Osama bin Laden, founder of the militant Islamist organization al-Qaeda is killed on May 2, 2011, by US forces in Pakistan. Osama bin Laden was the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack and numerous others.
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What Happened in May?
Battles, revolts, and explorations. Learn about the noteworthy events in May that have taken place throughout the ages. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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A powerful EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, causing widespread destruction and resulting in the deaths of approximately 160 people and more than 1,000 injuries. The storm was rated as one of the deadliest tornadoes in modern U.S. history. More
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A wildfire fueled by dry conditions and high winds on May 3, 2016, forces the evacuation of Fort McMurray, Alberta, the capital of Canada's tar sand industry—and the surrounding area; prompting the evacuation of more than 88,000 residents, destroying 1600 structures, shutting down the over a million barrels per day of oil production and causing billions of dollars in losses. More
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Egypt Air, Flight MS804, an Airbus A320, flying from Paris to Cairo crashes into the eastern Mediterranean Sea on May 19, 2016. All 66 passengers and crew on board died. It took almost a month to find the wreckage.
The crash, was originally thought to be a result of a terrorist attack but a year later it was determined that a fire had caused the plane to crash. A 2022 report from the French authorities attributed the cause of the fire to a pilot smoking a cigarette, a practice which wasn't banned at the time, in the proximity of an oxygen line which had its airflow switch improperly left in the “emergency” position when the oxygen mask was replaced three days before. According to the Airbus manual; under those conditions, “an oxygen leakage could occur.“ More
George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, was killed during an arrest, On May 25, 2020, by white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin who knelt on his neck for almost 10 minutes. He was unresponsive when the paramedics arrived.
The arrest and killing was filmed by bystanders and ignited the largest protest movement in the U.S. history, setting off massive protests around the country and generating greater support for the Black Lives Matter movement. The police officer, Derek Chauvin was later convicted of his murder. More
The Pulitzer prizes for 2025 were announced on May 5, 2025. The Public Service category was awarded to ProPublica, for urgent reporting by Kavitha Surana, Lizzie Presser, Cassandra Jaramillo and Stacy Kranitz, about pregnant women who died after doctors delayed urgently needed care for fear of violating vague “life of the mother” exceptions in states with strict abortion laws.
Among the other prize recipients is Author Tessa Hulls, who was the winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in the memoir or autobiography category for her first book, the graphic novel “Feeding Ghosts,” about her family’s complex, continent-spanning history. Pulitzer Prize administrator Marjorie Miller, described “Feeding Ghosts” as “an affecting work of literary art and discovery whose illustrations bring to life three generations of Chinese women — the author, her mother and grandmother — and the experience of trauma handed down with family histories.” Hulls is from Seattle WA. See the list of all 2025 Pulitzer Prizes
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Cardinal Robert Prevost is elected Pope on May 8, 2025, taking the name, Leo XIV. Prevost, 69, is the first U.S. born pope in the church's history. He is also a citizen of Peru, where he worked for over two decades. His first public words as Pope, spoken in Italian, were "Peace be with you,"