- May 1 Danielle Darrieux, French actress (Alexander the Great, Mayerling)
- May 1 Giovanni "John" Beradino, American MLB infielder (St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians) and actor (General Hospital), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1996)
- May 1 Ahron Soloveichik, Orthodox Jewish rabbi, born in Khislavichi, Russia (d. 2001)
- May 2 Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder (Olympic bronze 1936)
- May 3 James Penberthy, Australian composer, born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1999)
- May 3 George Gaynes, Dutch-Finnish-American singer, stage and screen actor (Tootsie; Police Academy; General Hospital), born in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire (d. 2016)
- May 3 Betty Comden [Basya Cohen], American lyricist ("On The Town"; "Just In Time"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2006)
- May 3 Kiro Gligorov, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (1991-99), born in Štip, Kingdom of Serbia (d. 2012)
- May 4 Edward Toner Cone, American pianist, composer and pedagogue, born in Greensboro, North Carolina (d. 2004)
- May 5 Ron Saggers, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (effective NSW & Aussie late 40's), born in Marrickville, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1987)
- May 6 Kal Mann, American lyricist ("Let's Twist Again"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2001)
- May 7 David Tomlinson, British actor (Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Helter Skelter), born in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England (d. 2000)
- May 7 William Geoffrey Biddle, English bomb disposal expert, born in Bromley, Kent, England (d. 1997)
- May 9 George Fleming, cyclist
- May 9 John Arnatt, British actor (A Challenge for Robin Hood, Circumstantial Evidence), born in Petrograd, Russia (d. 1999)
- May 11 Hon Montague Woodhouse, Greek resistance organiser
- May 12 Andries Antonie Rieu, Dutch conductor (Maastricht Symphony Orchestra, 1949-80), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1992)
- May 13 Wilhelmus Wijen [Broeder Pius], social worker (Curacao)
- May 14 Herta Ryder, literary agent
- May 14 Lou Harrison, American composer (La Koro Sutro), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2003)
- May 15 Hugh Edward Lance Falkus, filmmaker/naturalist
- May 16 Geraint Jones, Welsh conductor and organist, born in Porth, Wales (d. 1998)
- May 18 Charles Wintour, English journalist (The Evening Standard), born in Dorset, England (d. 1999)
- May 18 James Donald, Scottish actor (Bridge on River Kwai, Vikings, In Which We Serve, Way Ahead), born in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (d. 1993)
- May 20 Enyss Djemil, composer
- May 20 Richard Cobb, British historian, born in Frinton-on-Sea (d. 1996)
- May 20 Guy Favreau, French Canadian lawyer (d. 1967)
- May 20 Bergur Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic politician (d. 2005)
- May 21 Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor (Perry Mason, Ironsides, Godzilla), born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada (d. 1993)
- May 21 Ronald Colville, Scottish businessman and Governor of the Bank of Scotland, born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1996)
- May 22 Jean-Louis Curtis [Albert Laffitte], French novelist (The Forests of the Night), born in Orthez, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France (d. 1995)
- May 22 Georg Tintner, Austrian conductor, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1999)
- May 22 Nathan Davis, American actor (Dunston Checks In, Holes, Code of Silence), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2008)
- May 22 Daniel Nagrin, American modern dancer and choreographer, born in NYC, New York (d. 2008)
- May 23 Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist, born in West Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2008)
- May 24 Derek Hodgson, British high court judge, born in Whitefield, Manchester (d. 2002)
- May 24 Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, British judge (d. 2013)
- May 24 Theodore Hesburgh, president (University of Notre Dame), born in Syracuse, New York (d. 2015)
- May 24 Florence Knoll Bassett, American furniture designer (Knoll), born in Saginaw, Michigan (d. 2019)
- May 25 Jimmy Hamilton, American jazz saxophonist, born in Dillon, South Carolina (d. 1994)
- May 25 Steve Cochran [Robert Alexander Cochran], American actor (Mozambique, Gay Senotiys, Dallas), born in Eureka, California (d. 1965)
- May 26 Éva Szörényi, Hungarian actress and freedom activist for Hungary, born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (d. 2009)
- May 28 "Papa" John Creach, American blues violinist (Hot Tuna; Jefferson Airplane), born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania (d. 1994)
- May 28 Barry Commoner, biologist (Science & Survival), born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 28 Gerald Cash, Governor-General of the Bahamas, born in Nassau, Bahamas (d. 2003)
- May 28 Marshall Reed, American actor (The Madmen of Mandoras, Mysterious Island), born in Englewood, Colorado (d. 1980)
John F. Kennedy
May 29 John F. Kennedy, 35th US President (1961-1963) and Senator (D-Mass), born in Brookline, Massachusetts (d. 1963)
About May 1917
How Old? 104 or 105 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation
Leap Year: No