- Jan 1 Edwin Franko Goldman, American march music composer (founder of American Bandmasters Association), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1956)
- Jan 6 Dame Adeline Genée, Danish-British ballerina, born in Aarhus, Denmark (d. 1970)
- Jan 15 Johanna Muller-Hermann, Austrian composer (Lied der Erinnerung), born in Vienna (d. 1941)
- Jan 23 Rutland Boughton, British composer (The Immortal Hour), born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire (d. 1960)
- Jan 28 Walter Kollo, German composer of operettas, Singspiele, and popular songs (Der Juxbaron), born in Neidenburg, Kingdom of Prussia. (d. 1940)
- Feb 6 Waclaw Gieburowski, Polish conductor & composer, born in Bydgoszcz, Poland (d. 1943)
- Feb 7 Ossip Gabrilovich, Russian-American pianist, conductor (Detroit Symphony, 1918-36), and composer, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1936)
- Feb 16 Selim Palmgren, Finnish concert pianist, composer (Hakkapeliittojen marssi), conductor, and pedagogue, born in Pori, Finland (d. 1951)
- Feb 21 Fritz Cortolezis, German conductor, opera director, and composer, born in Passau, Bavaria, Germany (d. 1934)
- Feb 28 Artur Kapp, Estonian organist, composer (Peace Symphony; Paradise and Peri), and educator, born in Suure-Jaani, Russian Empire (now Estonia) (d. 1952)
- Mar 1 Gabriel Édouard Xavier Dupont, French composer, born in Caen, France (d. 1914)
- Mar 4 Egbert Van Alstyne, American popular music songwriter and ragtime pianist ("In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree"; "For Your Boy and My Boy"), born in Marengo, Illinois (d. 1951) [1]
- Mar 12 Joseph Gustav Mraczek, German violinist, conductor, composer (Max und Moritz) and pedagogue, born in Brno, Bohemia (d. 1944)
- Mar 21 Thurlow Lieurance, American composer (By the Waters of Minnetonka; Sad Moon on Falling Leaf), ethno-musicologist (Indigenous peoples), and educator, born in Oskaloosa, Iowa (d. 1963)
- Mar 23 Franz Schreker [Schrecker], Austrian conductor, composer (Die Gezeichneten; Der ferne Klang), teacher, and administrator born in Monaco (d. 1934)
- Mar 25 Theodore Samuel Holland, British composer and pedagogue, born in Wimbledon (d. 1947)
- Apr 6 Carl Ehrenberg, German composer, kapellmeister, and pedagogue, born in Dresden, Germany (d. 1962)
- Apr 8 Rudolf Nelson, German composer, born in Berlin (d. 1960)
- May 15 Francisco Pujol, Catalan singer, choirmaster (Orfeó Català), composer, and musicologist, born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 1945)
- May 19 Adam von Ahn Carse, British composer and instrument collector, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England (d. 1958)
- May 20 Karel Komzák III, Austrian conductor and composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1924) [1]
Bill Robinson (1878-1949)
May 25 American actor and tap dancer (Stormy Weather; The Little Colonel), born in Richmond, Virginia
George M. Cohan (1878-1942)
Jul 3 American father of musical comedy (Phantom President; Give My Regards to Broadway), born in Providence, Rhode Island
- Jul 5 Joseph Holbrooke, English pianist, conductor and composer (3 Blind Mice), born in Croydon, Surrey (d. 1958)
- Jul 17 Henri Zagwijn, Dutch composer and musicologist, born in Nieuwer-Amstel, Netherlands (d. 1954)
- Jul 25 Heinrich Gebhard, German-American composer, born in Sobernheim, Rhineland-Palatinate (now Germany) (d. 1963)
- Aug 3 Constantino Gaito, Argentinian composer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1945)
- Aug 13 Leonid Vladimirovich Nikolayev, Russian-Soviet composer, born in Kyiv, Ukraine (d. 1942)
- Aug 18 Fritz Brun, Swiss composer and conductor, born in Lucerne (d. 1959)
- Aug 27 Joseph John Richards, American composer, born in Cwmafan, Wales (d. 1956)
- Aug 31 Albert Riemenschneider, American pianist, educator, musicologist, and founder of America'a oldest Bach Festival, born in Berea, Ohio (d. 1950)
- Sep 17 Vincenzo Tommasini, Italian composer (Le donne de buon umore), born in Rome, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1950)
- Oct 16 Carlos Pedrell, Uruguayan guitarist and composer, born in Minas, Uraguay (d. 1941)
- Oct 17 Henri Mulet, French organist, cellist, and composer (Carillon-Sortie; Esquisses Byzantines), born in Paris (d. 1967)
- Nov 6 Ernest Irving, English composer, born in Godalming, Surrey (d. 1953)
- Nov 23 André Caplet, French composer and conductor (Conte Fantastic; Le miroir de Jesus), born on a boat sailing between Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) and Honfleur (Calvados) in France (d. 1925)
- Nov 27 Mabel Wheeler Daniels, American composer (Deep Forest, The Desolate City), born in Swampscott, Massachusetts (d. 1971)
- Dec 5 Arrigo Pedrollo, Italian composer, born in Montebello Vicentino, Veneto, Italy (d. 1964)
- Dec 19 Anton Lajovic, Slovenian composer, born in Vače, Slovenia (d. 1960)
- Dec 30 Fred Van Eps, American banjoist and banjo maker, born in Somerville, New Jersey (d. 1960)
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers