- May 2 Caryl Chessman, American kidnapper and rapist, executed in gas chamber at San Quentin (California) State Prison after 12 years of appeals at 38
- May 5 Sulho Ranta, Finnish composer, dies at 58
- May 6 Paul Abraham, Hungarian composer (Blume von Hawaii), dies at 67
- May 6 Vern Bickford, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1949; no-hitter 1950; Boston / Milwaukee Braves), dies from cancer at 39
- May 8 Hugo Alfvén, Swedish violinist, conductor, and composer (Midsommarvaka - Midsummer Vigil), dies at 88
- May 8 J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (one of the founders of homotopy theory), dies at 55
- May 10 Yuri Olesha, Russian writer, dies at 61
John D. Rockefeller Jr (1874-1960)
May 11 American financier and philanthropist, dies of pneumonia at 86
- May 12 (Cecil) Armstrong Gibbs, English composer, dies of pneumonia at 70
- May 12 Prince Aly Khan [Ali Salman Aga Khan], Pakistani socialite, jockey, political ambassador and third husband to Rita Hayworth, dies from injuries sustained in a car accident at 48
- May 17 Ioannis Georgiadis, Greek fencer (Olympic gold sabre 1896), dies at 84
- May 20 Audrey Wurdemann, American poet, 1935 Pulitzer Prize for "Bright Ambush", dies at 49
- May 23 Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor (neon light), dies at 89
- May 27 Edward Brophy, American character actor (Champ, Dumbo, Great Guy, The Cameraman, Doughboys), dies at 65
- May 27 George Zucco, British actor (Fog Island, Black Raven, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Captain Fury), dies at 74
- May 27 James Montgomery Flagg, American illustrator, dies at 82
Boris Pasternak (1890-1960)
May 30 Russian novelist (Doctor Zhivago - Nobel Prize, 1958), and poet, dies at 70
- May 31 Walther Funk, German economist and Nazi politician, dies at 69
- May 31 Willem Elsschot [Alfons Josephus de Ridder], Flemish writer (Kas), dies at 78
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning