Historical Events
- May 1 15 people are killed by multiple bomb attacks across Iraq
- May 1 16 people are killed in a flash flood in Saudi Arabia
- May 1 A digital camera is created that can mimic insect compound eyes
- May 1 Insurgents kill 6 people in Pattani, Thailand
- May 2 100 people are killed by the Syrian Army in a raid on al-Bayda, Baniyas
- May 2 14 members of the Sons of Iraq are killed in attacks in Fallujah, Iraq
- May 2 60 miners are killed after a gold mine collapses in Jebel Amir, North Darfur, Sudan
- May 2 Rhode Island becomes the tenth US state to legalize same-sex marriage
- May 3 60th National Film Awards (India): "Paan Singh Tomar" wins the Golden Lotus
- May 3 Aorun zhaoi, a Theropod dinosaur, dating from 161 million years ago, is discovered in China
Music History
May 3 The Palmetto Playground in Brooklyn is renamed after Beastie Boys' rapper Adam Yauch
- May 4 139th Kentucky Derby: Joel Rosario aboard Orb wins in 2:02.89
- May 4 39 people are killed at a funeral in Wukari, Nigeria
- May 4 5 US soldiers are killed by a bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan
- May 4 77 people are killed by the Syrian Army in Baniyas
Sports History
May 4 Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats Robert Guerrero to retain his WBC Welterweight title
Event of Interest
May 4 Harper Lee files a lawsuit against a literary agent over the copyright of "To Kill a Mockingbird"
- May 4 Juventus F.C. win their 29th Serie A football title
- May 5 10 people are killed in a church attack in Njilan, Nigeria
- May 5 5 people are killed after a limousine catches fire in Hayward, California
- May 6 10 people are killed and 26 people are injured after a wave of attacks across Iraq
- May 6 13 people are killed in clashes with Bangladeshi police in Dhaka
- May 6 15 people are killed and 50 are injured after a bomb detonates at a political rally in Pakistan
- May 6 Brazilian neobank Nubank founded in Brazil by David Vélez, Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible
- May 6 The US Senate passes a bill enabling taxing of online sales
- May 6 Wal-Mart becomes the largest company by revenue on the Fortune 500 list
- May 7 20 people are killed and 36 are injured after a gas tanker explodes in Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico
- May 7 4 people are killed after the Mayon Volcano erupts in the Philippines
- May 7 55 people are killed by a Boko Haram attack in Nigeria
- May 7 8 people are killed and a dozen are injured after bear attacks in Orissa, India
- May 7 Delaware becomes the 11th US State to legalize same-sex marriage
- May 7 Jolly Nero, an Italian cargo ship, crashes into the port of Genoa, killing seven people
- May 7 The Dow Jones Industrial average and S&P 500 set record highs
- May 8 33 people are killed after an overloaded bus falls into a river in Himachal Pradesh, India
Sports History
May 8 Alex Ferguson announces his retirement as Manchester United's manager at the end of the season
Event of Interest
May 8 Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi receives a four year prison sentence for fraud
- May 9 Everton Manager David Moyes is announced as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor at Manchester United (he only lasts 10 months)
A
May 10 Agnetha Faltskog releases a new album called "A"
- May 11 43 people are killed in two car bombings in Reyhanlı, Turkey
- May 11 Barcelona wins its fourth La Liga title in four years
Sports History
May 11 Bayern Munich set a new Bundesliga points record of 91
- May 11 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (86,254): Wigan Athletic upsets Manchester City, 1-0; Ben Watson scores 90+1' winner
- May 12 59th British Academy Television Awards: "The Revolution Will Be Televised" Best Comedy, "Last Tango in Halifax" Best Drama
- May 12 Paris Saint-Germain win the Ligue 1 French football title
PGA Players Championship
May 12 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Tiger Woods wins his second PC, 2 strokes ahead of David Lingmerth, Jeff Maggert and Kevin Streelman
Canonization
May 12 Pope Francis canonizes the 813 martyrs of Otranto as Saints
Event of Interest
May 13 Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield departs the International Space Station to return to Earth
- May 14 Brazil becomes the 15th country to legalize same-sex marriage
Americanah
May 14 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel "Americanah" is published
- May 15 The Eurozone records a recession for the sixth straight quarter
Event of Interest
May 16 Bill Gates regains his position as the world's richest man with $72.7 billion after losing the position in 2008
- May 16 Human stem cells are successfully cloned
- May 16 Pope Francis calls for ethical financial reform to fight speculation
- May 17 90 people are killed and 200 are injured after a series of bombings across Iraq
- May 18 138th Preakness: Gary Stevens aboard Oxbow wins in 1:57.54
- May 18 58th Eurovision Song Contest: Emmelie de Forest for Denmark wins singing "Only Teardrops" in Malmo
- May 18 RC Toulonnais defeat ASM Clermont Auvergne to win the rugby Heineken Cup final
Billboard Music Awards
May 19 20th Billboard Music Awards: Taylor Swift, Red win
- May 19 Sweden defeats Switzerland to win the 2013 World Ice Hockey Championship
- May 20 133 people are killed and 283 are injured in a continued wave of insurgency in Iraq
- May 20 2 people are killed and 20 are injured after a hot air balloon crashes in Cappadocia, Turkey
- May 20 The Church of Scotland votes to allow openly gay men and women to be ministers
- May 20 Yahoo purchases Tumbler for $1.1 Billion
Music History
May 21 American singer-songwriter Carole King receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the White House in Washington, D.C.
- May 21 Microsoft announces the release of Xbox One
- May 22 British Army Fusilier Lee Rigby is murdered near the Royal Artillery Barracks in London by two Islamic terrorists, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.
Appointment of Interest
May 23 Patrick Roy is named head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, his former team where he won two Stanley Cups
- May 24 Rafael Correa is sworn into a third term as President of Ecuador
- May 25 17 children are killed by a gas cylinder explosion on a school bus in Gujrat, Pakistan
- May 25 UEFA Champions League Final, London: Arjen Robben scores twice as Bayern Munich beats Borussia Dortmund, 2-1 in first all-German final
- May 25 Yuichiro Miura of Japan becomes the oldest person to climb Mount Everest at 80
Cannes Film Festival
May 26 66th Cannes Film Festival: "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" directed by Abdellatif Kechiche wins the Palme d'Or. The two main actresses in the film, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux also awarded
- May 26 Indian Premier League T20 Cricket Final, Eden Gardens, Kolkata: Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs; Kieron Pollard 60 no (32)
- May 26 Indianapolis 500: Tony Kanaan becomes 4th Brazilian to win the race; fastest Indy 500 in history with Kanaan's average speed 187.433 mph; record stands until 2021
Film & TV History
May 26 Joss Whedon is awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from Wesleyan University
- May 26 Senior PGA Championship, Bellerive CC: Kōki Idoki of Japan wins his lone PGA event by 2 strokes from Jay Haas and Kenny Perry
- May 27 75 people are killed and 200 are injured in a wave of bombings across Iraq
- May 27 The largest flag ever made at 5 tons with 44 miles of thread is unveiled in Romania
- May 31 First tornado chaser to be killed by a tornado; Tim Samara and two others killed by El Reno tornado in Oklahoma, the widest ever recorded at 2.6 miles (4.2 km)
Famous Weddings
Keira Knightley
May 4 British actress Keira Knightley (28) weds musician James Righton (29) in France
Aaron Paul
May 26 "Breaking Bad" actor Aaron Paul (33) weds Lauren Parsekian at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, California
- May 26 Cobra Starship rocker Gabe Saporta (33) weds fashion designer Erin Fetherston at St Nicholas Abbey plantation in Barbados
Famous Divorces
Courteney Cox
May 28 Actress Courteney Cox and actor David Arquette divorce after 13 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- May 2 Jeff Hanneman, American haevy metal guitarist (Slayer), dies from liver failure at 49
- May 4 Christian de Duve, British cytologist and biochemist (Nobel 1974), dies from euthanasia at 95
- May 4 Morgan Morgan-Giles, British Naval officer and politician, dies at 98
- May 4 Otis Bowen, American politician, US Sec of Health & Human Services (1985-89), dies at 95
- May 5 Sarah Kirsch, German poet, dies at 78
- May 6 Giulio Andreotti, Italian Prime Minister, dies at 94
- May 7 George Sauer, Jr., American football wide receiver (AFL All Star 1996-99; Super Bowl 1969; New York Jets), dies from heart failure at 69
- May 7 Ray Harryhausen, American movie special effect artist (Clash of Titans), dies at 92
- May 8 Brian Forbes, English director and actor, dies at 86
- May 8 Jeanne Cooper, American actress (Kay-The Young & Restless), dies at 84
- May 8 Taylor Mead, American writer, actor and performer (Factory, Taylor Mead's Ass), dies at 88
- May 9 Alfredo Landa, Spanish actor (The Crach, Sinatra), dies at 80
- May 9 Andrew Simpson, British sailor (Olympic gold Star class 2008; World C'ship gold 2010), dies after a yacht capsize at 36
- May 11 Jack Butler, American Pro Football HOF cornerback (First-team All-Pro 1957-59; Pro Bowl 1955–58; Pittsburgh Steelers), dies from complications from staph infection at 85
- May 11 Oliver "Ollie" Mitchell, American musician and bandleader (The Wrecking Crew), dies of cancer at 86
- May 13 Chuck Muncie, American football running back, dies from a heart attack at 60
- May 13 Dr. Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, dies from respiratory failure at 85
- May 13 Vladimir Romanovsky, Soviet sprint canoer, dies at 56
- May 16 Bernard Waber, American children's book author ("The House on East 88th Street"; "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile"), dies from kidney failure at 88
- May 16 Dick Trickle, American auto racer (7 x ARTGO C'ships, ASA AC-Delco Challenge C'ship 1984, 85; NASCAR Rookie of the Year 1989), dies by self inflicted gunshot at 71
- May 16 Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist (tunneling microscope-Nobel 1986), dies at 79 [1]
- May 16 Paul Shane, English comedian and actor, dies at 72
- May 17 Alan O'Day, American singer and songwriter ("Undercover Angel"; over 100 songs for the Muppet Babies), dies of brain cancer at 72
- May 17 Harold Shapero, American composer (9 Minute Opera), dies at 93
Jorge Rafael Videla (1925-2013)
May 17 Argentine military officer and dictator (1976-81), dies from complications from a fall at 87
- May 17 Ken Venturi, American golfer, broadcaster (US Open 1964), dies from multiple infections at 82
- May 18 Steve Forrest, American actor (SWAT), dies at 87
- May 20 Anders Eliasson, Swedish contemporary classical composer, dies at 66
- May 20 Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball coach (Czech Women's team, German Men's team), dies at 88
- May 20 Ray Manzarek, American musician and keyboardist (The Doors - "Light My Fire", "Hello, I Love You"), dies of cancer at 74
- May 20 Robert DiDomenica, American flautist, composer and educator, dies at 86
- May 21 Frank Comstock, American big band and pop orchestral arranger (Les Brown; Doris Day; Warner Bros; Brian Setzer), film and television composer (Rocky and His Friends; Adam-12), and recording artist (Project: Comstock - Music from Outer Space), dies at 90
- May 21 Trevor Bolder, British rock bassist (The Spiders From Mars; Uriah Heep, 1976-2013), and record producer, dies from pancreatic cancer at 62
- May 22 Fusilier Lee Rigby, British Army soldier, murdered near the Royal Artillery Barracks in London by two Islamic terrorists, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale
- May 22 Henri Dutilleux, French composer (Tout un monde lointain, L'arbre des songes), dies at 97
- May 24 Antonio Puchades, Spanish soccer midfielder (23 caps; Valencia 256 games), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 87
- May 24 Michel Crozier, French sociologist, dies at 90
- May 24 Ron Davies, Welsh soccer forward (29 caps; Norwich City, Southampton, Portsmouth, LA Aztecs), dies at 70
- May 25 Marshall Lytle, American rock bassist (Bill Haley, 1951-55), dies from lung cancer at 79
- May 26 Jack Vance, American sci-fi author, dies at 96
- May 27 Bill Pertwee, British actor (Dad's Army), dies at 86
- May 28 Nino Bibbia, Italian sledder (Olympic gold skeleton 1948), dies at 91
- May 29 Andrew M Greeley, American Catholic priest, journalist (Chicago Sun-Times), author (The Cardinal Sins), and sociologist, dies at 85
- May 29 Françoise Blanchard, French actress, dies at 58
- May 29 Henekh "Henry" Morgentaler, Polish-Canadian gynecologist, abortion rights advocate, and Holocaust survivor, dies at 90
- May 29 Marvin Junior, American singer (The Dells - Oh What a Nite), dies at 77
- May 29 Mulgrew Miller, American jazz pianist (Duke Ellington; Betty Carter; Artie Shaw; Art Blakey), composer, and educator (William Patterson University), dies of a stroke at 57
- May 30 Elliot del Borgo, American music educator (SUNY/Crane School of Music, 1966-95) and composer (1980 Winter Olympics), dies at 74
- May 31 Jean Stapleton, American actress (Damn Yankees, Klute, All in the Family), dies at 90
- May 31 Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress (La Divina Infiel; The Shadow of the Bat), and singer ("Es tarde ya" (It's Too Late Now)), dies at 85
- May 31 Tim Samaras, American tornado chaser, dies from tornado injuries at 55
Authors
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
Spies