- May 1 1st BASIC program runs on a computer (Dartmouth)
- May 2 90th Kentucky Derby: Bill Hartack aboard Northern Dancer wins in 2:00
- May 2 First ascent of Shishapangma the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and lowest of the Eight-thousanders
- May 2 Mad Dog Vachon beats Verne Gagne in Omaha, to become NWA champ
- May 2 The Beatles' "The Beatles' Second Album" goes #1 & stays #1 for 5 weeks
- May 4 "Another World" premieres on TV in the US
- May 4 70 GATT-countries confer in Geneva
- May 4 KIII TV channel 3 in Corpus Christi, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
- May 4 Pulitzer prize for General Non-Fiction awarded to Richard Hofstadter for "Anti-intellectualism"
- May 5 Separatists riot in Quebec
- May 6 Joe Orton's play "Entertaining Mr Sloan" premieres in London
Soviet History
May 9 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev visits Egypt
- May 12 Italian diplomat and politician Manlio Brosio chosen as secretary-general of NATO
- May 14 17th Cannes Film Festival: "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" directed by Jacques Demy wins the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
- May 15 Sporting Portugal win 4th European Cup Winner's Cup against MTK Budapest of Hungry 1-0 at Antwerp (replay)
- May 15 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- May 16 89th Preakness: Bill Hartack aboard Northern Dancer wins in 1:56.8
- May 16 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- May 16 Verne Gagne beats Mad Dog Vachon in Omaha, to become NWA champ
Sports History
May 17 First Tim Horton's coffee and donut shop opens in Hamilton, Ontario by NHL player Tim Horton
- May 17 Phillies triple play Houston Colt .45s
Frost Interviews McCartney
May 18 David Frost interviews Paul McCartney on BBC-TV
- May 18 US Supreme Court rules it unconstitutional to deprive naturalized citizens of citizenship if they return to home country for more than 3 years
- May 19 US diplomats find at least 40 secret microphones in Moscow embassy
- May 20 Buster Mathis beats future world heavyweight champion Joe Frazer on points at trials in Flushing, NY to qualify for US Olympic boxing team; Mathis injures thumb, replaced by Frazier who wins gold medal
- May 21 1st nuclear-powered lighthouse begins operations (Chesapeake Bay)
- May 21 Fire in Belgian resort kills 19
- May 21 US begin intelligence flights above Laos
Sports History
May 24 Longest HR (471') in Baltimore Memorial Stadium (Harmon Killebrew, Minnesota Twins)
- May 24 Panic in Lima Peru soccer stadium, kills 300
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan
May 24 The Beatles' 4th appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show", features an interview and pre-recorded performance of "You Can't Do That"
The Subject Was Roses
May 25 Frank Gilroy's dramatic play "The Subject Was Roses", starring Jack Albertson and Martin Sheen, opens at Royale Theatre, NYC; runs for 832 performances; wins Pulitzer Prize, and 2 Tony Awards
- May 25 Ground is broken for new Busch Memorial Stadium in St Louis; opens in 1966, demolished in 2005
- May 25 US Supreme Court rules closing schools to avoid desegregation is unconstitutional
Fade Out-Fade In
May 26 Betty Comden & Adolph Green and Jule Styne's musical "Fade Out-Fade In", featuring Carol Burnett, Jack Cassidy (later replaced by Dick Shawn), and Tina Louise, opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 271 performances
- May 27 European Cup Final, Praterstadion, Vienna: Internazionale beats Real Madrid, 3-1 for their first title
Music History
May 28 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 9th String quartet
Indian History
May 28 Jawaharlal Nehru cremated in New Delhi
- May 28 Palestine National Congress forms the PLO in Jerusalem
- May 28 Unmanned Apollo 2 Saturn test launched into Earth orbit
Beyond the Fringe
May 30 Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller comedy revue "Beyond the Fringe" closes at John Golden Theater, NYC, after 667 performances
- May 30 Beatles 1961 record of "Cry for a Shadow" is #1 in Australia
- May 30 French Championships Men's Tennis: Manuel Santana beats Nicola Pietrangeli (6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5)
French Open Women's Tennis
May 30 French Championships Women's Tennis: Margaret Court of Australia wins her second French singles crown; beats Maria Bueno of Brazil 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
- May 30 Giants sweep Mets 5-3 & 8-6 in 23 inn, records include elapsed time of 9:50, 47 strikeouts, 7:22 for 2nd game & NY's 22 K's in 2nd games
Indy 500
May 30 Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt wins but race primarily remembered for fiery 7-car accident resulting in deaths of Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald; last race won by a front-engined "roadster"
- May 30 The Beatles' "Love Me Do" single goes #1 in the United States
- May 31 Charles Schmid kills first Pied Piper victim
- May 31 SF Giants beat NY Mets, 8-6, in 23 innings (2nd game) (7 hrs 32 mins)
Authors
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
Spies