- 973 Henry II, Roman Catholic German king/emperor (1002/14-24)
- 1397 Sejong the Great of Joseon, ruler of Korea (d. 1450)
- 1501 Marcellus II, [Marcello Cervini], Italian humanist/Pope (1555, 22 days)
- 1574 Innocent X [Giambattista Pamfili], 236th Pope (1644-55), born in Rome (d. 1655)
- 1581 Frans Francken, the Younger, painter
- 1606 Lorenzo Lippi, [Perlone Zipoli], poet/painter
- 1638 Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell, English politician and First Lord of the Admiralty (d. 1696)
- 1668 Alain-René Lesage, French author (Turcaret ou le Financier), born in Sarzeau, France (d. 1747)
- 1713 Charles Batteux, French philosopher (d. 1780)
Maximilien Robespierre
1758 Maximilien Robespierre, French revolutionary (President of the National Convention, Member of Committee of Public Safety), born in Arras, France (d. 1794)
Maximilien Robespierre
- 1759 Francois GJS Andrieux, French writer/politician
- 1769 Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1824)
- 1785 Arvir A Afzelius, Swedish story teller
- 1786 Ludwig Borne [Loeb Baruch], German-Jewish writer, born in Frankfurt (d. 1837)
- 1800 Roman Sanguszko, Polish aristocrat and general (d. 1881)
- 1801 George Sears Greene, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Apponaug, Rhode Island (d. 1899)
- 1802 Friedrich Wilhelm Schirmer, artist
- 1806 Chapin A. Harris, American dentist who founded the America Society of Dental Surgeons, born in Pompey, New York (d. 1860)
- 1812 Marin R Delany, Charlestown Va, Abolitionist and Physician (1st African American major in US Army)
- 1813 Joseph Tarr Copeland, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in New Castle, Maine (d. 1893)
- 1825 Joseph Bailey, American civil engineer and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Morgan County, Ohio (d. 1867)
- 1829 Phoebe Ann Coffin, 1st female ordained minister in New England
- 1830 Guido Gezelle, Flemish priest/poet
- 1843 Grove Karl Gilbert, geologist, investigated Lake Bonneville, Utah
- 1849 Wyatt Eaton, Canadian American artist, born in Philipsburg, Quebec (d. 1896)
- 1856 Robert Edwin Peary, American arctic explorer (North Pole-Apr 6 1909)
Sigmund Freud
1856 Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and father of psychology, born in Freiberg, Austrian Empire (d. 1939)
Sigmund Freud
- 1859 Luis Maria Drago, Argentina, statesman, anti-interventionist
- 1859 Willem J T Kloos, Dutch poet (Act of Simple Justice)
- 1861 Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and freedom fighter, born in Agra, British India (d. 1931)
- 1868 Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont, Polish novelist (Chiopi, Nobel-1924)
- 1868 Gaston Leroux, French writer (d. 1927)
- 1869 Joseph Cuvelier, Belgian historian/archivist
Amadeo Giannini
1870 Amadeo Giannini, American banker and entrepreneur (founded Bank of America), born in San Jose, California (d. 1949)
Amadeo Giannini
- 1870 John McCutcheon, cartoonist (Pulitzer Prize-1931)
- 1871 Ch Morgenstern, writer
- 1871 Victor Grignard, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
- 1872 Willem de Sitter, Dutch scientist (d. 1934)
- 1875 William Daniel Leahy, Iowa, 5 star admiral/chief of staff (1949)
- 1879 Bedrich Hrozny, Czech orientalist (d. 1952)
- 1880 Baron W Edmund, Archangel & Ironside, British fieldmarshal
- 1882 Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany (d. 1951)
- 1883 Jose Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher/author [or May 9]
- 1888 Emmanuel Celler, (Rep-D-NY, 1923-73)
- 1889 Arthur Morison, typographer
- 1895 Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian Nazi (d. 1946)
- 1895 Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian writer (d. 1974)
- 1897 Paul Alverdes, German writer (Pfeiferstube)
- 1898 Daniel Gerber, Freemont Mi, beloved by babies at mealtime
- 1899 Billy Cotton, British entertainer (d. 1969)
- 1902 Walter Dawson, British Air Chief marshall
- 1902 Harry Golden, American journalist (d. 1981)
- 1902 Max Ophüls, German-born director (d. 1957)
- 1903 Toots Shor, New York restaurateur (d. 1977)
- 1904 Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist/poet (Trade Wind-Nobel 1974)
- 1904 Moshe Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-born founder of the Feldenkrais method (d. 1984)
- 1905 [Bernard] Toots Shor, raconteur/restauranteur (Toots Shor)
- 1906 Andre Weil, [Bourbaki], French-American mathematician
- 1906 Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican writer (d. 2005)
- 1909 Loyd Sigmon, American amateur ("ham") radio broadcastor (d. 2004)
- 1910 Antoon Breyne, Belgian journalist
- 1912 Barend Roest Crollius, painter/writer (Chronicle Sins of Youth)
- 1912 Hugh Martell, British Vice Admiral
- 1913 Jack [John T] Aitken, British anatomist
- 1913 Kenneth Horne, English paper manufacturer/multi-millionaire
- 1913 Ronald Harris, British 1st Church Estates Commissioner
- 1915 John Arnold, British high court judge
- 1915 May Henriquez-Alvarez, Curacao, sculptor
- 1915 Theodore H White, historian/writer (Making of President)
- 1918 Sydney Chatton, England
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
1918 Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, 1st President of the United Arab Emirates, born in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, birth date disputed (d. 2004)
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
- 1919 Frank Ereaut, Balliff of Jersey
- 1920 John Henderson, Lord-Lieutenant (Berkshire England)
- 1921 Erich Freid, Austrian and British writer, born in Vienna (d. 1988)
- 1921 Robert Fell, CEO (British Stock Exchange)
- 1922 Alan Ross, editor (London Magazine)
- 1922 Carlos J Moorhead, (Rep-R-CA, 1973- )
- 1922 John Ernest, constructionist artist
- 1922 Camille Laurin, Quebec psychiatrist and politician (d. 1999)
- 1923 Guiseppe Martelli, physicist
- 1925 Patrick Meany, CEO (Rank Organization)
- 1926 John Hamilton-Jones, CEO (Richmond Enterprises) and British Major-General
- 1926 Gilles Grégoire, Quebec politician, co-founder of the Parti Québécois (d. 2006)
- 1928 Robert Poujade, French politician
- 1929 John Polk Allen, Carnegie Oklahoma, CEO (Biosphere 2)
- 1929 John Taylor, bishop (St Albans)/Lord High Almoner to Queen
- 1929 Rosemary Camp, president (Council for British Archaeology)
- 1929 Hans Beck, German inventor of Playmobil toys, born in Greiz, Germany (d. 2009)
- 1931 Marvin Leath, (Rep-D-TX, 1979- )
- 1932 Viscount Coke, English large landowner/art collector
- 1933 John Willoughby Denison-Pender, 3rd Baron Pender
- 1934 Richard C Shelby, (Rep-D-AL (1979-86)/Sen-D-AL, 1987- )
- 1936 Bernard Lemaire, French Canadian businessman (Cascades)
- 1938 Jean Garon, Quebec economist and politician
- 1938 Larry Gogan, Irish radio personality
- 1939 Anthony Blacker, master-general of Ordnance
- 1939 Zhanna Dmitriyevna Yerkina, Russian cosmonaut
- 1940 Henry Habibe, Arubian poet (Kerensentenchi)
- 1941 Fred J Eckert, (Rep-D-NY, 1985-87)
- 1942 Rin Kaiho, professional Go player
- 1943 Andreas Baader, leader of the German organization Red Army Faction (d. 1977)
- 1946 Jim Ramstad, (Rep-R-Minnesota)
- 1947 Dennis Cowan, rocker (Bonzo Dog Band), born in London, England
- 1947 Sandra Fisher, American painter, born in New York City (d. 1994)
- 1947 Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher, born in New York City
- 1949 David Cornell Leestma, Muskegon Mich, USN/astronaut (STS 41-G, 28, 45)
- 1951 Samuel Doe, President of Liberia (d. 1990)
- 1952 Chiaki Naito-Mukai, Tatebayashi Japan, astronaut (STS 65, sk:95)
Tony Blair
1953 Tony Blair, British Prime Minister (Labour: 1997-2007), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
Tony Blair
- 1953 Michelle Courchesne, Quebec politician
- 1954 Sergei Nikolayevich Tresvyatsky, Russian cosmonaut
- 1954 Dora Bakoyannis, Greek politician
- 1955 Donald A Thomas, PhD/Astronaut (STS 65, 70, 83, 94), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- 1955 John Hutton, British politician and cabinet minister (L), born in London
- 1955 Tom Bergeron, American game show host
- 1959 Charles Hendry, British Conservative Party politician, born in Cuckfield, England
- 1959 Eric D Fingerhut, (Rep-D-Ohio)
- 1978 Fredrick Federley, Swedish politician
- 1978 Alexander Fedorov, Russian bodybuilder
- 1979 Nikki Hayes, Irish radio personality
- 1981 Edyta Sliwinska, Polish professional dancer
May in History
Volunteers Help Defeat General Strike
Britain's fist and only General Strike occurred in May 1926 and was quickly defeated by volunteers and a cunning plan by Winston Churchill.
May 3, 1926
Latest Wonder of the World
Often referred to as "the Chunnel", the 31-mile undersea tunnel linking England to France has been hailed as one of the "seven wonders of the modern world".
May 6, 1994
Suicide Woman Floats To Safety
Nobody could expect to survive a fall from the 100-metre high Clifton Suspension Bridge. But one woman was saved on this day by her billowing skirt.
May 8, 1885
Botched Crown Jewels Theft Pays Off
Thomas Blood, who tried to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London on this day was not only forgiven by the King, but given a reward.
May 9, 1671