- Feb 1 William Henry Davenport, American stage magician, claimed to be a spirit medium, born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1877)
- Feb 2 François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (d. 1912)
- Feb 4 Clément Ader, French aviation pioneer (d. 1926)
- Feb 10 Walter Parratt, British organist and composer, born in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England (d. 1924)
- Feb 12 Gijsbert van Tienhoven, Dutch politician (Mayor of Amsterdam, Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1891-1894), born in De Werken, Netherlands (d. 1914)
- Feb 15 Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, Brazilian lawyer, politician (President of Brazil, 1898-1902), and coffee grower, born in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil (d. 1913)
- Feb 18 Samuel Prowse Warren, Canadian organist and composer, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1915)
- Feb 19 Felipe Pedrell, Spanish guitarist, composer (Excelsior; La Celestina), and musical scholar, born in Tortosa, Spain (d. 1922)
Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
Feb 25 French Impressionist painter and sculptor (Bal du moulin de la Galette, Luncheon of the Boating Party), born in Limoges, France
- Feb 26 Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, British diplomat (Consul-General in Egypt, 1883-1907), and writer, born in Cromer, Norfolk, England (d. 1917)
- Feb 27 [Eleanor] Agnes Lee, American daughter of US Confederate general Robert E. Lee, born in at Arlington, Virginia (d. 1873)
- Feb 28 Adrien Albert Marie de Mun, French politician (d. 1914)