- Jan 1 Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, French chemist (d. 1904)
- Jan 8 James Milton Carroll, American pastor and author (d. 1931)
- Jan 11 Konstantin Fehrenbach, German chancellor of Weimar Republic (1920-21), born in Wellendingen, Baden (d. 1926)
- Jan 12 Joseph Joffre, French army Chief of Staff (Indo China, WWI Battle of Marne), born in Rivesaltes, France (d. 1931)
- Jan 26 Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Italian-French explorer of the Congo (Brazzaville named after him), born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1905)
- Feb 5 Terauchi Masatake, Japanese soldier and politician (Prime Minister of Japan 1916-18), born in Hirai Village, Japan (d. 1919)
- Feb 12 Hendrik Blink, Dutch geographer (Van de Eems tot de Schelde) (d. 1931)
- Feb 13 Johan Louis Emil Dreyer, Danish-British astronomer (New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1926)
Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916)
Feb 16 American religious leader (founder of the Bible School Movement that led to Jehovah's Witnesses), born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania
- Feb 16 William S. Scarborough, American linguist and author (Birds of Aristophanes), born in Macon, Georgia (d. 1926)
- Feb 20 Nikolai Garin-Michailovski], Russian railroad engineer (Trans-Siberian railway) and author (Tjoma Kartashov), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1906) [OS=2/08]
- Feb 21 Burner Matthews, American academic and critic who established study of theatre (NY Times), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1929)
- Feb 22 Pieter Klazes Pel, Dutch physician (Pel-Ebstein fever), born in Smallingerland, Netherlands (d. 1919)
- Feb 24 George Moore, Irish painter and novelist (Esther Waters), born in Moore Hall, County Mayo, Ireland (d. 1933)
- Feb 26 John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon and nutritionist, inspired flaked cereal industry, born in Tyrone, Michigan (d. 1943)
- Feb 29 Frank Gavan Duffy, Australian judge (d. 1936)
- Mar 1 Théophile Delcassé, French statesman (Entente Cordiale), born in Pamiers, France (d. 1923)
- Mar 15 Augusta Gregory [Lady Gregory], Irish writer and playwright (Golden Apple) and theatre manager (co-founded Abbey theatre), born in Roxborough, Ireland (d. 1932)
- Apr 1 Edward Austin Abbey, American painter (Quest of the Holy Grail mural at Boston Public Library), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1911)
- Apr 12 Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician (Proving π ["pi"] is a transcendental number), born in Hanover, German Confederation (now Germany) (d. 1939)
Frank Winfield Woolworth (1852-1919)
Apr 13 American businessman, retail pioneer (Five-and-Dimes; self-service display cases) and founder of F. W. Woolworth Co, born in Rodman, New York [1]
- Apr 18 George Clausen, English painter, born in London (d. 1944)
- Apr 22 Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1905-12), born in Biebrich Palace, Wiesbaden, Duchy of Nassau (d. 1912)
- Apr 23 Edwin Markham, American poet (1st winner of American Acad of Poets Award 1937), born in Oregon City, Oregon (d. 1940)
Calamity Jane (1852-1903)
May 1 American frontierswoman, born in Princeton, Missouri
- May 1 Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish histologist (central nervous system) and neuroscientist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1906), born in Petilla de Aragón, Navarre, Spain (d. 1934)
- May 11 Charles W. Fairbanks, 26th Vice President of the United States (Republican: 1905-09) and Senator, born in Unionville Center, Ohio (d. 1918)
- May 18 Gertrude Käsebier, American pioneering photographer, born in Des Moines, Iowa (d. 1934)
- May 24 Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, Scottish politician, born in London (d. 1936)
- May 31 Francisco Moreno, Argentine explorer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1919)
- Jun 24 Victor Adler, Austrian politician (Minister of Foreign Affairs), born in Prague, Bohemia, Austrian Empire (d. 1918)
Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926)
Jun 25 Catalan-Spanish architect (Sagrada Família, Casa Milà, Casa Batlló), born in Reus, Catalonia, Spain
- Jul 10 Alfred von Kiderlen-Wächter, German foreign minister, born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany (d. 1912)
Hipólito Yrigoyen (1852-1933)
Jul 12 President of Argentina (1916-22, 1928-30), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Jul 20 Theo Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister), born in Amsterdam (d. 1932)
- Aug 12 Fr. Michael J. McGivney, Irish-American Catholic priest, and founder the Knights of Columbus fraternal organization, born in Waterbury, Connecticut (d. 1890)
- Aug 22 Alfredo Oriani, Italian writer (Political Struggle in Italy), born in Faenza, Italy (d. 1909)
- Aug 23 Arnold Toynbee, English economic historian and social reformer, born in London (d. 1883)
- Aug 23 Clímaco Calderón, President of Colombia for one day in 1882, born in Santa Rosa de Viterbo, Colombia (d. 1913)
- Aug 30 Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff, Dutch physical chemist (Nobel 1901), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1911)
- Aug 31 Joris Helleputte, Belgian Catholic minister, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1925)
- Sep 2 Paul Bourget, French novelist and critic (d. 1935)
- Sep 8 Gojong, Emperor Gwangmu of Korea (1897-1907), born in Unhyeon Palace, Hanseong, Joseon dynasty, Korea (d. 1919)
- Sep 10 Alice Brown Davis, first female Principal Chief of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma (1922-35), born in Park Hill, Indian Territory (d. 1935)
H. H. Asquith (1852-1928)
Sep 12 British Prime Minister (Liberal: 1908-16), born in Morley, England
- Sep 15 Edward Bouchet, American physicist, 1st African American to receive US Ph.D, born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1918)
- Sep 15 Jan Matzeliger, Surinamese-Dutch-American inventor (shoe lasting machine), born in Paramaribo, Dutch Guyana (now Suriname) (d. 1889)
- Sep 20 Édouard Empain, Belgian railway builder (Paris Metro), born in Belœil, Belgium (d. 1929)
- Sep 23 William Stewart Halsted, established 1st US surgical school
- Sep 25 Cornelis Jacobus Snijders, Supreme commander of Dutch Navy (1910-18), born in Nieuwe-Tonge, Netherlands (d. 1939)
- Sep 25 Hans Vaihinger, German philosopher (Nietzsche Philosophy), born in Nehren, Germany (d. 1933)
Henri Moissan (1852-1907)
Sep 28 French chemist who isolated the element "fluorine" from its compounds (Nobel 1906), born in Paris
John French (1852-1925)
Sep 28 1st Earl of Ypres and British WWI field marshal, born in Ripple, Kent, England
- Oct 2 William Ramsay, Scottish chemist who discovered noble gases (Nobel 1904), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1916)
Emil Fischer (1852-1919)
Oct 9 German chemist, discovered Fischer esterification (Nobel Prize 1902), born in Euskirchen, Rhine Province
- Oct 23 Jean-Louis Forain, French impressionist etcher and lithographer, born in Reims, France (d. 1931)
- Oct 31 Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, American writer (Revolt of Mother), born in Randolph, Massachusetts (d. 1930)
- Nov 3 Emperor Meiji [Mutsuhito], 122nd Emperor of Japan (1867-1912), born in Kyōto, Japan (d. 1912)
- Nov 11 Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf, Austro-Hungarian field marshal, born in Penzing, Vienna, Austrian Empire (d. 1925)
- Nov 22 Paul Henri Balluet d'Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and pacifist (Nobel 1909), born in La Flèche, France (d. 1924)
- Nov 25 Johan Salvator, Archduke of Austria, born in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (d. 1890)
- Nov 26 Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, Japanese admiral and politician (Prime Minister of Japan 1913-1914, 1923-1924), born in Kagoshima, Japan (d. 1933)
- Dec 4 Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist and honorary member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1920), born in Saint Petersburg (d. 1934)
Henri Becquerel (1852-1908)
Dec 15 French physicist who discovered radioactivity (Nobel 1903), born in Paris, France
