- May 3 Léopold Simoneau, French Canadian tenor, born in Saint-Flavien, Quebec, Canada (d. 2006)
- May 4 Maurice "Moe" Purtill, American jazz drummer, born in Huntington, New York (d. 1994)
- May 9 Bernard Rose, British organist, soldier, composer, and academic, born in Sawbridgeworth, England (d. 1996)
- May 9 Douglas Guest, British organist, choir master (Westminster Abbey, 1963-81), conductor, and composer (For the Fallen), born in Sheffield, England (d. 1996) [1]
- May 10 Milton Babbitt, American mathematician, composer of serial and electronic music (Correspondences), and teacher (Princeton; Juilliard), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2011)
- May 12 Ellis Kohs, American composer (Lohiau and Hiiaka), educator, and musicologist, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2000)
- May 14 Lance Dossor, British-Australian concert pianist, born in Weston-super-Mare, England (d. 2005)
- May 21 Dennis Day [Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty], Irish-American tenor ("Danny Boy"), radio and television comic actor (Jack Benny Program; A Day in the Life of Dennis Day), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 1988)
- May 22 Gordon Binkerd, American composer, born in Lynch, Nebraska (d. 2003)
- May 23 Jean Françaix, French classical pianist, and composer, born in Le Mans, France (d. 1997)
- May 26 Moondog [Louis Thomas Hardin], American composer, musician and poet, born in Marysville, Kansas (d. 1999)
- May 29 Carl Story, American bluegrass musician (Rambling Mountaineers), born in Lenoir, North Carolina (d. 1995)
About May 1916
How Old? 107 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation
Leap Year: Yes
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
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