- Jan 5 Frederick Converse, American composer (The Pipe of Desire), born in Newton, Massachusetts (d. 1940)
- Jan 15 Bertram Shapleigh, American composer, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1940)
- Jan 22 Léon Jessel, German light classical and operetta composer (The Parade of the Tin Soldiers; Schwarzwaldmädel (The Black Forest Girl)), born in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland) (d. 1942)
- Jan 29 Eduardo Lopez-Chavarri y Marco, Spanish composer, born in Valencia, Spain (d. 1970)
- Feb 7 (Carl) Wilhelm Stenhammar, Swedish composer considered the finest Swedish pianist of his time, born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1927)
- Mar 6 Ben Harney, American composer and "Father of Ragtime Piano" (You've Been a Good Old Wagon, But You Done Broke Down), born on the Mississippi River (d. 1938) [1]
- Mar 9 Arthur Fickenscher, American microtonal composer, and educator (University of Virginia, 1920-41), born in Aurora, Illinois (d. 1954)
- Mar 28 Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (Concertgebouw Orchestra, NY Philharmonic 1922-30), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 1951)
- Apr 1 F. Melius Christiansen, Norwegian-American violinist, and choral conductor (St. Olaf Choir, 1912-44), born in Eidsvold, Norway (d. 1955)
- Apr 3 Mistinguett [Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois], French actress and singer (Moulin Rouge star), born in Enghien-les-Bains, Val-d'Oise, France (d. 1956)
- Apr 16 Martin Lunssens, Belgian composer, born in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Belgium (d. 1944)
- Apr 21 Leo Blech, German composer and conductor, born in Aachen, Rhenish Prussia (d. 1958)
- Apr 21 Vojtěch Říhovský, Czech composer, born in Dub nad Moravou, Czechia (d. 1950)
- Apr 24 Blanche Ring, American singer ("In The Good Old Summer Time"), and stage and screen actress, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1961)
- Apr 27 Arthur Nevin, American composer, born in Edgeworth, Pennsylvania (d. 1943)
- May 5 Alberto Cametti, Italian composer, born in Rome, Italy (d. 1935)
James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938)
Jun 17 American Harlem Renaissance poet, lyricist ("Lift Every Voice And Sing"), civil rights activist, and leader of the NAACP, born in Jacksonville, Florida
- Jul 3 Vicente Arregui Garay, Spanish composer, born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1925)
- Jul 8 Clement Harris, English composer, born in London (d. 1897)
- Jul 22 Akos Buttykai, Hungarian composer, born in Halmeu, Romania (d. 1935)
- Aug 1 Oskar Fried, German-Russian composer, born in Berlin, German Empire (d. 1941)
- Aug 8 William Henry Squire, British cellist, music educator, and composer, born in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England (d. 1963)
- Aug 16 Zakhary Petrovich Paliashvili, Georgian composer (Abesalom and Eteri), born in Kutaisi (d. 1933)
- Sep 30 Ruben Liljefors, Swedish composer, born in Uppsala, Sweden (d. 1936)
- Oct 14 Alexander von Zemlinsky, Austrian composer, conductor, and arranger (The Mermaid; Lyric Symphony), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1942)
- Oct 26 Hermann Löhr, British composer, born in Plymouth, England (d. 1943)
- Nov 1 Alexander Spendiaryan, Armenian-Soviet conductor and composer (Three Palms; Yerevan Sketches), born in Kakhovka, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) (d. 1928)
- Nov 18 Amadeo Vives, Spanish composer, born in Collbató, Spain (d. 1932)
- Nov 21 Panayot Pipkov, Bulgarian bandmaster, composer, pedagogue, and (with his son) Antarctic glacier namesake, born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria (d. 1942)
- Dec 20 Henry Kimball Hadley, American composer and conductor, born in Somerville, Massachusetts (d. 1937)
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
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