William Petty
May 7 William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of Great Britain (1782-83), dies at 68
- May 9 Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, German poet & playwright, dies at 45
- May 16 Christiaan Brunings, Dutch hydraulic engineer, dies at 68
- May 25 William Paley, English philosopher and theologian (Natural Theology), dies at 61
- May 28 Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (Minuet), dies at 62