American Medical Association (AMA) is founded (1847) - 5/7
School Day - May 7
Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 crashes when a suicidal passenger kills both the pilot and co-pilot (1964) - May 7
Chaiten volcano erupts in southern Chili (2008) - May 7
Hagia Sophia Dome (in Constantinople) collapses (558) - May 7
Herod The Great's tomb is discovered (2007) - May 7
Eva Peron (2nd wife of President Juan Domingo Peron of Argentina) is born in rural Argentina (1919) - May 7
Mary of Modena (Queen consort to James II of England) dies of breast cancer in the Chateau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris at age 59 (1718) - May 7
Roast Leg of Lamb Day - May 7
Robert Browning (English poet and playwright) is born in Camberwell, a suburb of London, england (1812) - May 7
Space Shuttle Endeavor is launched on its maiden flight (1992) - May 7
May 8, 2017
Mount Pelee (Martinique) erupts destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people with only a handful of residents surviving (1902) - May 8
V-E Day commemorates the date when the WWII Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany (1945) - May 8
World Red Cross Day (celebrated since 1948) honors the birthday of Henry Dunant, Swiss citizen who founded the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement (1863) - May 8
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (French chemist) is branded as a traitor during the French Revolution and is tried, convicted and guillotined all in one day at age 50 (1794) - May 8
China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crash lands at Shenzen Airport during a thunderstorm killing 35 of the 74 aboard (1997) - May 8
Coca Cola is invented as a carbonated beverage by Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton as a nonalcoholic alternative to his French Wine Coca (1885) - May 8
Gustave Flaubert (French writer best known for his novel Madame Bovary) dies at Croisset of a stroke at age 58 (1880) - May 8
Hard Hat Riot occurs in New York City when about 200 construction workers attacked 1,000 high school and college students protesting the Kent State shootings (1970) - May 8
Harry S. Truman (33rd President of the United States) is born in Lamar, MO (1884) - May 8
Harrods (luxury department store in Knightsbridge, London) is sold for 1.5 billion pounds by Al Fayed to the Qatari Royal Family (2010) - May 8
Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel (1999) - May 8
Paramount Pictures is founded as the "Famous Players Film Company" (becoming Paramount Pictures Corp in 1914) by Adolph Zukor (1912) - May 8
Paul Gaugin (French Post-Impressionist painter) dies in French Polynesia at age 54 from syphilis (1903) - May 8
Princess Elisabeth of Denmark and Iceland is born to Prince Knud and Princess-Caroline-Mathilde of Denmark and is 1st cousin to Queen Margrethe II (1935) - May 8
Revolution Roller Coaster (World's 1st modern roller coaster to feature a vertical loop) opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA (1976) - May 8
Robert A. Heinlein (American novelist and science fiction writer) dies in his sleep from emphysema and heart failure at age 80 in his Carmel, CA home (1988) - May 8
Westiminster Kennel Club holds its first dog show at Gilmore's Gardens drawing over 1200 dogs (1877) - 5/8
World Health Assembly endorses the certification of the global eradication of smallpox (1980) - May 8
Maurice Sendak (American Illustrator and writer of children's books) dies in the Danbury Hospital from complications of a stroke at age 83 (2012) - May 8
May 9, 2017
LOT Polish Airlines flight 5055 crashes in the Kabaty Woods reserve on approach to airport in Warsaw due to faulty bearings in #2 engine (1987) - May 9
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco becomes its Soverign Prince on the death of his grandfather, Prince Louis II (1949) - May 9
Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster occurs when the freighter MV "Summit Venture" collides with one of its support columns during a storm destroying the southbound span (1980) - 5/9
Australian Parliament is first opened in Melbourne (1901) then moved to Canberra to the Old Parliament House (1927) - May 9
Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opens in London in celebration of Queen Victoria's Jubilee year (1887) - May 9
Catherine Hayes (English woman born in Birmingham, England) is burned at the stake for being found guilty of murdering her husband (1726) - May 9
City of Truro (designed by George Jackson Churchward and built at the GWR Swindon Works) becomes the 1st steam locomotive in Europe to travel in excess of 100mph (1904) - May 9
Europe Day - honors the Schuman Declaration (1950) - May 9
Tear the tag off mattresses Day - May 9
James M. Barrie (Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered for creating Peter Pan) is born in Kirriemuir, Angus (1860) - May 9
Lincoln Cathedral (historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln, England) is consecrated (1092) - May 9
Manaslu (8th highest mountain in the world located in the Nepalese Himalayas) has its first ascent (1956) - May 9
Mother Clap's molly house (brothel for homosexual men in Holborn, London) is raided and five of the men arrested are hanged at Tyburn (1726) - May 9
Reno Nevada (nicknamed "The Biggest Little City in the World) is founded (1868) - May 9
Romania Independence Day celebrates the country's independence from the Ottoman Empire (1877) - May 9
Tear the Tag off Mattresses Day - May 9
Thomas Blood (Irish-born colonel) disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London (1671) - May 9
Victory Day (Russia and other Eastern Bloc countries) is celebrated 1 day later due to the time change (1945) - May 9
May 10, 2017
Nazis stage massive public book burnings in Berlin, Germany (1933) - May 10
House of Commons is bombed during the Nazi Blitz on London (1941) - May 10
Panic of 1837 occurs when every bank in the USA stopped payment in gold and silver coinage and is followed by a 5 year depression (1837) - May 10
Blood Pressure Day - May 10
Edward I (King of England) is recognized as the overlord of Scotland by the Scottish nobles (1291) - May 10
Constitution Day (Federated States of Micronesia) celebrates their self-governing status (1979) - May 10
Golden Spike Day occurs when the first Transcontinental Railroad is completed at Promontory Summit, UT with a golden spike (1869) - May 10
National Gallery in London opens to the public (1824) - May 10
Jenna Bush (daughter of President G.W. Bush) marries Henry Hager at her parents' Prarie Chapel Ranch near Crawford, TX which decorated the town for the event (2008) - 5/10
Kader Toy Factory (in Thailand) has a fire that kills 188 workers, mostly young women (1981) - May 10
Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles there (1503) - May 10
Louis XVI of France becomes king at age 19 upon the death of his grandfather, Louis XV (1774) - May 10
Francois Mitterrand takes office as the first Socialist President of France (1981) - May 10
Mother's Day is first celebrated by Anna Jarvis in Grafton, WV (1908) - May 10
National Gallery in London opens to the public (1824) - May 10
USS Triton completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth (1960) - May 10
Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States (1872) - May 10
Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of England for the 2nd time (1940) - 5/10
Nelson Mandela is inagurated as the 1st Black President of South Africa (1994) - May 10
Wesak/Vesak/Vesakha/Buddha Day - celebrates Buddha's Birthday and is celebrated on the first full moon of Taurus (2017) - May 10
Paul Revere (American silversmith and patriot during the American Revolution) dies at his home on Charter Street in Boston at the age of 83 (1818) - May 10
Full Flower Moon (2017) - May 10
Receptionists Day (2nd Wednesday in May) honors the valuable contribution receptionists make (2017) - May 10
National School Nurse Day (since 1972 - Wed of National Nurse Week - May 6-12) is established to foster a better understanding of the role of school nurses (2017) - May 10
May 11, 2017
Waco Tornado Outbreak occurs when an F5 tornado strikes Waco, TX killing 144 people (1953) - May 11
Lubbock,TX experiences an F5 tornado as one of the worst tornadoes in TX history and occurs exactly 17 years to the day after the deadly Waco, TX tornado (1970) - May 11
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded (1927) - May 11
Transit of Earth as seen from Mars (Earth passing directly between the Sun and Mars) takes place (1984) - May 11 (next to occur is Nov. 10, 2084)
HMS Beagle (Cherokee class war ship of the Royal Navy) is launched from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames (1820) - May 11
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (major philanthropist and sole heir to the Rockefeller fortune) dies of pneumonia at age 86 (1960) - May 11
Knights Templars (Western Christian military order) having been tortured to gain false confessions 54 are burned at the stake in France for being heretics (1310) - May 11
Minnesota is admitted into the Union as the 32nd state (1858) - May 11
Otsu Scandal occurs when an assassination attempt is made against Prince Nicholas of Russia in Kyoto Japan when one of his escorts swung at his face with a saber (1891) - 5/11
Spencer Perceval (Prime Minister of England) is shot through the heart in the lobby of the House of Commons by John Bellingham (1812) - May 11
UMNO (United Malays National Organization) is founded (1946) - 5/11
ValuJet Flight 592 crashes en route from Miami to Atlanta into the Florida Everglades at speeds in excess of 500 mph all 100 aboard were killed (1996) - May 11
David Cameron (Conservative Party) is invited to form a government by Queen Elizabeth II and appoints Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat) as his Deputy Prime Minister (2010) - May 11
May 12, 2017
Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr. (20 month old son of Charles Lindbergh kidnapped on Mar. 1) has his body found just north of the small village of Mount Rose, NJ (1932) - May 12
Sichuan province of China experiences a 8.0 earthquake that kills at least 69,000 people less than 3 months before China hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics (2008) - May 12
International Nurses Day (est. by the International Council of Nurses in 1965) is set to honor the birth of Florence Nightengale (1974) - May 12
Florence Nightingale (nurse pioneer aka "The Lady with the Lamp") is born in Florence, Italy to a well-connected British family (1820) - May 12
Gaj Singh (Maharaja of Jodhpur) is crowned (1952) - May 12
George VI (Father of Queen Elizabeth II) of the UK is crowned king at Westminster Abbey (1937) - May 12
Limerick Day celebrates the birthday of Edward Lear, an English poet renowned for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose (1812) - May 12
Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones lead singer) weds his fiancee Bianca in St Anne's chapel, St Tropez after a row with the media nearly halts the proceedings (1971) - May 12
Oscar II is crowned King of Sweden (1873) - 5/12
Richard I of England marries Berengaria (1st born daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre) in Limassol at the Chapel of St. George (1191) - May 12
Robert Reed (American Emmy Award-nominated actor) dies at age 59 in Pasadena, CA from bladder and colon cancer along with complications from AIDS (1992) - May 12
Luna 5 (Soviet Union spacecraft) crash lands into the moon (1965) - May 12
Afriqiyah Airlines Flight 771 crashes on its approach to Tripoli International Airport with 103 fatalaties and a 10-year-old Dutch child as its lone survivor (2010) - May 12
Military Spouse Appreciation Day, declared by President Reagan in 1984 to always be held the Friday before Mother's Day (2015) - May 8 http://www.army.mil/spouse/
Lorca Spain struck by a 5.2 earthquake that injured over 130 and killed 9 (2011) - 5/12
May 13, 2017
Great Comet of 1861 is a comet that was visible to the naked eye for approximately 3 months is discovered by John Tebbut of Windsor, New South Wales Australia (1861) - 5/13
Pope John Paul II is shot while blessing the crowds in St. Peter's Square in Rome (1981) - May 13
Tulip Day - May 13
Arthur Sullivan (English composer of Irish and Italian descent and collaborator with librettist W.W. Gilber) is born in Lambeth, London (1842) - May 13
Battle of Langside occurs when the forces of Mary Queen of Scots are defeated by the forces under her half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Moray (1568) - May 13
Frog Jumping Day - 5/13
Girolamo Savanarola (Italian Dominican priest and leader of Florence) is excommunicated by Pope Alexander VI (1497) - May 13
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (Dutch statesman) is beheaded in The Haague upon the order of a Kangaroo court at the age of 71 (1619) - May 13
Julian of Norwich Feast Day - May 13
Maria Theresa of Austria (Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary, Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Croatia) is born in Vienna (1717) - May 13
Marie Christine (4th daughter and 5th child of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I) is born (1742) - May 13
Mary Tudor (sister of Henry VIII of England) officially marries Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk at Greenwich Palace (1515) - May 13
May 14, 2017
Edward Jenner (English Scientist) administers the first smallpox innoculation on James Phipps, an 8-year-old boy, with material from a milkmaid's cowpox blisters (1796) - May 14
Skylab (U.S.'s 1st space station) is launched from Kennedy Space Center (1973) - May 14
Stars and Stripes Forever Day (U.S. National March by John Philip Sousa) - May 14
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia has his coronation with Empress Alexandra Feodorovna at the Uspensky Sobor Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (1896) - May 14 (O.S.)
Charles VIII of France (aka The Affable only son of King Louis XI) is crowned King at age 13 in Reims (1484) - 5/14
Dance Like a Chicken Day is for those who like to do the Chicken Dance - May 14
Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark, weds Mary Donaldson, an Australian marketing consultant, at Copenhagen Cathedral in Copenhagen (2004) - May 14
Henry IV of France is assassinated in Paris by a fanatically passionate Catholic, Francois Ravaillac, who stabbed the king while he rode in his coach (1610) - May 14
Henry III of England (son of John Lackland) is capatured during the Battle of Lewes making Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, the uncrowned King of England (1264) - 5/14
Lina Medina becomes the world's youngest confimred mother in medical history by giving birth at age 5 (1939) - May 14
Louis XIV of France (aka The Sun King) ascends to the throne at age 4 upon the death of his father Louis XIII (1643) - May 14
Marguerite de Valois (consort to Henry IV of France and Navarre) is born at the royal Chateau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1553) - May 14
Paraguay gains independence from Spain (1811) - May 14
Seinfeld (American television sitcom that lasted for nine seasons and is now in syndication) airs its last episode (1998) - May 14
Thomas Gainsborough (British painter of portraits and landscapes) is born in Sudbury Suffolk England (1727) - 5/14
Mother's Day (2017) - May 14
Lag Ba'Omer (Jewish 33rd Day after Pesach) held on the 18th Day of Iyar (2017) - May 14
Most Photos and Descriptions are courtesy of Wikipedia
