Historical Events
- May 2 Leicester City win the English Premier League title after starting the season at 5,000-1 odds
- May 2 World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Mark Selby of England beats China's Ding Junhui, 18-14 for his second world crown
- May 4 Ohio Governor John Kasich bows out of the race for US Republican Presidential nominee
- May 5 Fort McMurray wildfires: Canadian province of Alberta declares a state of emergency as evacuation of 80,000 people continues
- May 7 142nd Kentucky Derby: 3-1 chance Nyquist ridden by Mario Gutierrez wins in front of second largest attendance of 167,227
Election of Interest
May 8 Sadiq Khan (L) is elected Mayor of London, becomes the 1st Muslim mayor of a major Western city
Event of Interest
May 9 Boris Johnson resigns as Mayor of London, succeeded by Sadiq Khan
Philippine Presidential Election
May 9 Rodrigo Duterte wins Philippine presidential election, promising war on drug trade and killing of criminals
- May 10 Indian fertility clinic announces that a 70-year-old woman has successfully gave birth to a baby boy
Event of Interest
May 11 Brazilian senate votes to suspend President Dilma Rousseff and put her on trial for budgetary violations
- May 12 Michel Temer, former vice-president, becomes Brazilian interim President after a vote to impeach Dilma Rousseff
Coloring Book
May 13 Chance the Rapper releases his third mixtape "Coloring Book" on Apple Music - first album to chart on Billboard Top 100 based only on streams (Grammy for Best Rap Album)
- May 14 61st Eurovision Song Contest: Ukraine's Jamala wins singing "1944"
Sports History
May 14 Gabriel Medina becomes the first surfer ever to land the move "Backflip" in competition
Preakness Stakes
May 21 141st Preakness Stakes: Kent Desormeaux aboard Exaggerator wins in 1 minute 58 seconds
FA Cup Final
May 21 English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: Manchester United beats Crystal Palace, 2-1 (a.e.t.); Jesse Lingard scores 110' winner
- May 21 Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, leader of the Afghan Taliban is reportedly killed by a US drone in Pakistan
- May 21 On same card, American boxer Jermell Charlo KOs John Jackson in 8th to claim vacant WBC super welterweight title, and Jermall Charlo beats Austin Trout on points to retain IBF version; first twins to hold world championships in same weight division
Billboard Music Awards
May 22 23rd Billboard Music Awards: The Weeknd wins 8; Adele wins 6
- May 22 69th Cannes Film Festival: "I, Daniel Blake," directed by Ken Loach wins the Palme d'Or
- May 22 Independent Alexander Van der Bellen defeats Freedom Party's Norbert Hofer by just 31,000 votes to become President in Austrian elections
- May 22 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, Greystone G&CC: Germany's Berhard Langer wins sixth of 13 Champions Tour majors by 6 strokes from Olin Browne
Preacher
May 22 TV series "Preacher", developed by Evan Goldberg, Sam Catlin, and Seth Rogen, premieres on AMC
Event of Interest
May 22 US President Barack Obama arrives in Vietman for a 3 day tour
- May 23 Chinese archaeologists announce findings of earliest use of barley in China to make beer, Shaanxi province 3400-2900 BC
Film & TV History
May 24 Bill Cosby is ordered to stand trial in a sexual assault case in Norristown
- May 24 Kaduna state in Nigeria declares a state of emergency due to 'Tomato Ebola', as moth destroys 80% of tomato crops
- May 27 3 ships in 3 days sink carrying immigrants across the Mediterraneann, drowning over 700 people
- May 28 Harambe, a gorilla at Cincinnati Zoo, is shot after dragging a 3-year-old boy who had slipped into its enclosure (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- May 28 UEFA Champions League Final, Milan: Real Madrid beats cross-town rivals Atlético Madrid, 5–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra time; record-extending 11th title
- May 29 Indianapolis 500: American driver Alexander Rossi of Andretti Herta Autosport runs out of fuel on the final lap but coasts across line for the victory in 100th running of the race
- May 29 IPL Cricket Final, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore: Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs; David Warner 69 (38)
Senior PGA Championship
May 29 Senior PGA Championship, GC at Harbor Shores: Rocco Mediate wins his lone career major title by 3 strokes from Colin Montgomerie of Scotland
Habré Convicted of War Crimes
May 30 Former Chad dictator Hissène Habré convicted of crimes against humanity by the Extraordinary African chambers, 1st ex-head of state convicted of the charge
Famous Weddings
- May 1 Paralympic athlete Aimee Mullins (39) weds "Homeland" star Rupert Friend (34) in a magical hobbit-y compost shed
- May 2 Actor Adam Rodriguez (41) weds longtime love Grace Gail in a romantic ceremony in Tuscany, Italy
- May 4 Country singer Randy Houser (39) weds Tatiana Starzynski in an intimate outdoor ceremony in Tennessee
- May 6 Actress Kaitlin Doubleday (31) weds DJ Devin Lucien in an outdoor ceremony in Big Sur, California
- May 7 Rich Kids of Beverly Hills star Morgan Stewart (27) weds cast-mate and real estate agent Brendan Fitzpatrick at the Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Santa Susana, California
Eva Longoria
May 21 Actress Eva Longoria (41) weds Televisa media executive Jose Antonio Baston in Valle de Bravo, Mexico
- May 28 The daughter of the duke of Wellington Lady Charlotte Anne Wellesley weds financier Alejandro Santo Domingo (39) in Íllora, Spain
- May 28 TV presenter Rick Edwards (37) weds Eastenders star Emer Kenny (26) at Kew Gardens in London, England
- May 29 American "That '70s Show" actor Topher Grace (37) weds American actress and model Ashley Hinshaw (27) in Santa Barbara, California
Famous Divorces
Kaley Cuoco
May 6 Actress Kaley Cuoco and professional tennis player Ryan Sweeting divorce after 2 years of marriage
Billie Piper
May 12 English actress Billie Piper and fellow actor Laurence Fox divorce after 8 years of marriage
Johnny Depp & Amber Heard
May 23 Actress Amber Heard (30) files for divorce from fellow actor Johnny Depp (52)
Famous Deaths
- May 2 Afeni Shakur, mother of Tupac Shakur, Black Panther Party member, dies at 69
- May 2 Alan Elsdon, British jazz trumpeter, flugelhorn player (Midnite Follies Orchestra), and bandleader, dies at 81
- May 3 Carl Fredrik Reutersward, Swedish artist (knotted-gun sculpture), dies at 81
- May 3 Thomas W. Libous, American politician (Senate-R-New York 1989-2015) brought down by scandal, dies of cancer at 63
- May 4 Robert "Bob" Bennett, American politician (U.S. Senator fromfrom Utah, 1993-2011), dies at 82
- May 4 Ursula Mamlok, German-American avant-garde composer, and teacher, dies at 93
- May 6 Niklaus Schilling, Swiss film director (Dormire, Atem, Rheingold), dies at 72
- May 6 Reg Grundy, Australian media and television mogul (Neighbours, Prisoner), dies at 92
- May 7 Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer, commits suicide at 27
- May 7 Harold Kroto, English chemist, (Nobel Prize laureate 1996), dies at 76
- May 7 John Krish, British documentary filmmaker (Let My People Go), dies at 92
- May 8 John Bradshaw, American theologian, dies at 82
- May 8 William Schallert, American character actor (Patty Duke Show - "Martin"; Get Smart - "The Admiral"), dies at 93
- May 9 Dennis Nineham, British theologian (Synod and Doctrine Commission), dies at 94
- May 9 John Warr, English cricket fast-medium bowler (2 Tests, 1 wicket; Middlesex CCC, University of Cambridge CC) and executive (president MCC 1987-88), dies at 88
- May 10 Louis van Gasteren, Dutch actor and director (The House, De prijs van overleven), dies at 93
- May 11 David King, British graphic designer (album cover art for Jimi Hendrix and The Who), photographer (I Am King), and historian (The Commissar Vanishes), dies at 73
- May 11 Jim Pothecary, South African cricket medium pace bowler (3 Tests, 9 wickets; Western Province), dies at 82
- May 12 Delbert L. Latta, American politician (Rep-R-OH, 1959-89), dies at 96
- May 12 Julius La Rosa, American singer (fired by Arthur Godfrey on the air), dies at 86
- May 16 Julia Meade [Kunz], American actress and TV hostess (Spotlight Playhouse), dies at 90
- May 17 Guy Clark, American folk and country singer-songwriter (Heartbroke), dies of lymphoma at 74
- May 19 Angus "Alan" Young, British actor and voice actor (Mister Ed, Scrooge McDuck), dies of natural causes at 96
- May 19 Morley Safer, Canadian-American TV newscaster (60 Minutes), dies at 84
- May 21 Jim Ray Hart, American baseball player (Giants), dies at 74
- May 21 Marco Pannella, Italian politician and activist, dies at 86
- May 21 Nick Menza, American musician and drummer (Megadeth), dies at 51
- May 24 Burt Kwouk, English actor (Pink Panther movies), dies at 85
- May 25 Yang Jiang, Chinese writer (Six Chapters From My Life ‘Downunder’), dies at 104
- May 28 Harambe, Western lowland gorilla resident at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, shot and killed at 17, by a zoo worker to protect a 3-year-old boy who had climbed into its enclosure (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- May 30 Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey center (Stanley Cup 1974, 75; Philadelphia Flyers; NHL All Star 1977, 78), dies of meningitis at 66
- May 31 Corry Brokken, Dutch pop singer (1957 Eurovision), dies at 83
