- May 2 J C White, English cricket spin bowler (15 Tests, 49 wickets; 10-76 Somerset v Worcestershire 1921), dies at 70
- May 3 Maurice Merleau-Ponty, French philosopher (work on existentialism and phenomenology), dies of a heart attack at 53
- May 4 Anita Stewart, American silent film actress (South of Hell Mountain), producer, and mystery novelist, dies of a heart attack at 66
- May 6 Lucian Blaga, Romanian philosopher and poet (Transcendental censor), dies at 65
Gary Cooper (1901-1961)
May 13 American 2 time Academy award-winning actor (High Noon), dies at 60
- May 16 George A. Malcolm, American jurist (17th Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court) and educator, dies at 79
- May 17 Frans van Cauwelaert, Flemish minister and Mayor of Antwerp, dies at 81
- May 17 Henri Gagnon, Canadian organist (Notre-Dame Basilica (Quebec), 1915-1961), composer (Rondel de Thibaut de Champagne), and music educator, dies at 74
- May 18 Henry O'Neill, American actor ("Lady Killer"; "Nothing But Trouble"), dies at 69
- May 19 Joe Howard, American vaudeville, Broadway, and television singer (Gay Nineties Revue), and songwriter ("Hello Ma Baby"), dies at 91
- May 20 Josef "Pips" Priller, German fighter ace (b. 1915)
- May 20 Nannie Helen Burroughs, American educator and civil rights activist (founded National Training School for Women and Girls), dies at 82
- May 22 Joan Davis [Josephine Davis], American comic radio and screen actress (I Married Joan; The Rudy Vallee Show), dies of a heart attack at 48
- May 29 Uuno Klami, Finnish composer (Psalmus; Kalevala Suite), dies of a heart attack while sailing at 60
Rafael Trujillo (1891-1961)
May 30 Dominican politician, soldier and dictator of the Dominican Republic (1930-61), assassinated at 69
- May 31 Walter Little, Canadian politician (b. 1877)
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning