William Petty
May 2 William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of Great Britain (1782-83), born in Dublin, Kingdom of Ireland (d. 1805)
William Petty
- May 3 Friedrich Schwindl, Dutch composer, born in Amsterdam (d. 1786)
Edward Gibbon
May 8 Edward Gibbon, English historian (The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire), born in Putney, England (d. 1794)
Edward Gibbon