- May 1 Aram Katchaturian, Russian composer (The Earth), dies at 74
- May 3 Wim van Doorne, Dutch auto manufacturer (DAF), dies at 71
- May 5 Alfred (Harold] Gilligan, English cricketer (4 Tests for England), dies at 81
- May 6 Ethelda Bleibtrey, US swimmer (Olympics 3 gold-1920), dies at 76
- May 6 Ko van Dijk Jr, Dutch actor (Zaak M P), dies at 61
Aldo Moro
May 9 Aldo Moro, Five times Prime Minister of Italy, assassinated by the Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization Red Brigades at 61
Aldo Moro
Robert Menzies
May 15 Robert Menzies, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (1939-41, 1949-66) and its longest-serving, dies of a heart attack at 83
Robert Menzies
- May 16 William Steinberg, German-American conductor (Boston Symphony 1969-71), dies at 78
- May 17 John Selwyn Brooke Selwyn Lloyd, speaker of house of commons, dies
- May 19 George Gladstone, cricketer (one Test WI v England 1930), dies
- May 21 Jo Spier [Joseph Spier], Dutch cartoonist and water color painter, dies at 77
- May 22 Bjarne Brustad, Norwegian composer, dies at 83
- May 26 Cybele, Greek actress (b. 1887)
- May 28 Arthur Brough, English actor (b. 1905)
- May 31 József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)