- May 11 John Lowell, American philanthropist, born in Massachusetts (d. 1836)
- May 20 Honoré de Balzac, French novelist (La Comédie Humaine), born in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France (d. 1850)
- May 21 Mary Anning, British fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist (Jurassic marine fossil beds of Lyme Regis), born in Lyme Regis, Dorset (d. 1847)
- May 23 Thomas Hood, English poet and composer (The Song of the Shirt), born in London (d. 1845)
- May 27 Fromental Halévy, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1862)