- May 1 Thomas Aloysius Dornin, American naval officer, born in Ireland (d. 1874)
- May 5 Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (Librairie Hachette), born in Rethel, Ardennes, France (d. 1864)
- May 6 Ferdinand Marcucci, Italian harpist and composer, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (d. 1871)
- May 6 Roman Sanguszko, Polish aristocrat and general, born in Volhynia (d. 1881)
John Brown (1800-1859)
May 9 American abolitionist and revolutionary (Harpers Ferry), born in Torrington, Connecticut
- May 10 Nikolai Titov, Russian Major General, violinist, and composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1875)
- May 17 Carl Friedrich Zöllner, German composer, born in Mittelhausen, Electorate of Saxony (d. 1860)
- May 19 Sarah Miriam Peale, American portrait painter (General Lafayette, 1825), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1885) [1]
- May 30 Karl Wilhelm Feuerbach, German mathematician (Position of Feuerbach), born in Jena, Saxe-Weimar, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1834)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90