- May 1 Gwendolyn Brooks is the first African American awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for "Annie Allen"
- May 1 Mayor of Brussels reluctantly bans May Day parade
- May 1 New marriage laws enforced in People's Republic of China
Music History
May 1 Pulitzer prize awarded to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for the musical "South Pacific"
- May 1 WJIM (now WLNS) TV channel 6 in Lansing, MI (CBS) begins broadcasting
- May 2 Carlo Terron's comedy "Giuditta" premieres in Milan
- May 2 Dutch 1st Chamber accept Laws on immigration
- May 2 Dutch PM Malan recognizes South-Africa but not People's Republic of China
King Rama IX of Thailand
May 5 Bhumibol Adulyadej crowned King Rama IX of Thailand in the Royal Palace in Bangkok
- May 6 76th Kentucky Derby: William Boland on Middleground wins in 2:01.6
- May 6 Russell Bennett, Abraham Ellstein, and Walter Bullock's musical "Great to Be Alive!" closes at Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 52 performances
Chiang Kai-shek Asks for Weapons
May 8 President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek asks the US for weapons
- May 8 Tollund Man, an early Iron Age bog body found hanged as a human sacrifice, discovered by men digging for peat in Jutland, Denmark [1]
- May 9 French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman calls for European community EGKS
- May 9 Norman Dello Joio's opera, "The Triumph of St. Joan", premieres in Bronxville, New York
- May 10 1st Netherlands-US telex sent
- May 11 Belgium mine disaster at Borinage, 39 die
La Cantatrice Chauve
May 11 Eugene Ionesco's first play "La Cantatrice Chauve" (The Bald Soprano) premieres in Paris
Bolivar
May 12 Darius Milhaud's opera "Bolivar" premieres in Paris
- May 13 Diner's Club issues its 1st credit cards
- May 13 First ever race of the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship is run at Silverstone, England and won by Giuseppe Farina of italy in an Alfa Romeo
- May 14 Pitts Johnny Hopp goes 6 for 6 including 2 HRs
- May 15 Adnan Menderes elected Prime Minister of Turkey in the country's first democratic elections [1]
- May 18 "Liar" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 12 performances
- May 18 MLB St. Louis Cardinals baseman Tommy Glaviano makes 3 consecutive errors on grounders
- May 19 NY Times reports of worlds smallest & dumbest mechanical brain
75th Preakness
May 20 75th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro aboard Hill Prince wins in 1:59.2
Ho Chi-Minh Troops Attack
May 21 Vietnamese troops of Ho Chi-Minh attack Cambodia
- May 22 Celal Bayar elected President of Turkey
- May 22 Dutch poet Gerrit Achterberg wins PC Hooft prize
4 Last Songs
May 22 Richard Strauss' "4 Last Songs" (4 letzte Lieder) premieres in London
Arms and the Girl
May 27 Morton Gould and Dorothy Field's colonial-era musical "Arms and the Girl", starring Nanette Fabray and Pearl Bailey, closes at 46th St Theater, NYC, after 134 performances
- May 29 3rd British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs): "Bicycle Thieves" Best Film
Carter Family Debut
May 29 The Carter Family debut on the Grand Ole Opry with Chet Atkins
- May 31 Indianapolis 500: Johnny Parsons becomes first American to win a World Championship event; race stopped after 138 laps (345 miles) due to rain
Authors
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
Spies