- May 1 Antony Worrall Thompson, English celebrity chef
- May 1 Gordon Greenidge, West Indies cricket batsman (108 Tests, 7,558 runs @ 44.72; 19 x 100s), born in St. Peter, Barbados
- May 2 John "Jo" Callis, British punk-rock songwriter and musician (The Rezillos; The Human League), born in Rotherham, England
- May 2 John Glascock, British bass guitarist and singer (Carmen, 1972-75; Jethro Tull, 1976-79 - "Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll, Too Young To Die"), born in Islington, England (d. 1979)
- May 3 Christopher Cross [Geppert], American singer-songwriter ("Arthur's Theme"; "Think Of Laura"; "Sailing"), born in San Antonio, Texas
- May 3 Tatyana Tolstaya, Russian writer, born in St Petersburg, Russia
- May 4 (Sigmund) "Jackie" Jackson, American pop singer and songwriter (Jackson 5 - "ABC"; "I Want You Back"), born in Gary, Indiana
- May 4 Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel), born in London
- May 4 Mick Mars [Robert Alan Deal], guitarist (Mötley Crüe), born in Terre Haute, Indiana (alternative date 4 April 1955)
- May 5 Rex Goh, Singaporean-Australian rock guitarist (Air Supply -"The One That You Love"), born in Singapore
- May 6 Davey Johnstone, Scottish guitarist, and musical director (Elton John's band, 1971–1977, 1982–present), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
- May 6 Samuel Doe, President of Liberia (d. 1990)
- May 6 Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov, Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold, light-flyweight 1980; World C'ship gold 1981), born in Tegistik, Kazakhstan (d. 2020)
- May 7 Carlos Alomar, Puerto Rican-American guitarist, composer, and arranger (David Bowie), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
- May 7 Mic Gillette, American trumpet, trombone, and flugelhorn player (Tower of Power, Cold Blood, The Sons of Champlin), born in Oakland, California (d. 2016)
- May 7 Robert Hegyes, American actor (Underground Aces; Welcome Back, Kotter - "Juan Epstein"), born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey (d. 2012)
- May 8 Chris Frantz, American rock drummer (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club), born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky
- May 8 Deborah Harmon, American actress (Ted Knight Show; M*A*S*H; Just the 10 of Us), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 8 Mike D'Antoni, American basketball coach (NBA Coach of the Year 2005, 17; Houston Rockets; LA Lakers, NY Knicks, Phoenix Suns), born in Mullens, West Virginia
- May 8 Philip Bailey, American R&B and pop singer (Earth Wind & Fire - "Shining Star"; solo - "Easy Lover"), born in Denver, Colorado
- May 9 Alley Mills, actress (Norma Arnold-Wonder Years), born in Chicago, Illinois
- May 9 Charley Drayton, American session and touring drummer, bass player (X-pensive Winos; DiVinyls; Paul Simon; Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul; Bob Dylan), and record producer, born in New York City
- May 9 Joy Harjo, American poet and musician (first Native American US Poet Laureate, 2019-), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- May 10 Ron Banks, American R&B singer and songwriter (Dramatics - "Whatcha See is Whatcha Get"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2010)
- May 10 Steve Gunderson, American politician (Rep-R-WI, 1981-97), born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- May 11 Mike Sleman, English rugby union winger (32 caps; British and Irish Lions 1980; Liverpool RUFC), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2020)
- May 12 Gunnar Larrson, Swedish 200m/400m swimmer (Olympic gold 1972)
- May 13 Guus Janssens, Dutch jazz and classical pianist, harpsichordist, and composer, born in Heiloo, Netherlands
- May 13 Guy Morriss, American football coach (Kentucky, Baylor, Texas A&M–Commerce) and guard (Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots), born in Colorado City, Texas (d. 2022)
- May 13 Jim Douglas, American politician, Governor of Vermont (2003-11), born in Springfield, Massachusetts
- May 13 Paul Thompson, British rock drummer (Roxy Music - "Love Is The Drug")
- May 13 Selina Scott, English TV newscaster (West 57th), born in Scarborough, England
- May 14 Jay Beckenstein, American saxophonist (Spyro Gyra - "Morning Dance"), born in Brooklyn, New York
- May 14 Season Hubley [Susan], American actress (Vice Squad, Hardcore), born in NYC, New York
- May 15 (Dennis) "Fergie" Frederiksen, American rock singerr (Toto, 1984-85), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 2014)
- May 15 Frank Wilczek, American Physicist (2004 Nobel Prize), born in Mineola, New York
- May 16 Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer, born in Arles, France
- May 16 Jonathan Richman, American rock singer-songwriter (Modern Lovers - "Road Runner"), born in Natick, Massachusetts
- May 17 I R Evans, CEO (Hyder, Welsh Water)
- May 17 Simon Hughes, British politician and government minister (SD)
- May 18 Angela Voigt, East German long jumper (Olympic gold 1976), born in Weferlingen, East Germany (d. 2013)
- May 18 Denny Dillon, American comedian (SNL, Dream On), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- May 18 James Stephens, American actor (Paper Chase, Devil's Island), born in Mount Kisco, New York
- May 18 Jim Sundberg, American baseball player (Kansas City Royals), born in Galesburg, Illinois
- May 18 Mike Baird, American session drummer (Donna Summer; Rick Springfiel; Eddie Money; Richard Marx; Kenny Rogers), born in South Gate, California
- May 18 Rodger Davis, Australian golfer (British Open runner-up 1997), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- May 19 James Boyer, American audio engineer and record producer (Peter Cetera; Billy Joel; George Benson), born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania
- May 19 Joey Ramone [Jeffrey Hyman], American punk rock singer and musician (The Ramones - "I Wanna Be Sedated"; Blitzkrieg Bop"; solo -"What a Wonderful World") (d. 2001)
- May 20 Mike Crapo, American politician (Senator-R-Idaho 1999-, Rep-R-Idaho 1993-99), born in Idaho Falls, Idaho
- May 20 Thomas D Akers, American former astronaut (STS 41, 49, 61, 79), born in St. Louis, Missouri
- May 20 William Cullen Bryant, actor (Hell Squad)
- May 21 Al Franken, US politician (Senate-D-Minnesota 2009-18) comedian, writer, actor (SNL, 1975-80; 1985-90), born in NYC, New York
- May 21 Arthur Russell, American experimental classical-pop fusion cellist, and composer, born in Oskaloosa, Iowa (d. 1992)
Anatoly Karpov (71 years old)
May 23 Russian chess player (world champion 1975-85, 93-99), born in Zlatoust, Russia
- May 23 Antonis Samaras, Greek politician
- May 23 Don Warrington [Donald Williams], Trinidadian-born British actor (Rising Damp), born in Trinidad
- May 23 Judy Rodman, American country singer ("Girls Ride Horses Too"), born in Riverside, California
- May 24 Rob Baker, Canadian rock drummer (Red Rider, 1975-85 - "Lunatic Fringe"; "White Hot"), born in Toronto, Ontario
- May 24 Ronald Parise, Italian-American astronaut (STS 35, STS 67), born in Warren, Ohio
- May 25 Bob Gale, American screenwriter (Back to the Future), born in University City, Missouri
- May 25 Chuck Ruff, American rock drummer (Edgar Winter Group - "Frankenstein"), born in Reno, Nevada (d. 2011)
- May 26 Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish politician
- May 26 Muhammed Ahmad Faris, Syria, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-3)
Sally Ride (1951-2012)
May 26 American astronaut (first American woman to go to space), born in Los Angeles, California
- May 27 John Conteh, British boxer (WBC Light Heavyweight title 1974-77), born in Liverpool, England
- May 27 Norma Jean Almodovar, American author (Cop to Call Girl) and sex worker activist, born in Binghampton, New York
- May 29 Peter Chernin, American businessman, President of News Corporation, born in Harrison, New York
- May 29 Ron Levy [Reuvin Levi], American blues Hammond organist, and composer, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- May 30 Fernando Lugo, Paraguayan politician
- May 30 Stephen Tobolowsky, Tx, actor (Single White Female, Thelma & Louise)
- May 30 Zdravko Čolić, Yugoslav-Bosnian singer, born in Sarajevo, FPR Yugoslavia
- May 31 Jimmy Nalls, American session and touring rock-jazz-fusion guitarist (Sea Level), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2017)
About May 1951
How Old? 71 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: No