May 12

Modern nursing innovator Florence Nightingale born (1820); Actress Katharine Hepburn born (1907); Charles Lindbergh’s son found dead two months after being kidnapped (1932); Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk born (1968); Ex-President Jimmy Carter visits Cuba, the first American president to visit since 1959 revolution (2002).

May 13

The US declares war against Mexico in dispute over Texas (1846); "Golden Girls" actress Bea Arthur born (1922); Stevie Wonder born (1950); Pope John Paul II is shot, survives assassination attempt (1981); Actress and singer Doris Day dies (2019).

May 9

Billy Joel born (1949); Impeachment proceedings begin against President Richard Nixon (1974); Singer and civil rights activist Lena Horne dies (2010); Rock legend Little Richard dies (2020).

May 10

First American transcontinental railroad is completed (1869); Winston Churchill becomes prime minister of the UK (1940); Former NASA astronaut Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space, born (1958); Actress Joan Crawford dies (1977); Nelson Mandela inaugurated as president of South Africa (1994).

May 11

First chartered hospital in the US founded in Philadelphia (1751); Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí born (1904); Hit musical "Cats" debuts in London (1981); American singer Sabrina Carpenter born (1999); "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" author Douglas Adams dies (2001). 

May 8

President Harry Truman born (1884); Coca-Cola is sold for the first time at a pharmacy in Atlanta (1886); Mount Pelée in Martinique erupts, beginning the deadliest volcanic event of the 20th century (1902); Germany surrenders, ending World War II in Europe (1945); Smallpox is eradicated (1980).

May 7

Edwin H. Land, inventor of instant photography, born (1909); Ishirō Honda, Japanese film director and cowriter of 1954 film "Godzilla," born (1911); German submarine sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 (1915); Eva "Evita" Perón born (1919); Sony Corporation founded (1946).