On This Day in May: 31 of the Month’s Biggest Moments

Follow along with the biggest moments in May history in this visual journey of photos from the Shutterstock Editorial archive.

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Photography has given us a rich visual archive of the most important events in history — everything from tragedies to the pinnacles of human achievement. Photos can bring us back to a tragic event that broke our collective hearts, a cultural moment that we rejoiced over, or a scientific breakthrough that made us see the world differently. Each month we’ll share photographs from the Shutterstock Editorial archive that show a significant historical or cultural event for each day of that month.
This month, we take a visual journey through May.

May 1

1931: President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates the Empire State Building in New York.
Photo by AP/Shutterstock.

May 2

2011: Osama Bin Laden killed by United States special forces in Pakistan.
Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Shutterstock.

May 3

2002: Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire premieres.
Photo by Paul Lovelace/​Shutterstock.

May 4

1970: Four student anti-war protesters are killed at Kent State by the National Guard.
Photo by AP/Shutterstock.

May 5

2018: Childish Gambino releases “This is America” to critical acclaim.
Photo by John Salangsang/​Invision/​AP/​Shutterstock.

May 6

2004: The finale of Friends airs on NBC.
Photo by Ann Johansson/AP/Shutterstock.

May 7

2000: Vladimir Putin becomes President of Russia.
Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/​EPA/​Shutterstock.

May 8

1963: The first James Bond movie, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery is released.
Photo by Danjaq/Eon/Ua/Kobal/Shutterstock.

May 9

1958: Vertigo by director Alfred Hitchcock and starring Jimmy Stewart is released.
Photo by Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock.

May 10

1994: Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first black President.
Photo by David Brauchli/AP/Shutterstock.
View the full photo archive here