- May 2 Hedda Hopper [Elda Furry], American gossip columnist, born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania (d. 1966)
- May 5 Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Paraguayan classical guitarist and composer (La Catedral), born in San Juan Bautista, Paraguay (d. 1944)
- May 5 Henri Velge, 1st chairman (Belgian Council of State) (d. 1951)
- May 5 Louis Diat, French-American chef (Ritz-Carlton Hotel NYC, 1910-51), culinary writer and cookbook author credited with inventing vichyssoise soup, born in Bourbon-l'Archambault, France (d. 1957)
- May 7 George "Gabby" Hayes, American actor (In Old Santa Fe, El Paso), born in Wellesvile, New York (d. 1969)
- May 10 Fritz von Unruh, German writer, (d. 1970)
- May 14 Otto Klemperer, German-American conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic, 1933-39), and composer (Das Ziel), born in Breslau, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (d. 1973)
- May 18 Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian leader, President of Brazil (1945-50), born in Cuiabá, Brazil (d. 1974)
- May 20 Faisal I, Arab statesman, King of Syria (1920) and King of Iraq (1921-33), born in Mecca, Ottoman Empire (d. 1933)
- May 21 Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg, wife of Prince William of Wied (d. 1936)
- May 22 Giacomo Matteotti, Italian Socialist Party leader, born in Fratta Polesine, Italy (d. 1924)
- May 22 Julio Fonseca, Costa Rican composer, born in San José, Costa Rica (d. 1950)
- May 22 Soemu Toyoda, Japanese admiral during World War II, born in Kitsuki, Ōita, Japan (d. 1957)
- May 24 Susan Sutherland Isaacs, English educational psychologist and psychoanalyst, born in Turton, Lancashire (d. 1948)
- May 29 Erwin Finlay-Freundlich, British astronomer (theory of relativity), born in Biebrich, Germany (d. 1964)
- May 31 Alois Hudal, Austrian bishop who helped Nazi war criminals escape trial, born in Graz, Austria-Hungary (d. 1963)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90