Dashed left edge = started before May 1938 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond May 1938
Events in May 1938 7
1860 – 1938Kanō Jigorō (1860-1938)Died 4 May 1938, aged 77Kanō Jigorō founded judo and was the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee.
1889 – 1938Carl von Ossietzky (1889-1938)Died 4 May 1938, aged 48Ossietzky was a German pacifist journalist who exposed secret German rearmament. He won the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize while held in a concentration camp and died in custody from tuberculosis.
1938"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" -- first Number 1Fitzgerald records 'A-Tisket, A-Tasket' with the Chick Webb Orchestra in May 1938 -- a swinging reworking of a nursery rhyme that reaches Number 1 and stays there for 17 weeks. The song sells one million copies and makes Fitzgerald a national name at 21. It is a light novelty song very different from the sophisticated jazz and standards she will later define, but it demonstrates her rhythmic vitality and her ability to make any material irresistible. She co-wrote the arrangement. Chick Webb's band becomes the most commercially successful Black band in America on the strength of Fitzgerald's popularity.
1938Empire Exhibition in GlasgowThe British Empire Exhibition is held at Bellahouston ParkThe exhibition showcased industry and culture across the Empire and drew over 12 million visitors. Thomas Tait's modernist Tower of Empire was its centrepiece.
1938 – 1988Raymond Carver (1938-1988)Died 2 August 1988, aged 50Raymond Carver was an American short story writer and poet credited with reviving the American short story through his minimalist style. His collections include What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. He died of lung cancer in Port Angeles, Washington.
1938House Un-American Activities Committee createdThe US House sets up the Dies CommitteeThe House of Representatives set up a special committee chaired by Martin Dies to investigate subversive activity. It later became the House Un-American Activities Committee, known for its anti-communist investigations during the McCarthy era.
1938 – 2024John Prescott (1938-2024)Died 20 November 2024, aged 86British politician who was deputy prime minister under Tony Blair and deputy leader of the Labour Party for thirteen years.