3 May 1944 – Harvard University researchers Robert Woodward and William Doering produce for the first time synthetically quinine, used to treat malaria and hitherto extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree
6 May 1851 – The American John Gorrie obtains the patent for the ice making machine: he will be remembered as the "father" of refrigeration and air conditioning
8 May 1886 – In Atlanta, the pharmacist John Styth Pemberton markets the essence at the base of Coca-Cola: His “invention” is a headache remedy that replaces French cola subject to alcohol restrictions
13 May 1958 – Three years after the European one, the Swiss George de Mestral obtains the patent for the Velcro also in the United States: it is an innovative closure system based on different fabrics that remain hooked in contact with each other. The name "velcro" derives from the crasis of two French words, velours and crochet, or "velvet" and "hook"
14 May 1796 – The English biologist and physician Edward Jenner carries out the first smallpox vaccination: the first patient is 8 years old
14 May 2012 – A group of researchers from Stanford University led by Daniel Palanker announces that they have developed thebionic eye powered by concentrated light, a retinal prosthesis which in some specific cases could restore sight
19 May 1974 – The Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik creates in his Budapest home the first wooden prototype of his mathematical game originally called “Magic Cube”, which became famous as “Rubik's cube"
19 May 1995 – Indian-American Balamurali Ambati Krishna becomes the youngest doctor in the world graduating from Mount Sinai School of Medicine at the age of 17, after having already graduated from New York University with a degree in Biology at the age of 13
20 May 1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis obtain patent for i blue jeans, a model of resistant trousers reinforced with metal rivets on the sides of the pockets and at the base of the buttoning
22 May 1906 – The Wright brothers obtain the patent for theairplane with engine of their invention: in the documentation presented in March 1903 they had defined it as a "flying machine"
22 May 1980 – The video game was born Pac-Man: designed by Toru Iwatani, it is distributed in Japan by Namco under the name of Pakkuman and will arrive in the West with the provisional name of Puck man
24 May 1844 – Officially inaugurated in the United States first telegraph line in the world, which connects Baltimore to Washington DC
27 May 1937 – Inaugurated on Golden Gate Bridge that connects San Francisco to the town of Sausalito in California, overlooking the strait that connects the Pacific Ocean with the San Francisco Bay: it is the longest suspension bridge in the world
28 May 1953 – Hollywood debut on first cartoon in 3D: it is "Melody" by Walt Disney, a production lasting about 10 minutes in which Professor Owl teaches a class of birds how to find the melody in their surroundings