Famous people born in May include John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the U.S., American actress Megan Fox, American rapper YNW Melly, and Pierce Brosnan who is most famous as James Bond in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day.
Other famous celebrities and personalities with May birthdays are Facebook and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Tony Blair the former Prime Minister of the UK from 1997 to 2007, and the 72nd U.S. Secretary of State since 2025, Marco Rubio. Other famous people born in May are Pope John Paul II and American singer Janet Jackson.
Celebrities and personalities with birthdays in May
Died aged 58
Italian philosopher, historian of the Italian Renaissance, and author of political treatise The Prince (Il Principe)
Died aged 73
English physician, scientist, father of immunology, and creator of the world's first vaccine, the smallpox vaccine
67 years old
American actor whose top films include as Luther Stickell in Mission: Impossible films, Nathan Jones in Con Air (1997)
86 years old
English actor famous as Magneto in X-Men films, Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003), The Hobbit (2012–2014)
39 years old
Kenyan rapper whose hit songs include Wajinga Nyinyi, Adisia, and actor in Kenyan films and TV shows
73 years old
American actor, former wrestler best known as B. A. Baracus in 1980s TV series The A-Team, boxer Clubber Lang in Rocky III (1982)
72 years old
South African politician in the African National Congress (ANC) party, and cabinet minister under 4 presidents
33 years old
American actress, singer who has starred in The Suite Life on Deck (2008–2011), Radio Rebel (2012), Insatiable (2018–2019)
69 years old
Canadian retired adult films actor who began his career in 1983
Died aged 33
Former First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 to July 1952 and the wife of President Juan Perón
May Historical Events
1st May 1707: The Act of Union was signed between England and Scotland. With the signing, the two countries become one kingdom, and the Scottish and English Parliaments became united, thereby forming the Parliament of Great Britain.This new joint house was based in the home of the English Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London. Scotland retained its independence in terms of their legal and religious systems. However, taxation, coinage, trade, parliament, sovereignty and flag became one with Britain.
2nd May 2011: The US Navy SEALS of SEAL Team Six killed 54-year old Osama bin Laden in his compound in the city of Abbottabad, Pakistan. The leader of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda was a mastermind of many notable terrorist attacks against the United States, including the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.4th May 1494: Christopher Columbus, the famous European explorer, discovered Jamaica and met the Arawak and the Taino, the indigenous people of the Caribbean country. 10th May 1994: Nelson Mandela, the famous anti-apartheid activist and former political prisoner, became the first black president of South Africa. His inauguration on this date ended more than three centuries of minority white rule.His winning party, The African National Congress (ANC), won the country's 1st multi-racial elections by taking 62% of the vote. His presidency ended on 14 June, 1999.
21st May 1991: Former Indian Prime Minister and husband to Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated at the age of 46. He had become the 6th and youngest Indian Prime minister at 40 years of age, and had succeeded his mother, the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was also assassinated. Rajiv Gandhi served as PM between 1984 and 1989.