- May 2 Moshoeshoe II, King of Lesotho (1966-90), born in Morija, Lesotho (d. 1996)
- May 3 Chris Cannizzaro, American baseball player, born in Oakland, California (d. 2016)
- May 4 Tyrone Davis, American R&B singer ("Can I Change My Mind"; "Turn Back The Hands Of Time"), born in Greenville, Mississippi (d. 2005)
- May 4 William J. Bennett, American politician, U.S. Secretary of Education (1985-88), born in NYC, New York
- May 4 Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican writer and political activist, born in Mexico City
- May 5 Jerzy Skolimowski, Polish film director (Hands Up, Deep End), born in Warsaw, Poland
- May 5 Johnnie Taylor, American R&B and multi-genre singer ("Disco Lady"; "I Believe In You"), born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas (d. 2000)
- May 5 Michael Murphy, American actor (McCabe & Mrs Miller, Unmarried Woman), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 6 Jean Garon, Quebec economist and politician, born in Saint-Michel, Quebec (d. 2014)
- May 6 Larry Gogan, Irish radio personality (Raidió Teilifís Éireann), born in Dublin
- May 7 Johnny Caldwell, Irish flyweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1956), born in Belfast, Ireland (d. 2009)
- May 8 Javed Burki, cricketer (Pakistani batsman in 25 Tests 1960-69)
- May 8 Pierre Lucien Claverie, bishop of Oran
- May 8 Jean Giraud, French comic artist (Alien, Tron), born in Val-de-Marne, French (d. 2012)
- May 9 Geoffrey Holland, civil servant
- May 9 Charles Simic Yugoslavian-born poet, 15th Poet Laureate of the United States
- May 10 Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player (4-time Grand Slam singles champion), born in Madrid, Spain
- May 10 Maxim Shostakovich, Russian conductor (Atlanta Symphony), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Soviet Union
- May 10 Merritt Ranew, baseball player
- May 10 Peter Davies, Major-General/Director-General (RSPCA)
- May 10 Philip Gordon Winsor, American composer, Born in Morris, Illinois (d. 2012)
- May 10 Jean Becker, French director, screenwriter and actor
- May 11 Carla Bley [Carla Borg], American musician (Escalator Over the Hill), born in Oakland, California
- May 11 Harvey Sollberger, flutist/composer (2 Oboes Troping), born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- May 12 Millie Perkins, American actress (Diary of Anne Frank, Table for 5, Shooting), born in Passaic, New Jersey
- May 12 Andrei Amalrik, Russian writer and dissident (Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984), born in Moscow, Soviet Union (d. 1980)
- May 12 Susan Hampshire, English actress (Vanity Fair, Living Free), born in London, England
- May 13 Buck Taylor, actor (Monroes, Gunsmoke), born in Hollywood, California
- May 13 Laurent Beaudoin, French Canadian businessman (Bombardier)
- May 13 Giuliano Amato, Italian politician
- May 15 Lenny Welch, American singer (Since I Fell for You), born in New York
- May 15 Mireille Darc, French actress (Week End, Hurried Man), born in Toulon
Ivan Sutherland
May 16 Ivan Sutherland, American computer scientist (Sketchpad), born in Hastings, Nebraska
Ivan Sutherland
- May 17 Don Dolan, actor (Guy Lewis- General Hospital), born in Staten Island, New York
- May 17 Jason Bernard, actor (Judge-Liar Liar)
- May 17 Pervis Jackson, American R&B singer (Spinners), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2008)
- May 17 Trinus Riemersma, Dutch-Frisian writer (Conquest of Leeuwarden)
- May 18 Janet Fish, American realist artist, born in Boston, Massachusetts
- May 19 James Bilbray, American lawyer and politician (Rep-D-Nevada 1987-95), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- May 19 [Brian Keith] Herbie Flowers, English bassist and session musician (Lou Reed, Harry Nilsson, T-Rex), born in Isleworth, England
- May 19 Moisés da Costa Amaral, East Timorese leader, born in Fahinihan, East Timor (d. 1989)
- May 19 Girish Karnad, Indian playwright and filmmaker (Tuglaq), born in Dharwad, British India (d. 2019)
- May 20 Alan Smithers, British professor
- May 20 Christina Bass-Kaiser, 3K Dutch speed skater (Olympic gold 1972)
- May 20 Marinella, Greek singer and actress
- May 20 Astrid Kirchherr, German photographer, helped establish The Beatles image, born in Hamburg, Germany (d. 2020)
- May 21 David Groh, American actor (Rhoda - "Joe"; Another Day - "Don"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2008)
- May 21 Urs Widmer, Swiss writer, born in Basel (d. 2014)
- May 21 (Henry) Lee "Shot" Williams, American blues singer ("I Like Your Style"), born in Mississippi (d. 2011)
- May 22 Frank Converse, American actor (It's About Time, Dr Cook's Garden, Movin' On), born in St. Louis, Missouri
- May 22 Richard Benjamin, American director and actor (Goodbye Columbus, He & She), born in NYC, New York
- May 22 Susan Strasberg, American actress (In Praise of Older Women, Manitou), born in NYC, New York
- May 22 Alain Gagnon, Canadian composer (Chansons d'Orient), and music educator (Université Laval, 1967-2008), born in Trois-Pistoles, Quebec (d. 2017)
- May 23 John R Miller, (Rep-R-WA, 1985- )
- May 23 Peter Preston, editor (Guardian)
- May 23 Graham "Johnny" Ball, British TV personality and mathematics educator (Play School), born in Bristol, England
- May 24 Glen Hall, South African cricket leg-spinner (South African in one Test v England 1964), born in Pretoria, Transvaal (d. 1987)
- May 24 Thomas "Tommy" Chong, Canadian-American comedian, actor, and cannabis rights activist (Cheech & Chong), born in Edmonton, Alberta
- May 24 David Viscott, American psychiatrist and media personality, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1996)
- May 24 Prince Buster [Cecil Bustamente Campbell], Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer ("Al Capone"; "Madness", "Whine and Grine"), born in Kingston, Jamaica (d. 2016)
- May 25 Lyudmila Buldakova, Russian volleyball player (Olympic gold 1972), born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (d. 2006)
- May 25 Raymond Carver, American poet and short story writer (Furious Season), born in Clatskanie, Oregon (d. 1988)
- May 26 Jaki Liebesit, German rocker (Can), born in Dresden, Germany (d. 2017)
- May 26 Teresa Stratas [Anastasia Stratakis], Canadian operatic soprano (Salome), born in Toronto, Ontario
- May 26 William Bolcom, American composer (Oracles), born in Seattle, Washington
- May 26 Pauline Parker, New Zealand murderess (Parker–Hulme murder case), born in Christchurch, New Zealand
- May 26 Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Russian playwright and novelist
Jerry West
May 28 Jerry West, American Basketball Hall of Fame guard, executive (LA Lakers, 14-time NBA All Star), born in Chelyan, West Virginia
Jerry West
- May 28 Prince Buster [Cecil Bustamente Campbell], Jamaican-born reggae musician and producer (Madness), born in Kingston, Jamaica (d. 2016)
- May 29 Fay Vincent, American lawyer and sports executive (MLB Commissioner 1989-92), born in Waterbury, Connecticut
- May 30 Wilfried de Pree, Dutch politician and theologian (PvdA)/theologist, born in Amstelveen, North Holland, Netherlands
- May 31 John Prescott, British Labour MP
- May 31 Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter (Peter, Paul & Mary -"Puff The Magic Dragon"), born in NYC, New York
- May 31 Johnny Paycheck [Donald Lytle], American country singer ("Take This Job and Shove It"), born in Greenfield, Ohio (d. 2003)
About May 1938
How Old? 83 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No