Historical Events
- May 1 Miami Heat beaten, 112-91 to Chicago Bulls to be swept 3-0 in round 1 of NBA Eastern Division playoffs; first time in his 14 years as head coach Pat Riley ousted in the opening round
Theater Premiere
May 1 Revival of Oscar Wilde's stage play "An Ideal Husband" opens at Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC; runs for 308 performances
- May 3 Martin Moxon and Michael Vaughan make 362 for the 1st wicket, Yorkshire v Glamorgan
- May 4 122nd Kentucky Derby: Jerry Bailey wins aboard Grindstone, his second Derby victory (1993 Sea Hero)
- May 4 Greg Pavlik one-hits Tigers making the Rangers 1st AL team to pitch back-to-back one-hitters since the Washington Senators in 1917
- May 5 "Jack-Night on Town with J Barrymore" closes at Belasco after 12 performances
- May 5 Renette Cruz, Vancouver, wins Miss Canadian Universe
- May 6 Guatemala's leftist guerrillas sign key accord with government of President Alvaro Arzu aimed at ending 35 years of civil war
- May 6 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Hartford, Connecticut on WCCC 106.9 FM
- May 6 The body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared.
- May 7 Comedian Martin Lawrence suffers a nervous breakdown
- May 8 Paris Saint-Germain of France win 36th European Cup Winner's Cup against Rapid Wien of Austria 1-0 in Brussels
- May 8 South Africa's Constitutional Assembly adopts permanent post-apartheid constitution
Music History
May 9 "Rush" bassist and singer Geddy Lee is made an Officer of the Order of Canada
- May 10 2 US Marine helicopters collided during joint US & British war games
- May 10 Excel Communications, Inc. becomes the youngest company ever to join the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), trading under the symbol (ECI)
- May 11 Florida Marlin Al Leiter no hits Colorado Rockies, 11-0
- May 11 Valujet DC-9 crashes in Miami, 109 die
- May 12 "Inherit the Wind" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 45 performances
- May 12 "Night of the Iguana" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 68 performances
- May 12 Yankees losing 8-0 to Chicago White Sox, come back to win 9-8
TV Show Appearance
May 13 O.J. Simpson appears on British TV discussing his not guilty verdict
- May 13 Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
- May 14 New York Yankees' controversial pitcher Dwight Gooden no-hits Seattle Mariners, 2-0 at Yankee Stadium
- May 17 Habib & Whitaker make 320 for 5th Cricket wkt, Leics v Worcs
- May 17 Venezuelan Alicia Machado, aged 18, crowned 45th Miss Universe
- May 18 41st Eurovision Song Contest: Eimear Quinn for Ireland wins singing "The Voice" in Oslo
- May 18 WIBC Bowling Queens won by Lisa Wagner
- May 19 STS 77 (Endeavour 11), launches into orbit
- May 20 49th Cannes Film Festival: "Secrets & Lies" directed by Mike Leigh wins the Palme d'Or
- May 20 UN and Iraq agree to Resolution 986, which provides Iraq with the opportunity to sell $1 billion of oil for 90 days for a 180-day trial period; proceeds from the sale would be used for humanitarian purposes
You're Makin' Me High
May 21 "You're Makin' Me High" single released by Toni Braxton (Grammy Award - Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, 1997)
- May 21 Blackout in many areas of Queens, NY
- May 21 The Trappist Martyrs of Atlas are executed.
- May 22 "Tartuffe: Born Again" opens at Circle in the Square Theater, NYC; runs for 29 performances
- May 22 4th UEFA Champions League Final: Juventus beats Ajax (1-1, 4-2 on penalties) at Rome
- May 23 Fred Norris of the Howard Stern show changes his name legally to Eric
- May 24 "Spy Hard" starring Leslie Nielsen is released
- May 25 1st Super Rugby Final, Eden Park, Auckland: Blues win inaugural title with a 45-21 victory over the Natal Sharks; fullback Adrian Cashmore lands 3 penalties & 3 conversions for the home team
- May 25 Jennifer Maria Holsten, 18, crowned Miss Filipino-American
- May 26 Indianapolis 500: first Indy 500 contested by Indy Racing League; many top CART teams boycott; Buddy Lazier wins marking Firestone's first Indy victory since 1971
- May 26 Parliamentary elections in Albania results are disputed, with irregularities and intimidation causing opposition parties to withdraw; pro-Western Democratic party wins over 50% of the vote
- May 26 Revival of William Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" closes at Lunt-Fontanne, NYC after 65 performances
Whitewater Scandal
May 28 U.S. President Bill Clinton's former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, James McDougal and Susan McDougal, and Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.
- May 29 NHL Western Conference Final: Colorado Avalanche beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 2
- May 30 69th National Spelling Bee: Wendy Guey wins spelling vivisepulture
- May 30 Albert Belle uses a forearm to break up a double play & nearly breaks Brewer 2nd baseman Fernando Vina's nose, Belle gets 2 game suspension
- May 30 John Tesh's final day as host of "Entertainment Tonight"
- May 31 Mark Van Thillo and Abigail Alling, former biospherian win $100,000 lawsuit against Biospheric Development for Space Biospheres Ventures
Famous Birthdays
- May 3 Noah Munck, American actor (iCarly; The Goldbergs), born in Mission Viejo, California
- May 5 Jai Hindley, Australian road cyclist (Giro d'Italia 2022), born in Perth, Australia
- May 8 6ix9ine [Daniel Hernandez], American rapper and songwriter ("Trollz"), born in Brooklyn, New York (born May 8, 1996)
- May 9 Mary Matilyn Mouser, American child actress
- May 14 Martin Garrix, Dutch DJ, born in Amstelveen, Netherlands
- May 20 Harris Reed, British-American fashion designer, born in Los Angeles, California
- May 24 Matthew Eappen, baby killed by nanny Louise Woodward, born in Boston, Massachusetts
- May 26 Austin Michael Luciano, American actor (Dante Carlino-Another World) (d. 2019)
- May 26 J Hus [Momodou Lamin Jallow], English rapper and singer (Beautiful and Brutal Yard), born in London, England
- May 26 Zećira Mušović, Swedish football goalkeeper (Chelsea, Sweden), born in Falun, Sweden
- May 27 Minjee Lee, Australian golfer (Evian C'ship 2021; US Open 2022; 8 x LPGA Tour titles), born in Perth, Australia
- May 31 Normani [Hamilton], American singer (with Sam Smith - "Dancing With A Stranger"; solo -"Motivation"), and dancer, born in Atlanta, Georgia
Famous Weddings
- May 1 American television personality show host Kelly Ripa (26) weds film actor, and future morning show co-host, Mark Consuelos (25) in Las Vegas, Nevada
- May 4 "CSI Miami" actor David Caruso (40) weds flight attendant Margaret Buckley (33)
- May 11 Fashion designer Cynthia Rowley (39) weds retail store designer Bill Keenan (43) at Manhattan City Hall in New York
- May 15 Auto racing champ-turned-TV commentator Danny Sullivan (46) weds former Manhattan financial planner Brenda Bosveld (33) in Monte Carlo, Monaco
- May 18 "As the World Turns" actor Shawn Christian (30) weds personal trainer Deborah Quinn in Gun Lake, Michigan
- May 18 NFL Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly (36) weds former marketing director Jill Waggoner (27) at St. Christopher's Catholic Church in suburban Buffalo
- May 25 American "As the World Turns" actress Kelley Menighan (29) weds American "As the World Turns" actor and singer Jon Hensley (31) in Chicago, Illinois; divorce in 2015
- May 26 "Seinfield" actor-comedian Wayne Knight (41) weds makeup artist Paula Sutor (44) in Pacific Palisades, California
- May 27 "Crosby, Stills & Nash" Rock and Roll Hall of Famer guitarist Stephen Stills (51) weds recording-studio manager Kristen Hathaway (30) at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, Florida
Famous Deaths
Deaths 1 - 100 of 116
- May 1 Asher Wallfish, journalist, dies at 67
- May 1 Billy Byers, American jazz trombonist and arranger, dies on his 79th birthday
- May 1 Ivo Rudolph Jarosy, German-British film scholar and exhibitor, dies at 74
- May 2 Arthur Leslie Noel Douglas Houghton, British politician and civil servant, dies at 97
- May 2 Emile Habibi, Palestinian Israeli writer (The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist), dies at 73
- May 2 Peter Swales, British soccer executive (Chairman Manchester City FC 1973-93; vice-president English FA), dies at 63
- May 3 Hermann Kesten, German writer (Allert de Lange), dies at 96
- May 3 Jack Weston [Weinstein], American actor (Dirty Dancing, The Four Seasons, Rad), dies of lymphoma at 71
- May 3 Patsy Montana [Ruby Rose Blevins], American country singer, songwriter and yodeler ("I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart"), dies at 81
- May 3 Tim Gullikson, American tennis player and coach (Pete Sampras coach 1992-95; Martina Navratilova Mary Joe Fernandez), dies of cancer at 45
- May 4 Jean Crepin, French general and head of Nord Aviation (oversaw development of Exocet missiles) dies at 87
- May 4 Rowley Israel Arenstein, South African attorney, communist and activist (under house arrest for 18 years), dies at 77
- May 5 Ai Qing, Chinese poet, dies at 86
- May 5 Bernard Benjamin Gillis [Kyanski] British jurist (High Court , 1964-80), dies at 89
- May 5 Beryl Burton, cyclist, dies at 58
- May 5 Charles H. Zimmerman, American aeronautical engineer (NACA, NASA), dies at 88 [1]
- May 5 David Lasser, American science fiction magazine editor (Wonder Stores, 1930-33), writer (The Conquest of Space), and workers' rights activist, dies at 94
- May 5 Salli Terri [Stella Tirri], Canadian-American Grammy Award-winning pop-classical-folk-exotica singer, arranger, composer (Duets with the Spanish Guitar), musicologist, and educator, dies after a series of strokes at 75
- May 6 Frank Hercules, Trinidadian-American novelist (On Leaving Paradise; Sunrise at Midnight), and teacher, dies at 85
- May 6 Geoffrey Dawes, English physiologist (fetal and neonatal physiology), dies at 78
- May 6 Geoffrey Hodges, bomb disposal expert, dies at 87
- May 6 Joseph Stone, American lawyer, Nuremberg Trial prosecutor, and labor arbitrator, dies at 79
- May 6 Leo Joseph Suenens, Belgian Roman Catholic cardinal (Second Vatican Council), dies at 91
- May 6 Michael Gerzon, British mathematician and audio pioneer (Ambisonics), dies at 50
- May 7 Albert Meltzer, British anarchist (Anarchist Black Flag), dies at 76
- May 7 Henry Diamond, Irish Nationalist MP, dies at 87
- May 7 Howard Smith, British diplomat and Director General of MI5, dies at 76
- May 8 Celedonio Romero, Spanish-American guitarist (The Romero Guitar Quartet), composer (La Catedral de Colonia), and poet, dies of lung cancer at 83
- May 8 Garth Williams, American illustrator (Charlotte's Web), dies at 84
- May 8 Jane Cowan, British cello teacher (International Cello Centre), dies at 80
- May 8 Luis Miguel Dominguín, Spanish bullfighter, dies at 69
- May 8 Serge Chermayeff, Russian-British architect and designer, dies at 95
- May 10 Ethel Smith [Goldsmith], American pop and Latin style Hammond organist ("Tico Tico", "Monkey on a String"), dies at 93
- May 11 Ademir de Menezes, Brazilian footballer (Brazil national team 1945-53), dies at 73
- May 11 Bruce Boyce, Canadian-American baritone singer, and teacher (Royal Academy - London, England), dies at 85
- May 11 Joan Thirkettle, British journalist, dies at 48
- May 11 Malcolm MacEwen, Scottish conservationist & communist activist, dies at 84
- May 11 Nnamdi Azikiwe, 1st President of Nigeria (1963-66), dies at 91
- May 11 Walter Hyatt, American singer-songwriter (Uncle Walt's Band), dies in a plane crash in the Florida Everglades at 46
- May 12 Rob Hall, New Zealand mountaineer, dies on Mt Everest at 35
- May 13 John "Jack" Baines, British mountaineering publisher, dies at 57
- May 14 Edward John Gurney, American politician, US senator (1969-74), dies at 82
- May 14 Qazaleh Alizadeh, writer, dies at 48
- May 14 Sritharan Jeganathan, cricketer, 1st Sri Lankan Test player to die
- May 14 Vera Chapman, English writer and Tolkien Society founder, dies at 98
- May 15 Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (b. 1910)
- May 15 Claus Bremer, German dramatist, dies at 71
- May 15 George Tindley, American soul singer and songwriter, dies at 58
- May 16 Edward McInnes, German scholar, dies at 60
- May 16 Jeremy Boorda, U.S. Navy admiral (25th Chief of Naval Operations), commits suicide at 56
- May 16 Pierre Debizet, resistance fighter/special agent, dies at 72
- May 17 Johnny "Guitar" Watson, American R&B and funk guitarist ("Space Guitar"; "A Real Mother for Ya"), dies on stage of heart attack in Yokohama, Japan at 61
- May 17 Rusi Modi, Indian cricketer (736 runs 10 post-war Tests for India), dies at 71
- May 17 Scott Brayton, American auto racer (4 x top 10 finishes Indianapolis 500; 2 x pole), dies in a practice accident at 37
- May 17 Willi Daume, German sports promoter (Munich 1972 Olympics organizer), dies of intestinal cancer at 82 [1]
- May 17 Willis Conover, American broadcaster (Voice of America), dies at 75
- May 18 Kevin Gilbert, American singer, composer and instrumentalist (Toy Matinee; Tuesday Night Music Club), dies of accidental asphyxiation at 29
- May 18 Simon Weinstock, English businessman and racehorse owner, dies at 44
- May 19 Frank Carlson, American jazz and session drummer (Woody Herman, 1937-42 - "The Golden Wedding"), dies at 82
- May 19 Giovanni "John" Beradino, American MLB infielder (St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians) and actor (General Hospital), dies from pancreatic cancer at 79
- May 19 Margaret Rawlings, British actress (Roman Holiday), dies at 89
- May 20 Eric Davidson, comedy scriptwriter, dies at 65
- May 20 George Malcolm Thomson, British journalist, dies at 96
- May 20 Jack Wyngaard, South African dancer (London City Ballet, 1986-96), dies of a heart attack at 37
- May 20 Janaki Ramachandran, Indian politician, Chief Minister of Indian state of Tamil Nadu (1988), dies at 72
- May 20 Jon Pertwee, English actor and entertainer (third Doctor in Doctor Who, Worzel Gummidge), dies from a heart attack at 76
- May 20 Julius Marmur, American biochemist and geneticist (DNA research), dies at 70
- May 20 Lewis B Combs, American civil engineer and US Navy officer (1917-45), founding member and commander of the "Seabees", dies at 101
- May 21 Alfred "Lash" LaRue, American actor (Lash of the West, Wyatt Earp), dies of emphysema at 78
- May 21 Bobby Tulloch, ornithologist, dies at 67
- May 21 Laurence Dowdall, Scottish lawyer, dies at 91
- May 21 Mary Perot Nichols, American journalist, dies at 79
- May 21 Peter Fletcher, British orchestral and choral conductor, music educator and author (Roll Over Rock), dies at 60
- May 22 Duncan Montgomery Stewart, academic, dies at 66
- May 22 Rex Collings, writer/publisher, dies at 70
- May 23 "Cap'n Jack" McCarthy, American television broadcaster (NYC's St. Patrick Day Parade, 1949-89; kiddie show host (Popeye)), dies of cancer at 81
- May 23 Dorothy Hyson, American actress (Ghoul, Spare a Copper, Sing as We Go), dies at 81
- May 23 Kronid Arkadyevich Lyubarsky, human rights activist, dies at 61
- May 23 Patrick Cargill, British actor (Help!, No Wreath for the General, Hammerhead), dies of a brain tumor at 77
- May 23 Rob Hall, New Zealand high altitude climber, dies of exposure on Mount Everest at 35
- May 23 Scott Fischer, American high altitude climber, dies of exposure on Mount Everest at 40
- May 24 Alexander Langsdorf, American physicist (worked on the Manhattan Project), dies at 83
- May 24 Harry Campion, English statistician (1st Director of British Central Statistical Office), dies at 91
- May 24 Jacob Druckman, American composer (Animus; Windows), dies at 67
- May 24 John Abbott, British actor (The Jungle Book, Gigi, Smogasboard), dies from cancer at 90
- May 24 Joseph Mitchell, American writer (Joe Gould's Secret), dies at 87
- May 25 Barney Wilen, French tenor, composer and saxophonist, dies of cancer at 59
- May 25 Bernard Sendall, British deputy director general of British Independent Television Authority and author (Independent Television in Britain), dies at 83
- May 25 Bradley Nowell, American ska musician (Sublime), dies of a heroin overdose at 28
- May 25 David W. Howe, American test pilot (X-14) and WWII flying ace, dies at 77
- May 25 John Morrison, 1st Baron Margadale, English landowner, politician (MP for Salisbury, 1942-65), and horse breeder, dies at 89
- May 25 Laurence Marks, English journalist, dies at 67
- May 25 Renzo de Felice, Italian historian of Fascism, dies at 67
- May 26 Halka Grossman, Israeli resistance fighter and politician, dies at 76
- May 26 Matima Kinuani Mpiosso, Zairen rock guitarist (Zaika Langa-Langa), dies at 45
- May 26 Mike Sharperson, American baseball infielder (MLB All Star 1992; World Series 1988, 95), dies in a car crash at 34
- May 27 Albert "Pud" Brown, American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, dies at 79
- May 27 Ivan Sutton, British classical music concert promoter (City Music Society), dies at 82
- May 28 Buck Bundy, TV dog (Married with Children), dies at 13
- May 28 Jimmy Rowles [Hunter], American jazz pianist and composer (The Peacocks), dies of cardiac arrest at 77
Get Our Daily Email
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sLrToaCsnJGue6S7zGibmqyVZH56hZVopJqx