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May 1, 1707: Act of Union between England and Scotland results in the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
May 5, 1862: Battle of Puebla: The Mexican army defeats the French army at the Battle of Puebla, leading to the creation of Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Mexico.
May 10, 1869: The Golden Spike is driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad in the United States.
May 21, 1927: Charles Lindbergh takes off from New York on the Spirit of St. Louis, begins his historic solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
May 9, 1945: Victory Day in Europe (V-E Day): The unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied forces, effectively ending World War II in Europe.
May 25, 1961: President John F. Kennedy announces the United States' goal to send a man to the Moon before the end of the 1960s.
May 27, 1967: The civil rights activist, Stokely Carmichael, coins the term "Black Power" during a rally in Greenwood, Mississippi.
May 18, 1980: Mount St. Helens, a dormant volcano in Washington State, erupts, causing significant destruction and loss of life.
May 30, 1989: Tiananmen Square protests: Pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing, China, end in a violent military crackdown by Chinese authorities.
May 21, 1991: Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: The former Prime Minister of India is killed by a suicide bomber during an election rally in Tamil Nadu.
May 24, 1993: Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia after a successful referendum.
May 11, 1998: India tests nuclear devices at Pokhran, leading to international condemnation and further nuclear proliferation in the region.
May 12, 2008: Wenchuan Earthquake: A magnitude 8.0 earthquake hits Sichuan, China, causing widespread devastation and claiming the lives of over 80,000 people.
May 2, 2011: Osama Bin Laden is killed in a raid by US forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, ending a decade-long manhunt.
May 23, 2015: Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Ireland after a successful referendum.
May 22, 2017: Manchester Arena bombing: A terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, results in the deaths of 22 people.
May 25, 2020: The death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, USA, sparks global protests against racial inequality and police brutality.
May 23, 2021: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approves $650 billion in special drawing rights (SDRs), the largest issuance in IMF history, to support global liquidity during the COVID-19 pandemic.