- Jan 7 William Hurlstone, English composer, born in London, England (d. 1906)
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948)
Jan 12 Italian light opera composer, born in Venice, Kingdom of Italy
- Jan 20 Józef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist, composer, educator (Curtis Institute, 1924-38), and inventor, born in Podgórze, Austro-Hungarian Galicia (now Poland) (d. 1957)
- Jan 29 Ludolf Nielsen, Danish composer, born in Nørre Tvede, Denmark (d. 1939)
- Jan 29 [William] Havergal Brian, British composer ("Gothic" symphony), born in Dresden, Staffordshire (d. 1972)
- Feb 4 Victor Vreuls, Belgian composer and musician, born in Verviers, Belgium (d. 1944)
- Feb 20 Théodore "Fyodor" Akimenko, Ukrainian composer, born in Kharkiv Drapeau, Ukraine (d. 1945)
Zitkála-Šá (1876-1938)
Feb 22 Native American (Yankton Dakota) writer, violinist, librettist (The Sun Dance Opera), educator, and political activist, born in Yankton Indian Reservation, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota)
- Feb 23 Wadih Sabra, Lebanese composer (Kulluna lil Watan), born in Beirut (d. 1952)
- Feb 28 John Alden Carpenter, American composer (Sea Drift), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1951)
- Mar 8 Franco Alfano, Italian opera composer (Puccini's Turandot), born in Posillipo, Italy (d. 1954)
- Mar 11 Carl Ruggles, American composer (Evocations), born in Marion, Massachusetts (d. 1971)
- Mar 17 Frederic Ayers, American composer, born in Binghamton, New York (d. 1926)
- Apr 5 Patrick Vretblad, Swedish composer, born in Svartnäs, Sweden (d. 1953)
- Apr 25 Rubén M. Campos, Mexican novelist (Claudio Oranos) and musicologist (El folklore y la musica mexicana), born in Ciudad Manuel Doblado, Guanajuato, Mexico (d. 1945)
- May 13 Raoul Laparra, French composer (Alyssa), born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1943)
- May 20 John Owen Jones, Welsh organist, violist, and composer, born at Bryncoed, Caernarfonshire, Wales (d. 1962)
- May 29 Jan Ingenhoven, Dutch composer and conductor, born in Breda (d. 1951)
- Jun 2 Hakon Børresen, Danish composer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1954)
- Jun 12 Narciso Garay, Panamanian composer, born in Panama (d. 1953)
- Jul 17 Vittorio Gnecchi, Italian composer (Cassandra), born in Milan, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1954)
- Jul 23 William Gillies Whittaker, English composer, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England (d. 1944)
- Jul 26 Ernest Schelling, American child piano prodigy, conductor, and composer (A Victory Ball), born in Belvidere, New Jersey (d. 1939)
Mata Hari (1876-1917)
Aug 7 Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan and convicted German WWI spy, born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands
- Sep 11 Alfonso Broqua, Uruguayan composer, born in Montevideo, Uruguay (d. 1946)
- Sep 12 Flor Alpaerts, Flemish composer (Tyl Uilenspiegel; Pallieter), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1954)
- Sep 15 Bruno Walter, German-French opera and symphony conductor (Vienna Philharmonic; NY Philharmonic), born in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (d. 1962)
- Oct 10 Walter Niemann, German composer, born in Hamburg, German Empire (d. 1953)
- Nov 2 Eugeniusz Morawski-Dabrowa, Polish composer, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1948)
- Nov 23 Manuel de Falla, Spanish pianist and composer (Atlántida), born in Cádiz, Spain (d. 1946)
- Dec 7 Ludwig Schiedermair, German musicologist (Beethoven-Archiv), born in Regensburg, Germany (d. 1957)
- Dec 11 Mieczysław Karłowicz, Polish composer and conductor (Rebirth Symphony, Op. 7), born in Vishnyeva, Russian Empire (now Belarus) (d. 1909)
- Dec 19 Carlo Gatti, Italian musicologist (Verdi), born in Florence, Italy (d. 1965)
- Dec 29 Pablo Casals [Pau Casals i Defilló], Spanish cellist, conductor and composer, born in Vendrell, Catalonia, Spain (d. 1973)
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