
May 15 California Angel Nolan Ryan's 1st no-hitter beats KC Royals, 3-0
- May 16 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Dave Soutar
- May 16 AC Milan of Italy win 13th European Cup Winner's Cup against Leeds of England 1-0 in Saloniki
- May 17 "Nash at Nine" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 21 performances
- May 17 Angels outfielder Bobby Valentine breaks his leg trying to scale wall to prevent a Dick Green home run during a 5-4 loss to the A's
- May 17 Five British Army soldiers are killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army booby-trap bomb in Omagh, County Tyrone
- May 17 Joe Ferguson, hits the 6,000th Dodger home run
#1 in the Charts
May 17 Stevie Wonder releases the music single "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", goes to #1 and wins him a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
- May 17 US performs 3 nuclear tests at Rifle Colorado
- May 17 US Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings into the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.
Brezhnev Visits West Germany
May 18 Soviet party leader Leonid Brezhnev visits West Germany
- May 18 WIBC Bowling Queens won by Dotty Fothergill
- May 19 "Smith" opens at Eden Theater, NYC: runs for 17 performances
- May 19 98th Preakness: Ron Turcotte aboard Secretariat wins in 1:54 - fastest Preakness race ever (recognized 2012)
- May 19 Sentimental ballad "Daisy A Day" by Jud Strunk hits #14
- May 20 2 motorcycle racers killed and a dozen injured in a crash during the 1973 Nations Grand Prix in Monza,Italy
Emmy Awards
May 20 25th Emmy Awards: The Waltons, All in the Family & Mary Tyler Moore win
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
May 20 Galt MacDermot and John Guare's musical adaptation of William Shakespeare's "The Two Gentlemen of Verona", starring Clifton Davis and Raul Julia, closes at St James Theater, NYC, after 614 performances and 2 Tony Award wins
- May 22 President Nixon confesses his role in Watergate cover-up
- May 24 George [Earl] Jellicoe resigns as British Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords
- May 25 26th Cannes Film Festival: "The Hireling" directed by Alan Bridges and "Scarecrow" directed by Jerry Schatzberg jointly awarded the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
Give Me Love
May 25 George Harrison releases single "Give Me Love" in UK
- May 25 Peronist Hector Campora installed as President of Argentina
- May 25 US launches 1st Skylab crew Kerwin, Conrad, Weitz
- May 26 "Funky Worm" by Ohio Players hits #15
- May 26 "Super Fly Meets Shaft" by John & Ernest hits #31
- May 26 Bahrain adopts its constitution
- May 26 Beatles' "Beatles 1967-1970" album (the blue one) goes #1
- May 26 British composer Michael Tippett's 3rd Piano Sonata premieres
- May 27 American athlete Rick Wohlhuter runs world record 880 yards in 1:44.6
- May 28 Chicago White Sox beat Cleveland Indians, 6-3, in 21 innings (game started 5/26)
- May 28 Indianapolis 500: Gordon Johncock wins first of his two Indy triumphs after rain halts the race at lap 133
- May 29 Columbia Records fires president Clive Davis for misappropriating $100,000 in funds, Davis will start Arista records
- May 29 Thomas Bradley elected 1st African American mayor of Los Angeles, California
- May 30 17th European Cup: Ajax beats Juventus 1-0 at Belgrade
- May 30 George Harrison releases his fourth studio album "Living in the Material World" in the US
- May 31 Glenn Turner scores his 1,000th run of English cricket season
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Curtis Martin, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back (Pro Bowl 1995, 96, 98, 2001, 04; First-team All-Pro 2001, 04; NE Patriots, NY Jets), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- May 1 Oliver Neuville, German soccer striker (69 caps; Servette, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia M'gladbach), born in Locarno, Switzerland
- May 2 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German film director and screenwriter (The Lives of Others), born in Cologne, Germany
- May 3 Dominique Monami, Belgian tennis star, born in Verviers, Liège, Belgium
- May 4 Ed Hervey, American football wide receiver (Grey Cup 2003, 05 Edmonton Eskimos; CFL All-Star 2001, 03) and executive (GM Edmonton Eskimos, Grey Cup 2015), born in Houston, Texas
- May 4 Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentine soccer forward (10 caps; Boca Juniors 300 games, Columbus Crew) and manager (Palermo, Boca Juniors, LA Galaxy, Paraguay), born in La Plata, Argentina
- May 4 Žibuoklė Martinaitytė, Lithuanian composer (In Search Of Lost Beauty...), born in Leningrad, Russia
- May 5 Johan Hedberg, Swedish ice hockey coach and goalie (Team Sweden, Olympics 1998), born in Nacka, Sweden
- May 5 Matt Dubuc, CFL running back (Toronto Argonauts), born in Montreal, Quebec
- May 5 Muhsin Muhammad, American football wide receiver (Carolina Panthers), born in Lansing, Michigan
- May 5 Tina Yothers, American actress (Jennifer-Family Ties), born in Whittier, California
- May 6 Clay Williams, OL (Indianapolis Colts)
- May 6 Joe Spiteri, Australian soccer striker (Olyroos, Olympics 1996)
- May 6 Wendy Ward, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 2000-01 3rd), born in San Antonio, Texas
- May 7 Dameian Jeffries, NFL defensive end (New Orleans Saints)
- May 7 Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist, born in Clusone, Italy
- May 8 Hiromu Arakawa, Japanese manga artist (Fullmetal Alchemist), born in Makubetsu, Japan
- May 9 Chu Sang-mi, South Korean actress
- May 10 Joshua Eagle, Australian tennis player
- May 10 Rüştü Reçber, Turkish soccer goalkeeper (120 caps, record appearance holder, FIFA World Cup All Star Team: 2002; Fenerbahçe, Barcelona, Beşiktaş), born in Korkuteli, Turkey
- May 11 James Haven, American actor
- May 11 Michelle Venturella, US softball infielder (Olympic gold 1996)
- May 12 Kendra Kassebaum, American stage actress (Wicked), born in St Louis, Missouri
- May 12 MacKenzie Astin, American actor (Facts of Life, Garbage Pail Kids), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 12 Travis Lutter, American Mixed Martial Arts Fighter (The Ultimate Fighter 4), born in Chamberlain, Dakota
- May 14 Anais Granofsky, Canadian actress and director
- May 14 Julian White, English rugby union footballer
- May 14 Natalie Appleton, Canadian pop singer (All Saints -"Never Ever"), born in Mississauga, Ontario
- May 14 Shanice [Wilson], American R&B and soul vocalist ("I Love Your Smile"; "Saving Forever For You"), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- May 14 Voshon Lenard, NBA guard (Miami Heat)
- May 15 Suzannah Bianco, synchronized swimmer (Olympics-alt-96), born in San Jose, California
- May 16 Jason Acuña "Wee-Man", American television personality
- May 16 Tori Spelling, American actress and reality TV star (90210), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 17 Jay Riemersma, tight end (Buffalo Bills)
- May 17 Jenny Scheinman, American jazz and session violinist (Bill Frisell; Allison Miller), and singer, born in San Francisco, California
- May 17 Josh Homme, American rock singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Queens of the Stone Age), born in Palm Springs, California
- May 17 Matthew McGrory, American actor (d. 2005)
- May 17 Sasha Alexander, American television actress
- May 17 Steve Barakatt, Canadian pianist and composer, born in Quebec City, Canada
- May 18 Dario Franchitti, Scottish racecar driver and commentator, born in Bathgate, Scotland
- May 18 Darren Van Impe, Canadian NHL defenseman (Anaheim Mighty Ducks), born in Saskatoon
- May 18 Donyell Marshall, NBA forward and coach (Golden State Warriors), born in Reading, Pennsylvania
- May 18 Tory James, NFL defensive back (Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32), born in new Orleans, Louisiana
- May 19 Andreas Johansson, Hofors SWE, NHL forward (Pitts, NY Islanders)
- May 20 Elsa [Lunghini], French singer ("T'en va pas" - "Don't Go Away") and actress, born in Paris, France
- May 21 Noel Fielding, British comedian (The Mighty Boosh, The Great British Baking Show), born in London, England
- May 22 Aaron Graham, professional American football player (Arizona Cardinals), born in Las Vegas, New Mexico
- May 22 Daniel Tiatto, Australian soccer midfielder (Olyroos, Olympics 1996)
- May 22 Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Danish actor ("Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes"; "Riders of Justice"), born in Rødovre, Denmark
- May 22 Shefali Shah, Indian actress (Delhi Crime), born in Bombay, New Delhi
- May 23 (Gerald) Maxwell [Rivera], American Grammy Award-winning neo-soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer ("Fortunate"; "Pretty Wings"), born in Brooklyn New York City
- May 23 Verna Vasquez, Miss Universe-best swimsuit (Curacao, 1997)
- May 24 Dannes Coronel, Ecuadorian soccer defender (27 caps; El Nacional), born in Naranjal, Ecuador (d. 2020)
- May 24 Dermot O'Leary, British-Irish television presenter (The X Factor), born in Colchester, Essex, England
- May 24 Karim Alami, Moroccan tennis star, born in Casablanca, Morocco
- May 24 Ruslana [Lyzhychko], Ukrainian pop singer and songwriter, born in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, USSR (now Ukraine)
- May 24 Ville Peltonen, Finnish hockey forward (Team Finland Olympic bronze 1998), born in Vantaa, Finland
- May 25 Daz Dillinger [Delmar Drew Arnaud], American hip-hop performer, born in Long Beach, California
- May 25 Demetri Martin, American comedian (We Bare Bears), born in New York City
- May 25 Duncan Free, Australian rower (Olympics gold 2006), born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
- May 25 Jeff Smith, American football cornerback (Scotland Claymores, KC Chiefs), born in Decatur, Tennessee
- May 25 María José Gaidano, Argentine tennis star (1993 Belgium doubles), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- May 25 Molly Sims, American model and actress, born in Murray, Kentucky
- May 25 Racquel Spurlock, WNBA center (Houston Comets)
- May 27 Jack McBrayer, American comedian and actor (Conan O'Brien; 30 Rock - "Kenneth"), born in Macon, Georgia
- May 28 Pat Peake, NHL center (Washington Capitals), born in Rochester, New York
- May 29 Alpay Özalan, Turkish soccer centre back, manager, politician (Turkey 90 caps), born in Izmir, Turkey
- May 29 Malcolm Allen, Australian swimmer (1995 World C'ships gold 4x200m freestyle relay), born in Wauchope, NSW
- May 29 Mark Lee, American contemporary Christian guitarist (Third Day - "Nothing At All"; "Soul On Fire"), born in Powder Springs, Georgia
- May 29 Massimo Tagliata, Italian jazz accordionist, pianist, and composer, born in Syracuse, Sicily
- May 30 Je'Rod Cherry, safety (New Orleans Saints)
- May 30 Steve Charbonneau, CFL defensive linebacker (Montreal Alouettes)
- May 31 Dominique van Roost, Belgian tennis player (1995 Futures-GBR), born in Verviers, Belgium
- May 31 Marty Janzen, American pitcher (Toronto Blue Jays), born in Miami, Florida
- May 31 Tyrone Williams, American NFL defensive back (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31), born in Bradenton, Florida
Famous Weddings
Brian Mulroney
May 26 Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney (34) weds Mila Pivnicki (19)
Famous Deaths
- May 2 Alan Carney [David Boughal], American actor (Zombies on Broadway, Take it from Me), dies at 61
- May 2 June Hutton [Cowan], American pop vocalist (Charlie Spivak Orchestra; The Pied Pipers, 1944-50 - "I'll Never Smile Again"; Afterglow), dies at 52 [1]
- May 4 Jane Bowles, American writer and playwright, dies at 56
- May 6 Ernest MacMillan, Canadian organist, conductor and composer, dies at 79
- May 10 Jack E. Leonard, American comedian (Disorderly Orderly), dies at 62
- May 10 Loren Tindall, American actor (Meet Me on Broadway, Girl of Limberlost), dies of a heart attack at 51
- May 11 Grigory Kozintsev, Russian director, dies at 68
- May 11 Lex Barker, American actor (Tarzan of the Apes; Treasure of the Silver Lake), dies of a heart attack on Lexington Avenue, NYC at 54
- May 12 Art Pollard, American racecar driver (b. 1927)
- May 12 Frances Marion, American screenwriter (Pollyanna, Camille), dies at 85
- May 14 Jean Gebser, German-born author, linguist, and poet, dies at 67
- May 15 Willem Huibert Rassers, Dutch cultural anthropologist (Pandji), dies at 95
- May 17 Alexander J. Kropholler, Dutch architect and writer, dies at 91
Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973)
May 18 American politician, 1st woman elected to US Congress (R-Montana), women's rights advocate and pacifist, dies at 92
- May 20 Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer, dies in a crash at Monza, Italy at 27
- May 21 Carlo Emilio Gadda, Italian writer (La Madonna dei filosofi - The Philosoper's Madonna; Giornale di guerra e di prigionia - War and Prison Diary), poet, and engineer (Vatican City power station), dies at 79
- May 21 George Breakston, French-American producer, actor and director (Jungle Stampede, It Happened One Night), dies at 53
- May 21 Ivan Konev, Russian general (Marshal of the Soviet Union - led Red Army on WWII Eastern Front, commanded Warsaw Pact forces), dies at 75
- May 21 Vaughn Monroe, American singer and orchestra leader (Vaughn Monroe Show), dies at 61
- May 23 Athena Lorde, American actress (Fuzz, Skin Game, Firecreek), dies of cancer at 57
- May 26 Jacques Lipchitz, Polish-French-American painter and cubist sculptor, dies at 81
- May 28 Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, German composer and conductor (Hassan), dies at 73
- May 29 Eric Applewhite, American actor (Dial M for Murder,), dies at 76
- May 29 P. Ramlee, Malaysian film actor, director, singer and songwriter, dies of a heart attack at 44
- May 29 Voltaire "Volly" De Faut; American jazz reed player (New Orleans Rhythm Kings; Jean Goldkette), dies at 69
- May 30 Hal Hastings, American orchestra leader (Chevrolet on Broadway), dies at 66
- May 31 Albert Egges van Giffen, Dutch archaeologist, dies at 89
