May 2 Eliza Courtney, English illegitimate daughter of Charles Grey and Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, dies at 67 May 4 Joseph Diez Gergonne, French mathematician, dies at 87 May 5 Peter G L Dirichlet, German mathematician, dies at 53 May 6 Friedrich Heinrich Alexander, explorer/scientist, dies Alexander von Humboldt May 6 Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist, dies at 89 Naturalist and Explorer Alexander von Humboldt May 10 John Archduke of Austria, dies May 22 Ferdinand II [Re Bomba], Dutch King of Sicily, dies at 49 1858 Famous Deaths by Year 1860
