Historical Figures Born in 1896

  • Jan 2 Dziga Vertov [Denis Kaufman], Russian director and film theorist (Man with a Movie Camera, Sjagai, Soviet!), born in Białystok, Russian Empire (d. 1954)
  • Jan 2 Sir Lawrence Wackett, Australian aircraft engineer (d. 1982)
  • Jan 3 Joe Falcaro, American bowler (National Match Game champion 1929-33), born in Lawrence, New York (d. 1951)
  • Jan 4 Everett Dirksen, American politician (Sen-R-Ill) (d. 1969)
  • Jan 5 Hendrik Algra, Dutch teacher, journalist, historian, and politician (ARP), born in Hurdegaryp, Netherlands (d. 1982)
  • Jan 6 Abram Nicholas Pritzker, American businessman (Hyatt Hotels, McCall's magazine), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1986)
  • Jan 6 Freerk Siemon Wolters, Dutch resistance fighter, born in Zuidwolde, Netherlands (d. 1945)
  • Jan 8 Arthur Ford, American psychic (d. 1971)
  • Jan 8 Manuel Rojas, Chilean writer (Men of the South), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1973)
  • Jan 12 David Wechsler, American psychologist (d. 1981)
  • Jan 14 John dos Passos, American novelist (1919, Big Money, 42nd Parallel), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1970)
  • Jan 18 C. M. Eddy, Jr., American writer, born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1967)
  • Jan 18 Hans H. Holm, Norwegian poet (Jonsoknatt), born in Oslo, Norway (d. 1980)
  • Jan 23 Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1919-64), born in Berg Castle, Luxembourg (d. 1985)
  • Jan 25 John Moores, British businessman, born in Lancashire, England (d. 1993)
  • Jan 31 Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician (d. 1966)
  • Feb 1 Anastasio Somoza García [Tacho], General, dictator and President of Nicaragua (1937-56), born in San Marcos, Nicaragua (d. 1956)
  • Feb 2 Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
  • Feb 3 Johannes Urzidil, German-Bohemian poet and historian, born in Prague (d. 1970)
  • Feb 4 Friedrich Glauser, German-language Swiss writer (Sergeant Studer detective novels), born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1938)
  • Feb 4 Friedrich Hund, German physicist (d. 1997)
  • Feb 7 Harold Hoffman, American politician (Governor of New Jersey 1935-38), born in South Amboy, New Jersey (d. 1954)
  • Feb 7 Jacob Paludan, Danish writer and critic (Jorgen Stein), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1975)
  • Feb 9 Alberto Vargas, Peruvian-American painter, primarily of "pin-up girls", born in Arequipa, Peru (d. 1982)
  • Feb 14 Edward Arthur Milne, English astrophysicist (kinematic relativity), born in Yorkshire, England (d. 1950)

André BretonAndré Breton (1896-1966)

Feb 18 French writer and poet, founder of Surrealism, born in Tinchebray, France

  • Feb 20 Henri de Lubac, French Jesuit cardinal and theologist ("new theology” movement that influenced Second Vatican Council), born in Cambrai, France (d. 1991)
  • Feb 22 Paul Van Ostaijen, Belgian-Dutch poet, writer and critic (Occupied City), born in Antwerp, Belgian (d. 1928)
  • Feb 24 Richard Thorpe, American director (Jailhouse Rock), born in Hutchinson, Kansas (d. 1991)
  • Feb 25 John Little McClellan, American lawyer and politician (Sen-D-Ark), born in Sheridan, Arkansas (d. 1977)
  • Feb 26 Andrei Zjdanov, Russian politician (against kosmopolitism), born in Mariupol, Russian Empire (d. 1948)
  • Feb 28 Philip Showalter Hench, American physician (Nobel Prize 1950 for cortisone), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1965)
  • Feb 29 Morarji Desai, Indian politician and activist, 4th Prime Minister of India (1977-79), born in Bhadeli, British India (d. 1995)
  • Feb 29 Stanley Swash, British businessman (CEO of Woolworths) (d. 1997)
  • Mar 1 Moriz Seeler, German writer and producer (d. 1942)
  • Mar 8 Charlotte Whitton, Canadian politician, Mayor of Ottawa (1951-56), born in Renfrew, Ontario (d. 1975)
  • Mar 10 Nancy Cunard, British writer and activist, born in London (d. 1965)
  • Mar 10 Sherman Billingsley, American bootlegger and nightclub owner (Stock Club- NYC), born in Enid, Oklahoma Territory (d. 1966)
  • Mar 13 Dorothy Aldis, American children's writer, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1966)
  • Mar 20 Hal Walker, director (I Married Joan), born in Ottumwa, Iowa (d. 1972)
  • Mar 22 He Long, Chinese Communist revolutionary, marshal of the People's Liberation Army, born in Sangzhi, Hunan, China (d. 1969)
  • Mar 24 Gianna Manzini, Italian writer (Ritratto in piedi), born in Pistoia, Italy (d. 1974)
  • Apr 3 Douwe Kalma, Dutch literary writer and leader (Young Frisian Movement), born in Boksum, Netherlands (d. 1953)
  • Apr 4 Robert Sherwood, American dramatist (Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Idiot's Delight), born in New Rochelle, New York (d. 1955)
  • Apr 4 Tristan Tzara [Samuel Rosenfeld] Romanian-French poet (Approximate Man), born in Moinești, Romania (d. 1963)
  • Apr 11 Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Quebec novelist (Les Engagés du Grand Portage), born in Berthier, Canada (d. 1967)
  • Apr 15 Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov, Russian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1986)
  • Apr 18 Eugene Wegmann, Swiss geologist (Le Jura plisse), born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland (d. 1982)
  • Apr 20 Wop May, Canadian aviator, flying ace in the WWI, born in Carberry, Manitoba (d. 1952)
  • Apr 21 Henry de Montherlant, French novelist and stage author (La Reine Morte), born in Paris (d. 1972)
  • Apr 23 Margaret Kennedy, English novelist (The Constant Nymph), born in Hyde Park Gate, London (d. 1967)
  • Apr 26 Ernst Udet, German WWI pilot and notable flying ace who helped develop the Luftwaffe under the Nazi Party, born in Frankfurt am Main, German Empire (d. 1941)
  • Apr 27 Wallace Hume Carothers, American chemist and inventor (nylon), born in Burlington, Iowa (d. 1937)
  • Apr 29 Walter Mehring, German writer (Die Gedichte, Lieder und Chansons des Walter Mehring), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1981)
  • Apr 30 Anandamayi Ma [Nirmala Sundari], Indian spiritual leader, born in Kheora, Bengal Presidency, British India (d. 1982)
  • Apr 30 Hans List, Austrian scientist and inventor, born in Graz, Austria (d. 1996)
  • May 1 Herbert Backe, German Nazi politician (Reich Minister for Food and Agriculture), born in Batumi, Kutais Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1947)
  • May 1 J. Lawton Collins, American general, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1987)
  • May 1 Mark W. Clark, American general, born in Madison Barracks, Sackets Harbor, New York (d. 1984)
  • May 2 Helen of Greece and Denmark, Queen Mother of Romania, born in Athens, Greece (d. 1982)
  • May 3 Dodie Smith, English novelist and playwright (101 Dalmatians), born in Whitefield, Lancashire, England (d. 1990)
  • May 3 Karl Allmenröder, German World War I flying Ace, born in Wald, Rhine Province, Germany (d. 1917)
  • May 7 Pavel Sergeevich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician (topology), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1982)
  • May 11 Philippo de Pisis, Italian painter
  • May 17 Hannah Tillich, German-American writer (Harbor Mouse) and wife of Paul Tillich, born in Rotenburg an der Fulda, Germany (d. 1988)
  • May 19 Michael Balcon, producer/father of Jill Balcon, born in Birmingham, England
  • May 22 Cyril Fagan, Irish astrologer and author, born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1970)
  • May 23 Felix Martin Julius Steiner, German Heer and Waffen-SS officer (d. 1966)
  • May 25 Jan Nicolaas Bakhuizen van den Brink, Dutch theologist and church historian, born in Joure, Netherlands (d. 1987)
  • May 29 George L. Funke, Dutch botanist (Flower Physiology), born in The Hague, Netherlands
  • Jun 6 Henry Allingham, British supercentenarian and World War I veteran, born in Clapton, London (d. 2009)
  • Jun 6 Italo Balbo, Italian pilot and governor of Libya, born in Ferrara, Italy (d. 1940)
  • Jun 6 R. C. Sherriff, English playwright (Journey's End), born in Hampton Wick, Middlesex, England (d. 1975)
  • Jun 7 Douglas Campbell, American aviator and World War I flying ace, born in San Francisco, California (d. 1990)

Imre NagyImre Nagy (1896-1958)

Jun 7 Hungarian communist and Prime Minister of Hungary (1953-56), born in Kaposvár, Hungary

  • Jun 7 Robert S. Mulliken, American chemist and physicist (Nobel 1966), born in Newburyport, Massachusetts (d. 1986)
  • Jun 8 Samuel Gonard, Swiss lawyer and chairman (International Red Cross), born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland (d. 1975)
  • Jun 9 Catherine Filene Shouse, American philanthropist (Wolf Trap Institute), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1994)
  • Jun 16 Jean-Pierre Peugeot III, French auto manufacturer (Peugeot) (d. 1966)
  • Jun 16 Murray Leinster [William Fitzgerald Jenkins], American science-fiction author (Time Tunnel; Land of the Giants), born in Norfolk, Virginia (d. 1975)
  • Jun 18 Philip Barry, American dramatist (Philadelphia Story)

Wallis SimpsonWallis Simpson (1896-1986)

Jun 19 American divorcee whom British King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry, born in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania

  • Jun 21 Charles Momsen, American inventor (submarine rescue device), born in Flushing, New York (d. 1967)
  • Jun 22 Francis C Denebrink, US Naval officer (WW I, WW II, Korea)
  • Jun 27 Franciscus J. Feron, vicaris-general of Roermond (d. 1958)
  • Jul 1 Pavel Antokolsky, Russian poet and theatre director (Syn), born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1978)
  • Jul 2 Lydia Mei, Estonian artist who specialized in watercolors and still lifes, born in Hiiumaa, Estonia (d. 1965)
  • Jul 4 Mao Dun [Shen Dehong], Chinese writer (Midnight), born in Tongxiang, China (d. 1981)
  • Jul 6 Thomas W McKnew, president (National Geographic Society)
  • Jul 8 Alfredo Carmelo, Filipino aviator, lithographer, and painter, born in Manila, Philippines (d. 1985)
  • Jul 10 Thérèse Casgrain, French Canadian politician and senator, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1981)
  • Jul 13 Mordecai Ardon, Israeli painter (d. 1992)
  • Jul 14 Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish anarchist involved in the Spanish Revolution, born in León, Spain (d. 1936)
  • Jul 16 Maurits Dekker, Dutch novelist and playwright (Merkteken; Boots In Jail), born in Amsterdam (d. 1962)
  • Jul 16 Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German human biologist and Nazi physician, born in Wildeck, German Empire (d. 1969)

Trygve LieTrygve Lie (1896-1968)

Jul 16 Norwegian politician and 1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (1946-52), born in Oslo, Sweden–Norway

  • Jul 19 A. J. Cronin, Scottish writer (Citadel, Shining Victory), born in Cardross (d. 1981)
  • Jul 24 Hermann Kasack, German writer (Die Stadt hinter dem Strom), born in Potsdam, Germany (d. 1966)
  • Jul 25 Richard Gale, English general and airborne commander (Normandy), born in Wandsworth, London (d. 1982)
  • Jul 27 Henri Longchambon, French politician, born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France (d. 1969)
  • Aug 8 Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, writer (Yearling), born in Washington, D.C.
  • Aug 9 Erich Hückel, German physicist and physical chemist, born in Berlin, German Empire (d. 1980)
  • Aug 9 Jean Piaget, Swiss pioneer developmental psychologist and zoologist, born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland (d. 1980)
  • Aug 15 Catherine Doherty, Russian-born Canadian activist, born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia (d. 1985)
  • Aug 16 Tina Modotti, Italian artist and activist, born in Udine, Italy (d. 1940)
  • Aug 17 Henry P de Vries, Dutch painter/poet (Laws of the Americas)

Leslie GrovesLeslie Groves (1896-1970)

Aug 17 American army engineer who directed the Manhattan Project and construction of the Pentagon, born in Albany, New York

  • Aug 21 Raymond Herreman, Belgian poet, journalist and writer (Jericho's Rose), born in Menen, Belgium (d. 1971)
  • Aug 22 Laurence McKinley Gould, American Geologist and Polar Explorer who was chief scientist and second-in-command on the first expedition to the interior of Antarctica in 1929, born in Lacota, Michigan (d. 1995)
  • Aug 26 Ivan Mihailov, Bulgarian revolutionary (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization), born in Novo Selo, Ottoman Empire (d. 1990)
  • Aug 31 Félix-Antoine Savard, French Canadian priest and novelist, born in Quebec, Canada (d. 1982)
  • Sep 1 A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Indian guru, founder of International Society for Krishna Consciousness, born in Calcutta, British India (d. 1977)
  • Sep 6 Mario Praz, Italian literary critic and scholar (La carne, la morte, e il diavolo), born in Rome, Italy (d. 1982)
  • Sep 10 Robert Taschereau, Canadian judge and politician (d. 1970)
  • Sep 10 Ye Ting, Chinese military leader (d. 1946)
  • Sep 12 Giuseppe Zoppi, Swiss writer (Il Libro Dell'Alpe), born in Broglio, Switzerland (d. 1952)
  • Sep 20 Fjodor Panfjorov, Russian author (Volga), born in Pavlovka, Russia (d. 1960) [NS=Oct 2]

F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

Sep 24 American author (Great Gatsby, Zelda), born in St. Paul, Minnesota

  • Sep 25 Elsa Triolet [Ella Kagan], Russian-French writer and Resistance fighter, born in Moscow (d. 1970)
  • Sep 25 Sandro Pertini, 7th President of Italy (1978-85), born in Rome (d. 1990)
  • Sep 27 Sam Ervin, American politician (U.S. Senator from North Carolina) and Watergate committee chairman, born in Morganton, North Carolina (d. 1985)
  • Sep 30 Jolie Gabor [Janka Tilleman], Hungarian-American jeweler and mother of Magda, Zsa Zsa, & Eva, born in Budapest, Hungary (birth date disputed)
  • Oct 3 Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet (Versos humanos), born in Santander, Spain (d. 1987)
  • Oct 11 Roman Jakobson, Russian-American linguist and Slavic scholar (Fundamentals of Language), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1982)
  • Oct 12 Eugenio Montale, Italian poet and translator (Xenia-Nobel 1975), born in Genoa, Italy (d. 1981)
  • Oct 15 Célestin Freinet, French pedagogue & educational reformer, born in Gars, France (d. 1966)
  • Oct 16 Edmond van Dooren, Flemish painter
  • Oct 22 Charles Glen King, American biochemist and pioneer of nutrition research who isolated vitamin C, born in Entiat, Washington (d. 1988)
  • Oct 23 André Lévêque, French engineer, born in Beauvais, France (d. 1930)
  • Oct 27 Edith Haisman, the oldest survivor of Titanic, born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 1997)
  • Oct 30 Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet, born in Tripoli, Greece (d. 1928)
  • Nov 1 Edmund Blunden, English poet and critic (Undertones of War), born in London (d. 1974)
  • Nov 4 Carlos P. Garcia, 8th President of the Philippines (1957-61), born in Talibon, Bohol, Philippines (d. 1971)
  • Nov 7 Esdras Minville, Quebec writer, economist and sociologist, born in Quebec, Montreal (d. 1975)
  • Nov 7 Herbert O'Connor, 51st Governor of Maryland and TV narrator (Crime Syndicate), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1960)
  • Nov 12 Salim Ali, Indian ornithologist 'Birdman of India', born in Bombay, British India (d. 1987)
  • Nov 13 Nobusuke Kishi, Prime Minister of Japan (1957-60), born in Yamaguchi, Japan (d. 1987)
  • Nov 14 Mamie Eisenhower, First Lady of the United States (1953-61), born in Boone, Iowa (d. 1979)
  • Nov 16 Joan Lindsay, Australian author (Picnic at Hanging Rock), born in St Kilda East, Victoria, Australia (d. 1984)
  • Nov 16 Oswald Mosley, British politician and founder of British Union of Fascists, born in London (d. 1980)
  • Nov 17 Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist (d. 1934)
  • Nov 20 Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian writer, born in Moscow, Russian Empire (d. 1977)
  • Nov 23 Klement Gottwald, Czech communist politician, Premier and President of Czechoslovakia (1946-53), born in Vyškov, Austria-Hungary (d. 1953)

Charles Charles "Lucky" Luciano (1896-1962)

Nov 24 Italian-American gangster of the New York mafia, born in Sicily, Italy

  • Nov 27 Giovanni Battista Angioletti, Italian author (Il giorno del giudizio), born in Milan, Italy (d. 1961)
  • Nov 28 Dawn Powell, American writer (Turn, Magic Wheel), born in Mount Gilead, Ohio (d. 1965)
  • Nov 29 Philip L. Carret, American investor and founder of Pioneer Fund, born in Lynn, Massachusetts (d. 1998)

Georgy ZhukovGeorgy Zhukov (1896-1974)

Dec 1 Russian deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Army during WWII (Battles of Stalingrad, Kursk and Berlin) and Minister of Defense, born in Strelkovka, Kaluga

  • Dec 3 John Urzidil, Austrian-American writer (Die erbeuteten Frauen), born in Prague (d. 1970)
  • Dec 4 Nikolai Tichonov, Russian writer (against Pasternak), born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1979)
  • Dec 5 Carl Ferdinand Cori, Czech-American bio-chemist (Nobel 1947-discovery of how glycogen (animal starch) – a derivative of glucose – is broken down and resynthesized in the body, for use as a store and source of energy), born in Prague (d. 1984)
  • Dec 5 Lady Huxley [Marie Juliette Baillot], Swiss sculptor and author, born in Auvernier, Switzerland (d. 1994)
  • Dec 5 Willem Frederik Meinhardt Lampe, Dutch ambassador of the Dutch Antilles, born in Netherlands Antilles (d. 1973)

Jimmy DoolittleJimmy Doolittle (1896-1993)

Dec 14 American air force general who conducted the raid on Tokyo in 1942, born in Alameda, California

  • Dec 15 Betty Smith, American novelist (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1972)
  • Dec 15 George Cressey, American geographer (Asia's Lands & Peoples), born in Tiffin, Ohio (d. 1963)

Miles DempseyMiles Dempsey (1896-1969)

Dec 15 British WWII general (XIII Corps, Second Army), born in New Brighton, Cheshire

  • Dec 15 Paul Citroen, Dutch sculptor, born in Berlin (d. 1983)
  • Dec 19 John Seldon Whale, British theologian and lecturer, born in Cornwall, England (d. 1997)
  • Dec 21 Carl Romme, Dutch catholic foreman/KVP-min Socialist Business, born in Oirschot, Netherlands (d. 1980)
  • Dec 21 Constantine Rokossovski, Russian marshal/vice-premier of Poland, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1968)
  • Dec 22 Nikolay Semyonovich Tikhonov, Russian poet and writer, born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1979)
  • Dec 23 Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Sicilian prince and writer (The Leopard), born in Palermo, Sicily (d. 1957)
  • Dec 27 Carl Zuckmayer, German-Swiss-American playwright (Second Wind), born in Nackenheim, Germany (d. 1977)
  • Dec 27 Louis Bromfield, American writer (Early Autumn, Pulitzer-1926), born in Mansfield, Ohio (d. 1956)
  • Dec 29 David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican social realist painter & muralist (Lib of Chile), born in Chihuahua, Mexico (d. 1974)