- Jan 1 Michael J. Owens, American glassmaker and inventor (glass bottle-making machine), born in Mason County, West Virginia (d. 1923) [1]
- Jan 5 DeWitt Bristol Brace, inventor (spectrophotometer), born in Wilson, New York (d. 1905)
- Jan 6 Samuel Alexander, English philosopher (Moral Order & Progress), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1938)
Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947)
Jan 9 American women's suffrage leader and founder (League of Women Voters), born in Ripon, Wisconsin
- Jan 9 Frederik Pijper, Dutch vicar and church historian (The Monasteries) (d. 1926)
- Jan 11 [Gerard] Jan Ligthart, Dutch educator (Nog bij mother, Ot & Sien) (d. 1916)
- Jan 13 Karl Bleibtreu, German author (Revolution of Literature), born in Berlin (d. 1928)
- Jan 13 Kostis Palamas, Greek poet (d. 1943)
- Jan 15 Archibald Peake, Premier of South Australia, born in Chelsea, London (d. 1920)
- Jan 19 Alice Eastwood, Canadian-American botanist (Handbook of Trees of California), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1953)
- Jan 21 Antoni Wincenty Rutkowski, Polish composer and pianist, born in Warsaw, Russian Poland (d. 1886)
- Jan 24 Alexander Alexandrovich Ilyinsky, Russian composer (The Fountain of Bakhchisaray), born in Tsarskoye Selo, Russia (d. 1920)
Wilhelm II (1859-1941)
Jan 27 German Emperor and King of Prussia (1888-1918), born in Berlin
- Jan 30 Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player, born in Cork, Ireland (d. 1944)
- Feb 1 Victor Herbert, American cellist, composer, and conductor (Babes in Toyland; Eileen), born in Guernsey, Bailiwick of Guernsey (d. 1924) [he believed he was born in Dublin, Ireland] [1]
- Feb 2 Havelock Ellis, English physician and social reformer who studied sexual behaviour (Psychology of Sex), born in Croydon, England (d. 1939)
- Feb 3 Hugo Junkers, German engineer and aircraft designer, born in Rheydt, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1935)
- Feb 4 Timofei Mikhailov, Russian revolutionary, member of Narodnaya Volya (d. 1881)
- Feb 9 Maurice Read, English cricket batsman (17 Tests, 2 x 50; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1890; Surrey CCC), born in Thames Ditton, England (d. 1929)
- Feb 10 Alexandre Millerand, French President (1920-24) and Prime Minister (1920), born in Paris (d. 1943)
- Feb 13 Frank van de Goes, Dutch writer and Marxist theorist, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1939)
- Feb 13 William Strang, Scottish painter and engraver (illustrated Bunyan, Coleridge and Kipling), born in Dumbarton, Scotland (d. 1921)
- Feb 14 George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., American engineer and inventor (Ferris Wheel), born in Galesburg, Illinois (d. 1896)
- Feb 19 Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1903), born in Wik Castle, Sweden (d. 1927)
- Feb 22 Joey Palmer, Australian cricket medium pace/spin bowler (17 Tests, 78 wickets, BB 7/65; Victoria CA), born in Corowa, Australia (d. 1910)
- Mar 2 Sholem Aleichem [Solomon Rabinowitz], Yiddish author and playwright (Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye the Dairyman), born in Pereyaslav, Russian Empire (d. 1916)
- Mar 8 Kenneth Grahame, British author (The Wind in the Willows), born in Edinburgh (d. 1932)
- Mar 8 Otto Taubmann, German composer, born in Hamburg, German Confederation (d. 1929)
- Mar 12 Abraham H. Cannon, Mormon apostle (d. 1896)
- Mar 12 Josef Cyril Sychra, Czech composer and choirmaster, born in Ústí nad Orlicí (d. 1935)
- Mar 13 Ivo Bligh, British noble (8th Earl of Darnley) and cricket batsman (4 Tests; first England captain v Australia 1882-83), born in London, England (d. 1927)
- Mar 15 Arthur Hawley Scribner, American magazine and book publisher, born in New York City (d. 1932)
- Mar 16 Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist (d. 1906)
- Mar 19 Edward J. McKeever, American baseball executive (co-owner Brooklyn Dodgers), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1925)
- Mar 26 A. E. Housman, English poet (A Shropshire Lad), born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England (d. 1936)
- Mar 26 Adolf Hurwitz, German mathematician (Riemann–Hurwitz formula), born in Hildesheim, Germany (d. 1919)
- Mar 26 Nikolay Alexandrovich Sokolov, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1922)
- Mar 27 George Giffen, Australian cricket all-rounder (31 Tests, 1 x 100, 6 x 50, HS 161, 103 wickets, BB 7/117; SA CA), born in Adelaide, Australia (d. 1927)
- Apr 3 Reginald De Koven, American operetta and popular song composer (Oh Promise Me), born in Middletown, Connecticut (d. 1920)
- Apr 5 Wilhelm Harteveld, Swedish composer, born in Stockholm (d. 1927)
- Apr 7 Walter Camp, father of American football (Yale), born in New Britain, Connecticut (d. 1925)
- Apr 8 Edmund Husserl, German philosopher (founded School of Phenomenology), born in Proßnitz, Margraviate of Moravia, Austrian Empire (d. 1938)
- Apr 11 Basil Harwood, English organist and composer, born in Woodhouse, Gloucestershire, England (d. 1949)
- Apr 16 Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (d. 1924)
- Apr 18 Eduard Cuypers, Dutch architect (Sanatorium High-Laren), born in Roermond, The Netherlands (d. 1927)
- May 1 Bohuslav Jeremiáš, Czech composer, born in Řestoky, Bohemia, Austrian Empire (d. 1918)
- May 1 Willem Johannes Leyds, Dutch-South Africa lawyer and diplomat (State Secretary of the South African Republic), born in Magelang, Dutch East Indies (d. 1940)
- May 2 Eugène d'Harcourt, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1918)
- May 2 Jerome K. Jerome, English writer (The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow), born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England (d. 1927)
- May 3 Andy Adams, American writer (Log of a Cowboy), born in Indiana (d. 1935)
- May 6 Luis María Drago, Argentine statesman and author of Drago Doctrine, born in Buenos Aires (d. 1921)
- May 6 Willem Kloos, Dutch poet (Act of Simple Justice), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1938)
- May 8 Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician (d. 1925)
- May 13 August Enna, Danish composer (The Witch), born in Nakskov, Denmark (d. 1939)
- May 15 Pierre Curie, French physicist (Nobel 1903) and husband of Marie Curie, born in Paris, France (d. 1906)
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)
May 22 British author who brought Sherlock Holmes to life (twice), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
- May 30 Pierre Janet, French psychologist and neurologist (contributed to the modern concept of mental and emotional disorders involving anxiety, phobias, and other abnormal behaviour), born in Paris (d. 1947)
- Jun 8 Frank Dalton, American lawman of the Old West (Deputy US Marshal, Oklahoma Territory), brother of the Dalton Gang of outlaws, born in Westport, Missouri (d. 1887)
- Jun 8 Smith Wigglesworth, British religious figure, born in Menston, Yorkshire, England (d. 1947)
- Jun 10 Jacques Perk, Dutch poet (Iris, Wood Song), born in Dordrecht, Netherlands (d. 1881)
Thomas J. Walsh (1859-1933)
Jun 12 United States Senator (Montana), born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Édouard Michelin (1859-1940)
Jun 23 French industrialist who founded Michelin, born in Clermond-Ferrand, France
- Jun 23 Florentinus M Wibaut, Amsterdams social alderman (building of houses), born in Vlissingen, Netherlands (d. 1936)
- Jun 27 Mildred J. Hill, American composer and musician ("Happy Birthday To You"), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1916)
- Jul 4 Mickey Welch, American Baseball HOF pitcher (third to 300 career wins; Troy Trojans, New York Giants), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1941)
- Jul 6 Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish poet and novelist (Charles Men, Nobel 1916), born in Olshammar, Örebro County, Sweden (d. 1940)
- Jul 8 Hank O'Day, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher/umpire/manager (umpire 10 World Series), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1935)
- Jul 12 Peter Verigin, Russian Doukhobor leader (led Doukhobor community in Canada), born in Slavianka, Russia (d. 1924) [1]
- Jul 13 Sydney Webb, English socialist and economist (founded London School of Economics) and husband of Beatrice Webb, born in London, England (d. 1947)
- Jul 14 Willy Hess, German violinist, born in Mannheim, Baden, German Confederation (d. 1939)
- Jul 17 Luis Muñoz Rivera, Puerto Rican journalist (founded Federalist Party), born in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico (d. 1916)
- Jul 30 Henry Louis Smith, American physicist who made the first X-ray photograph, born in Greensboro, North Carolina (d. 1951)
- Jul 30 Henry Lunn, English humanitarian and religious leader, born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire (d. 1939)
- Aug 4 Knut Hamsun, Norwegian writer (Nobel Prize in Literature 1920), born in Lom, Gudbrandsdalen, Norway (d. 1952)
- Aug 6 Arthur Berson, German meteorologist (Balloon flights, Amazon), born in Nowy Sącz (d. 1942)
- Aug 11 Heber Manning Wells, American banker, politician (1st Governor of the State of Utah, 1896-1905), and newspaper editor, born in Salt Lake City, Utah (d. 1938)
- Aug 12 Katharine Lee Bates, American author (America the Beautiful), born in Falmouth, Massachusetts (d. 1929)
- Aug 19 Charles Comiskey, American Baseball HOF infielder (St. Louis Brown Stockings/Browns), team owner (Chicago White Sox) and manager (St. Louis Browns), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1931)
- Aug 19 Hippolyte Delehaye, Flemish historian and hagiographer, born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1941)
- Sep 3 Jean Jaurès, French socialist (L'Humanité, Les Preuves), born in Castres, Second French Empire (d. 1914)
- Sep 4 Edoardo Mascheroni, Italian composer, born in Milan (d. 1941)
- Sep 5 Lester A. Pelton, American inventor (water wheel for hydroelectricity), born in Vermilion, Ohio (d. 1908) [1]
- Sep 11 Vjenceslav Novak, Croatian Realist writer (Pavao Šegota), born in Senj, Croatia (d. 1905)
Yuan Shikai (1859-1916)
Sep 16 Chinese general and President of the Republic of China (1916), born in Xiangcheng, Henan, Qing dynasty, China
- Sep 17 Frank Dawson Adams, Canadian geologist, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1942)
- Sep 17 Richard Henry Warren, American organist and composer, born in Albany, New York (d. 1933)
- Sep 18 John L. Bates, American lawyer and politician (41st Governor of Massachusetts), born in Easton, Massachusetts (d. 1946)
- Sep 18 Lincoln Loy McCandless, American cattle rancher and politician, born in Indiana, Pennsylvania (d. 1940)
- Sep 21 Cyriel Buysse, Flemish baron and writer (Sursum Corda, Ace Knave), born in Nevele, Belgium (d. 1932)
- Sep 24 Julius Klengel, German cellist and composer, born in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony (d. 1933)
- Oct 3 Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (Les Misérables, Thérèse Raquin), born near Vigevano, Italy (d. 1924)
Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935)
Oct 9 French Jewish artillery officer (Dreyfus Affair), born in Mulhouse, France
- Oct 14 Camille Chevillard, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1923)
- Oct 15 Jaime de Magalhães Lima, Portuguese author and poet (Salmos do Prisoneiro), born in Vera Cruz, Portugal (d. 1936)
- Oct 16 Henryk Pachulski, Polish pianist, composer, and educator (Moscow Conservatory, 1886-1917), born in Łazy, Poland (d. 1921)
- Oct 17 William "Buck" Ewing, American Baseball HOF catcher (NL home run leader 1883 NY Giants; Cincinnati Reds) and manager (NY Giants, Cincinnati Reds), born in Hoagland, Ohio (d. 1906)
- Oct 18 Henri Bergson, French philosopher (Creative Evolution, Nobel Prize for Literature 1927), born in Paris, France (d. 1941)
- Oct 18 Paolo Orsi, Italian archaeologist (Sicilian excavations), born in Rovereto, Austria-Hungary (d. 1935)
- Oct 20 George Studd, English cricket batsman (4 Tests; Middlesex), born in Netheravon, Wiltshire, England (d. 1945)
John Dewey (1859-1952)
Oct 20 American philosopher, educational theorist and writer (learn by doing), born in Burlington, Vermont
- Oct 25 Hélène Swarth, Dutch author (Lonely Flowers), born in Amsterdam (d. 1941)
- Oct 26 Arthur Friedheim, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1932)
- Oct 26 Frank Selee, American Baseball HOF manager (5 x NL C'ship Boston Beaneaters; Chicago Orphans/Cubs), born in Amherst, New Hampshire (d. 1909)
- Oct 29 Charles Ebbets, American sports executive (co-owner of Brooklyn Dodgers 1897-1902), born in New York City (d. 1925)
- Oct 30 Karl von Stürgkh, Austrian nobleman and politician (Prime Minister, 1911-16) who declared war on Serbia, initiating WWI, born in Graz, Austrian Empire (d. 1916)
- Nov 1 Bid McPhee, American Baseball HOF second baseman (AA HR leader 1886 Cincinnati Reds; last 2nd baseman to play without a glove), born in Massena, NY (d. 1943)
- Nov 1 Charles Brantley Aycock, 50th Governor of North Carolina (1901-05), born in Wayne County, North Carolina (d. 1912)
- Nov 1 W. H. Grattan Flood, Irish author and composer, born in Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland (d. 1928)
- Nov 4 Stanisław Niewiadomski, Polish composer, born in Soposzyn, Kingdom of Galicia, Austrian Empire (now Ukraine) (d. 1936)
- Nov 13 Georg Knorr, German engineer (brake system trains), born in Ruda bei Neumark, West Prussia (d. 1911)
- Nov 14 Alexander Samsonov, Russian general (Battle of Tennenberg), born in Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1914)
- Nov 15 Christopher Hornsrud, Prime Minister of Norway (3 weeks), born in Skotselv, Øvre Eiker, Norway (d. 1960)
- Nov 17 Gerhard Schjelderup, Norwegian opera composer and musicologist, born in Kristiansand, Norway (d. 1933)
- Nov 19 Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer and musician (Armenian Rhapsody), born in Gatchina, Russia (d. 1935)
- Nov 22 Cecil Sharp, British collector of English folk music and dance, born in London, England (d. 1924)
Billy the Kid (1859-1881)
Nov 23 American frontier outlaw and gunfighter of the Wild West, born in New York City
Georges Seurat (1859-1891)
Dec 2 French post-impressionist painter (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grande Jatte), born in Paris, France
John Jellicoe (1859-1935)
Dec 5 1st Earl Jellicoe, British Admiral of the Fleet in World War I (Battle of Jutland), born in Southampton, England
- Dec 9 Algernon Ashton, British composer, born in Durham, England (d. 1937)
- Dec 12 Edward R. Bradley, American businessman and horse owner (1st to own 4 Kentucky Derby winners), born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (d. 1946)
- Dec 12 Maurice Donnay, French playwright (Lovers), born in Paris (d. 1945)
- Dec 15 L. L. Zamenhof, Polish physician and linguist (Esperanto), born in Białystok, Poland, Russian Empire (d. 1917)
- Dec 17 Paul César Helleu, French artist (d. 1927)
- Dec 20 Antonius Derkinderen, Dutch painter and artist, born in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands (d. 1925)
- Dec 21 Gustave Kahn, French symbolist poet and art critic, born in Metz, France (d. 1936)
- Dec 24 Roman Statkowski, Polish composer, born in Szczypiorno, Poland (d. 1925)
- Dec 25 Raoul Gunsbourg, French composer, impresario and opera director (Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 1892-1951), born in Bucharest, Romania (d. 1955)
- Dec 26 Johan Frans van Bemmelen, Dutch zoologist, born in Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1956)
- Dec 26 William Stephens, U.S. political figure (d. 1944)
- Dec 27 William Henry Hadow, British educational reformer and musicologist (Oxford History of Music, Studies in Modern Music), born in Ebrington, Gloucestshire, England (d. 1937)
- Dec 28 Gerard Brucken Fock, Dutch composer and painter, born in Koudekerke, Netherlands (d. 1935)
- Dec 28 John W Fortescue, British military historian and archivist at Windsor Castle, born in Madeira (d. 1933)
- Dec 29 Jack Simpson, Scottish golfer (British Open 1884), born in Earlsferry, Fife, Scotland (d. 1895)
- Dec 29 Venustiano Carranza, Mexican revolutionary and President of Mexico (1915-20), born in Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila, Mexico (d. 1920)
- Dec 30 Josef Bohuslav Foerster, Czech composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (d. 1951)
- Dec 31 Max Fiedler, German conductor and composer, born in Zittau, Saxony, (d. 1939)
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
80-89
Over 90