Historical Events
- May 1 "On the Waterfront" opens at Atkinson Theater NYC for 8 performances
- May 1 "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" single released by John Michael Montgomery (Billboard Song of the Year 1995)
Event of Interest
May 1 Croatian forces launch Operation Flash during the Croatian War of Independence.
- May 1 Future Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh scores career best 200 including 231 partnership with brother Mark (126) in 4th Test win over West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica
- May 1 Montreal Canadiens lose 2-0 at Buffalo to miss Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 25 years
- May 2 "Hamlet" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 121 performances
- May 2 Expos bat out of order against Mets in 6th inning
- May 2 Serbian missiles exploded in the heart of Zagreb, killing six
- May 3 "My Thing of Love" opens at Beck Theater NYC for 16 performances
- May 3 Australia beat West Indies to regain the Frank Worrell Cricket Trophy
- May 3 David Bell debuts for the Indians (3rd generation player, Gus & Buddy)
- May 5 Last basketball game at Boston Garden; Celtics eliminated from playoffs by Orlando Magic, 95-92
- May 6 121st Kentucky Derby: Gary Stevens on Thunder Gulch wins in 2:01.2
- May 6 Classic Sports Network begins on cable TV
Election of Interest
May 7 Jacques Chirac wins French presidential election
- May 7 Stage drama adaptation of "On the Waterfront" closes at Atkinson Theater, NYC, after 8 performances
- May 7 Twins beat Indians 10-9 in 17 innings, 6 hours & 36 minutes
- May 9 Cleveland Indians tie record of scoring 8 runs before making an out, they beat Twins 10-0
- May 9 Kinshasa, Zaire under quarantine after an outbreak of Ebola virus
Academy of Country Music Awards
May 10 30th Academy of Country Music Awards: Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire win
- May 10 Britain lifts a 23-year ban on ministerial talks with Sinn Féin
- May 10 In South Africa, 104 miners killed in an elevator accident
- May 10 Real Zaragoza of Spain win 35th European Cup Winner's Cup against Arsenal of England 2-1 in Paris
- May 11 More than 170 countries agree to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons [1]
- May 12 Dow Jones for 5th straight day of the week sets a new record (4430.59)
- May 12 Jose Mesa gets 1st of his M.L. record 37 consecutive saves
NHL Record
May 12 Martin Brodeur ties NHL record getting his 3rd playoff shutout in 4
- May 13 40th Eurovision Song Contest: Secret Garden for Norway wins singing "Nocturne" in Dublin
- May 13 6.5 earthquake hits Greece
- May 13 Chelsi Smith, 21, of USA, crowned 44th Miss Universe Shanna Lynn Moakler, (19-NY), replaces Chelsi Smith as Miss USA
Sports History
May 13 Team New Zealand beats Team Dennis Conner 5-0 to win the America's Cup for the first time
- May 14 "My Thing of Love" closes at Beck Theater NYC after 16 performances
- May 14 At 43 years, 162 days Manchester City goalkeeper John Burridge becomes the oldest player to appear in an EPL match, a 3-2 home defeat to Queens Park Rangers
Event of Interest
May 14 Dalai Lama proclaims 6-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima 11th reincarnation of Panchen Lama, Tibet's 2nd most senior spiritual leader
Baseball Record
May 14 Eddie Murray of Indians hits his 463rd career home run (ties for 18th)
LPGA Championship
May 14 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, DuPont CC: Kelly Robbins wins her only major title by 1 stroke from defending champion Laura Davies of England
Braveheart
May 18 "Braveheart" directed by and starring Mel Gibson and Sophie Marceau premieres at the Seattle Film Festival (Best Picture 1996)
- May 18 WIBC Bowling Queens won by Sandra Postma
Daytime Emmy Awards
May 19 Emmy 22nd Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 15th time
- May 19 World's youngest doctor, Balamurali Ambati, 17, graduates Mount Sinai
Preakness Stakes
May 20 120th Preakness: Pat Day aboard Timber Coutry wins in 1:54.4
- May 20 CBS News fires co-anchor Connie Chung
Film & TV History
May 22 TV sitcom Laverne & Shirley 20th anniversary reunion special, televised
Film & TV History
May 27 Actor Christopher Reeve is paralyzed from the neck down after falling from his horse in a riding competition in Culpeper, Virginia
- May 28 48th Cannes Film Festival: "Underground" directed by Emir Kusturica wins the Palme d'Or
- May 28 Earthquake hits Russian town of Khabarovsk, killing 2,000 people
- May 28 Indianapolis 500: Canadian driver Jacques Villeneuve wins as race leader Scott Goodyear is controversially black flagged on lap 195
- May 28 Revival of J.B Priestley's stage drama "An Inspector Calls", starring Philip Bosco, closes at Royale Theater, NYC, after 454 performances and Drama Desk and Tony Award wins
- May 28 Southwestern Florida outside of Tampa begins using new area code 941
- May 28 White Sox (5) & Tigers (7) combine for record 12 HRs at Tiger Stadium
Famous Birthdays
- May 2 Kelsey Lewis, American actress, born in Lancaster, California
- May 9 Andrea Motis, Spanish jazz singer and trumpeter (Emotional Dance), born in Barcelona, Spain
- May 9 Beth Mead, English footballer (Arsenal), born in Whitby, England
- May 10 Gabriella Papadakis, French ice dancer (Olympic gold [Guillaume Cizeron] 2022; World C'ship gold 2015–16, 18–19, 22), born in Clermont-Ferrand, France
- May 10 Missy Franklin, American swimmer (5 Olympic gold 2012, 16; 4 x WRs), born in Pasadena, California
- May 11 Nilüfer Yanya, British indie-rock singer-songwriter, born in London, England
- May 11 Shira Haas, Israeli actress (Unorthodox), born in Tel Aviv, Israel
- May 12 Luke Benward, American actor, born in Franklin, Tennessee
- May 12 Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten, American actors (Everyone loves Raymond), born in Brownwood, Texas
- May 15 Ksenia Sitnik, Belarusian pop singer, born in Mazyr, Belarus
- May 21 Hannah Einbinder, American comedian and actress (Hacks), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 24 Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, eldest child of Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, the Regent and Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess in Bavaria, born in Portland Hospital, London
- May 25 Kagiso Rabada, South African cricketer (fast bowler for South Africa), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
Famous Weddings
- May 7 Eldest son of Shirley Jones and screenplay writer Shaun Cassidy (36) weds actress Susan Diol (30) in Westwood, California
Imran Khan
May 16 Cricketer Imran Khan (43) marries socialite Jemima Goldsmith (21) in Paris (divorced 2004)
- May 20 "Eagles" singer Don Henley (47) weds model Sharon Summerall (33) in Malibu
Holly Hunter & Janusz Kamiński
May 20 American "Broadcast News" actress Holly Hunter (37) weds Polish cinematographer Janusz Kamiński (35); divorce in 2001
Sachin Tendulkar
May 24 Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (22) weds pediatrician Anjali Mehta (28)
John Kerry
May 26 US Secretary of State John Kerry (51) weds philanthropist Teresa Heinz (56) in Nantucket, Massachusetts
Lisa Kudrow
May 27 "Friends" actress Lisa Kudrow (31) weds French advertising executive Michel Stern (37) in Malibu
Famous Deaths
- May 2 Michael Hordern, British actor (Watership Down, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold), dies from kidney disease at 83
- May 3 Michael Horden, actor (Fool, Green Man, Scoop), dies at 83
- May 4 Lewis Thompson Preston, American banker (President of the World Bank 1991-95), dies at 68
- May 4 Louis Krasner, Ukrainian-American violinist, dies at 91
- May 5 Anthony Wagner, Officer of Arms at the College of Arms in London, dies at 86
- May 5 Bernard Benjamin Gillis, British judge, dies at 89
- May 5 James Pack, British naval officer and museum curator (POrtsmouth), dies at 81
- May 5 Lionel Alexander Bethune [Alastair] Pilkington, British engineer (float glass), dies at 75
- May 5 Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian influential World Chess Champion, dies at 83
- May 5 Thomas Eden Binkley, musician, dies at 63
- May 6 Clarence Paul [Pauling], American songwriter, and record producer (Motown; Stevie Wonder - "Fingertips"), dies at 67
- May 6 Gottfried von Haberler, Austrian-American economist (international trade), dies at 94
- May 6 Hilda Toledano [Maria Pia de Braganca], Portuguese journalist and writer who claimed to be the bastard daughter of King Carlos I of Portugal, dies at 88
- May 6 Leonard "Red" Truss, American R&B singer (The Steelers - "Get It From The Bottom"), dies at 47
- May 6 Nicholas Palmer, TV writer/producer, dies at 57
- May 6 Noel Brotherston, Irish soccer winger (27 caps Northern Ireland; Blackburn Rovers 317 games), dies of a heart attack at 38
- May 7 Ernest Harold Martin [Markowitz], American Broadway producer (Feuer & Martin in A Chorus Line), dies at 75
- May 7 Lawrence Josset, British engraver, dies at 84
- May 7 Maria Luisa Bemberg, Argentine filmmaker, dies at 73
- May 7 Ray McKinley, American orchestra leader and jazz drummer (Glenn Miller Time), dies at 84
- May 8 Carroll Best, American bluegrass banjo player and educator, shot to death by his brother at 64
- May 8 Jerry Zipkin, American socialite (friend of Nancy Reagan), dies at 80
- May 8 Prem Bhatia, Indian journalist and diplomat (friend of Jawaharlal Nehru), dies at 83
- May 8 Teresa Teng [Li-chun], Taiwanese pop singer ("Aijin"; "The Power Of Love"; "Airport"), and actress, dies from a severe asthma attack at 42
- May 9 Abha Gandhi, servant to Gandhi, dies at 68
- May 9 Charles Montgomery Monteith, Irish publisher (Faber & Faber - published "Lord of the Flies"), dies at 74
- May 9 Marshall Royal, American jazz alto saxophonist & clarinetist (Count Basie Orchestra), dies at 82
- May 9 Percy Mansell, Rhodesian cricket all-rounder (13 Tests South Africa, 11 wickets, 2 x 50; Rhodesia), dies at 75
- May 10 Harold Berens, comedian, dies at 92
- May 10 Hilde Jarecki, German English educationist (Kindertransport, Playgroups), dies at 83
- May 10 Jimmy Raney, American jazz guitarist, dies at 67
- May 11 David Avidan, Israeli poet, dies at 62
- May 11 Ivo Samkalden, Dutch Minister of Justice (PvdA), Mayor of Amsterdam (1967-77), dies at 82
- May 11 Tibor Sarai, Hungarian composer, dies at 76
- May 11 William John Phillips, British actor (Nothing But A Man; Z-Cars), dies at 80
- May 12 Arthur Lubin, American film director and producer (Francis The Talking Mule, Mr Ed), dies at 95
- May 12 Giorgio Belladonna, Italian bridge player (16 x World C'ships; 10 x European C'ships, Italy open team-of-four), dies of lung cancer at 71
- May 12 Marcel Rubin, Austrian composer, dies at 89
- May 12 Reza Abdoh, Iranian born American theater director and playwright, dies of AIDS at 32
- May 14 Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1972 for ribonuclease,), dies at 79
- May 14 Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi, Japanese teacher 9Rinzai/Soto lines of Zen Buddhism), dies at 64
- May 15 Edouard Dermithe, Italian actor (Orpheus; Thomas the Impostor), dies at 70
- May 15 Eric Porter, British stage and BAFTA Award-winning screen actor (The Royal Shakespeare Company; The Forsyte Saga; Antony & Cleopatra, The Thirty Nine Steps), dies of colon cancer at 67
- May 15 Johnny Van Derrick, British jazz violinist (Pink Panther Theme), dies at 68
- May 15 Perry Lederman, American folk and blues singer and guitarist, dies at 52
- May 16 Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer and actress (Kuma Ching, Faraona), dies at 70
- May 16 Ragnhild Marie Hatton, Norwegian historian, dies at 82
- May 17 Nathan "Dambuza" Mdledle, South African singer (Manhattan Brothers) and actor, dies at 72
- May 17 Paul D. Stoop, American vice-admiral (WW II-Coral Sea), dies at 90
- May 17 Toe Blake, Canadian Hockey HOF left wing (Stanley Cup 1935 Montreal Maroons; 1944, 46 Montreal Canadiens) and coach (Stanley Cup 1956-60, 1965-66, 68 Montreal Canadiens), dies at 82
- May 18 Alexander Godunov, Russian-American ballet dancer (Bolshoi Ballet, 1971-79), and actor (Witness; Die Hard), dies of hepatitis and alcoholism at 45 (exact date estimated)dies at 45
- May 18 André-François Marescotti, Swiss organist and composer, dies at 93
- May 18 Dorothy Poynton-Hill, American diver (Olympic gold 10m platform 1932, 36; silver springboard 1928, bronze 1936), dies at 79
- May 18 Elisha Cook Jr, American actor (Maltese Falcon, Shane, Magnum PI), dies at 91
Elizabeth Montgomery (1933-1995)
May 18 American actress (Bewitched - "Samantha* and "Serena"), dies of cancer at 62
- May 18 Gordon Reynolds, English organist and master of the Choristers at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace, dies at 74
- May 18 Robert Harris, British actor (Big Caper, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Laughing Anne), dies at 95
- May 19 Robert S. Dietz, American geophysicist who proposed a theory of seafloor spreading in 1961, dies at 80
- May 21 Annie M. G. Schmidt, Dutch writer (Fam Doorsnee, Jip & Janneke), dies at 84
- May 21 Kieron Walsh, British academic, dies at 46
- May 21 Les Aspin, American politician, (Rep-D-Wisc, 1971-93) US Secretary of Defense (1993-95), dies of stroke at 56
- May 22 Robert Flemyng, British actor (The Deadly Affair, Funny Face), dies at 83
- May 23 Dan Fortmann, American College/Pro Football HOF guard (3 × NFL C'ship 1940, 41, 43 Chicago Bears; 6 × First-team All-Pro; 3 × Pro Bowl), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 79
- May 23 Keith Humble, Australian composer, dies at 67
- May 23 Mick Pyne, British touring and session jazz pianist (Tubby Hayes; Georgie Fame: Charlie Watts), dies at 54
- May 23 Patricia Ford, Lady Fisher, Irish politician and founder (British Women Caring Trust), dies at 74
Harold Wilson (1916-1995)
May 24 British Prime Minister (Labour: 1964-70, 1974-76), dies of cancer at 79
- May 25 Dany Robin, French actress (Follow the Boys, Topaz, Jupiter, Julietta), dies at 68
- May 25 Dick Curless, American country music singer-songwriter (A Tombstone Every Mile), dies of stomach cancer at 63
- May 25 Krešimir Ćosić, Croatian basketball player, dies at 46
- May 26 Friz Freleng, American animator for Warner Bros cartoons (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies), dies at 88
- May 26 Ron Weatherburn, British jazz pianist, dies at 61
- May 26 Severn Darden, American actor (Luv; The President's Analyst; Saturday the 14th), dies at 65
- May 27 C W Stubblefield, music promoter, dies at 64
- May 27 László Kalmár, Hungarian composer (Triangles), dies at 63
- May 27 Ulysses Kay, American neoclassical composer (Of New Horizons: Overture), dies of Parkinson's disease complications at 78
- May 28 Daniela Rocca, Italian actress (Battle of Austerlitz), dies at 57
- May 28 Henning Kronstam, Danish dancer, dies at 60
- May 28 Jean Muir, British fashion designer, dies at 66
- May 29 Margaret Chase Smith, American politician (U.S. Senator from Maine), dies at 97
- May 30 Lofty England, English automotive engineer and race team manager (b.1911)
- May 30 Philip Sherrard, English author and translator of modern Greek, dies at 72
- May 30 Ted Drake [Edward Joseph Drake], English footballer, dies at 82
- May 30 Thomas Dorrington Tomlinson, British national park warden, dies at 87
- May 31 Pavel Sivic, Slovenian composer, dies at 87
