- Jan 3 Raoul Armand Georg Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1948)
- Jan 10 James Philip Dunn, American composer, born in New York (d. 1936)
- Jan 12 (Mary Louise) "Texas" Guinan, American vaudeville singer, silent film actress, and speakeasy (saloon) proprietor, born in Waco, Texas (d. 1933)
- Jan 12 Louis Horst, American dance choreographer and composer, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1964)
- Jan 13 Sophie Tucker [Kalish], Russian-born American singer and actress (My Yiddish Mama) known as "last of the red hot mammas", born in Tulchyn, Russian Empire (d. 1966)
- Jan 19 Albert Louis Wolff, French conductor and composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1970)
- Jan 25 Edward Kilenyi, Sr. [Ede Kilényi], Hungarian composer & teacher (Clipped Wings, Outside the Law), born in Békésszentandrás, Hungary (d. 1968)
- Jan 29 Juhan Aavic, Estonian composer, born in Holstre, Russian Empire (d. 1982)
- Feb 11 Alfonso Leng, Chilean dentist and composer (Doloras), born in Santiago, Chile (d. 1974)
- Feb 26 Dina Appeldoorn, Dutch pianist and composer, born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands (d. 1938)
- Feb 29 Alfred Sendrey, American composer and musicologist, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1976)
- Mar 2 Léon Jongen, Belgian organist, composer, and academic, born in Liège (d. 1969)
- Mar 14 Wintter Watts, American classical music and art song composer, born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1962)
- Mar 15 Rudolf Piskáček, Czech composer, born in Prague (d. 1940)
- Mar 17 Alcide Nunez, American jazz clarinetist, born in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (d. 1934)
- Mar 23 Glauco Velasquez, Brazilian pianist and composer (Brutto Signo), born in Naples, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1914)
- Mar 24 Gino Marinuzzi, Sr., Italian opera conductor (Wagner; Puccini), and composer (Symphony in A), born in Palermo, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1945)
- Mar 26 Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (Rubinstein Competition winner, 1905), born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 1969)
- Apr 9 Franco Vittadini, Italian composer, born in Pavia, Italy (d. 1948)
- Apr 22 Armas Launis, Finnish composer, born in Hämeenlinna, Finland (d. 1959)
- Apr 30 Albert Elkus, American composer, born in Sacramento, California (d. 1962)
- May 1 Felipe Boero, Argentine composer, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1958)
- May 19 Arthur Meulemans, Flemish composer, conductor, and music teacher (Adriaen Brouwer), born in Aarschot, Belgium (d. 1966)
- May 22 Alceo Toni, Italian arranger (Vivaldi's "Four Season's" for piano four-hands), composer (Elegiac Quintet), and musicologist, born in Lugo di Romagna (d. 1969)
- May 27 Max Brod, Czech-born Israeli composer, writer, and biographer of Kafka, born in Prague (d. 1968)
- Jun 5 Ralph Benatzky, Czech composer, born in Moravské Budějovice, Czech Republic (d. 1957)
- Jun 14 John McCormack, Irish-American operatic and popular tenor ("I Hear You Calling Me"; "It's A Long Way To Tipperary"), born in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland (d. 1945)
- Jul 13 John Francis Larchet, Irish arranger (Irish national anthem), composer (By the Waters of Moyle), and musical director (Abbey Theatre - Dublin, 1908-35), born in Sandymount, Ireland (d. 1967)
- Jul 15 Enrique Soro, Chilean composer, born in Concepción, Chile (d. 1954)
- Jul 23 Apolinary Szeluto, Polish pianist and composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1966)
- Aug 2 Nanny Larsén-Todsen, Swedish opera singer, born in Hagby, Sweden (d. 1982)
- Aug 3 Louis Gruenberg, Russian-American composer (Daniel Jazz), born in Brest-Litovsk, Russia (now Belarus) (d. 1964)
- Aug 6 Arthur Fields [Abraham Finkelstein], American singer-songwriter (Aba Daba Honeymoon), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1953)
- Sep 6 Emerson Whithorne, American composer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1958)
- Sep 15 Floro Ugarte, Argentine composer (From My Land; Saika), and educator, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1975)
- Sep 17 Charles Tomlinson Griffes, American composer (White Peacock), born in Elmira, New York (d. 1920)
- Sep 18 Ludomir Różycki, Polish composer and conductor (Eros i Psyche; Pan Twardowski), born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1953)
- Sep 20 Piotr Rytel, Polish composer, born in Vilnius (d. 1970)
- Sep 29 Boris Asafiev, Russian composer and music critic, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1949)
- Oct 11 Robert Müller-Hartmann, German composer, born in Hamburg (d. 1950)
- Oct 20 Thomas Chalmers, American opera singer, actor, and filmmaker (Blind Alleys, Outrage), born in NYC, New York (d. 1966)
- Oct 28 Miloje Milojević, Serbian composer, born in Belgrade, Serbia (d. 1946)
- Oct 30 Rudolf Forster, Austrian actor (Threepenny Opera), born in Gröbming, Austria-Hungary (d. 1968)
- Nov 30 Ture Rangström, Swedish composer, born in Stockholm (d. 1947)
- Dec 5 Evert Cornelis, Dutch conductor and pianist, born in Amsterdam (d. 1931)
- Dec 19 Ferdinando Liuzzi, Italian composer and musicologist, born in Senigallia, Italy (d. 1940)
- Dec 20 Max Blokzijl, Dutch singer, journalist, and Nazi collaborator, born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands (d. 1946)
- Dec 27 Bernard van Dieren, Dutch composer (Diaphony; Chinese Symphony), critic, and music writer, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1936)
- Dec 30 Karl Heinrich David, Swiss composer, born in St. Gallen, Switzerland (d. 1951)