Historical Events
Lavrov's anti-Semitic Outburst
May 1 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Adolf Hitler "had Jewish blood" in interview on Italian TV, prompting outrage from Israel [1]
Pelosi Visits Ukraine
May 1 US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leads surprise congressional delegation to Ukraine to met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy [1]
Sports History
May 2 World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Englishman Ronnie O'Sullivan wins his record equalling 7th world title with an 18-13 win over countryman Judd Trump
- May 3 Heatwave continues across North and Central India disproportionally affecting the poor, with March and April temperatures the hottest ever recorded in 122 years [1]
- May 3 US government says W.N.B.A. player Brittney Griner has been "wrongfully detained" in Russia, after being taken into custody when drugs were found in her luggage in Feb 2022 [1]
- May 4 "'World's most dangerous trafficker" Colombian drug kingpin Dairo Antonio Úsuga (known as Otoniel) is extradited to the US for drug charges [1]
- May 4 First of its kind study of transgender children, by Princeton University, transitioning aged 3-12, found vast majority continue to identify with their new gender five years later [1]
- May 4 US Federal Reserve makes largest interest rate increase since 2000 (+0.5%), attempting to combat the fastest rate of inflation in four decades [1]
- May 5 Sinn Féin, led by Michelle O'Neill, wins the most seats in Northern Ireland elections for the first time with 27 seats to Democratic Unionist Party's 25 [1]
- May 5 WHO study of excess deaths worldwide says 15 million more people have died than normal, far above the official COVID-19 death toll of 6 million [1]
- May 5 Zimbabwe is in the midst of a severe economic crisis with unemployment at 90%, hyperinflation and a falling Zimbabwe dollar, according to economic experts [1]
- May 6 Explosion at the five-star Hotel Saratoga due to suspected a gas leak in Havana, Cuba kills at least 35 people [1]
- May 7 148th Kentucky Derby: Venezuelan jockey Sonny Leon rides 80-1 outsider Rich Strike to victory to become second biggest longshot to win in the history of the event
- May 7 Afghan women issued decree to cover their faces in public (hijab reaching head to toe) by Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, or her male guardian faces criminal punishment [1]
Music History
May 7 Berklee College of Music bestows honorary doctorates to Beatles drummer Ringo Starr; bassist Chuck Rainey; composer James Newton Howard; and R&B singer Lalah Hathaway
- May 8 British actor Ncuti Gatwa named as the first black actor to play Doctor Who (as the fourteenth doctor), replacing Jodie Whittaker in long-running BBC sci-fi drama [1]
- May 8 Dutch runner Jo Schoonbroodt (71) breaks Canadian Ed Whitlock's 2004 record for fastest marathon by person over 70 by 29 seconds (2:54:19) at Maasmarathon of Visé in Belboom, Belgium
- May 8 Pro-Beijing loyalist and sole candidate, John Lee elected Chief Executive of Hong Kong by the city's Election Committee [1]
- May 8 Thai government announces it will give away one million cannabis plants to households to mark new rule allowing people to grow it at home [1]
Film & TV History
May 8 UK BAFTA Television Awards: "In My Skin" Best Drama, Big Zuu Best Entertainment, Sean Bean and Jodie Comer best acting awards
Warhol's 'Marilyn' Sells for $195m
May 9 An Andy Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe sells for $195 million at auction in New York - the highest price ever for an American artwork [1]
- May 9 Navajo-American composer Raven Chacon receives Pulitzer Prize in Music for his work "Voiceless Mass" [1]
- May 9 Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa submits his resignation to his brother President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, amid continuing violent protests causing four deaths [1]
- May 10 Apple ends production of its iPod music player after 21 years
Event of Interest
May 10 For the first time Prince Charles delivers the Queen's Speech at the state opening of the UK parliament
- May 10 US reports highest rate of gun-related deaths in 24 years in 2020, according to the CDC, with firearm homicides increasing 35% to 6.1 deaths per 100,000 people nationwide [1]
- May 11 Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh shot and killed by Israeli forces in city of Jenin, in the West Bank [1]
- May 11 Costa Rica declares a state of emergency after a ransomware attack infiltrates and cripples several government agencies [1]
- May 11 First ever US government report into Indian boarding school deaths released (not complete), documents more than 500 deaths across 400 schools and 50 gravesites over 150 years [1]
- May 12 "Fat Ham" an adaption of William Shakespeare's Hamlet by James Ijames opens off-Broadway at The Public Theater in New York (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2022)
- May 12 First images published of the supermassive blackhole Sagittarius A* that lies at the heart of the Milky Way captured by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration [1]
- May 12 North Korea orders a national lockdown after confirming its first COVID-19 cases with the Omicron variant. International experts doubt these the first, express concern for its unvaccinated 25 million population [1]
- May 12 Very early Californian wildfire called "a dangerous new normal" by local fire chief after 24 houses destroyed and 900 homes evacuated in Laguna Niguel, Orange County [1]
- May 14 18-year-old gunman kills 10 people and wounds three at a Tops supermarket in east Buffalo, New York, in a racially motivating attack [1]
- May 14 Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine singing "Stefania" win the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy
- May 14 Surrealist artist Man Ray's photograph "Le Violon d'Ingres" sells for $12.4 million, making it the most expensive ever sold at auction [1]
- May 14 US records one million COVID-19 deaths, with The White House ordering flags to fly at half mast through the weekend [1]
Billboard Music Awards
May 15 29th Billboard Music Awards: Olivia Rodrigo wins 7; Drake wins 5; Taylor Swift and BTS also win
- May 15 British rock band "The Who" returns to Cincinnati, Ohio for the first time since tragic December 1979 stampede that killed 11 concert goers [1]
- May 15 Finland's government says it intends to apply to join NATO, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ending decades of neutrality [1]
- May 15 Hassan Sheikh Mohamud elected President of Somalia in a vote restricted to the country's 328 members pf parliament amid security concerns
- May 15 MLB Pirates win 1-0 over Cincinnati Reds, despite getting no hits, in Pittsburgh
Canonization
May 15 Pope Francis canonizes Dutch Roman Catholic priest and anti-Nazi activist Titus Brandsma (1881-1942) as a saint
- May 16 Sri Lanka runs out of petrol, has only enough for one more day, has no cash to pay 1.4 million civil servants, says its newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe [1]
- May 16 Sweden formally announces it will seek to join NATO after 200 years of neutrality, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- May 16 Ukraine declares an end to its combat mission in Mariupol, evacuating the last forces from the Azovstal steelworks, symbol of Ukrainian resistance [1]
- May 16 US President Joe Biden approves redeployment of several hundred US ground troops to Somalia, reversing a decision by President Donald Trump [1]
- May 18 Amid a nationwide US baby formula shortage, President Joe Biden invokes the Defense Production Act, requiring suppliers to fulfil orders to baby formula manufacturers first [1]
- May 19 Argentine landmark criminal trial finds state responsible for massacre of more than 400 Qom and Moqoit people in 1924 in the Chaco region. First trial of its kind in Latin America. [1]
- May 19 Environmental pollution caused by “obesogen" toxins is having a significant effect on the obesity crisis and can be passed down through the generations according to major new study [1]
- May 19 Mercedes confirms the sale of world's most expensive car - a 1955 Mercedes-Benz SLR coupe for €135 million ($142 million) [1]
- May 19 Oklahoma passes a bill banning nearly all abortions, the most restrictive in the country [1]
Election of Interest
May 21 Australian General Election: Scott Morrison's Coalition government defeated after nine years in power, Anthony Albanese's Labor Party wins the most seats
- May 21 US Navy posthumously awards Navy and Marine Corps Medal to Charles J. French, known as 'the Human Tugboat' for heroic actions in the South Pacific in 1942; award presented at Naval Base San Diego in ceremony which also dedicates base's rescue swimmer training pool in French's honor [1]
PGA Championship
May 22 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Southern Hills CC: 2017 champion Justin Thomas beats Will Zalatoris by 1 stroke in a 3-hole playoff after 54-hole leader Mito Pereira double bogeys the 72nd hole
- May 22 Report released on sexual abuse in US Southern Baptist Convention, the country's largest Protestant denomination, details 20 years of suppressing many allegations [1]
- May 23 New York City removes its last public payphones in Midtown Manhattan, they will become part of a museum display [1]
- May 23 US President Joe Biden says for the first time he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion
- May 23 US President Joe Biden with countries including India, South Korea and Japan, launches the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in Tokyo, an economic alliance of Asia-Pacific nations to counter Chinese influence [1]
- May 24 19 children and two teachers shot and killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, by an 18-year-old gunman
Music Concert
May 24 American rock band Aerosmith cancels planned Las Vegas concerts in June and July as singer Steven Tyler returns to drug rehab
- May 24 Leaders of the Quad nations, America, Australia, India and Japan meet in Tokyo, focusing on Chinese aggressions in the Indo-Pacific [1]
- May 25 Russian forces pound eastern Ukrainian cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in attempt to take whole province of Luhansk, with at least 150 deaths [1]
Tedros Re-elected
May 25 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus re-elected Director-General of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland
Top Gun Maverick
May 27 "Top Gun Maverick" the sequel starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly is released 36 years after the original film
- May 27 Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels' opera "Omar" premieres at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina (2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music winner)
- May 27 Ringo Starr's fifteenth All-Starr Band debuts in concert; members include: Steve Lukather, Edgar Winter, Colin Hay, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bissonette, and Warren Ham
- May 28 75th Cannes Film Festival: Swedish director Ruben Ostlund's "Triangle of Sadness " wins the Palme d'Or [1]
- May 28 At least 31 people, mostly children, die in a stampede during a church giveaway event in Port Harcourt, southern Nigeria [1]
- May 28 UEFA Champions League Final, Paris: Carlo Ancelotti becomes first manager to win CL x 4 as Real Madrid beats Liverpool, 1-0
- May 29 At least 79 people reported killed in heavy rains and landslides in the Brazilian northeastern province of Pernambuco, with 56 more missing [1]
- May 29 Indianapolis 500: Marcus Ericsson driving for Chip Ganassi Racing is second wining Swedish-born driver; holds off furious charge from Pato O'Ward with 2 laps to go to win his first Indy 500
- May 29 IPL Cricket Final, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad: Debut team Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 7 wickets; Shubman Gill 45no, Hardik Pandya 3/17
- May 29 Jai Hindley becomes only the second Australian cyclist to win a Grand Tour with a 1' 18" victory over 2019 champion Richard Carapaz in the Giro d'Italia
- May 29 Man disguised as an elderly disabled woman throws cake at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris, painting undamaged [1]
- May 29 US President Joe Biden visits site of Uvalde school massacre in Texas, as Justice Department announces a review into how law enforcement responded [1]
- May 30 European Union agrees to a plan to block two-thirds of Russian oil [1]
- May 31 Lost 3,400 year-old Bronze Age city unearthed on the Tigris river, Iraq due to drought, likely part of the Mittani Empire, including 100 cuneiform tablets [1]
Famous Weddings
- May 15 Actress Chloë Sevigny and art gallerist Siniša Mačković marry for the second time in front of friends and family in Connecticut, two years after their courthouse wedding
Travis Barker
May 15 Kourtney Kardashian and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker marry in Santa Barbara, for real, shortly after they married in Las Vegas illegally without a licence
Famous Deaths
- May 1 Charles Siebert, American television actor (One Day at A Time; Trapper John, M.D. - "Stanley"), and director, dies at 84
- May 1 Ivan Osim, Bosnian soccer midfielder (19 caps Yugoslavia; FK Željezničar, RC Strasbourg, CS Sedan) and manager (Yugoslavia, Sturm Graz, Japan), dies at 80
- May 1 Régine [Zylberberg], French singer and nightclub owner, dies at 92
- May 1 Ric Parnell, British rock drummer (Atomic Rooster; Spinal Tap), dies at 70 [1]
- May 2 Yuri Vasenin, Russian soccer midfielder (9 caps USSR; FC Zorya Voroshylovhrad), dies at 73
- May 3 Norman Mineta, American politician and 1st cabinet member of Asian descent (Secretary of Transportation, 2001-06; US Representative (D)-CA, 1975-95), dies of a heart ailment at 90
- May 3 Tony Brooks, English auto racer (F1 World C'ship third 1958, runner-up 1959; 6 x F1 wins), dies at 90
- May 4 Gerhard Mans, Namibian rugby union utility back (27 Tests; Orange Free State RFU, South West Africa RFU), dies at 60
- May 4 Harm Ottenbros, Dutch bicycle racer (World C'ships gold men's road race 1969), dies at 78
- May 5 Leo Wilden, German soccer defender (15 caps West Germany; 1. FC Köln, Bayer Leverkusen), dies at 85
- May 6 George Pérez, American comic book artist (The Avenger; Teen Titans), dies of pancreatic cancer at 67
- May 7 Kang Soo-yeon, South Korean actress (The Surrogate Woman, Come Come Come Upward), dies from a cerebral hemorrhage at 55 [1]
- May 7 Mickey Gilley, American nightclub owner (Urban Cowboy) and country singer (Roomful of Roses), dies at 86 [1]
- May 7 Yuri Averbach, Russian chess player (first centenarian FIDE Grandmaster), dies at 100
- May 8 Dennis Waterman, English stage and screen actor (Fair Exchange; Minder; The Sweeney), and singer, dies of lung cancer at 74
- May 8 Fred Ward, American actor (Escape From Alcatraz; The Right Stuff: Remo Williams; Thunderheart), dies at 79
- May 9 Midge Decter, American journalist and author (The Liberated Woman & Other Americans), dies at 94
- May 10 Bob Lanier, American Basketball HOF center (8 x NBA All-Star; NBA All-Star Game MVP 1974; Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks), dies at 73
- May 10 Glyn Shaw, Welsh rugby union prop (12 caps; Neath RFC), and rugby league prop (7 caps Wales, 1 GB; Widnes RLFC, Wigan RLFC), dies at 71
- May 10 Mike Davis, English rugby union lock (16 caps; Sherborne RFC) and coach (England 20 Tests 1979-83), dies at 80
- May 11 Alexander Toradze, Soviet Georgian-American concert pianist and music professor (University of Indiana, 1991-2017), dies of heart failure at 69
- May 11 Henk Groot, Dutch soccer attacking midfielder/forward (39 caps; Ajax, Feyenoord), dies at 84
- May 11 Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian-American journalist (Al Jazeera), shot and killed by Israeli forces at 51 [1]
- May 12 Gino Cappelletti, American football running back (AFL All-Star 1961, 63-66; AFL MVP 1964; Boston Patriots), dies at 88
Robert McFarlane (1937-2022)
May 12 American Marine Corps veteran and civil servant (National Security Adviser, 1983-85), involved in the Space Defense Initiative, and Iran-Contra Affair, dies at 84
- May 13 Ben Roy Mottelson, American-Danish physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics 1975 for work on structure of the atomic nucleus), dies at 95 [1]
- May 13 Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2nd President of the United Arab Emirates (2004-2022), dies at 73
- May 13 Teresa Berganza, Spanish mezzo-soprano (Rossini), dies at 89
Andrew Symonds (1975-2022)
May 14 Australian cricket all-rounder (26 Tests, 2 x 100, 10 x 50, HS 162no, 24 wickets; Queensland CA, Kent CCC, Deccan Chargers), dies in a single-car crash at 46
- May 14 David West, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1988-98 (Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, and 3 other teams), dies of brain cancer at 57
- May 15 Ricky Gardiner, Scottish rock guitarist (David Bowie - Low; Iggy Pop - Lust for Life), and composer, dies at 73
- May 15 Stevan Ostojić, Serbian soccer striker (2 caps Yugoslavia; Red Star Belgrade) and manager (RS Belgrade), dies at 80
- May 16 Maurice Lindsay, British sports administrator (chairman Preston North End FC, Wigan Warriors RLFC; CEO RFL 1992-99), dies at 81
- May 17 Larry Lacewell, American college football coach (Arkansas State Uni 1979-89) and administrator (AD Arkansas State; Dallas Cowboys Dir college & pro scouting 1992-2004), dies at 85
- May 17 Rick Price, British rock bassist (The Move, 1969-71; Wizzard, 1972-75), and pedal steel guitar player, dies at 77
- May 17 Rodri, Spanish soccer defender (4 caps; FC Barcelona) and manager (CD Condal), dies at 88
- May 17 Shiv Kumar Sharma, Indian santoor (100-string dulcimer-like instrument) master, and composer, dies of cardiac arrest at 84
- May 17 Vangelis [Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou], Greek composer, keyboardist, and Academy Award winner (Chariots of Fire), dies at 79 [1]
- May 18 Faouzi Mansouri, Algerian soccer defender (13 caps; Montpellier, FC Mulhouse), dies at 66
- May 18 Linda Lawson [Spaziani], American actress (Don't Call Me Charlie), dies at 86
- May 20 Roger Angell, American literary editor and baseball journalist (The New Yorker), dies of congestive heart failure at 101
- May 21 Jiří Zídek Sr., Czech basketball center (considered best Czech player ever; FIBA European All-Star 1966, 67; USK Praha) and coach (USK Praha, Sparta Praha), dies at 78
- May 21 Marco Cornez, Chilean soccer goalkeeper, (20 caps; FC Deportivo Palestino, Universidad Católica, Everton de Viña del Mar), dies from stomach cancer at 64
- May 22 József Duró, Hungarian soccer midfielder (21 caps; Debreceni VSC, Vasas SC, Budapest Honvéd FC), dies at 55
- May 22 Les Dyl, English rugby league utility back (11 caps Great Britain, 13 England; Leeds RLFC, Bramley RLFC), dies at 69
- May 23 Eric Schneider, Dutch actor (Drop Out, Family, Flanagan), dies at 87
- May 23 Wendell, Brazilian soccer goalkeeper (7 caps; Botafogo, Fluminense FC, Santa Cruz FC), dies at 74
- May 24 John Thompson, American football executive (GM Seattle Seahawks 1976-82; NFL Executive of the Year 1978), dies at 95
- May 24 Thomas Ulsrud, Norwegian curler (World C'ship gold [skip] 2014; Olympics silver 2010), dies from cancer at 50
- May 25 Dick Conway, New Zealand rugby union flanker/#8 (10 Tests; Otago RFU, Bay of Plenty RU), dies at 87
- May 25 Jean-Louis Chautemps, French jazz and session saxophonist (Claude Bolling; Chet Baker; Elton John), dies at 90
- May 26 Alan White, British rock drummer (John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band; Yes, 1972-2022; solo - Ramshackled), dies at 72
- May 26 Andy Fletcher, British synthesizer and bass player (Depeche Mode - "Just Can't Get Enough"), dies of an aortic dissection at 60
- May 26 Arnold Burgen, British physician and founding President of Academia Europaea, dies at 100
- May 26 Ciriaco De Mita, Italian politician (Prime Minister of Italy, 1988-89; Member of European Parliament, 1984-88, 1999-2004 & 2009-14), dies at 94
Ray Liotta (1954-2022)
May 26 American actor (Goodfellas; Field of Dreams: Cop Land), dies of heart failure at 67
- May 27 Boris Porena, Italian composer, music theorist, poet, and writer, dies at 94
- May 29 Lester Piggott, English jockey (11 x British flat racing C'ship Jockey; record 9 x Epsom Derby; 30 x British Classic Race wins), dies at 86
- May 29 Ronnie Hawkins, American-Canadian rock musician, dies at 87
- May 30 Bob Talamini, American football guard (Super Bowl 1968 NY Jets; 3 × First-team All-AFL; 6 × AFL All-Star; Houston Oilers), dies at 83
- May 30 David Holford, West Indian cricket all-rounder (24 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 105no, 51 wickets, BB 5/23; Barbados), dies at 82
- May 31 Jim Parks, English cricket wicketkeeper (46 Tests, 114 dismissals, 2 x 100, 9 x 50, HS 108no; Sussex CCC, Somerset CCC), dies at 90
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