- May 6 Gaston Leroux, French writer (The Phantom of the Opera), born in Paris (d. 1927)
- May 6 Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist (Chiopi, Nobel-1924), born in Kobiele Wielkie, Petrokov Governorate, Congress Poland (d. 1925)
- May 10 Ed Barrow, American Baseball HOF manager (World Series 1918 Boston Red Sox) and executive (10 x World Series NY Yankees), born in Springfield, Illinois (d. 1953)
- May 12 Halsey William Wilson, American publisher of reference books (Readers' Guide, Cumulative Book Index, Book Review Digest), born in Wilmington, Vermont (d. 1954)
- May 13 Paolo Gallico, Italian-American pianist and composer (The Apocalypse), born in Trieste (d. 1955)
Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935)
May 14 German physician and gay rights advocate, born in Kolberg, Prussia
- May 17 Horace Elgin Dodge, American automobile manufacturing pioneer (co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company), born in Niles, Michigan (d. 1920)
Nicholas II (1868-1918)
May 18 last Tsar of Russia (1894-1917), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia
- May 19 John Fillmore Hayford, American Geodesist who established the theory of isostasy and founded the modern science of geodesy (precise measurements of the shape of the earth), born in Rouses Point, New York (d. 1925)
- May 24 Charles E. Taylor, American first aircraft maintenance professional, born in Cerro Gordo, Illinois (d. 1956)
- May 28 Claude Anet [Jean Schopfer], French writer (Fille Perdue), born in Morges, Switzerland (d. 1931)