Famous People Born In 1868

Discover the most famous people born in 1868. The list includes people like W. E. B. Du Bois, Robert Falcon Scott, Scott Joplin, Fritz Haber, Maxim Gorky and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include poets, political leaders, playwrights and novelists born in 1868. This list includes people from United States, Germany, United Kingdom & France and many more countries.
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 1 
W. E. B. Du Bois
(Civil Rights Activists)
W. E. B. Du Bois
39
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: 23rd February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States
Died: August 27, 1963

W. E. B. Du Bois was an American civil rights activist, sociologist, and Pan-Africanist. Du Bois played an instrumental role in fighting for full civil rights for people of color around the world. A co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Du Bois also played an important role as the leader of the Niagara Movement.

 2 
Nicholas II
(Emperor of Russia (1894 - 1917))
Nicholas II
48
Birthdate: 18th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: July 17, 1918

Nicholas II reigned as the last Emperor of All Russia from 1894 until his abdication in 1917. His reign oversaw a series of reforms in Russia. These reforms included the introduction of literacy programs, civil liberties, and methods to modernize the empire's infrastructure. However, these reforms were eventually undermined by Nicholas' love for autocratic rule.

 3 
Robert Falcon Scott
(British Royal Naval Officer and Explorer)
Robert Falcon Scott
27
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 6th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Plymouth, Devon, England
Died: March 29, 1912

Robert Falcon Scott was an explorer and Royal Navy officer. He is remembered for leading two expeditions to the Antarctic regions, the second of which was the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition. Although Scott and his companions died during the second expedition, they helped discover the first Antarctic fossils, which proved that the place was once forested.

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 4 
Scott Joplin
(American Composer and Pianist Known as the ‘King of Ragtime’)
Scott Joplin
11
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: 24th November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Texarkana, Texas, United States
Died: April 1, 1917
Composer and pianist Scott Joplin, or the King of Ragtime, had written more than 100 original ragtime pieces. His most iconic piece was the Maple Leaf Rag. He had also written two operas, including Treemonisha. He was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize. The film The Sting featured his compositions.
 5 
Gertrude Bell
(Writer, Diplomat)
Gertrude Bell
8
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 14th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Washington, United Kingdom
Died: July 12, 1926

Born into a wealthy English family, Gertrude Bell was an explorer at heart and went down in history for her journeys across the Middle East and for helping establish the Hāshimite dynasty in Iraq. Though she graduated in history from Oxford, being a woman, she wasn’t awarded a degree.

 6 
Fritz Haber
(Chemist)
Fritz Haber
10
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 9th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Wrocław
Died: January 29, 1934

Fritz Haber was a German chemist who was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry for inventing the Haber-Bosch process. The process is used widely to synthesize ammonia from hydrogen gas and nitrogen gas. For his pioneering work in weaponizing poisonous gases like chlorine during World War I, Haber is referred to as the father of chemical warfare.

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 7 
Constantine I
(Former King of Greece (1913 - 1917))
Constantine I
5
Listed In: Emperors & Kings
Birthdate: 2nd August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Died: January 11, 1923
Constantine I reigned as the king of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and again from 1920 to 1922. He led the Greek army during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. The National Schism was a result of his disagreement with Eleftherios Venizelos on whether Greece should join World War I.
 8 
Karl Landsteiner
(Physician)
Karl Landsteiner
13
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 14th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Vienna
Died: June 26, 1943

Karl Landsteiner was a physician, biologist, and immunologist. He is credited with distinguishing the main blood groups as well as identifying the Rhesus factor. He is also credited with discovering the polio virus along with Erwin Popper and Constantin Levaditi. He won the Aronson Prize in 1926. In 1930, Landsteiner was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

 9 
Florence Foster Jenkins
(American Socialite and Amateur Soprano)
Florence Foster Jenkins
11
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 19th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: November 26, 1944

Florence Foster Jenkins was an American socialite who was often ridiculed and mocked for her poor singing ability, which in turn made her popular. Known as the world's worst opera singer, Jenkins became a musical cult-figure in New York City due to her technical incompetence as an amateur soprano. Her life inspired several plays and films, including Florence Foster Jenkins.

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 10 
Maxim Gorky
(Russian Writer Best Known for His Works 'The Lower Depths', 'Mother', 'Chelkash' and 'Children of the Sun')
Maxim Gorky
9
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 28th March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Died: June 18, 1936

Maxim Gorky was a writer and political activist. He is best remembered for founding the socialist realism literary method. Gorky, who was nominated for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature on five occasions, published several novels that were later adapted into plays, films, and operas. In 1938, Valery Zhelobinsky adapted Gorky's novel Mother into an opera.

 11 
James Connolly
(Socialist Leader)
James Connolly
8
Birthdate: 5th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Cowgate
Died: May 12, 1916
 12 
John Nance Garner
(32nd Vice President of the United States)
John Nance Garner
6
Birthdate: 22nd November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Detroit
Died: November 7, 1967

Texas-based Democratic politician John Nance Garner III, also known as Cactus Jack, served as the vice president of the U.S. from 1933 to 1941, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The qualified lawyer had also served as the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He fell out with Roosevelt later.

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 13 
Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom
(Princess)
Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom
4
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 6th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Marlborough House, London, England
Died: December 3, 1935
 14 
Constance Markievicz
(Politician)
Constance Markievicz
4
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 4th February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom
Died: July 15, 1927

Irish revolutionary political leader and suffragist Constance Markievicz scripted history by becoming the first woman to be elected as a cabinet minister in Europe and also the first female to be elected to the British Parliament. Sentenced to death for her role in the Easter Rising, she was later granted amnesty.

 15 
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
3
Listed In: Artists
Birthdate: 7th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Townhead, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Died: December 10, 1928

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, and artist. He was married to fellow artist Margaret Macdonald, and they both were influential on the European design movements Art Nouveau and Secessionism. Mackintosh is considered one of the most important figures of Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style). In his later years, he worked largely as a watercolorist. 

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 16 
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
1
Listed In: Astronomers
Birthdate: 4th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Lancaster, Massachusetts
Died: December 12, 1921

Born to a church minister, Henrietta Swan Leavitt grew up to work as a “human computer” at the Harvard Observatory. The American astronomer gained fame for discovering the period-luminosity relation of Cepheid variables. However, her brilliant scientific career was halted by her death due to stomach cancer at 53.

 17 
Marie Dressler
(Actress, Comedian and Early Silent Film and Depression-Era Film Star)
Marie Dressler
0
Birthdate: 9th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Cobourg, Canada
Died: July 28, 1934

Marie Dressler was a Canadian comedian and actress. A major film star during the Depression-era, Dressler received the 1931 Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Min Divot in the 1930 American comedy-drama film, Min and Bill. Her life and career inspired a play titled Queen Marie, which was written by Shirley Barrie.

 18 
Emily Murphy
(First Female Magistrate in Canada)
Emily Murphy
16
Birthdate: 14th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Died: October 17, 1933

Canadian women’s rights activist Emily Murphy was part of The Famous Five, a group of women activists who launched the Persons Case to make women eligible to be part of the Senate. Murphy also served as the first police magistrate in Canada and the British Empire.

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 19 
Robert Andrews Millikan
2
Listed In: Physicists
Birthdate: 22nd March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Morrison
Died: December 19, 1953

Nobel Prize-winning experimental physicist Robert Andrews Millikan had begun his career as a faculty member at the University of Chicago and penned countless physics books. He later devoted himself to his research on elementary electronic charge and the photoelectric effect. His famous oil-drop experiment is known to all physics enthusiasts.

 20 
Fuad I of Egypt
(Sultan of Egypt)
Fuad I of Egypt
1
Listed In: Emperors & Kings
Birthdate: 26th March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Cairo, Egypt
Died: April 28, 1936

Fuad I of Egypt was the Sultan of Egypt who ruled as the ninth ruler of Sudan and Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty. Fuad played an important role in modern Egyptian historiography. His efforts to depict his ancestors as benevolent monarchs and nationalists would prove to be a long-lasting influence on Egyptian history.

 21 
Edward S. Curtis
(American Photographer and Ethnologist)
Edward S. Curtis
1
Listed In: Anthropologists
Birthdate: 19th February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Whitewater, Wisconsin, United States
Died: October 19, 1952

Edward S. Curtis was an American ethnologist and photographer whose work focused on the Native American people and American West. He is credited with photographing the first portrait of a Native American. Edward S. Curtis' work aimed at preserving the traditional life of Native Americans.

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 22 
Mary Parker Follett
(Social Woker)
Mary Parker Follett
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 3rd September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Quincy, Massachusetts, United States
Died: December 18, 1933
 23 
Horace Elgin Dodge
(Industrialists)
Horace Elgin Dodge
1
Birthdate: 17th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Niles, Michigan, United States
Died: December 10, 1920
 24 
Arnold Sommerfeld
0
Listed In: Physicists
Birthdate: 5th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Königsberg
Died: April 26, 1951

German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld initially taught math and theoretical physics and later came to be known for his groundbreaking work on atomic and quantum physics and wave mechanics. He also laid down the magnetic quantum number. Many of the doctoral and post-doctoral students he supervised later won the Nobel Prize.

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 25 
Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild
(British Politician and Zoologist Who Served as a Member of Parliament from Aylesbury)
Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild
1
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: 8th February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: England
Died: August 27, 1937

Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild was a British soldier, politician, zoologist, and banker. He is best remembered for his service as the president of the largest Jewish communal organization in the UK, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, between 1925 and 1926. Walter Rothschild also made immense contributions to the field of zoology.

 26 
Harvey Samuel Firestone
(Entrepreneur)
Harvey Samuel Firestone
1
Birthdate: 20th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Columbiana
Died: February 7, 1938
 27 
Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse
(Artist)
Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse
2
Listed In: Artists
Birthdate: 25th November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Darmstadt, Germany
Died: October 9, 1937
Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse was the son of Louis IV and Princess Alice and the grandson of Queen Victoria of England. An art lover, he established the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony for artists and craftsmen, and patronized the artists of the art nouveau Jugendstil movement. 
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 28 
Charles Maurras
(Author)
Charles Maurras
2
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 20th April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Martigues, France
Died: November 16, 1952
 29 
George Arliss
(Writer, Playwright, Film director, Autobiographer, Screenwriter, Stage actor, Film actor)
George Arliss
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 10th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: London
Died: February 5, 1946
 30 
Gichin Funakoshi
(Karateka)
Gichin Funakoshi
0
Birthdate: 10th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Died: April 26, 1957
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 31 
Édouard Vuillard
(Painter)
Édouard Vuillard
1
Listed In: Artists
Birthdate: 11th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Cuiseaux, Saône-et-Loire, France
Died: June 21, 1940
 32 
Paul Claudel
(French Poet, Dramatist and Diplomat)
Paul Claudel
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 6th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Villeneuve-sur-Fère, France
Died: February 23, 1955

Born into a family of farmers, Paul Claudel grew up to join the foreign service of France, thus serving in places such as the US, China, and South America. While he traveled the world as a French ambassador to French ambassador, he also enriched French literature with his poems, essays, and plays.

 33 
Jane Avril
(Dancer)
Jane Avril
0
Birthdate: 9th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: January 31, 1943

Jane Avril was a French dancer who specialized in can-can, a popular music-hall dance of the 1840s. Avril was made famous by popular French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who often depicted Jane Avril in his paintings. In the 1952 British drama film Moulin Rouge, Jane Avril was played by Hungarian-American actress Zsa Zsa Gabor.

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 34 
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria
(The Last Child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria)
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria
1
Birthdate: 22nd April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Buda, Hungary
Died: September 6, 1924

Archduchess Marie Valerie was the last child of Franz Joseph I, emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, and Empress Elisabeth. Rumors also claimed she was an illegitimate child of Elisabeth and Gyula Andrássy. He marriage to her third cousin, Archduke Franz Salvator, was criticized for not being dynastic.

 35 
Gaston Leroux
(French Author and Journalist)
Gaston Leroux
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 6th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: April 15, 1927
 36 
La Belle Otero
(Actress)
La Belle Otero
0
Listed In: Actresses
Birthdate: 4th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Valga, Spain
Died: April 10, 1965
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 37 
Stefan George
(German Symbolist Poet and a Translator)
Stefan George
0
Listed In: Poets
Birthdate: 12th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Büdesheim, Germany
Died: December 4, 1933

Lyric poet Stefan George was a significant part of the 19th-century German Aestheticism. While studying in Paris, he was influenced by Symbolists. He established the George-Kreis school of literature and launched its popular journal, Blätter für die Kunst. He also exhibited homosexual tendencies in his love poems dedicated to Maximin.

 38 
Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere
(Publisher)
Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere
0
Birthdate: 26th April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Hampstead, England
Died: November 26, 1940
 39 
Bernarr MacFadden
(American Bodybuilder and Founder of Macfadden Publications)
Bernarr MacFadden
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: 16th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Mill Spring, Missouri, United States
Died: October 12, 1955
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 40 
Felix Hoffmann
(German Chemist and Inventor)
Felix Hoffmann
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 21st January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ludwigsburg, Germany
Died: February 8, 1946

Felix Hoffmann was a German chemist best remembered for re-synthesizing diamorphine, which was later popularized as heroin. Hoffmann is also known for synthesizing aspirin, although it is still unclear whether he synthesized it on his own or under the direction of Arthur Eichengrün. In 2002, Felix Hoffmann was inducted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame. 

 41 
Patty Hill
(Composer)
Patty Hill
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: 27th March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Anchorage, Kentucky, United States
Died: May 25, 1946
 42 
Alexandra David-Néel
(Belgian–French Explorer, Anarchist, Spiritualist, and Writer)
Alexandra David-Néel
3
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 24th October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Saint-Mandé, France
Died: September 8, 1969

Alexandra David-Néel was a Belgian–French explorer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist, writer, and opera singer. She is best remembered for traveling to important spiritual centers, including Lhasa, Tibet in 1924, when foreigners were forbidden from entering Lhasa. Alexandra David-Néel wrote more than 30 books and her teachings influenced people like Allen Ginsberg, Benjamin Crème, Jack Kerouac, Ram Dass, and Alan Watts.   

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 43 
Pierina Legnani
(Ballerina)
Pierina Legnani
0
Listed In: Ballet Dancers
Birthdate: 30th September
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Italy
Died: November 15, 1930
 44 
Felix Hausdorff
(German Mathematician)
Felix Hausdorff
1
Listed In: Mathematicians
Birthdate: 8th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Wrocław, Poland
Died: January 26, 1942

While German mathematician Felix Hausdorff initially wished to become a musician, parental pressure led him to choose math. Considered one of the pioneers of modern topology, he made major contributions to set theory and functional analysis. He died of suicide, along with his wife and sister-in-law, instead of moving to a Nazi camp.

 45 
Joe Choynski
(Boxer)
Joe Choynski
0
Listed In: Boxers
Birthdate: 8th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States
Died: January 24, 1943
 46 
Henri Bourassa
(Former Member of the Canadian Parliament for Labelle (1896 - 1907))
Henri Bourassa
0
Birthdate: 1st September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Montreal, Canada
Died: August 31, 1952

Renowned Canadian journalist and politician Henri Bourassa is best remembered for founding the newspaper Le Devoir. Though a qualified lawyer, he made a name for himself by writing on political issues and also served as a member of the Canadian Parliament, as part of the Liberal Party of Canada.

 47 
Alfred Weber
(Economist, Educationist, Sociologist, University teacher)
Alfred Weber
0
Birthdate: 30th July
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Erfurt
Died: May 2, 1958

Alfred Weber was a German geographer, sociologist, economist, and theoretician of culture. Weber's work and contribution played a key role in the progression of modern economic geography. The younger brother of Max Weber, Alfred Weber contributed theories for analyzing social processes, social change as a confluence of civilization, and culture.

 48 
Mwanga
(King of Buganda)
Mwanga
0
Listed In: Emperors & Kings
Birthdate: 30th November
Birthplace: Nakawa
Died: May 8, 1903
 49 
Gustav Meyrink
(Austrian Novelist Famous for His Novel 'The Golem')
Gustav Meyrink
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 19th January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: December 4, 1932

Austrian author, novelist, dramatist, translator, and banker, Gustav Meyer, who used the pseudonym Gustav Meyrink, is best-known for his novel The Golem. Gustav established his own bank but was eventually charged with fraud and jailed for two months. He depicted his jailhouse experiences in The Golem. A prolific translator, Gustav’s translation works include translating fifteen-volumes of Charles Dickens into German.

 50 
Paul Otlet
(Belgian Author and Lawyer Who Predicted the Arrival of the Internet Before WWII)
Paul Otlet
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 23rd August
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Brussels
Died: December 10, 1944

Belgian author and lawyer Paul Otlet went down in history as the man predicted the emergence of the internet as a world-wide information network over 50 years before its arrival. He also laid down the Universal Decimal Classification and penned the iconic book Traité de Documentation.