- May 1 Ambonese rebellion bombs Ambon, conquers Morotai
- May 1 Arturo Frondizi sworn in as President of Argentina
- May 2 Yanks threaten to broadcast games nationwide if NL goes ahead with plans to broadcast, games into NYC
- May 3 84th Kentucky Derby: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Tim Tam wins in 2:05
- May 3 WINS suspends disc jockey Alan Freed for being charged with inciting a riot at a Boston concert, he quits, charges are dropped
- May 4 Alberto Lleras Camargo chosen as president of Colombia
- May 5 KNME TV channel 5 in Albuquerque, NM (PBS) begins broadcasting
- May 5 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction awarded to James Agee for "Death in the Family"
- May 5 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands
- May 7 US Air Force Major Howard Johnson sets world aircraft altitude record in a Lockhead F-104 Starfighter at 27,810 m
Dracula Released
May 8 Classic Hammer horror film "Dracula" film starring Christopher Lee as the eponymous vampire alongside Peter Cushing, directed by Terence Fisher released
Little Rock Crisis
May 8 US President Eisenhower orders National Guard out of Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas
Nixon Stoned in Peru
May 8 US VP Richard Nixon is shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by protesters in Peru
Vertigo Released
May 9 "Vertigo", American film noir psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, is released
Sports History
May 9 Russian Mikhail Botvinnik recaptures world chess championship
- May 11 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
- May 11 US performs its second atmospheric nuclear test of the day, this one at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands
- May 12 "Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu" by Dicky Doo & The Don'ts hits #40
- May 12 US & Canada form North American Air Defense Command (NORAD)
- May 12 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands
- May 13 French settlers riot against French army in Algeria
- May 13 Jordan & Iraq form Arab Federation
Musial 8th to 3,000
May 13 MLB player Stan Musial is 8th to get 3,000 hits
- May 13 MLB San Francisco Giants teammates Willie Mays & Darryl Spencer each hit 2 HRs & a triple, and combine for 10 RBI in a 16-9 win over the Dodgers at Los Angeles
- May 13 Pierre Pflimlin forms French government
Nixon Attacked in Venezuela
May 13 The motorcade carrying US Vice President Richard Nixon is attacked in Caracas, Venezuela; several of Nixon's staff are injured
- May 13 The trade mark Velcro is registered
- May 15 USSR launches Sputnik III
- May 16 Eli Beeding experiences 83 g deceleration on a rocket sled, New Mexico
- May 16 Major Irwin, USAF, flies a Lockheed Starfight F-104 A to a record 1,404.18 MPH
- May 17 83rd Preakness: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Tim Tam wins in 1:57.2
- May 17 Emergency crisis proclaimed in Algeria
- May 18 11th Cannes Film Festival: "The Cranes Are Flying" directed by Mikhail Kalatozov wins the Palme d'Or
Birthday Party
May 19 Premiere of Harold Pinter's play "Birthday Party" in London
- May 19 Rogers and Hammerstein "South Pacific" soundtrack album goes #1 & stays #1 for 31 weeks
- May 20 US performs nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll (atmospheric tests)
- May 21 Indonesian paratroopers reconquer Morotai Island
- May 21 US performs nuclear test at Bikini Island (atmospheric tests)
- May 22 Influential modernist skyscraper the Seagram Building designed by Mies van der Rohe officially opens in Manhattan, New York
- May 23 Explorer 1 ceases transmission - 1st US satellite launched into space January 1958
Event of Interest
May 23 Mao Zedong starts the "Great Leap Forward" movement in China, kills between 23 and 55 million Chinese citizens due to famine and forced labor
- May 23 US schools 1st use Cliff's Notes
- May 24 Bob Merrill's musical "New Girl in Town", starring Gwen Verdon and Thelma Ritter, closes at 46th St Theater, NYC, after 432 performances and 2 Tony Award wins
Battle of Interest
May 24 Cuban President Fulgencio Batista opens military offensive against Fidel Castro's armed rebellion
- May 24 United Press Association and International News Service merge to form United Press International
- May 26 Ceylon emergency crisis proclaimed
- May 26 Union Square, San Francisco becomes state historical landmark
- May 26 US performs nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll (atmospheric tests)
- May 27 Ernest Green becomes the 1st African-American to graduate from Little Rock's Central High School
- May 27 Maiden flight of the F-4 Phantom II
- May 27 Vanguard SLV-1 launched for Earth orbit (failed)
- May 28 European Cup Final, Brussels: Francisco Gento scores the winner in extra time as Real Madrid beats AC Milan, 3-2; 3rd consecutive title for Los Blancos
French History
May 28 French government of Prime Minister Pierre Pflimlin resigns; 200,000 demonstrate against Charles de Gaulle
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Jimmy Bryan wins a race best known for a massive first-lap, 15-car pileup that results in death of fan-favourite driver Pat O'Connor
- May 30 Unidentified soldiers killed in WW II & Korean War buried in Arlington
- May 30 US performs nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll (atmospheric tests)
- May 31 57th Women's French Championships: Zsuzsi Kormoczy beats Shirley Bloomer (6-4, 1-6, 6-2)
- May 31 Dick Dale invents "surf music" with "Let's Go Trippin"
- May 31 French Championships Men's Tennis: Mervyn Rose wins his first and only French title; beats Luis Ayala of Chile 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
- May 31 US performs nuclear test at Bikini Island (atmospheric tests)
Authors
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
Spies