Wisconsin was admitted to the Union of States on May 29, 1848 and becomes the 30th State. Its admission marked a significant expansion in the Midwest just before California. View list of Admission
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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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Future President Abraham Lincoln was granted Patent No. 6,469, on May 22, 1849, for a device called "Buoying Vessels Over Shoals". This invention was a method of lifting boats over shallow water, which was inspired by a trip to Niagara Falls where Lincoln witnessed a boat getting stuck.
Lincoln's device used expandable bellows attached to the sides of a boat. These bellows would be inflated to lift the boat over shoals or obstructions. Lincoln was 40 years old at the time. He remains the only U.S. president to ever receive a patent. More
Pro-slavery forces, led by Sheriff Samuel J. Jones, attacked and burned the anti-slavery town of Lawrence, Kansas on May 21, 1856, in what became known as the "Sacking of Lawrence." More
Minnesota is admitted to the Union on May 11, 1858 and becomes the 32nd State. View list of Admission
The Great Clock, located at the top of the 320-foot-high Elizabeth Tower in London, known as "Big Ben", starts ticking on May 31, 1859 and the Great Bell's strikes are heard for the first time on July 11, 1859 A brief history of Big Ben and Elizabeth Tower
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Abraham Lincoln, a former one term, U.S. Representative from Illinois, secures the Republican Party's nomination for President, on May 18, 1860, beating Senator William H. Seward of New York, who was considered the front-runner. Lincoln went on to win the 1860 election, becoming the first Republican president. The Republican Party was founded in 1854.
Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, presented the first durable color photograph on May 17, 1861, at the Royal Institution in London. The image was created by him and photographer Thomas Sutton.
The image was of a tartan ribbon by taking three separate black and white photographs through red, green, and blue filters and then combining them. This method, based on Maxwell's earlier work, demonstrated that any color could be created by mixing the three primary colors of light. More
North Carolina became the 10th of 11 states to secede from the Union on May 20, 1861, officially joining the Confederate States of America, soon after the fall of Fort Sumter and Virginia's secession.
The Battle of Puebla takes place on May, 5 1862, where an elite French military force led by General Charles de Lorencez headed for Mexico City was stopped at Puebla by an outnumbered Mexican army of 2,000—5,000 led by Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza.
The larger French forces, which were experiencing a larger loss of troops withdrew by the end of the day. The victory at the Battle of Puebla rallied the Mexicans, eventually culminating in the complete withdraw of all French forces in 1867 and the capture and execution by firing squad of Emperor, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who had been installed in 1864 as emperor of Mexico by Napoleon III. More
President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law on May 20, 1862, making millions of government owned acres in the west available to "homesteaders". The Act granted 160 acres of surveyed public land to US citizens who agreed to live on and improve the land for five years. The act took effect on January 1, 1863.
It was a major, progressive piece of legislation encouraging the settlement and development of the American West and providing opportunities for many groups, including immigrants, single women, and formerly enslaved people, to become landowners. More
The Territory of Arizona is created by Congress with Prescott as capital.
President Abraham Lincoln, wrote a letter on May 19, 1864, to anti-slavery Congressional leader Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, proposing that, widows and children of soldiers should be given equal treatment regardless of race. His letter led to the Congressional Resolution frequently referenced as H.R. 406, Section 13 to rectify the issue.
President Lincoln had written the letter to Senator Sumner, after meeting with Mary Booth, the widow of black Civil War soldier, Major Lionel F. Booth, who was killed at Fort Pillow, Tennessee the previous month by a Confederate sniper. Although this resolution was passed, the Library of Congress has no record that Mary Booth ever applied for or received the widow's pension she sought.
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Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured by Union forces on May 10, 1865, in Irwinville, Georgia, effectively ending the Confederate government. General, Robert E. Lee, had surrendered on April 9 at Appomattox in Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant.
The U.S. Congress authorizes on May 16, 1866, the creation of a new American coin; the five-cent piece composed of copper and “not exceeding twenty-five per centum of nickel.” The new coin was quickly nick named the "Nickel". It has been minted every year since then except for 1922, 1932, and 1933. As of 2020, it costs 7 cents to produce the 5 cents coin.
Martha Jones of Amelia County, Va., became the first black woman known to receive a United States patent on May 5, 1868 as her patent application for an “Improvement to the Corn Husker, Sheller” was granted. ( U.S. patent No. 77494) . The patent claimed her invention could husk, shell, cut up, and separate husks from corn in one operation, representing a significant step forward in the automation of agricultural processes. More
In the first vote of President Andrew Johnson's Impeachment trial, the U.S. Senate votes on May 16, 1868 to acquit him, on article 11 by a vote of 35 to 19. Ten days later, on May 26 the Senate, votes again to acquit on articles 2 and 3 and adjourns as court of impeachment. More
In the final vote of President Andrew Johnson's Impeachment trial on May 26, 1868; the U.S. Senate votes 35 to 19 to acquit him on articles 2 and 3 and adjourns as court of impeachment. Ten days earlier on May 16, the Senate, voted to acquit on article 11, with the same margin. More
The U.S. Transcontinental railroad opens for through traffic linking the East Coast and West Coast by rail, on May 10, 1869, when CPRR President Leland Stanford ceremonially drove the gold "Last Spike" (later often referred to as the "Golden Spike") at Promontory Summit in Utah. More
The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was founded in New York City by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The NWSA was formed after the women's rights movement split over the proposed Fifteenth Amendment, which would grant voting rights to African American men but not to women. The NWSA opposed the amendment as written, advocating for women's suffrage along with the rights of Black men. More
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony - Public domain
The peace Treaty of Frankfurt is signed, on May 10, 1871, by the German Empire and the French Third Republic, formally ending the Franco-Prussian War and leaving a stronger unified Germany under Prussian leadership. It also resulted in significant territorial losses for France, including Alsace and part of Lorraine. More