Editing 1979 (section)

===May===
{{main|May 1979}}
* [[May 1]] – [[Greenland]] is granted limited autonomy from Denmark, with its own [[Parliament of Greenland|Parliament]] sitting in [[Nuuk]].
* [[May 3]] – The [[1979 United Kingdom general election]] for the House of Commons takes place, giving the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]] a majority, and designating [[Margaret Thatcher]] the nation's first woman prime minister, ending the rule of [[James Callaghan]]'s [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/basics/4393311.stm|title=1979: Thatcher wins Tory landslide|work=Election 2005|publisher=BBC News|date=2005-04-05|access-date=2013-03-18}}</ref>
* [[May 4]] – Thatcher is appointed the [[prime minister of the United Kingdom]].
* [[May 8]] – Ten shoppers die in [[Woolworths fire|a fire at the Woolworths department store]] in [[Manchester]] city centre in England.
* [[May 9]]
** The [[Salvadoran Civil War]] begins.
** The [[Unabomber]] bomb injures [[Northwestern University]] graduate student John Harris.
* [[May 10]] – The [[Federated States of Micronesia]] becomes self-governing.
* [[May 15]] – Uganda–Tanzania War: [[Battle of Lira]]: [[Tanzania]] and its [[Uganda National Liberation Front]] allies capture [[Lira, Uganda]], from the forces of Ugandan dictator [[Idi Amin]].
* [[May 21]]
** [[Dan White]] is convicted of manslaughter, rather than murder, for the assassination of [[San Francisco]] Mayor [[George Moscone]] and Supervisor [[Harvey Milk]], after using what would become known as the "[[Twinkie defense]]" and persuading a jury that the crime was not premeditated. The maximum sentence is seven years imprisonment, with eligibility for early parole, prompting the "[[White Night riots]]" in the gay community.  
** The [[Montreal Canadiens]] defeat the [[New York Rangers]] four games to one to win their fourth consecutive [[Stanley Cup]].
*[[May 24]]
**[[Thorpe Park]]: Opens its doors having attractions such as [[Phantom Fantasia]] also next door had a farm called Thorpe Farm
* [[May 25]]
** [[American Airlines Flight 191]]: In Chicago, a [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10|DC-10]] crashes during takeoff at [[O'Hare International Airport]], killing all 271 on board and 2 people on the ground in the deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history.
** [[John Spenkelink]] is executed in [[Florida]], in the first use of the [[electric chair]] in America after the reintroduction of the [[death penalty]] in [[1976]].
** [[Disappearance of Etan Patz|Etan Patz, six years old, is kidnapped in New York]]. He is often referred to as the "Boy on the Milk Carton" and the investigation later sprouts into one of the most famous child abduction cases of all time. This is a cold case until 2010 when it is re-opened. In April 2017, Pedro Hernandez is convicted of the murder and kidnapping and sentenced to life imprisonment.
* [[May 27]] – [[1979 Indianapolis 500|Indianapolis 500]]: [[Rick Mears]] wins the race for the first time, and car owner [[Roger Penske]] for the second time.