May 9, 1899 – John Albert Burr patented the rotary blade lawn mower.
May 10, 1950 – Boston Celtics selected Chuck Cooper as first black player drafted to play in the NBA.
May 11, 1895 – Composer William Grant Still, the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, was born.
May 12, 1820 – The New York African Free School population reacheed 500.
May 13, 1872 – Matilda Arabella Evans, first African American woman to practice medicine in South Carolina, was born.
May 14, 1888 – Slavery abolished in Brazil.
May 15, 1820 – U.S. Congress declared foreign slave trade an act of piracy, punishable by death.
