- May 1 Mark Sandrich and Sidney Michaels' musical "Ben Franklin in Paris", starring Robert Preston, closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC, after 215 performances
- May 2 22nd NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 2
- May 2 Gold reaches then record high ($39.35 per ounce) in London
- May 2 Israeli television begins transmitting
Music History
May 2 Roger Sessions' 8th Symphony premiers in New York City with William Steinberg conducting the New York Philharmonic
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
May 6 Columbia Records releases "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison", the first live album by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, recorded in January 1968
- May 6 Giants reliever Lindy McDaniel sets NL record of 225th consecutive errorless game (108 chances consecutively since June 16, 1964)
- May 6 Spain closes border to Gibraltar except to Spaniards
- May 6 Street battle between students & troops in Paris, 1,000 injured
- May 8 Jim (Catfish) Hunter of Oakland pitches perfect game vs Twins (4-0)
- May 8 Pulitzer prize awarded to William Styron (Confessions of Nat Turner)
- May 10 Vietnam peace talks began in Paris between the US and North Vietnam
MacArthur Park
May 11 Irish actor Richard Harris releases single "MacArthur Park"; it becomes a million-seller topping the charts in Canada and Australia, and peaking at #2 in US and #4 in UK
- May 11 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Defenceman J. C. Tremblay fires home the winner as Montreal Canadiens edge St Louis Blues, 3-2 for a 4-0 series sweep
- May 11 Students & police battle in Paris, 100s injured
- May 11 Toronto Transit Commission opens the largest expansion of its Bloor-Danforth Line, going to Scarborough in the east, Etobicoke in the west
Event of Interest
May 12 "March of the Poor" under Rev Ralph Abernathy reaches Washington, D.C.
- May 12 WSKG TV channel 46 (PBS) in Binghamton, NY, begins broadcasting
Event of Interest
May 13 1,000,000 French demonstrate against Charles De Gaulle & Georges Pompidou
- May 14 Beatles announce formation of Apple Corp
Event of Interest
May 14 Czech government announces liberalizing reforms under Alexander Dubček
Event of Interest
May 14 RAF-leader Andreas Baader sentenced to 3 years in West Berlin
Wonderwall
May 15 "Wonderwall" with music by George Harrison, premieres at Cannes Film Festival
- May 15 1st AL game played in Milwaukee, is a 4-2 California win against Chicago
TV Show Appearance
May 15 Paul McCartney & John Lennon appear on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", to promote Apple Records, Joe Garagiola is substitute host
- May 15 Tornado strikes Jonesboro, Arkansas at 10 PM, killing 36
- May 16 Earthquake kills 47 in Japan
- May 16 In the Stormont (Northern Ireland Parliament) by-election in the city of Londonderry (Derry) the Ulster Unionists retain the seat
- May 17 European Space Research Org launches 1st satellite
- May 17 Frank Howard belts record 8th HR in 5th straight game
- May 17 US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
- May 18 93rd Preakness: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Forward Pass wins in 1:56.8
Baseball Record
May 18 AL Kaline hits his 307th HR, surpassing Hank Greenberg as a Tiger
- May 18 Frank Howard ties AL record with HR in his 6th consecutive game his 10 home runs in the most in 6 games
- May 19 20th Emmy Awards: "Get Smart", "Mission Impossible" & Barbara Bain win
- May 19 Frank Howard fails to homer, after hitting 10 in 6 consecutive games
- May 19 Pirate Radio Brumble of Northern England 1st heard
Event of Interest
May 20 Terence O'Neill, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister, is showered with eggs, flour and stones after a meeting of the Woodvale Unionist Association, a loyalist vigilante group
- May 21 Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs sets outfielder record of 695 straight MLB games
- May 21 Nuclear-powered sub USS Scorpion, with 99 men, reported missing & is later found at the bottom of the ocean off Azores
- May 21 Paul McCartney and girlfriend Jane Asher attend an Andy Williams concert
- May 21 USSR performs nuclear test (underground)
- May 21 WEKW TV channel 52 in Keene, NH (PBS) begins broadcasting
Baseball Record
May 22 Pittsburgh Pirates future Baseball HOF outfielder Willie Stargell hits 3 HRs, a double and a single in a 13-6 rout of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field
- May 23 AC Milan of Italy win 8th European Cup Winner's Cup against Hamburger SV of West Germany 2-0 in Rotterdam
- May 23 Beatles open 2nd Apple Boutique at 161 New Kings Road, London
- May 24 American boxer Bob Foster defeats holder Dick Tiger for the world light-heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Gardens, New York (goes on to defend title x 14)
- May 24 FLQ separatists bomb the U.S. consulate in Quebec City
Event of Interest
May 24 French President Charles De Gaulle proposes referendum & students set fire to Paris bourse
- May 24 Haiti closes down shortwave station 4VEH for 40 days
Music History
May 24 Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull arrested for drug possession in England
- May 25 BPAA All-Star Bowling Tournament won by Jim Stefanich
- May 25 BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Dotty Fothergill
- May 25 Gateway Arch in St Louis dedicated
- May 25 Rolling Stones release song "Jumping Jack Flash"
- May 25 Unicorn by The Irish Rovers hits #7
George Halas Retires
May 27 George Halas retires from coaching, finishing with 318 regular-season wins and 6 NFL titles
- May 27 Meeting of the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (National Union of the Students of France) takes place. 30,000 to 50,000 people gather in the Stade Sebastien Charlety
- May 27 NL awards Montreal & SD major league franchises
- May 28 MLB: AL announces it is splitting into 2 divisions
- May 28 MLB: NL grants San Diego Padres a franchise
McCarthy Wins Oregon
May 28 Senator Eugene McCarthy wins Democratic presidential primary in Oregon
- May 29 European Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: Bobby Charlton scores twice as Manchester United beats Benfica, 4-1; first English club to win the trophy
- May 29 UN resolves sanctions on white-minority-ruled Rhodesia
- May 29 US Truth in Lending Act signed into law
- May 30 Beatles begin work on their only double album "The Beatles" -popularly known as "The White Album"
Indy 500
May 30 Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser driving a piston-powered Offenhauser beats Dan Gurney to win his first of 3 Indy 500 triumphs
- May 30 President De Gaulle disbands French parliament
- May 30 The Paulinerkirche, a church built in 1231 at the University of Leipzig, is demolished by the East German communist regime to make way for new development; protesters are arrested
- May 30 West German Parliament accepts emergency crisis law
Film & TV History
May 31 Movie star James Stewart retires from the US Air Force after 27 years of service
Authors
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
Spies