Historical Events
Baseball Record
May 1 A's outfielder Rickey Henderson steals all time MLB record 939th base in 7-4 win vs New York Yankees in Oakland
- May 1 Angolan civil war ends
- May 1 Cy Coleman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green' s musical "The Will Rogers Follies" opens at The Palace Theater, NYC; runs for 981 performances, winning 6 Tonty Awards
- May 1 Skin-Spit-Skin featuring lesbian, homosexual & hetrosexual nude couples caressing, is seen by 5,000 in NYC
Baseball Record
May 1 Texas Rangers starter Nolan Ryan pitches MLB record 7th no hitter; beats Toronto, 3-0; at 44, Ryan is oldest to throw no-hitter
- May 1 West Indian batsman Gordon Greenidge plays his last Test cricket innings, scoring 43 vs Australia in Antigua; 7,558 runs @ 44.72; 19 x 100s
Catholic Encyclical
May 2 Pope John Paul II's encyclical on Centesimus annus
Television Finale
May 3 356th & final episode of CBS second longest running series TV show "Dallas", (2nd only to "Gunsmoke")
- May 3 The Declaration of Windhoek (on press freedom) signed by African journalists
- May 4 117th Kentucky Derby: Chris Antley wins aboard Strike the Gold, the first of 2 Derby victories
- May 4 36th Eurovision Song Contest: Carola for Sweden wins singing "Fangad av en stormvind" in Rome
- May 4 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Doug Kent
- May 4 Indians' Chris James sets club record for most RBIs in a game (9)
- May 4 NY Mets M Sasser & Mark Carreon are 8th to hit consecutive pinch HRs
Doctorate of Music
May 4 Phil Collins, Al Jarreau, Ikutaro Kakehashi and Joe Zawinul receive honorary doctorate degrees from the Berklee College of Music in Boston [1]
- May 4 US politician Mo Udall, Representative for Arizona (1961-91), resigns due to Parkinson disease
Event of Interest
May 4 US President George H. W. Bush is hospitalized for erratic heartbeat
- May 5 A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after Salvadoran man is shot by police
- May 6 Phillie Lenny Dykstra slams his sports car into 2 trees
- May 6 Seppo Raty of Finland sets javelin record to 301' 9"
- May 6 Space Shuttle STS 39 (Discovery 12) lands
- May 7 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- May 7 Haryana beat Bombay in the Ranji Cricket Trophy final by 2 runs
Event of Interest
May 8 CIA director William H. Webster resigns
- May 9 Italian actress Laura Antonelli found guilty of cocaine possession (conviction overturned 2006)
TV Show Appearance
May 9 Michael Landon appears on The Tonight Show to talk about his cancer prognosis
- May 10 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Minnesota North Stars beat Edmonton Oilers, 4 games to 1
Music History
May 13 "Michael Jackson: Magic & Madness" goes on sale
Event of Interest
May 14 Winnie Mandela sentenced to 6 years for complicity in kidnapping & beating of four youths, one of whom died, She is freed pending appeal
- May 14 World's Largest Burrito created at 1,126 lbs
- May 15 Edith Cresson becomes France's 1st female prime minister
- May 15 Manchester United of England win 31th European Cup Winner's Cup against FC Barcelona 2-1 in Rotterdam
- May 15 Nepal premier Bhattarai resigns
- May 15 Red Sox & White Sox play then slowest 9 inning game (4:11)
- May 15 US President George H. W. Bush takes Queen Elizabeth to Oakland A's-Baltimore Oriole game
- May 16 Daily Planet fires cub reporter Jimmy Olson (fictional Superman character)
Event of Interest
May 16 Queen Elizabeth II becomes 1st British monarch to address US congress
- May 17 Lupita Jones, 23, of Mexico, crowned 40th Miss Universe
- May 18 116th Preakness: Jerry Bailey aboard Hansel wins in 1:54
- May 18 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- May 18 Republic of Somaliland declares independence from Somalia
- May 18 USSR launches 2 cosmonauts to MIR space station
- May 19 Alan Janes' jukebox musical "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story", starring Paul Hipp, closes at Shubert Theatre, NYC, after 225 performances
- May 19 Willy T. Ribbs overcomes numerous mechanical problems in qualifying to become first African-American driver to make Indianapolis 500 starting grid
- May 20 44th Cannes Film Festival: "Barton Fink" directed by Ethan and Joel Coen wins the Palme d'Or
Sports History
May 20 Chicago Bull Michael Jordan, named NBA's MVP
- May 20 Jeff Reardon gains his 300th career save
- May 20 Soviet parliament approves law allowing citizens to travel abroad
- May 21 Ethiopia's Marxist president (Mengistu Haile Mariam) resigns
- May 22 NFL Owners agree to add 2 teams in 1994
- May 22 Roh Jai Bong resigns as premier of South Korea
- May 23 Last Cubans troops leave Angola
- May 23 Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tommy Greene no-hits Montreal Expos, 2-0
- May 23 San Diego Sockers win 4th consecutive Major Soccer League championship
- May 23 US Supreme Court bars subsidized clinics from discussing abortion
- May 25 "People Are Still Having Sex" by LaTour hits #35
- May 25 Israel evacuates 14,000 Ethiopian Jews
- May 25 Stanley Cup Final, Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, MN: Pittsburgh Penguins beat Minnesota North Stars, 8-0 for a 4-2 series win; Penguins' first Final series appearance
- May 27 Austrian Boeing 767-300 explodes at Bangkok, 223 die
- May 28 "Forever My Lady" debut studio album by Jodeci is released (Billboard Album of the Year, 1992)
- May 28 Ethiopian rebels seize Addis Ababa
- May 29 35th European Cup: Red Star Belgrade beats Marseille (0-0, 5-3 on penalties) at Bari
- May 30 64th National Spelling Bee: Joanne Lagatta wins spelling antipyretic
- May 30 Arturo Barrios runs world record one-hour distance (21,096 km)
- May 30 Supreme Court rules prosecutors can be sued for legal advice they give police & can be held accountable
- May 31 Sides in Angola sign a treaty ending 16 year civil war
Famous Birthdays
- May 1 Creagen Dow, American actor (Zoey 101), born in Lake Wales, Florida
- May 1 Marcus Stroman, American MLB baseball pitcher (All-Star, 2019; Gold Glove, 2017; Toronto Blue Jays, NY Mets), born in Medford, New York
- May 9 Majlinda Kelmendi, Kosovar-Albanian judoka (Olympic gold 2016), born in Peć, SFR Yugoslavia
- May 10 Emily McEnroe, daughter of Tatum O'Neal & John McEnroe
- May 10 Kenny Beats [Blume], American hip-hop record producer and songwriter, born in Greenwich, Connecticut
- May 19 Jordan Pruitt, American singer (The Voice), born in Loganville, Georgia
- May 19 Moses Sumney, American singer-songwriter (Græ), born in San Bernadino, California
- May 21 Kayla Itsines, Australian fitness entrepreneur (Bikini Body Guides), born in Adelaide, Australia
- May 21 Sarah Ramos, American actress (Parenthood), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 23 Aaron Donald, American NFL football defensive end, Defensive Rookie of the Year, 7x Pro Bowls, 3x Defensive Player of the Year (St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- May 23 Sarah Jarosz, American singer-songwriter (World on the Ground), born in Austin, Texas
- May 24 Erika Umeda, Japanese singer (ZYX), born in Minami-ku, Yokohama, Japan
- May 27 Beauden Barrett, New Zealand rugby union utility back (83 caps; World Male Rugby Player of the Year 2016, 17; Hurricanes 125 games), born in New Plymouth, New Zealand
- May 28 Alexandre Lacazette, French soccer player, born in Lyon, France
- May 29 Kristen Alderson, American actress (One Life to Live), born in Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania
- May 31 Azealia Banks, American rapper (212), born in New York City
Famous Weddings
Robert Duvall
May 1 American actor Robert Duvall (60) weds third wife, American dancer Sharon Brophy; divorce in 1995
Andy Williams
May 3 American singer Andy Williams (63) weds 2nd wife Debbie Hass (35), until his death in 2012
Famous Deaths
- May 1 Richard Thorpe, American director (Jailhouse Rock, Night Must Fall), dies at 95
- May 2 Hal Bell, dies at 65
- May 2 Leib Lensky, dies at 82
- May 2 Ronald McKie, Australian author (The Mango Tree), dies at 81
- May 3 Don Whitmire, American College Football Hall of Fame tackle (Alabama, Navy - All American at both), dies at 68
- May 3 Gerrit Mik, Dutch psychiatrist and politician (D66), dies
- May 3 Jerzy Kosiński, Polish-American novelist (The Painted Bird, Being There), dies at 57
- May 3 Margaret Tallichet, American actress (Stranger on the 3rd Floor), dies at 77
- May 3 Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer and composer (b. 1907)
- May 4 Bernie Winters [Weinstein], British comedian, actor, and TV presenter (The Big Top Variety Show), dies of stomach cancer at 60
- May 4 Dennis Crosby, son of Bing, commits suicide at 54
- May 4 George Delacorte, American philanthropist and publisher (Dell Books), dies at 96
- May 5 William De Acutis, American actor (9½ Weeks, Other People's Money), dies from a brain lymphoma at 33
- May 6 Anthony van Kampen, writer (Ketelbinkie, Geschonden Eldorado), dies
- May 6 Thomas A Carlin, dies at 62
- May 6 Wilfrid Hyde-White, British actor (My Fair Lady, Peyton Place), dies at 87
- May 8 Jean Langlais, French organist, and composer (Missa Salve Regina), dies at 84
- May 8 Lloyd Ford, American stuntman, dies at 79
- May 8 Ronnie Brody, British actor (Superman 3, What's Up Nurse, Ritz), dies at 72
- May 9 James L. Reinsch, American broadcasting executive & presidential media adviser (Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy) who also advised Winston Churchill on his 1946 "Iron Curtain" speech, dies at 82
- May 9 Rudolf Serkin, Bohemian-American concert pianist (noted for Beethoven interpretations), and pedagogue (Curtis Institute; Marlboro School of Music), dies of cancer at 88
- May 10 Armand HF Boni [Armand the Good], Flemish poet/writer, dies
- May 11 Ho Dam, North Korean Politician Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1970-83), dies at 62
- May 14 Aladár Gerevich, Hungarian fencer (7 Olympic gold 1932, 36, 48, 52, 56, 60), dies at 81
- May 14 Ast Fonteyne, Flemish lecture artist, dies
- May 14 Herman Niels, Flemish radio director, dies
Jiang Qing (1914-1991)
May 14 Chinese communist and wife of Mao Zedong, commits suicide at 77
- May 14 John Edward Craven, dies
- May 14 Shintaro Abe, minister of Exterior of Japan (1982-86), dies
- May 15 Andreas Floer, German mathematician (Floer homology), dies at 34
- May 15 Lawrence "Bud" Freeman, American jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and composer ("The Eel"; "Zen Is When"), dies of cancer at 84
- May 15 Reno Browne, American Western actress, dies at 70
- May 15 Ronald Lacey, actor (Raiders of Lost Ark, Next Victim), dies at 55
- May 16 Prudence Nesbitt, British actress/TV producer, dies
- May 18 Edwina Booth, American actress (Trader Horn), dies of heart failure at 86
- May 19 Douglas L. Mays, English cartoonist (Punch), dies at 90
- May 19 Rini Otte, Dutch actress (Ergens in Nederland), dies at 74
- May 20 Julian Orbon De Soto, Cuban composer, dies at 65
- May 20 Pete Runnels, American baseball infielder (5 x MLB All Star; AL batting champion 1960, 62 Boston Red Sox; Washington Senators, Houston Colt .45s) and manager (Boston Red Sox 1966), dies from a stroke at 63
- May 21 Jean Van Joutte, Prime Minister of Belgium (1952-54), dies
Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991)
May 21 Prime Minister of India (1984-89), assassinated at 46 by a suicide bomber from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
- May 22 Catalino "Lino" Brocka, Filipino film director (Macho Dancer, Jaguar), dies in car crash at 51
- May 23 Jean Van Houtte, Belgian politician (Prime Minister of Belgium, 1952-56; Finance Minister, 1950-52 and 1958-61), dies at 84
- May 23 Peter Trevenen Thwaites, British Brigadier General and playwright (Love or money), dies at 74
- May 23 Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (Unter dem Zimbelstern), dies at 95
- May 23 William Sinnot, Scottish pop musician (Shamen), dies at 30
- May 24 (Harold Eugene) Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter (The Byrds - "Eight Miles High"), dies from natural causes brought on by bleeding ulcer at 46
- May 24 Miriam di San Servolo, Italian actress (b. 1912)
- May 26 Tom Cassidy, American TV news anchor (CNN), dies of AIDS at 41
- May 26 Tom Eyen, playwright (Dreamgirls), dies of cardiac arrest at 50
- May 27 Ed Dodd, cartoonist (Mark Trail), dies at 88
- May 27 Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist (International Bruckner Society; Mozart's Requiem), and educator (Vienna University, 1932-73), dies at 86
- May 28 Brigitte B Fischer, writer, dies
- May 28 Ethel Lois Payne, American civil rights journalist and "1st Lady of the Black Press", dies at 79
- May 29 Coral Browne, Australian actress (Ruling Class, Time Express), dies of cancer at 77
- May 30 Manolo Gomez Bur, Spanish comedian dies at 74
- May 31 Angus Wilson, English novelist and short story writer ("Anglo-Saxon Attitudes"; "The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot"), dies at 77
- May 31 H. N. "Swanie" Swanson, American Hollywood literary agent, dies at 91 of a stroke
