- May 1 36 people are killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations.
- May 1 American golfer Debbie Austin wins the Birmingham Classic, the first of 5 LPGA Tour victories in a 4-month span
Sports History
May 1 American golfer Gene Littler wins the Houston Open, his 29th and final PGA title
- May 1 French runner Chantal Langlacé sets female world marathon record (2:35:15.4) in Oyarzun, Spain
The King & I
May 2 Revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical "The King & I"', with Yul Brynner reprising the role he created in 1951, opens at Uris Theater, NYC; runs for 695 performances
- May 3 1977 NFL Draft: Ricky Bell from USC first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- May 4 US Catholic bishops rescind automatic excommunications for divorced and remarried Catholics (receiving communion still outlawed if the previous marriages were not annulled by Church tribunals)
- May 6 Parlophone releases live album "The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl" in UK; recorded during 1964 and 1965 tours, sound quality was of sub-par quality, but released to combat bootleg versions
- May 7 "Happy End" opens at Martin Beck Theater, NYC; runs for 75 performances
Kentucky Derby
May 7 103rd Kentucky Derby: Jean Cruguet on Seattle Slew wins in 2:02.2
- May 7 22nd Eurovision Song Contest: Marie Myriam for France wins singing "L'oiseau et l'enfant" in London
- May 9 Hotel Poland in Amsterdam destroyed by fire, 33 killed
- May 9 Mabel Murphy Smythe confirmed as ambassador to Rep of Cameroon
Sports History
May 11 Ted Turner manages an Atlanta Braves game
- May 12 Emmy 4th Daytime Award presentation: "Ryan's Hope" and "Family Feud" win
Film & TV History
May 13 Howard Stern begins broadcasting at WRNW, Briarcliff Manor NY
- May 14 English football international Bobby Moore retires
- May 14 KC Royals Jim Colborn no-hits Texas Rangers, 6-0
- May 14 Netherlands State Delta Kappa Gamma Society forms
- May 14 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Jacques Lemaire scores twice as Montreal Canadiens edge Boston Bruins, 2-1 in OT for a 4 game sweep and back-to-back titles
- May 16 5 die as NY Airway helicopter topples on Pan Am building in NYC
Boxing Title Fight
May 16 Muhammad Ali beats Alfredo Evangelist in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
- May 16 TV drama “Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn”, starring Leigh McCloskey, follow up to "Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway" premieres on US network NBC, focusing on what happened to him after Dawn left L.A. to return to her hometown
Election of Interest
May 17 Menachem Begin's Likud Party wins election in Israel
- May 17 Nolan Bushnell opens the 1st Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre restaurant in San Jose, California
- May 18 Menachem Begin becomes Prime Minister of Israel
- May 18 US, USSR and other nations sign the Environmental Modification Convention which prohibits weather warfare having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects
Smokey and the Bandit
May 19 Caper comedy film "Smokey and the Bandit" starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Jackie Gleason premieres at Radio City Music Hall in NYC
- May 20 Long-distance train service the Orient Express departs Paris on its last trip to Istanbul (began 1883)
- May 21 102nd Preakness: Jean Cruguet aboard Seattle Slew wins in 1:54.4
- May 21 Albert Innaurato's stage comedy "Gemini" opens at the Little Theatre, NYC; runs for 1,819 performances
- May 21 Electric Light Orchestra releases "Telephone Line" in the UK; it would peak in the Top 10 in the UK and US
- May 21 Fire in hotel Duc de Brabant Brussels, kills 19
Musical Finale
May 21 Revival of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's musical "Fiddler on the Roof", starring Zero Mostel, closes at Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 167 performances
- May 21 San Diego Padres beat Mont Expos, 11-8, in 21 innings
#1 in the Charts
May 21 Stevie Wonder's single "Sir Duke", a tribute to Duke Ellington and other musical influences of Wonder's, begins a 3-week run at #1
The Orient Express
May 22 Final European scheduled run of the Orient Express (after 94 years)
- May 22 Red Sox (6) & Brewers (5) tie single game HR record of 11
- May 23 Benin adopts its constitution
- May 23 Moluccan extremists hold 105 schoolchildren and 50 others hostage on a hijacked train in the Netherlands, children released May 27, siege ends June 11
Event of Interest
May 23 US Supreme Court refuses to hear appeals of Watergate wrongdoers H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman & John Mitchell
Television Finale
May 25 "Brady Bunch Hour" last airs on ABC-TV
- May 25 21st European Cup: Liverpool beats Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 at Rome
- May 25 Dutch social democratic party wins parliamentary election
Star Wars
May 25 Original "Star Wars" movie (Episode IV – A New Hope), directed by George Lucas and starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, premieres
Music History
May 27 The Sex Pistols release "God Save the Queen", sparking major controversy and leading to a ban on the song by the BBC
- May 28 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky kills 168
- May 29 Australian Sue Prell first female golfer to hit consecutive holes-in one; 13th and 14th holes at Chatswood Golf Club, Sydney
Indy 500
May 29 Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt. becomes first driver to win Indy 500 four times; last time winning car built entirely within US; Janet Guthrie first female to qualify, lasts 27 laps
- May 29 NBC News & Information Service (24 hr news) ends on radio
- May 29 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- May 30 Cleveland Indian Dennis Eckersley no-hits California Angels, 2-0
- May 31 "Beatlemania" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 920 performances
- May 31 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani becomes heir apparent to throne of Qatar
- May 31 Trans-Alaska oil pipeline completed, one of the world's largest pipeline systems
Authors
Dictators
Explorers
Outlaws
Queens
Spies