The pilots of a Sukhoi Superjet, ignoring alerts from the terrain warning system, crashed the aircraft into Mount Salak in Indonesia, resulting in the deaths of all 45 people on board.
Pope Benedict XVI began the beatification process for his predecessor Pope John Paul II, waiving the standard five years required after the nominee's death.
Police at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, Ghana, fired tear gas to quell unrest at a football match, leading to a stampede that killed 126 people.
An underground methane explosion occurred at the Westray Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, killing all 26 Canadian coal miners who were working at the time.
Part of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida collapsed after a pier was struck by MV Summit Venture, killing 35 people.
Prominent Iranian Jew Habib Elghanian was executed after having been convicted by a revolutionary tribunal of various charges, triggering a mass exodus of Jews from Iran.
The Hotel Polen in Amsterdam was destroyed by fire (pictured), leaving 33 people dead.
About 200 students at Bucks County Community College held a protest after the college canceled a planned speech by gay rights activist Dick Leitsch.
Ngô Đình Cẩn, a younger brother and the confidant of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Đình Diệm, was executed by Nguyễn Khánh's military junta.
In a speech to U.S. broadcasters, FCC chairman Newton Minow described commercial television programming as "a vast wasteland".
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it would approve the use of Searle's Enovid, the first combined oral contraceptive pill.
World War II: The Japanese Take Ichi convoy arrived at Halmahera in the Dutch East Indies after losing many ships and thousands of troops to Allied attacks while attempting to carry two divisions of troops from China to New Guinea.
First World War: Germany repelled Britain's second attempt to blockade the Belgian port of Ostend.
An earthquake struck northern Chile, leading to the deaths of 2,385 people, mostly victims of the ensuing tsunami, as far away as Hawaii and Fiji.
Second Schleswig War: The Battle of Heligoland (depicted), the last naval engagement fought by squadrons of wooden ships, took place between the Danish and Austro-Prussian fleets.
The May 9 riots following the arrest of Imran Khan in Pakistan.
Russo-Ukrainian War: United States President Joe Biden signs the 2022 Lend-Lease Act into law, a rebooted World War II-era policy expediting American equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries.
The COVID-19 recession causes the U.S. unemployment rate to hit 14.9 percent, its worst rate since the Great Depression.
Barisan Nasional, the coalition that had governed Malaysia since the country's independence in 1957, suffer an historic defeat in the 2018 Malaysian general election.
The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected terrorists among them deported to several different countries.
In Ghana, 129 football fans die in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium disaster. The deaths are caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of tear gas by police personnel at the stadium) that followed a controversial decision by the referee.
Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Westray Mine disaster kills 26 workers in Nova Scotia, Canada.
New Parliament House, Canberra officially opens.
LOT Flight 5055 Tadeusz Kościuszko crashes after takeoff in Warsaw, Poland, killing all 183 people on board.
In Florida, United States, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 430-meter (1,400 ft) section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 46 metres (150 ft) into the water and die.
In Norco, California, United States, five masked gunmen hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out and one of the largest pursuits in California history. Two of the gunmen and one police officer are killed and thirty-three police and civilian vehicles are destroyed in the chase.
Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000-strong Jewish community of Iran.
Watergate scandal: The United States House Committee on the Judiciary opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.
Carlos Lamarca leads the first urban guerrilla action against the military dictatorship of Brazil in São Paulo, by robbing two banks.
The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.
Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.
Robert Schuman presents the "Schuman Declaration", considered by some to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
Czechoslovakia's Ninth-of-May Constitution comes into effect.
King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Umberto II.
World War II: the Channel Islands are liberated from Nazi occupation.
The Holocaust in Ukraine: The SS executes 588 Jewish residents of the Podolian town of Zinkiv (Khmelnytska oblast. The Zoludek Ghetto (in Belarus) is destroyed and all its inhabitants executed or deported.
World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.
Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5.
The Old Parliament House, Canberra, Australia, officially opens.
Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of Byrd's diary appears to cast some doubt on the claim.)
Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army under General Edward Rydz-Śmigły celebrates its capture of Kiev with a victory parade on Khreshchatyk.
World War I: Germany repels Britain's second attempt to blockade the port of Ostend, Belgium.
World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces.
Australia opens its first national parliament in Melbourne.
Mihail Kogălniceanu reads, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Declaration of Independence of Romania. The date will become recognised as the Independence Day of Romania.
Der Krach: The Vienna stock exchange crash begins the Panic of 1873 and heralds the Long Depression.
American Civil War: Nathan Bedford Forrest surrenders his forces at Gainesville, Alabama.
American Civil War: President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation ending belligerent rights of the rebels and enjoining foreign nations to intern or expel Confederate ships.
Second Schleswig War: The Danish navy defeats the Austrian and Prussian fleets in the Battle of Heligoland.
Exhibition of 1761, the inaugural exhibition of the Society of Artists of Great Britain opens at Spring Gardens in London.
Five men arrested during a raid on Mother Clap's molly house in London are executed at Tyburn.
Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
The figure who later became Mr. Punch makes his first recorded appearance in England.
Hernando de Alarcón sets sail on an expedition to the Gulf of California.
Timurid monarch 'Abd al-Latif is assassinated.
England and Portugal formally ratify their alliance with the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world which is still in force.
Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy.
Athanasius is elected Patriarch of Alexandria.
Trey Lance, American football player
Noah Centineo, American actor
Tommy Edman, American baseball player
Beth Mead, English footballer
Shaboozey, American rapper and singer-songwriter
Dan Burn, English footballer
Majlinda Kelmendi, Kosovar judoka
Ellen White, English footballer
Daniel Rosenfeld, German musician
J. R. Fitzpatrick, Canadian racing driver
Kevin Gameiro, French footballer
Jake Long, American football player
Prince Fielder, American baseball player
Gilles Müller, Luxembourgian tennis player
Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
Rosario Dawson, American actress
Brandon Webb, American baseball player
Averno, Mexican wrestler
Marek Jankulovski, Czech footballer
Svein Tuft, Canadian cyclist
Tamia, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
Brian Deegan, American motocross rider
Tegla Loroupe, Kenyan runner
Doug Christie, American basketball player and coach
Hao Haidong, Chinese footballer
Ghostface Killah, American rapper and actor
Graham Harman, American philosopher and academic
Ruth Kelly, British economist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
Marie-José Pérec, French sprinter
Steve Yzerman, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
Dave Gahan, English singer-songwriter
Paul Heaton, English singer-songwriter
John Corbett, American actor
Tony Gwynn, American baseball player and coach (died 2014)
Wendy Crewson, Canadian actress and producer
Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (died 2012)
Anne Sofie von Otter, Swedish soprano and actress
Alley Mills, American actress
Joy Harjo, American poet, musician, playwright and author, 23rd United States Poet Laureate
Billy Joel, American singer-songwriter and pianist
Calvin Murphy, American basketball player and radio host
Yukiya Amano, Japanese diplomat (died 2019)
Candice Bergen, American actress and producer
Jupp Heynckes, German footballer and manager
Vince Cable, English economist and politician, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (died 2014)
John Ashcroft, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
David Gergen, American political consultant (died 2025)
Dorothy Hyman, English sprinter
James L. Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter
Ion Țiriac, Romanian tennis player and manager
Carroll Cole, American serial killer (died 1985)
Charles Simić, Serbian-American poet and editor (died 2023)
Dave Prater, American singer (died 1988)
Albert Finney, English actor (died 2019)
Glenda Jackson, English actress and politician (died 2023)
Nokie Edwards, American guitarist (died 2018)
Alan Bennett, English screenwriter, playwright, and novelist
Geraldine McEwan, English actress (died 2015)
Vance D. Brand, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut
Joan Sims, English actress (died 2001)
Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (died 1995)
Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian figure skater (died 2012)
Manfred Eigen, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2019)
Bulat Okudzhava, Russian singer, poet, and author (died 1997)
Daniel Berrigan, American priest, poet, and activist (died 2016)
Sophie Scholl, German activist (died 1943)
Mike Wallace, American journalist (died 2012)
Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor and director (died 2005)
J. Merrill Knapp, American musicologist (died 1993)
Hank Snow, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1999)
Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican-American actor (died 1963)
Gordon Bunshaft, American architect, designed the Solow Building (died 1990)
Billy Jurges, American baseball player and manager (died 1997)
Jackie Grant, Trinidadian cricketer (died 1978)
Baldur von Schirach, German politician (died 1974)
Maria Malicka, Polish stage and film actress (died 1992)
Richard Day, Canadian-American art director and set decorator (died 1972)
Richard Barthelmess, American actor (died 1963)
Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (died 1961)
Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (died 1989)
Benjamin Graham, British-American economist, professor, and investor (died 1976)
William Moulton Marston, American psychologist and author (died 1947)
Zita of Bourbon-Parma, last Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (died 1989)
Francesco Baracca, Italian fighter pilot (died 1918)
Rolf de Maré, Swedish art collector (died 1964)
Gianni Vella, Maltese artist (died 1977)
Valdemar Psilander, Danish actor (died 1917)
José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher, author, and critic (died 1955)
George Barker, American painter (died 1965)
Henry J. Kaiser, American shipbuilder and businessman, founded Kaiser Shipyards (died 1967)
Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian (died 1939)
Anton Cermak, Czech-American captain and politician, 44th Mayor of Chicago (died 1933)
Harry Vardon, British golfer (died 1937)
Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian economist and politician (died 1915)
J. M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and playwright (died 1937)
Julius Röntgen, German-Dutch composer (died 1932)
Edward Weston, English-American chemist (died 1936)
Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer and businessman (died 1913)
Adam Opel, German engineer, founded the Opel Company (died 1895)
Ferdinand Monoyer, French ophthalmologist, invented the Monoyer chart (died 1912)
James Collinson, Victorian painter (died 1881)
Jacob ben Moses Bachrach, Polish apologist and author (died 1896)
Frederick Weld, English-New Zealand politician, 6th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1891)
John Brougham, Irish-American actor and playwright (died 1880)
Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded the town of Fleetwood (died 1866)
John Brown, American abolitionist (died 1859)
János Batsányi, Hungarian-Austrian poet and author (died 1845)
Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (died 1818)
Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer and educator (probable; (died 1816)
Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege (died 1655)
Louis Henry, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg, military leader in the Thirty Years' War (died 1662)
Jerónima de la Asunción, Spanish Catholic nun and founder of the first monastery in Manila (died 1630)
Maharana Pratap, Indian ruler (died 1597)
al-Adid, last Fatimid caliph (died 1171)
Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (died 1199)
Sean Burroughs, American baseball player (born 1980)
Roger Corman, American film director, producer, and actor (born 1926)
Rex Murphy, Canadian political commentator (born 1947)
John Leo, American a writer and journalist (born 1935)
Rieko Kodama, Japanese game developer (born 1963)
Little Richard, American singer, songwriter, and pianist (born 1932)
Freddie Starr, English comedian, impressionist, singer and actor (born 1943)
Per Kirkeby, Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor (born 1938)
Robert Miles, a Swiss-born Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ (born 1969)
Edward W. Estlow, American football player and journalist (born 1920)
Kenan Evren, Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey (born 1917)
Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (born 1921)
Giacomo Bini, Italian priest and missionary (born 1938)
Harlan Mathews, American lawyer and politician (born 1927)
Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy, Indian politician, 12th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (born 1935)
Mary Stewart, British author and poet (born 1916)
Ramón Blanco Rodríguez, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1952)
George M. Leader, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Pennsylvania (born 1918)
Humberto Lugo Gil, Mexican lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Hidalgo (born 1933)
Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (born 1921)
Bertram Cohler, American psychologist, psychoanalyst, and academic (born 1938)
Geoffrey Henry, Cook Islander lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (born 1940)
Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser and businessman (born 1928)
Wouter Weylandt, Belgian cyclist (born 1984)
Lena Horne, American singer, actress, and activist (born 1917)
Otakar Motejl, Czech lawyer and politician (born 1932)
Chuck Daly, American basketball player and coach (born 1930)
Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1929)
Baptiste Manzini, American football player (born 1920)
Nuala O'Faolain, Irish journalist and producer (born 1942)
Pascal Sevran, French singer, television host, and author (born 1945)
Dwight Wilson, Canadian soldier (born 1901)
Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (born 1951)
Alan King, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1927)
Brenda Fassie, South African singer (born 1964)
Russell B. Long, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (born 1918)
Alice Faye, American actress and singer (born 1915)
Talat Mahmood, Indian singer and actor (born 1924)
Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (born 1926)
Marco Ferreri, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1928)
Elias Motsoaledi, South African activist (born 1924)
Penelope Gilliatt, English novelist, short story writer, and critic (born 1932)
Keith Whitley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1954)
Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (born 1909)
Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese mountaineer (born 1914)
Edmond O'Brien, American actor and director (born 1915)
Henry Bachtold, Australian soldier and railway engineer (born 1891)
Nelson Algren, American novelist and short story writer (born 1909)
Rolf Just Nilsen, Norwegian singer and actor (born 1931)
Kate Molale, South African activist (born 1928)
Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American banker, businessman, and philanthropist (born 1883)
Eddie Jefferson, American singer and lyricist (born 1918)
Giuseppe Impastato, Italian journalist and activist (born 1948)
Aldo Moro, Italian lawyer and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Italy (born 1916)
James Jones, American novelist (born 1921)
Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (born 1920)
Ulrike Meinhof, German militant, co-founded the Red Army Faction (born 1934)
Walter Reuther, American union leader (born 1907)
Mercedes de Acosta, American author, poet, and playwright (born 1893)
Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (born 1894)
Marion Lorne, American actress (born 1883)
Finlay Currie, British actor (born 1878)
Leopold Figl, Austrian engineer and politician, 18th Chancellor of Austria (born 1902)
Bhaurao Patil, Indian activist and educator (born 1887)
Ernest de Silva, Sri Lankan banker and businessman (born 1887)
Ezio Pinza, Italian actor and singer (born 1892)
Esteban Terradas i Illa, Spanish mathematician and engineer (born 1883)
Louis II, Prince of Monaco (born 1870)
Han Yong-un, Korean poet and social reformer (born 1879)
Józef Cebula, Polish priest and saint (born 1902)
Thomas B. Thrige, Danish businessman (born 1866)
Ernst Bresslau, German zoologist (born 1877)
John Arthur Jarvis, English swimmer (born 1872)
Albert Abraham Michelson, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1852)
George Coșbuc, Romanian journalist and poet (born 1866)
François Faber, Luxembourgian-French cyclist and soldier (born 1887)
Anthony Wilding, New Zealand tennis player and cricketer (born 1883)
C. W. Post, American businessman, founded Post Foods (born 1854)
Thomas Wentworth Higginson, American abolitionist (born 1823)
Oscar von Gebhardt, German theologian and academic (born 1844)
William S. Harney, American general (born 1800)
John Sedgwick, American general and educator (born 1813)
Ernst von Lasaulx, German philologist and politician (born 1805)
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French chemist and physicist (born 1778)
Garlieb Merkel, Estonian author and activist (born 1769)
Friedrich Schiller, German poet, playwright, and historian (born 1759)
Francis Hopkinson, American judge and politician (born 1737)
William Clingan, American politician (born 1721)
Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval, French general and engineer (born 1715)
Nicolaus Zinzendorf, German bishop and saint (born 1700)
John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, Scottish field marshal and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (born 1673)
Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (born 1663)
Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real, Portuguese judge and politician (born 1658)
Dieterich Buxtehude, German-Danish organist and composer (born 1637)
William Bradford, English-American politician, 2nd Governor of Plymouth Colony (born 1590)
Charles de Bourbon French cardinal and pretender to the throne (born 1523)
Mary of Enghien (born 1368)
Niccolò Albergati, Italian Cardinal and diplomat (born 1373)
John Drokensford, Bishop of Bath and Wells
Hugh V, Duke of Burgundy (born 1282)
Magnus VI of Norway
Wang Sitong, Chinese general and governor (born 892)
Adalgar, archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen
Shi Pu, warlord of the Tang Dynasty
Osric, king of Northumbria
Julius Nepos, Western Roman Emperor
Christian feast day: Beatus of Lungern
Christian feast day: Beatus of Vendome
Christian feast day: Christopher (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Christian feast day: George Preca
Christian feast day: Gerontius of Cervia
Christian feast day: Gregory of Nazianzen (The Episcopal Church (US) and traditional Roman Catholic calendar)
Christian feast day: Nicolaus Zinzendorf (Lutheran)
Christian feast day: Pachomius the Great
Christian feast day: Tudy of Landevennec
Christian feast day: May 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Commemoration of the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands related observances: Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. (Guernsey and Jersey)
Commemoration of the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands related observances: National Day (Alderney)
Europe Day, commemorating the Schuman Declaration. (European Union, Kosovo, Moldova, Ukraine)
Victory Day observances, celebration of the Soviet Union victory over Nazi Germany (Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) Victory and Peace Day, marks the capture of Shusha (1992) in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the end of World War II. (Armenia)
Goku Day (Japan), commemorating the fictional character Goku.