- May 1 Craig Lucas' stage drama "Prelude to a Kiss" moves to the Helen Hayes Theatre, NYC; runs for 440 performances
- May 2 Richard Nelson's stage comedy "Some Americans Abroad" opens at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, NYC; runs for 55 performances
- May 2 South Africa & African National Congress open talks to end apartheid
Music History
May 4 Angela Bowie reveals that ex-husband David Bowie slept with Mick Jagger
- May 4 Latvia's parliament votes 138-0 (1 abstention) for Independence
- May 4 MLB Baltimore Orioles Gregg Olson sets relief pitcher record of 41 consecutive scoreless innings
- May 4 Pakistan beat Australia by 36 runs to win Austral-Asia Cup, Sharjah
- May 5 116th Kentucky Derby: Craig Perret aboard Unbridled wins in 2:02
- May 5 35th Eurovision Song Contest: Toto Cutugno for Italy wins singing "Insieme: 1992" in Zagreb
- May 5 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Chris Warren
Event of Interest
May 6 Former president P. W. Botha quits South Africa's ruling National Party
Film & TV History
May 6 Tom Cruise is ticketed for careless operation of a vehicle in South Carolina
- May 8 Cuyahoga County voters approve sin tax to build Cleveland Gateway
- May 8 Reindependence Day of Estonia
- May 9 NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Boston Bruins beat Washington Capitals, 4 games to 0
- May 9 NY Newsday reporter Jimmy Breslin suspended for a racial slur
- May 9 Sampdoria of Italy win 30th European Cup Winner's Cup against Anderlecht of Belgium 2-0 in Gothenburg
- May 10 "Zoya's Apartment" opens at Circle in Square Theater NYC for 45 performances
- May 10 French TGV-train hits record speed of 510.6 kph (317.3 mph)
Radio History
May 10 Howard Stern holds a mock funeral for radio rival John DeBella, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to celebrate a ratings victory
Baseball Trade
May 11 NY Yankees trade Dave Winfield to Angels for Mike Witt
- May 12 Comic Relief USA '90 (4th one) raises $4.7 million
- May 12 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Edmonton Oilers beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 2
Music History
May 12 Nora Dunn and Sinéad O'Connor boycott "Saturday Night Live" to protest Andrew Dice Clay's hosting which was perceived as sexist; the show uses a time delay for the third time in its history
- May 13 "Change in the Heir" closes at Edison Theater NYC after 16 performances
Sports History
May 14 46th time opposing pitchers hit HR, Fernando Valenzuela (Dodgers)/Gross (Expos)
- May 14 Dow Jones average hits a record 2,821.53
- May 15 "Cemetery Club" opens at Brooks Atkinson Theatre NYC for 56 performances
Event of Interest
May 15 "Portrait of Doctor Gachet" by Vincent Van Gogh sells for $82.5 million
- May 15 Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,822.45
- May 15 Edmonton Oiler Petr Klima scores to defeat Boston Bruins in third overtime period, the longest Stanley Cup Finals game in history
- May 15 Mona Grudt, 19, of Norway, crowned 39th Miss Universe
- May 16 Dominican Republic President Joaquín Ricardo Balaguer re-elected
Mikhail Kalashnikov Meets Eugene Stoner
May 16 Eugene Stoner and Mikhail Kalashnikov, the creators of the M16 rifle and the AK-47 rifle respectively, meet in Washington, D.C.
Film & TV History
May 17 "Cheers" star Kelsey Grammer sentenced to jail for 30 days for DWI
- May 17 Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,831.71
- May 17 European court rules on pension rights for men & women
- May 17 WIBC Bowling Queens won by Patty Ann
- May 17 World Health Organization takes homosexuality out of its list of mental illnesses
Sports History
May 18 Cubs Ryne Sandberg ends 2nd baseman record 123 errorless game streak
- May 18 East and West Germany sign a monetary union treaty
Stanley Cup
May 18 Edmonton right wing Jari Kurri sets record for scoring in a Stanley Cup Finals game with 3 goals and 2 assists in 7-2 win at Boston Garden
- May 18 Judy Carne arrested at JFK airport on an 11-year-old drug warrant
- May 18 TV movie "Return To Green Acres" airs
Television Finale
May 19 "Elvis" TV drama series about early life of Elvis Presley last airs on ABC
Preakness Stakes
May 19 115th Preakness: Pat Day aboard Summer Squall wins in 1:53.6
- May 20 "Truly Blessed" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 33 performances
- May 20 Hubble Space Telescope sends its 1st photographs from space
Cannes Film Festival
May 21 43rd Cannes Film Festival: "Wild at Heart" directed by David Lynch starring Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern wins the Palme d'Or
- May 21 Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,844.68
Baseball Record
May 22 Andre Dawson receives a record 5 intentional walks in a game
Sports History
May 22 Deion Sanders becomes involved in a dispute with Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, one of the most infamous incidents of Sanders' baseball career
- May 22 Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,852.23
- May 22 Microsoft releases Windows 3.0
- May 22 North & South Yemen merge to form Republic of Yemen
- May 23 34th European Cup: Milan beats Benfica 1-0 at Vienna
- May 23 Cost of rescuing savings & loan failures is put at up to $130 billion
- May 23 Dow Jones average hits a record 2,856.26
- May 23 NY Yankees hit 6 home runs to beat Minnesota Twins 12-0
- May 24 A car carrying American Earth First! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney explodes in Oakland, California, critically injuring both
- May 24 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Edmonton Oilers beat Boston Bruins, 4-1 for a 4-1 series win; Oilers' 5th Cup win in 7 years
- May 26 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
Sports History
May 26 Philadelphia Phillies retire future Baseball Hall of Fame 3rd baseman Mike Schmidt's uniform #20
- May 27 Caesar Gaviria Trujillo chosen President of Colombia
- May 27 Indianapolis 500: Dutchman Arie Luyendyk takes lead with 32 laps to go to earn first-ever victory in championship-level competition; average speed 185.981 mph is a record that stands until 2013
- May 27 Radical Democratic Party holds 1st political meetings in Moscow
- May 28 "Dave Thomas Comedy Show" debuts on CBS-TV
- May 28 Cesar Gaviria Trujillo installed as president of Colombia
- May 28 Eugenia Charles' Dominican Freedom Party wins election in Dominica
- May 28 Longest wheelie (David Robilliard with 5h12m33s (Channel Islands)
- May 29 An earthquake hits Peru, killing over 200
Election of Interest
May 29 Boris Yeltsin is elected President of the Russian Republic
- May 29 Dow Jones average hits a record 2,870.49
- May 29 MLB New York Mets fire manager Davey Johnson and hire Bud Harrelson as his replacement
Baseball Record
May 29 Rickey Henderson steals record 893rd base, breaking Ty Cobb's record
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