Historical Events
God is not Great
May 1 Christopher Hitchens publishes his bestseller "God is not Great" making a case against organized religion
- May 1 The Los Angeles May Day mêlée occurs, in which the Los Angeles Police Department's response to a May Day pro-immigration rally become a matter of controversy.
- May 3 British girl Madeleine McCann disappears from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal
- May 4 Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7m wide EF-5 tornado
- May 4 The Scottish National Party wins the Scottish general election and becomes the largest party in the Scottish Parliament for the first time ever
Kentucky Derby
May 5 133rd Kentucky Derby: Calvin Borel aboard 9-2 favourite Street Sense wins on his home track in front of special guest, Queen Elizabeth II
- May 5 Kenya Airways Flight KQ 507 crashes in Cameroon.
Shrek the Third
May 6 "Shrek the Third" directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui with voices by Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy premieres in Westwood Ca.
- May 7 Ehud Netzer of Hebrew University announces he has discovered the tomb of Herod the Great at Herodium, West Bank
Event of Interest
May 8 A new Northern Ireland Executive is formed with Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) as First Minister and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) as Deputy First Minister
Canonization
May 11 Pope Benedict XVI canonizes the first Brazilian-born saint, Frei Galvão
- May 12 52nd Eurovision Song Contest: Marija Serifovic wins singing "Molitva" in Helsinki
- May 12 Riots in Karachi, Pakistan are started by the arrival at Karachi's airport of independently minded Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and go on to kill 48 people
- May 13 5th Republic protest in support of state secularism held in İzmir, Turkey
- May 13 At 16 years, 65 days Matthew Briggs debuts for Fulham in a 3-1 defeat at Middlesbrough; youngest player to appear in an English Premier League match
- May 13 Construction of the Calafat-Vidin Bridge between Romania and Bulgaria begins.
PGA Players Championship
May 13 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: American Phil Mickelson wins by 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Sergio García of Spain; event played in May for the first time
Academy of Country Music Awards
May 15 42nd Academy of Country Music Awards: Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood & Brad Paisley win
- May 15 Jerry Sloan leads the Utah Jazz to the Western Conference finals with a win over the Golden State Warriors
- May 16 Alex Salmond is elected First Minister of Scotland. He is first Scottish National Party leader to be elected First Minister after winning a historic victory at the Scottish general election on the 3rd May.
Event of Interest
May 16 Nicolas Sarkozy becomes the 23rd President of France
- May 17 Demolition work begins at Dublin's famous Lansdowne Road Stadium to be replaced by the new Aviva Stadium, opened in 2010
- May 17 Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test-run agreed by both governments. This is the first time that trains have crossed the Demilitarized Zone since 1953.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
May 19 "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", directed by Gore Verbinksi, starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom premieres in Anaheim - most expensive film ($300 million) made at the time
Sicko
May 19 "Sicko" a documentary on the US health care system, directed by Michael Moore has its premiere at the Cannes Film festival.
- May 19 132nd Preakness: Robby Albarado aboard Curlin wins in 1:53.46
No Country for Old Men
May 19 Coen brothers film "No Country for Old Men", based on the Cormac McCarthy novel, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin premieres at the Cannes Film Festival (Best Picture 2008)
FA Cup Final
May 19 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (89,826): Chelsea beats Manchester United, 1 – 0 (a.e.t.); Didier Drogba scores 116' winner for Blues' 4th title
- May 19 In an all South African final the Bulls (Pretoria) edge the home team Sharks, 20-19 in Durban for their first Super 14 Rugby title; Bulls flyhalf Derick Hougaard boots 2 penalties & 2 conversions
- May 19 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Ottawa Senators beat Buffalo Sabres, 4 games to 1
- May 20 53rd British Academy Television Awards: "That Mitchell and Webb Look" Best Comedy, "The Street" Best Drama
- May 21 Cutty Sark, the last surviving tea clipper, is badly damaged by fire in Greenwich, England.
- May 22 NHL Western Conference Final: Anaheim Ducks beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 2
Music History
May 23 American singer-songwriter Paul Simon receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C.
- May 23 UEFA Champions League Final, Athens: Filippo Inzaghi scores twice as AC Milan beats Liverpool, 2-1 for 7th title
Ostankino Tower
May 25 The Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire for the second time
- May 27 60th Cannes Film Festival: "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" directed by Cristian Mungiu wins the Palme d'Or
- May 27 Indianapolis 500: Scotsman Dario Franchitti declared the winner with 34 laps remaining when race halted by torrential rain
Senior PGA Championship
May 27 Senior PGA Championship, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Ocean Course: Denis Watson of Zimbabwe wins his lone major title by a 2 stroke margin from Eduardo Romero of Argentina
Famous Weddings
Neve Campbell
May 5 "Scream" actress Neve Campbell (33) married British actor John Light (32) in Malibu, California; divorce in 2010
- May 5 Actress and singer Brittany Murphy (29) weds writer and director Simon Monjack (37) at their home in Los Angeles City
- May 6 "The Fast and the Furious" actress Jordana Brewster (27) weds movie producer Andrew Form (38) in Bahamas
Amy Winehouse
May 18 Grammy award-winning singer Amy Winehouse (23) weds former video production assistant Blake Fielder-Civil (25) in Miami, Florida; divorce in 2009
Famous Divorces
Billie Piper
May 31 English actress Billie Piper (24) and English radio DJ Chris Evans (41) divorce after 6 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- May 2 Brad McGann, New Zealand film director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
- May 3 Ellsworth Milburn, American composer and educator (Menil Antiphons), dies of complications from pneumonia at 69
- May 3 Knock Yokoyama, Japanese comedian and politician (b. 1932)
- May 3 Walter "Wally" Schirra Jr, American US Navy Captain and NASA astronaut (Mercury 8, Gemini 6, Apollo 7), dies at 84
- May 3 Warja Honegger-Lavater, Swiss artist and illustrator (Little Red Riding Hood: Imagery After a Tale by Perrault), dies at 93
- May 5 Theodore Harold Maiman, American Inventor and engineer (created 1st working laser), dies at 79
- May 6 Curtis Harrington, American film director (b. 1926)
- May 6 Enéas Carneiro, Brazilian politician (b. 1938)
- May 6 Đorđe Novković, Croatian pop singer-songwriter (Pro Arte), and television personality (Hrvatski Idol), dies at 63
- May 7 Bianco [Eugene Capobianco], American jazz, easy-listening, and session harpist, dies at 80
- May 7 Diego Corrales, American boxer (Diego Corrales, American boxer (IBF super featherweight title 1999-2000, WBO super featherweight 2004; WBO lightweight 2004-06, WBC, Ring mag & lineal lightweight titles 2005-06), dies in a road accident at 29
- May 7 Octavian Paler, Romanian writer and journalist (b. 1926)
- May 7 Yahweh ben Yahweh, American cult leader (b. 1935)
- May 8 Carson Whitsett, American session keyboard player and songwriter ("Don't Give Up On Me"), dies of brain cancer at 62
- May 9 Dwight Wilson, second-to-last Canadian WWI veteran, dies at 106
- May 9 Jacob Gilboa, Israeli composer, dies at 87
- May 10 Brian Wolfson, British CEO (Wembley Stadium Ltd), dies at 71
- May 10 Oliver Millar, British art historian (served in the Royal Household for 41 years), dies at 84
- May 11 Bernard Gordon, American writer and producer (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers), dies at 88
- May 11 Malietoa Tanumafili II, Chief and Head-of-Head of Samoa (1962-2007), dies at 94
- May 12 Mullah Dadullah Akhund, Taliban military leader (b. 1966?)
- May 12 Teddy Infuhr, American former child actor (The Bishop's Wife, They Live By Night), dies at 70
- May 14 Colin St John Wilson, English architect (The British Library), dies at 85
- May 14 Edward Jones, British Army officer (UK Military Representative to NATO, Black Rod UK parliament), dies fishing at 70
- May 14 Jean Saubert, American alpine ski racer (Olympic giant slalom silver, slalom bronze 1964), dies of breast cancer at 65
- May 14 Mary Goldsmith, American ceramist (b. 1908)
- May 14 Ülo Jõgi, Estonian freedom fighter (b. 1921)
- May 15 Jerry Falwell, American TV evangelist, founder of Liberty University, dies at 73
- May 15 Yolanda King, American actress and activist, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. (b. 1955)
- May 16 (Terry) "Topper" Price, American blues, jazz and rock vocalist and harmonica player (The Upsetters). dies at 54
- May 16 Albert Delvaux, Belgian composer (Symphonia Burlesca), dies at 93
- May 17 Lloyd Alexander, author (b. 1924)
- May 18 Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (1991), dies at 74
- May 18 Yoyoy Villame, Philippine novelty singer and movie actor, dies at 74
- May 19 Bernard Blaut, Polish soccer midfielder (36 caps; KP Legia Warsaw, FC Metz) and manager (UAE), dies at 67
- May 19 Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
- May 20 Norman Von Nida, Australian golfer, coach, broadcaster (British Open 1948 3rd), dies at 93
- May 20 Stanley Miller, American chemist (created 'primordial soup' experiment to show how life might have originated on earth), dies at 77
- May 24 David Renton, British politician (one of the final National Liberal MPs), dies at 98
- May 25 Bill Johnston, Australian cricket fast/spin bowler (40 Tests, 160 wickets @ 23.91; Victoria), dies at 85
- May 25 Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian and gameshow panelist (Match Game, Ghost & Mrs Muir), dies at 76
- May 26 J Edward Oliver, British cartoonist (Record Mirror; Buster & Master's Mind), dies of cancer at 64
- May 27 Ed Yost, American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and known as "Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon.", dies at 87
- May 27 Gretchen Wyler, American actress, dancer (Silk Stockings), and animal rights activist, dies at 75
- May 27 Izumi Sakai, Japanese pop singer (Zard - "Makenaide (Please Don't Lose)"), dies from head injuries after a fall, while undergoing cancer treatments at 40
- May 27 Ron Archer, Australian cricket all-rounder (19 Tests, 1 x 100, 48 wickets; Queensland CA), dies at 73
- May 28 Marquise Hill, American football player (b. 1982)
- May 28 Parren Mitchell, American politician (Rep-D-MD, 1971-87), dies at 85
- May 28 Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician (b. 1945)
- May 29 Dave Balon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
- May 29 Lois Browne-Evans, Bermudian Politician (stroke) (b. 1927)
- May 29 Posteal Laskey, American convicted murderer widely believed to be the Cincinnati Strangler, dies of natural causes (b. 1938)
- May 30 Jean-Claude Brialy, Algerian actor and director (Églantine, Circle of Love, Cousins), dies of cancer at 74
