Bradman scores 236
May 1 Cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 236 for Australia v Worcestershire in his first 1st class innings in England
- May 1 The planet Pluto is officially named by 11-year-old English schoolgirl Venetia Burney
- May 2 Des Moines (Western League) defeats Wichita 13-6 to open 1st ballpark with permanently installed lights
Amy Johnson's Pioneering Flight
May 5 Amy Johnson takes off - first woman to fly solo from England to Australia
- May 5 Australian cricket batting prodigy Don Bradman scores an unbeaten 185 in a tour match for Australia v Leicestershire at Aylestone Road, Leicester
- May 7 Duleepsinhji scores 333 for Sussex v Northants in 330 mins
55th Preakness
May 9 55th Preakness: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:00.6
- May 10 1st US planetarium opens (Adler-Chicago)
- May 10 Clarrie Grimmett takes 10 for 37 v Yorkshire at Sheffield
Pulitzer for Marc Connelly
May 12 Pulitzer Prize for Drama awarded to Marc Connelly for "Green Pastures)"
- May 14 US Congress designates Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico a National Park [1]
- May 15 Ellen Church becomes 1st female airline stewardess aboard a United flight from San Francisco to Cheyenne
- May 16 6th Walker Cup: US, 10-2
- May 17 56th Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:07.6
- May 19 White women win voting rights in South Africa
- May 20 1st airplane catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot
- May 20 University of California dedicates $1,500 to research on prevention and cure of athlete's foot
Gehrig's Third Triple HR
May 22 Yankees' future Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman Lou Gehrig becomes first to hit 3 HRs three times as NY outscores Philadelphia A's, 20-13; teams combine for then-record 10 homers
- May 24 21-year-old Australian cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 252 not out in a tour match for Australia v Surrey at Kennington Oval, London
- May 24 Amy Johnson becomes the 1st woman to fly solo from United Kingdom to Australia
- May 24 NY Yankees' legendary slugger Babe Ruth homers in both games of a doubleheader (beat Philadelphia A's 10-6 & 11-1); gives him 9 HR's in one week
- May 26 Supreme Court rules buying liquor does not violate the Constitution
- May 27 Richard Drew invents masking tape
- May 28 Georges Forbes succeeds Joseph Ward as premier of New Zealand
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Polesitter Billy Arnold takes lead on lap 3 and never gives it up; total 198 laps stands as all-time Indy 500 race record; accompanied by riding mechanic Spider Matlock
- May 30 Shedd Aquarium, one of the first inland aquariums in the world, opens in Chicago, Illinois
British Amateur Championship
May 31 British Amateur Championship, Men's Golf, St. Andrews Links: Bobby Jones scores a 7 & 6 win over Englishman Roger Wethered for the first leg of his Grand Slam
- May 31 Building begins on Albert Canal in Belgium
- May 31 Comet 73P/1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3) approaches 0.0617 AUs of Earth
- May 31 Don Bradman batting for Australia v Hampshire at Southampton is 47 not out at stumps, bringing his aggregate to 1,001 runs, the first cricket touring overseas batsman to complete 1,000 runs by end of May
- May 31 Philadelphia Athletics's Max Bishop draws 8 walks in a doubleheader to set MLB record
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