Famous People Born In 1872

Discover the most famous people born in 1872. The list includes people like Bertrand Russell, Calvin Coolidge, Piet Mondrian, Emily Davison, Roald Amundsen and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, philosophers, novelists and non-fiction writers born in 1872. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, France & Russia and many more countries.
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 1 
Calvin Coolidge
(30th President of the United States (1923–1929))
Calvin Coolidge
30
Birthdate: 4th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Plymouth, Vermont, United States
Died: January 5, 1933

The 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge started his career as a lawyer before becoming an influential American politician. A man of few words with a dry sense of humor, Calvin Coolidge represented the middle class, which worked in his favor. Despite being a reclusive politician, Coolidge gave 520 press conferences, making himself available to reporters quite often.

 2 
Bertrand Russell
(Philosopher)
Bertrand Russell
35
Birthdate: 18th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Trellech, Monmouthshire, Wales
Died: February 2, 1970

Bertrand Russell was a British polymath and Nobel laureate. His work, which is spread across various fields, has had a considerable influence on philosophy, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, linguistics, and logic. Russell is also credited with leading the revolt against idealism in Britain and is regarded as one of the founders of analytic philosophy.

 3 
Piet Mondrian
(One of the Greatest Artists of the 20th Century)
Piet Mondrian
8
Birthdate: 29th February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Amersfoort, Netherlands
Died: January 31, 1944

Dutch painter Piet Mondrian is remembered for pioneering what is known as 20th-century abstract art. He co-founded the De Stijl art movement with Theo van Doesburg and gave rise to Neoplasticism. His art was influenced by Cubism. Many of his paintings consist of geometric shapes in particular sets of colors.

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 4 
Roald Amundsen
(Norwegian Explorer Who was the First to Reach the South Pole)
Roald Amundsen
47
Listed In: Explorers
Birthdate: 16th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Borge, Norway
Died: June 18, 1928

Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer. Specialized in exploring the polar regions, Amundsen was an important figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, an era in the exploration of Antarctica. He disappeared in 1928 when he was involved in a rescue mission in the Arctic. Owing to his significant achievements in polar exploration, several places are named after him.

 5 
Ralph Vaughan Williams
2
Listed In: Composers
Birthdate: 12th October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Down Ampney, England
Died: August 26, 1958
 6 
David Unaipon
(Preacher)
David Unaipon
21
Birthdate: 28th September
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: South Australia
Died: February 7, 1967

David Unaipon was an Aboriginal Australian preacher, author, and inventor. He is best remembered for his significant contribution to Australian society, which helped break several stereotypes about Aboriginal Australians. Apart from establishing a couple of awards in his honor, the Australian government has also featured Unaipon on the Australian fifty-dollar note.

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 7 
Zane Grey
(Novelist)
Zane Grey
3
Listed In: Novelists
Birthdate: 31st January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Zanesville, Ohio, USA
Died: October 23, 1939
 8 
Edith Wilson
(First Lady of the United States)
Edith Wilson
5
Listed In: First Ladies
Birthdate: 15th October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Wytheville, Virginia, United States
Died: December 28, 1961
 9 
William Desmond Taylor
(Director and Actor Known for His Films: ‘The Diamond from the Sky’, ‘A Woman Scorned’ and ‘Ben Blair’)
William Desmond Taylor
1
Birthdate: 26th April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Carlow, Ireland
Died: February 1, 1922
Actor-director William Desmond Taylor, a popular figure from the silent era of Hollywood, made headlines when he was found murdered in his LA bungalow. The case, which initiated a media frenzy, remains unsolved to date due to lack of evidence, in spite of a deathbed confession from actor Patricia Palmer.
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 10 
Eduard Bloch
(Physician)
Eduard Bloch
1
Birthdate: 30th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Hluboká nad Vltavou
Died: June 1, 1945

Jewish doctor Eduard Bloch began his career as a physician for the Austrian Army. He had later treated a young Adolf Hitler and his cancer-stricken mother, charging very little fees owing to their poor financial condition. This act that made Hitler grant Bloch special protection during the Nazi attack on Austria.

 11 
Aubrey Beardsley
(Illustrator)
Aubrey Beardsley
2
Listed In: Illustrators
Birthdate: 21st August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Brighton, England
Died: March 16, 1898

Aubrey Beardsley was an English illustrator and author, whose works emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. A leading figure in the aesthetic movement, he was deeply influenced by black ink drawings. He attended classes at the Westminster School of Art before beginning his career as an artist. He was considered an eccentric person.  

 12 
Emily Post
(Novelist)
Emily Post
2
Listed In: Novelists
Birthdate: 27th October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Baltimore
Died: September 25, 1960
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 13 
Julia Morgan
(American Architect and Engineer)
Julia Morgan
0
Birthdate: 20th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States
Died: February 2, 1957

Julia Morgan was an American engineer and architect who is credited with designing over 700 buildings in California. She was the first woman to study at the Beaux-Arts de Paris and the first woman to be honored with the AIA Gold Medal, which was conferred upon her posthumously. She also received a posthumous induction into the California Hall of Fame.

 14 
Maude Adams
(Actress)
Maude Adams
5
Listed In: Actresses
Birthdate: 11th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Died: July 17, 1953
 15 
Léon Blum
(Former Prime Minister of France)
Léon Blum
2
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 9th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Paris
Died: March 30, 1950

Born into a Jewish family in Paris, three-time French prime minister Léon Blum had initially studied law. He joined politics inspired by the Dreyfus affair. The first socialist and the first Jew to head France, he introduced reforms such as the 40-hour work week and paid vacations.

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 16 
John McCrae
(Poet and Soldier Best Known as the Author of War Memorial Poem 'In Flanders Fields')
John McCrae
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 30th November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Died: January 28, 1918

Best known for his iconic war poems such as In Flanders Fields, Canadian poet John McCrae was also an army physician. He was the first Canadian to serve as a consulting surgeon for the British Army and had earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Army.

Paul Laurence Dunbar
5
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 27th June
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Dayton, Ohio, United States
Died: February 9, 1906
 18 
Sergei Diaghilev
(Russian Art Critic, Ballet Impresario and Founder of the 'Ballets Russes')
Sergei Diaghilev
1
Birthdate: 31st March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Chudovsky District, Russia
Died: August 19, 1929

Sergei Diaghilev was a Russian ballet impresario, patron, and art critic. He is credited with founding the popular ballet company Ballets Russes, which has produced some of the greatest and popular choreographers and dancers like Tamara Karsavina, Lydia Sokolova, Serge Lifar, and Alicia Markova. Sergei Diaghilev is remembered for placing the needs of his company and dancers above his own.

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 19 
Learned Hand
(Former United States Judge and Judicial Philosopher)
Learned Hand
2
Listed In: Judges
Birthdate: 27th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Albany
Died: August 18, 1961
 20 
Mathilde Kschessinska
(Russian Ballerina and the First Russian Dancer to Master 32 Consecutive 'Fouettés en Tournant')
Mathilde Kschessinska
3
Listed In: Dancers
Birthdate: 31st August
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Ligovo, Russia
Died: December 6, 1971

Mathilde Kschessinska was a Russian ballerina hailing from the Polish noble family Krzesiński. She was the daughter of Feliks Krzesiński, who danced in Saint Petersburg.  As a young woman, she married Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia. She later opened her own ballet school and trained students, such as Margot Fonteyn, Alicia Markova, and André Eglevsky. 

 21 
Habibullah Khan
(Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 to 1919)
Habibullah Khan
5
Listed In: Emperors & Kings
Birthdate: 3rd June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Died: February 20, 1919
Habibullah Khan reigned as the Emir of Afghanistan from 1 October 1901 until his demise on 20 February 1919. A reform-minded ruler, Habibullah aimed at modernizing his country and worked towards bringing modern medicine and technology into Afghanistan. He also founded a military academy and the Habibia School in 1903.
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 22 
Louis Blériot
(Aviator, Engineer, Inventor, Aerospace engineer)
Louis Blériot
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 1st July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Cambrai
Died: August 2, 1936

Louis Blériot was a French aviator, engineer, and inventor. He is credited with developing the first workable headlamp for cars. He is also credited with making the first working, piloted monoplane. Blériot achieved worldwide fame in 1909 when he became the first person to fly across the English Channel. Louis Blériot also founded the successful aircraft manufacturing company, Blériot Aéronautique.

 23 
Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
(Writer)
Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein
1
Birthdate: 12th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Cumberland Lodge, Old Windsor
Died: December 8, 1956
 24 
Julius Fučík
(Composer)
Julius Fučík
2
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: 18th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: New Town, Prague, Czech Republic
Died: September 25, 1916

Legendary Czech composer Julius Fučík, also known as the Bohemian Sousa, initially played the bassoon for the Austro-Hungarian Regiment and then bagged a job with the German opera theater in Prague. His best-known marches include the Florentine March and Entrance of the Gladiators. He spent his final years in Berlin.

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 25 
William Heath Robinson
William Heath Robinson
0
Listed In: Cartoonists
Birthdate: 31st March
Sun Sign: Aries
Died: September 13, 1944
 26 
Harlan F. Stone
(Lawyer)
Harlan F. Stone
2
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: 11th October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Chesterfield, New Hampshire, United States
Died: April 22, 1946
 27 
Addison Mizner
(Architect)
Addison Mizner
0
Birthdate: 12th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Benicia
Died: February 5, 1933

Society Architect Addison Mizner is remembered for designing resorts and Palm Beach mansions for the rich. He developed much of Boca Raton and also designed structures such as the Everglades Club and John F. Kennedy's Winter White House. His designs remain archived at the Society of the Four Arts Library.

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 28 
Leon Leonwood Bean
(Inventor)
Leon Leonwood Bean
0
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: 13th October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Greenwood, Maine, United States
Died: February 5, 1967
 29 
Albert C. Barnes
(Chemist)
Albert C. Barnes
0
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: 2nd January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: July 24, 1951
 30 
Edward Gordon Craig
(English Stage Designer, Theatre Director, Theatre Theorist and Actor)
Edward Gordon Craig
0
Birthdate: 16th January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England
Died: July 29, 1966

An illegitimate child of architect Edward Godwin and actor Ellen Terry, Edward Gordon Craig later grew up to be one of the pillars of modernist English theater. While he began his career acting at the Lyceum Theatre, he later switched to set designing. The Art of the Theatre remains his best-known written work.

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 31 
Willie Keeler
(Baseball player)
Willie Keeler
1
Listed In: Baseball Players
Birthdate: 3rd March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Died: January 1, 1923
 32 
Paul Langevin
(French Physicist)
Paul Langevin
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 23rd January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: December 19, 1946

Best known for developing the Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation, physicist Paul Langevin was also a staunch Communist. Having worked on his doctoral thesis under Pierre Curie, he had formed a connection with Curie’s wife, Marie Curie, which developed into a full-blown love affair after Pierre’s death.

 33 
John Harper
(Pastor)
John Harper
0
Listed In: Pastors
Birthdate: 29th May
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Houston, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Died: April 15, 1912
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 34 
Joseph Taylor Robinson
(Politician)
Joseph Taylor Robinson
1
Birthdate: 26th August
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Lonoke, Arkansas, United States
Died: July 14, 1937
 35 
Jože Plečnik
(Architect)
Jože Plečnik
0
Birthdate: 23rd January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Died: January 7, 1957

Jože Plečnik was a Slovene architect best remembered for designing the Slovene National and University Library building. Plečnik had a great impact on the architecture of Ljubljana, Prague, and Vienna. Jože Plečnik's impact on the capital city of Slovenia is so great that it is often compared to the impact Antoni Gaudí i Cornet had on the city of Barcelona.

 36 
Otto Braun
(Former Prime Minister of Prussia Who Held the Office for 3-Terms Between 1920 and 1932)
Otto Braun
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 28th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Kaliningrad, Russia
Died: December 15, 1955

German politician Otto Braun was born to a railway employee and grew up to join the Social Democratic Party. He was once also accused of treason against the tsar but was let off due to lack of evidence. He had led Prussia as its prime minister during its provincial government days.

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 37 
Sri Aurobindo
(Philosopher, Spiritual Leader)
Sri Aurobindo
10
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 15th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Died: December 5, 1950

Sri Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher, poet, yogi, teacher, and nationalist. He was one of the most influential leaders of the Indian independence movement before becoming a spiritual reformer, focusing on spiritual evolution and human progress. He is credited with founding the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, which continues to serve spiritual aspirants from all over the world.

 38 
William Monroe Trotter
(Editor)
William Monroe Trotter
0
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: 7th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Chillicothe, Ohio, United States
Died: April 7, 1934
 39 
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
(Indian-British Barrister)
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
0
Birthdate: 14th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Mumbai, India
Died: December 10, 1953
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 40 
Ludwig Mylius-Erichsen
(Danish Explorer Who Led Two Productive Expeditions to Greenland)
Ludwig Mylius-Erichsen
0
Listed In: Explorers
Birthdate: 15th January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Viborg, Denmark
Died: November 25, 1907

Ludwig Mylius-Erichsen was a Danish ethnologist, explorer, and author. He is renowned for his explorations of Greenland. Mylius-Erichsen is credited with proving the nonexistence of the Peary Channel, thereby proving that American explorer Robert Peary was wrong. It was assumed that the channel existed until Ejnar Mikkelsen found Mylius-Erichsen's report in a cairn after Mylius-Erichsen’s death during his last exploration.

 41 
Ranjitsinhji
(One of the Earliest Top-Class Indian Cricketers to Play the Sport)
Ranjitsinhji
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: 10th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Kathiawar, Vansoj, India
Died: April 2, 1933
 42 
Frank Worsley
(Sailor, Explorer)
Frank Worsley
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 22nd February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Akaroa, New Zealand
Died: February 1, 1943
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 43 
Georgy Chicherin
(Revolutionary)
Georgy Chicherin
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 24th November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Tambov Governorate, Russian Empire
Died: July 7, 1936
 44 
Edward Adrian Wilson
(Explorer, Ornithologist, Painter, Scientist)
Edward Adrian Wilson
1
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 23rd July
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Cheltenham
Died: March 29, 1912
 45 
Albert Payson Terhune
(Author)
Albert Payson Terhune
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 21st December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States
Died: February 18, 1942
 46 
Camille Guérin
(Veterinarian)
Camille Guérin
0
Listed In: Bacteriologists
Birthdate: 22nd December
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Poitiers, France
Died: June 9, 1961
 47 
Madeline McDowell Breckinridge
(American Human Rights Activist and Social Reformer)
Madeline McDowell Breckinridge
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 20th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Franklin County, Kentucky, United States
Died: November 25, 1920

Madeline McDowell Breckinridge is best remembered for leading the women's suffrage movement in Kentucky. Mostly involved with campaigns related to children’s and women’s rights, she also established the Lexington Civic League, geared toward controlling child labor and upliftment of poor children. She was also associated with efforts to prevent tuberculosis.

 48 
Willem de Sitter
(Dutch Mathematician, Physicist, and Astronomer)
Willem de Sitter
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 6th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Sneek, Netherlands
Died: November 20, 1934

Willem de Sitter was a Dutch physicist, mathematician, and astronomer. A respected figure, Willem de Sitter served as the director of the famous Leiden Observatory from 1919 to 1934. He worked alongside Albert Einstein and made important discoveries in the field of physical cosmology. He was the recipient of the James Craig Watson Medal, Bruce Medal, and Prix Jules Janssen. 

 49 
Joseph Hertz
(British Rabbi and Biblical Scholar)
Joseph Hertz
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 25th September
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Zemplínska Široká, Slovakia
Died: January 14, 1946

Born in Hungary, rabbi and author Joseph Hertz moved to New York as a child. He had a PhD from Columbia University and was also the first to graduate from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Before becoming the chief rabbi of England, he was a professor in South Africa.

 50 
Hàm Nghi
(Eighth Emperor of the Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty)
Hàm Nghi
0
Listed In: Emperors & Kings
Birthdate: 3rd August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Imperial City, Hue, Vietnam
Died: January 4, 1943