Famous May Birthdays a to z

Singer Gladys Knight has given voice to multiple R&B hits (with and without her Pips), including "Midnight Train to Georgia."

Jordan Knight is best known for performing in New Kids on the Block, a boy band that produced many hit songs in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Grammy Award-winning rock musician Lenny Kravitz made the albums Let Love Rule, Mama Said and Are You Gonna Go My Way. He's also acted in such films as Precious and The Hunger Games.

Bill Kreutzmann was the drummer for the Grateful Dead, along with Mickey Hart. Together, they were known as the band's "rhythm devils." Kreutzmann toured with the band for 30 years.

Edwin Land is best known as the inventor of the Polaroid camera and film, and as the co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation.

Dorothea Lange was a photographer whose portraits of displaced farmers during the Great Depression greatly influenced later documentary photography.

Laurence Olivier was one of the most acclaimed actors of the 20th century, known for his numerous Shakespeare roles on stage and screen as well as memorable turns in more modern classics.

Christopher Lee began his legendary career in monster movies in the 1950, playing both Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula, the latter in several classics of the genre. Lee has recently become known to a whole new generation of filmgoers in The Lord

Suzanne Lenglen was a French tennis player who won 31 championship titles between 1914 and 1926. She is largely credited as the first female tennis star.

Sugar Ray Leonard was a champion Olympic and professional welterweight boxer. He retired from the sport in 1997 and was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Since co-founding Essence magazine, Edward T. Lewis has become one of the most successful and respected magazine publishers in the country.

American jazz pianist and composer John Lewis was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, one of the longest-lived and best-received groups in jazz history.

NFL linebacker Ray Lewis is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Super Bowl MVP and played his entire 17-year career with the Baltimore Ravens.

Liberace was a flamboyant pianist who twice had his own TV show and frequently performed in Las Vegas.

Candy Lightner founded one of the country's largest activist organizations, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, after her daughter died in a drunk driving accident.

Sonny Liston was introduced to boxing while serving time in a Missouri State penitentiary. He became a professional fighter in 1953.

Henry Cabot Lodge was an American politician from Massachusetts and the first U.S. Senate majority leader.

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes was a singer and rapper known for her work with the 1990s group TLC.

Traci Lords is an actress who gained notoriety in the 1980s when she appeared in pornographic films at the age of 15.

The world heavyweight boxing champion from June 22, 1937, until March 1, 1949, Joe Louis held the title longer than anyone else in history.

George Lucas directed the Star Wars films and Indiana Jones movies, both of which took on a cult-like following.

Jeffrey Lundgren was an Ohio-based cult leader who murdered a family of five.

Michael Lynche was a contestant on the ninth season of American Idol. He was the second finalist to receive the "judge's save."

Italian diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli is best known for writing The Prince, a handbook for unscrupulous politicians that inspired the term "Machiavellian" and established its author as the "father of modern political theory."

Dolley Madison is best known as the wife of United States President James Madison, who served from 1809 to 1817.

Taj Mahal is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music blends various folk traditions and was influential in the creation of the world music genre.

Mary Mahoney became the first black woman to complete nurse's training in 1879.

Horace Mann was an American politician and education reformer, best known for promoting universal public education and teacher training in "normal schools."

German philosopher and revolutionary socialist Karl Marx published The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, anticapitalist works that form the basis of Marxism.

American Mary Cassatt was one of the leading artists in the Impressionist movement of the later part of the 1800s.

Mary of Teck became Queen Mary, consort of King George V. She was the mother of kings Edward VIII and George VI, and the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.

Charlotte Mason was an American socialite and philanthropist who was an important patron of Harlem Renaissance figures, including Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.

Maximilian I was the first king of Bavaria (1806–25), a member of the house of Wittelsbach.

Marissa Mayer led the development of Google's most successful products for more than 10 years and was appointed CEO of Yahoo in 2012, at the age of 37.

Willie Mays played professional baseball for the Giants and the Mets. He was one of the best batters and fielders at the time.

Cindy McCain is an Arizona businesswoman, a philanthropist who works with international nonprofit organizations, and the wife of U.S. Senator John McCain.

Elijah McCoy was a 19th century African-American inventor best known for inventing lubrication devices used to make train travel more efficient.

One of the world's most popular country singers, Tim McGraw is married to fellow country crooner Faith Hill.

Rory McIlroy is an Irish golfer best known for winning the 2011 U.S Open and the 2012 PGA Championship, becoming the youngest player to win a PGA Tour playoff.

Ian McKellen is a revered, award-winning British actor of stage and screen known for many roles, including The Lord of the Rings and X-Men series.

Jackie McLean was an American jazz alto saxophonist and also an educator. His personal style included short phrases or irregular length.

Republican U.S. Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers is best known for being the highest ranking Republican female in the House of Representatives.

Janet McTeer is an English television, stage and film actress best known for her Golden Globe-winning performance in Tumbleweeds.

Golda Meir was best known as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel and the world’s third woman to hold the title.

Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay officials in the United States in 1977, when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Tragically, he was killed the following year.

John Stuart Mill, who has been called the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the 19th century, was a British philosopher, economist, and moral and political theorist. His works include books and essays covering logic, epistemology, economics, social and political philosophy, ethics, and religion, among them A System of Logic, On Liberty, and Utilitarianism.

Alley Mills is a television actress who starred in the hit series The Wonder Years, as well as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

Kylie Minogue is an actress and singer who's dominated the international pop and dance charts with hits like "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "Slow."

Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter Sugar Minott was best known for his hit, "Good Thing Going," a cover of Michael Jackson's "We've Got a Good Thing Going." Minott's version reached No. 4 on the British singles chart in 1981.

Alfred Molina is an English actor who belonged to the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred in the blockbuster Spider-Man 2.

Kelly Monaco is an actress and model known for her role on General Hospital. Additionally, she was a Playboy "Playmate of the Month" in 1997, and won season 1 of Dancing with the Stars.

Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, satirist, composer, singer and close friend of Lord Byron.

Cillian Murphy is an Irish movie actor known for the diversity of his roles in films ranging from Breakfast on Pluto to Batman Begins, and for his bright blue eyes.

Andy Murray is a three-time Grand Slam runner-up. He lost to rival Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2012, but beat Federer at the 2012 Summer Olympics for the singles gold medal.

Moving from Saturday Night Live into feature films, including the Austin Powers trilogy, Mike Myers is one of Hollywood's most bankable comedy stars.

U Ne Win was a Burmese military general who staged a coup and ruled his country from 1962 until 1988.

American singer and songwriter Ricky Nelson was an early teen idol who acted out his real-life childhood on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Florence Nightingale, a nurse, spent her night rounds giving personal care to the wounded, establishing her image as the 'Lady with the Lamp.'

Opera singer Birgit Nilsson was the leading Wagnerian soprano of her time. She sang at most of the great houses and festivals of the world.

As the bassist of the grunge band Nirvana, Krist Novoselic was a part of the music revolution that brought alternative rock to the mainstream.

Maureen O'Sullivan was an actress best known for playing Jane in the Tarzan film series opposite Johnny Weismuller.

Selected by NASA in 1990, Ellen Ochoa became the world's first Hispanic female astronaut in 1991.

Michael Oher is an NFL football player with the Baltimore Ravens. He was the subject of Michael Lewis's book, The Blind Side, and the 2009 film of the same name.

Apolo Anton Ohno is an Olympic champion speed skater who holds the record for most medals won by a U.S. Winter Olympian.

Jamie Oliver is a British chef best known for his television series The Naked Chef and for campaigning for healthier diets in school children.

Puppeteer Frank Oz is the man behind such iconic characters as Yoda, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Grover, and Animal. He's also directed several films.

Jack Paar had no singing, dancing or acting talent, but he was blessed with "the gift of gab." That gift was enough to endear him to millions of American television viewers during his tenure as host of The Tonight Show (1957-1962).

Actor Chazz Palminteri starred opposite Robert De Niro in the 1993 film adaptation of A Bronx Tale, and performed in Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway (1994).

A lifelong governmental and political figure, David Paterson was the first African American governor of New York state.

Mina Stevens was an astronomer who was a pioneer in the classification of stellar spectra.

Actor Robert Pattinson is known for such roles as Cedric Diggory in 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Edward Cullen in 2008's Twilight.

Pope John Paul II made history in 1978 by becoming the first non-Italian pope in more than four hundred years.

Actor Bill Paxton has made a name for himself with such films as Apollo 13 and Twister and the television series Big Love.

Norman Vincent Peale was a minister and author known for works like The Power of Positive Thinking and A Guide to Confident Living.