It is time for May’s This Month In History.
Each month we like to highlight interesting events that happened in history.
We can’t cover all of history, but we have fun coming up with interesting, little-known, or forgotten facts to share with you.
May In History
May 1
- 1851 Queen Victoria opens the first World’s Fair in the Crystal Palace in London.
- 1931 U.S. President Herbert C. Hoover dedicates the Empire State Building in New Your City, NY.
May 2
- 1885 The first edition of Good Housekeeping was published.
- 1918 General Motors bought Chevrolet
- 2011 American forces killed Osama bin Laden while raiding his hideout in Pakistan.
May 3
- 1921 West Virginia became the first state to impose a sales tax.
- 1937 The book Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, won the Pulitzer Prize.
May 4
- 1865 President Lincoln was buried in Springfield, Illinois.
- 1929 Actress Audrey Hepburn was born.
- 1979 Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first female prime minister.
May 5
- 1945 Six people were killed when a Japanese bomb hit Lakeview, Oregon during WWII.
- 1961 Alan B. Shepard became the first American to travel to space.
May 6
- 1937 The airship Hindenburg, exploded in Lakehurst, New Jersey.
- 1940 John Steinbeck wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath.
- 1994 The English Channel tunnel, a rail tunnel under the English Channel, opened.
May 7
- 1789 The first inaugural ball was held in New York, in honor of President and Mrs. George Washington.
- 1915 The Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine. 1,198 people were killed.
- 1945 Germany surrendered when signing an agreement in France, ending the European part of WWII.
May 8
- 1541 Hernando de Soto, a Spanish explorer discovered the Mississippi River.
- 1884 U.S. President Harry S. Truman was born.
May 9
- 1868 Reno, Nevada was founded.
- 1994 Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa.
May 10
- 1924 J. Edgar Hoover became the head of the FBI. He remained in office until 1972.
- 1940 Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
May 11
- 1858 Minnesota became the thirty-second U.S. state.
- 1949 Israel joined the United Nations.
May 12
- 1820 Florence Nightengale was born.
- 1907 Actress Katharine Hepburn was born.
May 13
- 1846 The U.S. declares war on Mexico.
May 14
- 1607 Jamestown, Virginia was settled.
- 1940 The Netherlands surrendered to Nazi Germany.
May 15
- 1886 American poet Emily Dickenson died in Massachusetts.
- 1905 Las Vegas, Nevada was founded.
May 16
- 1770 Marie Antoinette, married the future King Louis XVI of France. She was fourteen. He was fifteen.
- 1929 The first Academy Awards were held in Hollywood.
May 17
- 1756 The French Indian War began when Britain declared war on France.
- 1792 The New York Stock exchange was founded.
May 18
- 1980 Mt. St. Helens erupted in Washington State erupted, killing 57 people. ( I grew up in the far NW corner of Oregon and we had ash in our yard from Mt. St. Helens. )
May 19
- 1604 Montreal, Quebec Canada was founded.
- 1935 War hero, Lawrence of Arabia, died in Dorset, England after a motorcycle accident.
- 1994 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died at the age of 64.
May 20
- 1768 Dolly Madison, wife of U.S. President James Madison was born.
- 1873 Levi Strauss gets the patents needed for his canvas pants Levi’s.
May 21
- 1832 The first U.S. Democratic National Convention was held.
- 1881 The American branch of the Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton.
May 22
- 1761 The first American life insurance policy was issued.
- 1942 Mexico joined the Allies and entered WWII.
- 1967 PBS’s show Mister Rogers Neighbor debuted.
May 23
- 1873 The Northwest Mounted Police, also known as the Mounties, was established in Canada.
- 1949 West Germany was established.
May 24
- 1830 Mary Had A Little Lamb by Sara Hale was published.
- 1883 After fourteen years of construction, The Brooklyn Bridge Opened.
May 25
- 1787 The Constitutional Convention began in Philadelphia.
- 1790 Congress enacted the first American copyright protection law. It was then signed by George Washington.
May 26
- 1865 The Civil War ended when Confederate general Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered. He was the last southern general to do so.
- 1907 Actor John Wayne was born.
May 27
- 1937 The Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrian traffic.
- 1969 Work began on Disney World in Florida.
May 28
- 1902 The Virginian by Owen Wister was published. It was the first serious western published in the U.S.
- 1940 Belgium surrendered to Germany during WWII.
May 29
- 1848 Wisconsin became the 30th U.S. state.
- 2004 The WWII memorial was dedicated in Washington D.C.
May 30
- 1896 The first known automobile accident occurred in New York City.
- 1922 The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated.
May 31
- 1884 The cereal Cornflakes was patented by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg.
- 1910 The Republic of South Africa was established.
- 2000 The CBS Reality show Survivor premiered.