- May 2 Vicente MartÃn y Soler, Valencian composer, born in Valencia, Spain (d. 1806)
- May 10 Asmus Jakob Carstens, Danish-German Neoclassical painter, born near Schleswig, Denmark (d. 1798)
- May 12 Franz Anton Hoffmeister, German composer, born in Rottenburg am Neckar, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1812)
- May 15 Pierre Dutillieu, French-Italian opera composer, born in Lyon, France (d. 1798)
- May 20 Hans Gram, Danish-born American composer (d. 1804)
- May 23 Andrea Appiani, Italian royal painter (Napoleon), born in Milan (d. 1817)
- May 24 Giacomo Conti, Italian composer, born in Milan, Italy (d. 1805)