- May 1 Howard University chartered
- May 1 Reconstruction of South begins, black voter registration
- May 3 The Hudson's Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island.
- May 7 Blacks stage ride-in to protest segregation in New Orleans
Nobel Patents Dynamite
May 7 Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel patents dynamite in England, the first of three patents he would receive for the explosive material
- May 11 Treaty of London drawn, granting Luxembourg full independence and neutrality
Women's Suffrage Proposal Rejected
May 20 British parliament rejects John Stuart Mills' proposals on women's suffrage
Royal Albert Hall
May 20 Royal Albert Hall of Arts & Sciences foundation laid by Queen Victoria in London
Jesse James Robs Bank
May 23 Jesse James' gang robs a bank in Richmond, Missouri, killing two and taking $4,000
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