Editing 1926 (section)

===May===
{{Main|May 1926}}
* [[May 4]] &ndash; The [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|United Kingdom general strike]] begins at midnight, in support of a strike by coal miners.
* [[May 9]]
** The French navy bombards [[Damascus]], because of [[Druze]] riots.
** Explorer [[Richard E. Byrd]] and co-pilot [[Floyd Bennett]] claim to be the first to fly over the [[North Pole]] in the ''Josephine Ford'' monoplane, taking off from [[Spitsbergen]], Norway and returning 15 hours and 44 minutes later. Both men are immediately hailed as national heroes, though some experts have since been skeptical of the claim, believing that the plane was unlikely to have covered the entire distance and back in that short an amount of time.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.livescience.com/28727-byrd-didn-t-fly-over-north-pole.html |title = Did Admiral Byrd Fly Over The North Pole Or Not? |last = Thompson |first = Andrea |date = April 15, 2013 |website = [[LiveScience]] |publisher = [[Purch]] |access-date = January 3, 2015 }}</ref> An entry in Byrd's diary, discovered in [[1996]], suggests that the plane actually turned back 150 miles short of the North Pole, due to an oil leak.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/byrd-flies-over-the-north-pole |title = May 9, 1926: Byrd flies over the North Pole? |website = This Day in History |date = February 9, 2010 |publisher = A&E Television Networks |access-date = January 3, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129023602/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/byrd-flies-over-the-north-pole |archive-date = November 29, 2014 |url-status = live }}</ref>
* [[May 10]] &ndash; Planes piloted by Major [[Harold Geiger]] and [[Horace Meek Hickam]], students at the United States [[Air Corps Tactical School]], collide in mid-air at Langley Field, Virginia.
* [[May 12]]
** [[Roald Amundsen]] and his crew fly over the [[North Pole]], in the [[Norge (airship)|airship ''Norge'']].
** The [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|United Kingdom general strike]] is called off by the [[trade union]]s, although miners remain on strike.
* [[May 12]]&ndash;[[May 14|14]] &ndash; [[May Coup (Poland)|May Coup]]: [[Józef Piłsudski]] takes over in Poland.
* [[May 18]] &ndash; Evangelist [[Aimee Semple McPherson]] disappears, while visiting a [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice, California]] beach.
* [[May 20]] &ndash; The [[United States Congress]] passes the [[Air Commerce Act]], licensing pilots and planes.
* [[May 23]] &ndash; The first [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] constitution is established.
* [[May 26]] &ndash; The [[Rif War]] ends, when [[Rifian people|Rif]] rebels surrender in [[Morocco]].
* [[May 28]] &ndash; The [[28 May 1926 coup d'état|1926 coup d'état]], commanded by [[Manuel Gomes da Costa]] in Portugal, installs the [[Ditadura Nacional]] (National Dictatorship), followed by [[António de Oliveira Salazar]]'s [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]].