- May 1 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French philosopher and paleontologist (The Phenomenon of Man), born in Orcines, Auvergne, France (d. 1955)
- May 11 Al Cabrera, Spanish-born Cuban baseball player (d. 1964)
- May 11 Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer (Frau Helga von Staveren; Thijl), conductor, and anti-Nazi resistance fighter, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1944)
- May 11 Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian physicist (d. 1963)
- May 13 Ilona Durigo, Hungarian contralto singer, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1943)
- May 14 Ed Walsh, American Baseball HOF pitcher (World Series 1906; no-hitter 1911; MLB record 1.82 career ERA; Chicago White Sox) and manager (Chicago WS 1924), born in Plains Township, Pennsylvania (d. 1959)
- May 14 G. Murray Hulbert, American politician (d. 1950)
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938)
May 19 1st President of Turkey (1923-38) and founder of the Republic of Turkey, born in Salonica, Ottoman Empire
- May 20 Władysław Sikorski, Polish World War II general and Prime Minister of Poland in exile (1939-43), born in Tuszów Narodowy, Austria-Hungary (d. 1943)
- May 23 Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral, Portuguese aviator (1st flight across the south Atlantic), born in Celorico da Beira, Portugal (d. 1924)
- May 24 Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský, Slovak composer, born in Trnava, Slovakia (d. 1958)
- May 27 Rudolf Pannwitz, German writer and philosopher (Urblik), born in Crossen/Oder, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia (now in Poland) (d. 1969)
- May 29 Frederik Septimus Kelly, Australian-British composer and rower (Summer Olympic gold, 1908), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1916)
- May 30 Georg von Küchler, German field marshal and WWII war criminal, born in Schloss Philippsruh, German Empire (d. 1968)