- May 1 John Richard Patterson, English businessman who founded Dateline, born in Hertfordshire, England
- May 1 Rita Coolidge, American Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter (Higher & Higher; We're All Alone), born in Nashville, Tennessee
- May 2 Bianca Jagger [Blanca Pérez-Mora Macías], Nicaraguan model and socialite who married Mike Jagger, born in Managua, Nicaragua
- May 2 Goldy McJohn [John Goadsby], Canadian rock keyboard and Hammond B3 organ player (Steppenwolf - "Magic Carpet ride"; 'Born To Be Wild"), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2017)
- May 2 Judge Dread [Alexander Hughes] English reggae musician, born in Kent, England (d. 1998)
- May 2 Loyd Phillips, American College Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman (University of Arkansas; Chicago Bears), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2020)
- May 2 Randy Cain, American soul singer (4 Gents;; Delfonics - "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2009)
- May 3 Jeffrey C. Hall, American geneticist (Nobel Prize 2017 behavioral rhythms of the fly), born in New York City
- May 3 Joanne Bracker, American college basketball coach (Midland University 1970-2012; Women's Basketball HOF), born in Mondamin, Iowa (d. 2023)
- May 3 Sadiq Mohammad, Pakistani cricket batsman 41 Tests @ 35.81, 5 x 100; brother of Hanif & Mushtaq Mohammad), born in Junagadh, India
- May 4 Georg Wadenius, Swedish rocker (Blood, Sweat & Tears), born in Stockholm, Sweden
- May 4 Monika van Paemel, Belgian writer (Accursed Fathers), born in Poesele, Belgium
- May 4 Narasimhan Ram, Indian journalist (The Hindu), born in Madras, British India
- May 5 Jiří Svoboda, Czech director and politician (2nd Chairman of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia), born in Kladno, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
- May 5 Kurtis "Kurt" Loder, American film critic, TV personality and columnist (Rolling Stone, New York, Time), born in Ocean City, New Jersey
- May 5 Rodney H. Pardey, American poker player (2 x World Series of Poker C'ships; World Series of Poker Bracelets 1991, 94), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2020)
- May 6 Bob Seger, American singer and songwriter ("Old Time Rock and Roll"; "Hollywood Nights"; "Against The Wind"), born in Detroit, Michigan
- May 6 Richard Eyers, American actor (My Friend Irma, Stagecoach West), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 6 Victoria Bond, American conductor and composer, born in Los Angeles, California
- May 7 Christy Moore, Irish folk singer and songwriter, born in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland
- May 7 Cornelius Bumpus, American saxophonist and keyboardist (Doobie Brothers; Steely Dan), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2004)
- May 7 Robin Strasser, American actress (Dorian-One Life to Live, Another World), born in NYC, New York
- May 7 Wim A. Mateman, Dutch politician (CDA), born in Aalten, Netherlands
- May 8 Arthur Docters van Leeuwen, Dutch jurist (Holland's secret service)
- May 8 Keith Jarrett, American jazz and classical pianist and composer (The Köln Concert), born in Allentown, Pennsylvania
- May 9 Steve Katz, American rock guitarist and vocalist (Blood, Sweat & Tears), born in NYC, New York
- May 10 John Laws, Lord Justice of Appeal (1999- )
- May 10 Shirley Franklin, American politician and 58th Mayor of Atlanta (2002-10), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- May 12 "Little" Jayotis Washington, American cappella singer (The Persuasions), born in Detroit, Michigan
- May 12 Ian McLagan, English rock keyboardist (Small Face; Faces), born in Hounslow, Middlesex, (d. 2014)
- May 12 Keith Olsen, American rock record producer and sound engineer (Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac; Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station; Joe Walsh - The Confessor), born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (d. 2020)
- May 12 Linda Carlson, American actress (Bev-Newhart, Katie-Kaz), born in Knoxville, Tennessee
- May 12 Patrick Ricard, French businessman and CEO of Pernod Ricard, born in Marseille, France (d. 2012)
- May 13 Louis "Blue Lou" Marini, American saxophonist, arranger, and composer (Blues Brothers), born in Charleston, South Carolina
- May 13 Magic Dick [Richard Salwitz], American harmonica player and musician (J Geils Band - "Centerfold"), born in New London, Connecticut
- May 13 Sam Anderson, American actor (Perfect Strangers), born in Wahpeton, North Dakota
- May 14 Grigori Zhislin, Russian concert violinist, and viola player, born in Leningrad, USSR (d. 2017)
- May 14 Yochanan Vollach, Israeli footballer and president of Maccabi Haifa
- May 15 Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, heir to the Portuguese crown
- May 15 Jerry Quarry, American boxer (famous bouts v world champions Floyd Patterson, Jimmy Ellis, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton), born in Bakersfield, California (d. 1999)
- May 15 Lasse Berghagen, Swedish pop singer-songwriter (Teddybjörnen Fredriksson), born in Enskede, Sweden
- May 16 Brewster H Shaw Jr, Mich, Col USAF/astro (STS-9, STS 61B, STS-28)
- May 16 James Moran, American politician (Rep-D-Virginia 1991-2005), born in Buffalo, New York
- May 16 Nicky Chinn, English songwriter/producer (Chinn & Chapman)
- May 17 Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer (brilliant Indian leggie 1964-79), born in Mysore, Karnataka
- May 17 D A S Pennefather, Maj-General/Commandant (General Royal Marines)
- May 17 George Miller, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1975-2015), born in Richmond, California
- May 18 Maarten van Traa, Dutch politician (PvdA)
Pete Townshend (77 years old)
May 19 British rock guitarist, composer, and vocalist (The Who - Tommy; "My Generation": "Won't Get Fooled Again"; solo - "Let My Love Open the Door"), born in Chiswick, Middlesex, England
- May 20 Anton Zeilinger, Austrian physicist (2022 Nobel Prize for experiments with entangled photons), born in Innkreis, Austria [1]
- May 20 Harold Ford Sr., American politician (Rep-D-TN, 1975-97), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- May 20 Lord Hollick, CEO (MAI)
- May 20 Nikolai Nikolayevich Fefelov, Russian colonel and cosmonaut
- May 20 Vladimiro Montesinos, Peruvian politician
- May 20 Wally Herger, American politician (Rep-R-California 1987-2013), born in Yuba City, California
- May 21 Ernst Willi Messerschmid, German astronaut (STS 22), born in Reutlingen Germany
- May 21 Richard Hatch, American actor (Battlestar Galactica), born in Santa Monica, California (d. 2017)
- May 23 Elliott Bernerd, English broker/multi-millionaire
- May 23 Lauren Chapin, actress (Kathy-Father Knows Best)
- May 23 Misty Morgan, American country keyboardist (duo with Jack Blanchard - "Tennessee Bird Walk"), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2021)
- May 23 Padmarajan, Indian film director (d. 1991)
- May 24 Priscilla Presley, American actress (Jenna-Dallas, Naked Gun), born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 24 Richard Ottaway, British politician (C), born in Sonning, Berkshire
- May 24 Steven Norris, British Conservative politician, born in Liverpool, England
- May 24 Terry Callier, American soul, folk and jazz guitarist, and singer-songwriter ("What Color Is Love"), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2012)
- May 25 Dave Lee Travis [David Griffin], British DJ and presenter (Top of the Pops], convicted of indecent assault, born in Buxton, Derbyshire
- May 26 Garry Peterson, Canadian drummer (Guess Who - "American Woman"; "No Sugar Tonight"), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- May 27 Bruce Cockburn, Canadian folk rock singer-songwriter ("Wondering Where the Lions Are"; "If I Had a Rocket Launcher"), born in Ottawa, Ontario
- May 28 Hunter "Patch" Adams, American doctor
- May 28 John Fogerty, American songwriter, guitarist, and singer (Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Have You Ever Seen The Rain"; "Lookin' Out My Backdoor"), born in Berkeley, California
- May 28 John N. Bambacus, American politician
- May 29 Gary Brooker, British rock keyboardist and singer (Procol Harum -"A Whiter Shade of Pale"), born in Hackney, London, England (d. 2022)
- May 29 Martin Pipe, English racehorse trainer (15-time Champion Hunt Trainer), born in Taunton, Somerset
- May 29 Peter Fraser, Scottish Minister (headed investigation into Pam Am Flight 103) (d. 2013)
- May 30 Barry Clifford, American underwater explorer (discovered 1st verified pirate shipwreck the Whydah), born in Hyannis, Massachusetts
- May 30 Gladys Horton, American pop singer (The Marvelettes - "Please Mr. Postman"; "Too Many Fish In The Sea"), born in Gainesville, Florida (d. 2011) [or 1944]
- May 30 Meredith MacRae, actress (Petticoat Junction, My 3 Sons), born in Houston, Texas
- May 30 Norman Eshley, English actor
- May 30 Richard Divila, Brazilian motorsports designer (Fittipaldi Automotive; Ligier, Nissan), born in São Paulo, Brazil (d. 2020)
- May 30 Steve Smith, American singer (Lawrence Welk Show), born in San Francisco, California
- May 31 Bernard Goldberg, American journalist
- May 31 Linda Davies, British Judge
- May 31 Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German filmmaker and director (Marriage of Maria Braum), born in Bad Worishofen, Bavaria, West Germany (d. 1982)
About May 1945
How Old? 77 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No