- May 2 Elias Boudinot, American lawyer and patriot, President of the Continental Congress, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1821)
- May 7 Nikolai Arkharov, Russian general (d. 1814)
- May 9 Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer (Barber of Seville), born in Roccaforzata, Taranto, Italy (d. 1816)
- May 19 Joseph Franz Weigl, German cellist and early proponent of the 'thumb technique', born in Bavaria (d. 1820)