- May 1 Archie Williams, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1936), born in Oakland, California (d. 1993)
- May 2 Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter ("Tutti Frutti"; "You Always Hurt the One You Love": "Tampico"), born in NYC, New York (d. 2003)
- May 2 Jan Hanus, Czech composer, born in Prague (d. 2004)
- May 2 Margaret "Peggy" Mount, British actress (Oliver!, Panic in the Parlor), born in Southend-On-Sea, Essex, England (d. 2001)
- May 2 Van Alexander [Alexander Van Vliet Feldman], American composer, arranger ("A-Tisket, A-Tasket"), and orchestra leader (Dean Martin Show), born in Harlem, New York (d. 2015)
- May 3 Evencio Castellanos, Venezuelan pianist, and composer, born in Cúa, Miranda state, Venezuela (d. 1984)
- May 3 Stu Hart, Canadian professional wrestler and trainer, born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (d. 2003)
- May 4 Pedro Saenz, Argentine and Spanish composer, born in Buenos Aires (d. 1995)
- May 5 Alice Faye [Leppert], American actress and singer (Hello, Frisco, Hello; Fallen Angel; Stowaway), born in NYC, New York (d. 1998)
- May 5 Richard Rovere, American political journalist (Goldwater Caper), born in Jersey City, New Jersey (d. 1979)
- May 6 Freddie Cochrane, American boxer (World Welterweight champion 1941-1946), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey (d. 1993)
- May 6 George Perle, American composer (12 Tone Tonality; Pulitzer Prize, 1986), born in Bayonne, New Jersey (d. 2009)
- May 6 John Arnold, British high court judge (d. 2004)
- May 6 May Henriquez-Alvarez, Curacao Dutch sculptor, born in Curacao (d. 1999)
Orson Welles (1915-1985)
May 6 American actor and director (Citizen Kane, War of the Worlds), born in Kenosha, Wisconsin
- May 6 Theodore H. White, American journalist (Making of President, Pulitzer Prize 1962), born in Dorchester, Boston (d. 1986)
- May 8 John Archer [Ralph Bowman], American actor (Destination: Moon, White Heat, Blue Hawaii), born in Osceola, Nebraska (d. 1999)
- May 10 Bert van Dongen [Albert Cohen], Dutch singer, impressionist and actor (Het meisje met den blauwen hoed), born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 1982)
- May 10 Denis Thatcher, husband of British PM Margaret (1979-90), born in London, England (d. 2003)
- May 10 Monica Dickens, British author and founder of the Samaritians in the US, born in London, England (d. 1992)
- May 10 Salah Abou Seif [Salah Abu Saif], Egyptian film director (Bidaya wa Nihaya), born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 1996)
- May 12 Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman, founded Mary Kay Cosmetics (d. 2001)
- May 13 John Habakkuk [Hrothgar Habakkuk], Welsh economic historian (Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University 1973–77), born in Barry, Wales (d. 2002)
- May 15 Bill Williams [Herman Wilhelm Katt], American actor (The Adventures of Kit Carson; Date With the Angels), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1992)
- May 15 Gus Viseur, French button accordionist (d. 1974)
- May 15 Maurice B Latey, commentator (BBC World Service)
- May 15 Paul A Samuelson, economist (1970 Nobel, 1947 John Bates Clark Medal)
- May 17 Joseph D Craggs, electrical engineer
- May 18 Leon Shenandoah, native American leader (Iroquois Confederacy) (d. 1996)
Moshe Dayan (1915-1981)
May 20 Israeli military leader and politician (Minister of Defense 1967-74), born in Degania Alef, Ottoman Empire
- May 20 Peter Copley, British actor (Victim, Kingdom of Heaven, King & Country), born in Bushey, Hertfordshire, England (d. 2008)
- May 23 Clyde Wiegand, physicist
- May 25 Daniel Wolf, American journalist (d. 1996)
- May 26 Antonia Forest [Patricia Giulia Caulfield Kate Rubinstein], British children's author (The Marlows), born in Hampstead, London (d. 2003)
- May 26 Sam Edwards, American actor (Captain Midnight, Twelve O'Clock High), born in Macon, Georgia (d. 2004)
- May 27 Herman Wouk, American novelist (The Caine Mutiny, Winds of War), born in NYC, New York (d. 2019)
- May 27 Louise Annand-MacFarquhar, Lanarkshire, Scotland, painter and filmmaker (At the Museum), (d. 2012)
- May 28 Joseph Greenberg, American linguist (d. 2001)
- May 28 Scott McKay [Carl Chester Gose], American actor (Stage Door, Guest in House, 30 Seconds over Tokyo), born in Pleasantville, Iowa (d. 1987)
- May 28 Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Austrian violinist, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2002)
- May 29 David Jenkins, Welsh librarian (National Library of Wales), born in Blaenclydach, Glamorgan (d. 2002)
- May 29 Gerald Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck, 6th Baron Huntingfield, British agent to UN Secreteriat (d. 1994)
- May 29 Igor Buketoff, American conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra, 1964-65), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2001)
- May 29 Karl Münchinger, German conductor (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, 1945-87), born in Stuttgart, Germany (d. 1990)
- May 30 Jerome Bert Weisner, military scientist/disarmer
- May 30 Larry Kelley, American College Football Hall of Fame tight end (Heisman Trophy 1936; Unanimous All-American 1936; Yale), born in Hightstown, New Jersey (d. 2000)
- May 31 Barbara Pepper [Marion], American actress (Foreign Correspondent, Green Acres, Rogue Tavern), born in NYC, New York (d. 1969)
About May 1915
How Old? 107 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation
Leap Year: No