Historical Events
Kentucky Derby
May 2 124th Kentucky Derby: Kent Desormeaux aboard Real Quiet wins in 2:02.20
- May 2 Battle of Hogwarts: fictional battle that ended the Second Wizarding War with the death of Lord Voldemort at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Agreement of Interest
May 4 A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
- May 4 The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, designed by Renzo Piano to celebrate indigenous Kanak culture, is inaugurated near Nouméa, New Caledonia [1]
Baseball Record
May 6 Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his 5th career start.
Election of Interest
May 10 Viktor Orbán elected Prime Minister of Hungary after his Fidesz party forms a centre-right coalition the Independent Smallholders Party and Hungarian Democratic Forum
- May 11 India conducts three underground nuclear tests in Pokhran, including a thermonuclear device
- May 13 Chelsea of England win 38th European Cup Winner's Cup against Stuttgart of Germany 1-0 in Stockholm
- May 13 India carries out two nuclear tests at Pokhran, in addition to the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
- May 13 Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped
- May 16 123rd Preakness: Kent Desormeaux aboard Real Quiet wins in 1:54.80
LPGA Championship
May 17 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, DuPont CC: 20-year-old rookie Se Ri Pak leads wire-to-wire to win the first of her 5 majors, 3 strokes ahead of runners-up Donna Andrews and Lisa Hackney
- May 17 New York Yankees pitcher David Wells tosses a perfect game in a 4-0 win against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium, NY
- May 18 44th British Academy Television Awards: "I'm Alan Partridge" Best Comedy, "Jonathan Creek" Best Drama
- May 18 United States v. Microsoft: The United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states file an antitrust case against Microsoft.
Event of Interest
May 22 Lewinsky scandal: a federal judge rules that United States Secret Service agents can be compelled to testify before a grand jury concerning the scandal, involving President Bill Clinton
- May 23 The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.
- May 24 51st Cannes Film Festival: "Mia aioniotita kai mia mera / Eternity and a Day" by Theo Angelopoulos wins the Palme d'Or
- May 24 Indianapolis 500: American ex-Formula One driver Eddie Cheever Jr finishes 3 seconds ahead of 1996 winner Buddy Lazier; first Indy fully sanctioned by the IRL
Event of Interest
May 26 Date for Paula Jones sex harassment trial vs President Clinton
- May 26 The United States Supreme Court rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York
- May 27 Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.
- May 28 Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of Indian nuclear tests with five of its own, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions.
- May 30 A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits northern Afghanistan, killing up to 5,000.
- May 30 Super Rugby Final, Eden Park, Auckland: In an all-NZ final, Andrew Mehrtens lands 2 penalties & 2 conversions as the Canterbury Crusaders beat the Blues, 20-13; Crusaders' first title
Famous Birthdays
- May 14 Aaron Ramsdale, English football goalkeeper (Arsenal and England), born in Stoke-on-Trent, England
- May 15 Mohammed El Kurd, Palestinian poet and activist, born in Jerusalem
- May 15 Muna El Kurd, Palestinian activist, born in Jerusalem
- May 16 Ariel Waller, Canadian child actress
- May 23 Steve Lacy [Lacy-Moya], American guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer (The Internet), born in Compton, California
- May 24 Daisy Edgar-Jones, British actress (Normal People), born in London, England
- May 29 Markelle Fultz, American basketball guard (2017 NBA Draft: #1 pick Philadelphia 76ers), born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Famous Weddings
Uma Thurman
May 1 "Reality Bites" actor Ethan Hawke (27) weds "Pulp Fiction" actress Uma Thurman (28)
Lance Armstrong
May 1 Cyclist Lance Armstrong weds Kristin Richard (divorced 2003)
- May 2 Actor-comedian Jim Belushi (43) weds Jennifer Sloan (30) at their home garden in Brentwood, Los Angeles
- May 3 American "Jekyll & Hyde" Broadway singer Linda Eder (37) weds American "Jekyll & Hyde" composer Frank Wildhorn (38) at their new 8-acre estate in North Salem, New York; divorce in 2004
Cindy Crawford
May 21 Supermodel Cindy Crawford (32) weds restaurateur Rande Gerber (36) on Paradise Island in the Bahamas
Lucy Lawless
May 28 "Xena: The Warrior Princess" Lucy Lawless (30) weds executive producer Rob Tapert (43) at Saint Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California
- May 30 Nephew of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Prince Maurits of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (30) weds to commoner Marilene van den Broek (28) in Apeldoorn
Adam Yauch
May 31 American "Beastie Boys" rapper Adam Yauch (33) weds daughter of prominent Tibetan activists Dechen Wangdu in New York
Famous Deaths
- May 1 Eldridge Cleaver, American activist, Black Panther leader turned Republican, dies at 62
- May 2 Gene Raymond [Raymond Guion], American actor (Paris 7000, Love on a Bet, Fireside Theater), dies from pneumonia a 89
- May 2 Hide [Hideto Matsumoto], Japanese rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer (X Japan; Zilch), takes his own life at 33
- May 2 Justin Fashanu, English soccer forward (first openly gay pro footballer; first black footballer to command £1 million transfer fee), dies from suicide at 37
- May 2 Kevin Lloyd, British actor (b. 1949)
- May 5 Syd Lawrence, British bandleader (Syd Lawrence Orchestra), dies at 74
- May 7 Allan McLeod Cormack, South African physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1924)
- May 7 Eddie Rabbitt, American songwriter ("Kentucky Rain"), and country singer ("I Love a Rainy Night"), dies of lung cancer at 56
- May 8 Bebe Rebozo, American banker and Watergate figure (b. 1912)
- May 8 Jack Heslop-Harrison, English botanist, Director of Kew Gardens (1970-76), dies at 78
- May 9 Alice Faye [Leppert], American actress and singer (Hello Frisco, Hello; Fallen Angel; Stowaway), dies of stomach cancer at 83
- May 11 Willy Corsari, Dutch writer (the Dutch Agatha Christie) and actor, dies at 100
- May 12 Hermann Lenz, German writer (Swabian Chronicles), dies at 75
Frank Sinatra (1915-1998)
May 14 American singer (Strangers in the Night; My Way; The Summer Wind) and actor (From Here to Eternity; Guys and Dolls), known as the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", dies at 82
- May 14 Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist, conservationist (1st Lady of the Everglades) and women's suffrage advocate, dies at 108
- May 15 Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
- May 15 John Hawkes, American writer (2nd Skin), dies at 72
- May 19 (Edwin) "Ted" Astley, British arranger, bandleader, and film and television composer (The Mouse That Roared; The Saint), dies at 76
- May 19 Dorothy Donegan, American boogie-woogie, swing jazz, and classical pianist, and vocalist, dies of cancer at 76
- May 19 Sōsuke Uno, Japanese prime minister (b. 1922)
- May 20 Robert Normann, Norwegian jazz guitar pioneer, accordionist, and composer, dies at 81
- May 21 Douglas Fowley, American actor (Singin' in the Rain, Pistols 'n' Petticoats), dies at 86
- May 22 John Derek, American actor, director and photographer (Knock on Any Door, All the King's Men, Rogues of Sherwood Forest), dies at 71
- May 22 José Enrique Moyal, mathematical physicist (b. 1910)
- May 22 Milton Banana [Antônio de Souza], Brazilian bossa nova jazz drummer (João Gilberto and Stan Getz), dies at 63
- May 23 Andreas Liebenberg, South African military commander, dies at 60
- May 26 (Emmanuel) "Emil" Braginsky, Soviet Russian screenwriter (The Irony of Fate), dies at 77
- May 26 Charlie White American professional baseball catcher (Philadelphia Stars; Milwaukee Braves), dies at 70
- May 26 Linda Hayes [Bertha Williams], American R&B singer (Yes I Know), dies at 74
- May 26 Sergey Yablonsky, Soviet and Russian mathematician and one of the founders of the Soviet school of mathematical cybernetics and discrete mathematics, dies at 73
- May 27 Ghazar Saryan, Armenian composer (Symphonic Panels on motifs by Saryan; Day of Peace), and educator (Komitas State Conservatory, 1960-86), dies at 77
Phil Hartman (1948-1998)
May 28 Canadian-American actor (NewsRadio, 1995-98; The Simpsons, 1991-91; SNL, 1986-94: Peewee's Playhouse), and graphic artist, murdered by his wife in his sleep at 49
- May 28 Philip L. Carret, American investor and founder of Pioneer Fund, dies at 101
- May 29 Barry Goldwater, American politician (U.S. Senator from Arizona, 1953-65, 1969-87; Republican presidential candidate, 1964), dies at 89
- May 29 Eric St Eval Atkinson, West Indian cricketer (bro of Denis WI pace bowler 1958-59), dies at 70
- May 30 Klaus Hashagen, German composer (Ars Nova Ensemble Nürnberg), dies at 73
- May 31 Aart Verstegen, Dutch ballet dancer and choreographer (Jolly Joker's Last Joke), dies at 77
- May 31 Charles Van Acker, Belgian racing driver (b. 1912)
- May 31 Frank Motley, American R&B and jazz double-trumpeter and bandleader (The Motley Crew), dies at 74
- May 31 Stanislaw Wislocki, Polish conductor of classical music, dies at 76
- May 31 William Baddeley, English church minister (restored St James's Piccadilly, Bishop of Brisbane), dies at 94
