- May 3 Hermanus Willem Witteveen, Dutch theologist, born in Boornbergum, Netherlands (d. 1884)
- May 5 Eugène Marin Labiche, French playwright (The Italian Straw Hat), born in Paris (d. 1888)
- May 8 Jean-Delphin Alard, French violinist and composer, born in Bayonne, France (d. 1888)
- May 18 Thomas Stanhope Bocock, American politician (Speaker in Confederates House of Represetnatives), born in Buckingham County, Virginia (d. 1891)
- May 19 John Gross Barnard, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Sheffield, Massachusetts (d. 1882)
- May 27 Henry Parkes, Australian politician (longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales), born in Canley, Warwickshire, England (d. 1896)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90