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Major events that happened in the month of May:
MAY 1, 1960 — U-2 SPY PLANE SHOT DOWN
American pilot Gary Powers was captured after his spy plane was downed over Soviet airspace, exposing U.S. surveillance operations and derailing a planned summit between Eisenhower and Khrushchev.
MAY 2, 2011 — OSAMA BIN LADEN KILLED
May 2, 2001—U.S. Navy SEALs raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, killing the al-Qaeda leader in a stealth operation that ended a decade-long manhunt.
MAY 3, 1978 — FIRST SPAM EMAIL SENT
Gary Thuerk blasted an unsolicited advertisement to 400 ARPANET users, generating $13 million in sales while inadvertently creating what would become modern email spam.
MAY 4, 1970 — KENT STATE SHOOTINGS
National Guard troops fired on student anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and becoming a defining moment in Vietnam War opposition.
MAY 5, 1961 — FIRST AMERICAN IN SPACE
Alan Shepard made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Freedom 7. During launch delays, he was forced to urinate in his spacesuit, shorting some of the craft’s electronics.
MAY 6, 1937 — THE HINDENBURG DISASTER
The German passenger airship burst into flames while docking in New Jersey, killing 36 people and ending the era of commercial airship travel in a catastrophe captured by radio broadcaster Herbert Morrison’s famous “Oh, the humanity!” cry.
MAY 7, 1915 — THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
A German U-boat torpedoed the British ocean liner, killing 1,198 passengers and hastening American entry into World War I, despite the ship secretly carrying ammunition.
MAY 8, 1886 — COCA-COLA INVENTED
Pharmacist John Pemberton sold the first glass of Coca-Cola in Atlanta as a medicinal “brain tonic,” containing both cocaine from coca leaves and caffeine from kola nuts.
MAY 9, 1671 — THE CROWN JEWELS THEFT ATTEMPT
Irish adventurer Thomas Blood, disguised as a priest, nearly succeeded in stealing the British Crown Jewels from the Tower of London but was pardoned by King Charles II, possibly for being a royal spy.
MAY 10, 1869 — TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD COMPLETED
The golden spike connecting the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, creating America’s first coast-to-coast railway.
MAY 11, 1997 — DEEP BLUE DEFEATS KASPAROV
IBM’s chess supercomputer defeated world champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match. This was the first major victory of artificial intelligence over human expertise in intellectual competition.
MAY 12, 1932 — LINDBERGH BABY FOUND
The decomposed body of aviator Charles Lindbergh’s kidnapped son was discovered 72 days after his abduction. It led to the “Lindbergh Law,” making kidnapping a federal crime.
MAY 13, 1981 — POPE JOHN PAUL II SHOT
Turkish assassin Mehmet Ali Ağca shot the Pope four times in St. Peter’s Square, but the pontiff survived and later visited his attacker in prison to offer forgiveness.
MAY 14, 1796 — FIRST SMALLPOX VACCINE
Edward Jenner conducted the first vaccination by intentionally infecting 8-year-old James Phipps with cowpox to successfully protect him against smallpox.
MAY 15, 1940 — THE FIRST MCDONALD’S OPENS
The McDonald brothers opened their first drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. Initially, they served barbecue rather than burgers, with roller-skating carhops.
MAY 16, 1966 — PET SOUNDS RELEASED
The Beach Boys’ revolutionary album launched experimental pop music but initially flopped commercially.
MAY 17, 1973 — WATERGATE HEARINGS BEGIN
Televised Senate hearings exposed President Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal, revealing the existence of Oval Office tapes that would lead to his resignation.
MAY 18, 1980 — MOUNT ST. HELENS ERUPTION
The Washington State volcano explosively erupted with the force of 27,000 atomic bombs, killing 57 people and destroying 230 square miles of forest with a lateral blast traveling 300 mph.
MAY 19, 1910 — HALLEY’S COMET PANIC
Earth passed through the comet’s tail, triggering mass hysteria about toxic gas poisoning that led to sales of “comet pills” and gas masks.
MAY 20, 1927 — LINDBERGH’S TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis, traveling 33.5 hours from New York to Paris without radio or parachute.
MAY 21, 1924 — THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB MURDER
Two wealthy University of Chicago students murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks to commit the “perfect crime” but were saved from execution by Clarence Darrow’s legendary 12-hour plea.
MAY 22, 1968 — USS SCORPION LOST
The nuclear submarine mysteriously vanished in the Atlantic with 99 crew members, spawning conspiracy theories about Soviet attacks, though the true cause remains unknown.
MAY 23, 1934 — BONNIE AND CLYDE KILLED
The notorious bank-robbing couple died in a police ambush in Louisiana, shot over 100 times in their car. It is now a tourist attraction.
MAY 24, 1844 — FIRST TELEGRAPH MESSAGE
Samuel Morse sent “What hath God wrought?” from Washington D.C. to Baltimore, launching the telecommunications age.
MAY 25, 1977 — STAR WARS PREMIERES
George Lucas’s space opera debuted to unexpected success after studio executives predicted failure. This allowed Lucas to keep billion-dollar merchandising rights.
MAY 26, 1896 — DOW JONES INDEX DEBUTS
Charles Dow published the first stock market average tracking 12 companies at 40.94 points.
MAY 27, 1937 — GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE OPENS
San Francisco’s iconic suspension bridge welcomed pedestrians, coated in its distinctive “International Orange” paint chosen to remain visible in fog.
MAY 28, 1987 — TEEN LANDS PLANE IN RED SQUARE
German teenager Mathias Rust evaded Soviet air defenses to land a small plane near the Kremlin, embarrassing military leaders and aiding Gorbachev’s reforms.
MAY 29, 1953 — MOUNT EVEREST SUMMITED
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the world’s highest peak, leaving behind symbolic items—Hillary a crucifix and Norgay offerings to mountain deities.
MAY 30, 1431 — JOAN OF ARC BURNED
English forces executed the French military leader for heresy. Some witnesses claimed her heart remained intact despite the flames before her ashes were scattered in the Seine.
MAY 31, 1859 — BIG BEN TOLLS
London’s famous clock tower began operation with its massive 13-ton bell, which would later develop a crack, altering its distinctive sound. The structure subtly leans northwest.
