May1 

1966  The Beatles gave their last UK concert at the Empire Pool, Wembley

1961  Betting shops were legalised in the UK

May2 

1519  Leonardo da Vinci died

May3 

1953  Dylan Thomas gave the first public reading of "Under Milk Wood"

1810  In imitation of Leander, Lord Byron swam the Hellespont at the mouth of the Dardanelles in 1 hour 10 minutes

 May4 

1829  The Earl of Surrey became the first Roman Catholic MP

May5 

1980  An SAS team stormed the London Iranian Embassy to rescue hostages, killing five of the six terrorists

1961  Alan Shepard became the first American in space

1646  Charles I surrendered to the Scots at Newark

May6 

1965  Julie Andrews won an Oscar for her performance in Mary Poppins - bet the Academy is proud of that decision

1626  Peter Minuit bought Manhattan Island for 24 dollars - little knowing that twenty years later Charles I would surrender to the Scots at Newark

May7 

1765  Nelson's flagship Victory was launched at Chatham