- May 1 Leo Sowerby, American organist and composer (Pulitzer Prize for Music, 1946), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 1968)
- May 2 Alfred Kurella, German author and functionary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in East Germany, born in Brieg, Silesia (d. 1975)
- May 2 Peggy Bacon, American author and illustrator (Off With Their Heads), born in Ridgefield, Connecticut (d. 1987)
- May 2 Lorenz Hart, American lyricist (I Could Write A Book, My Funny Valentine), born in Harlem, New York (d. 1943)
- May 3 Ernst Kantorowicz, German-American historian (Laudes regiae), born in Posen, Prussia (d. 1963)
- May 3 Cornelius Van Til, Dutch philosopher and Christian apologist, Grootegast, Netherlands (d. 1987)
Rudolph Valentino
May 6 Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor and silent movie idol (The Sheik, Eagle), born in Castellaneta, Italy (d. 1926)
Rudolph Valentino
- May 6 Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian National socialist (leading supporter of Nazism in Hungary), born in Szentgyörgy, Austria-Hungary (d. 1946)
- May 6 Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian writer (The Man Who Counted), born in Rio de Janeiro (d. 1974)
- May 8 Edmund Wilson, American critic/writer (Patriotic Gore)
- May 8 Fulton J Sheen, America bishop (Life is Worth Living), born in El Paso, Illinois
- May 8 Jose Gomez, [Joselito el Gallo], bullfighter
- May 8 James H. "Dutch" Kindelberger, American aerospace pioneer (d. 1962)
- May 9 Lucian Blaga, Romanian philosopher and poet (Dogmatic Aeon), born in Lámkerék, Szeben County, Austria-Hungary (d. 1961)
- May 9 Richard Barthelmess, American actor (Broken Blossoms, Noose, Heroes for Sales), born in NYC, New York (d. 1963)
- May 11 Jan Parandowski, writer
- May 11 William Grant Still, American composer ("Afro-American" Symphony), born in Woodville, Mississippi (d. 1978)
- May 12 Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (Songs of Life), born in Madanapalle, India (d. 1986)
- May 14 Lew Lehr, comedian (Stop Me if I heard this One), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- May 14 Renato Lunelli, composer
- May 15 Charles Lamont, director (Abbott & Costello Go to Mars), born in San Francisco, California
- May 15 William D. Byron, U.S. Congressman (d. 1941)
- May 19 Albert Hay Malotte, composer
- May 19 Cecil Gray, Scottish composer and music critic (d. 1959)
- May 20 Reginald J "R" Mitchell, English aviation manufacturer (Spitfire)
- May 24 Hunter "Stork" Hendry, Australian cricketer (Australian all-rounder post-WWI), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1988)
- May 24 Samuel I Newhouse Sr., American businessman and publisher (Parade, Vogue, Glamour), born in NYC, New York (d. 1979)
- May 26 Dorothea Lange, American documentary photographer, born in Hoboken, New Jersey (d. 1965)
Paul Lukas
May 26 Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (Watch on the Rhine, Sphynx), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1971)
Paul Lukas