Robert H. May (November 28, 1822 – February 7, 1903) was born in Augusta, Georgia. With his parents, he shortly moved to the neighboring counties of Lincoln and Columbia, where they farmed. In his early teens, May moved back to Augusta, Georgia, where he was apprenticed to be a wheelwright with Hubert & Roll. While working at this trade he eventually became a partner in the business, and in 1852 started his own carriage manufacturing business, named R. H. May & Co.; which soon became a leading manufacture of carriages, buggies and farm wagons throughout the south.